Eastman appoints three professors

Two voice professors who are brothers and a former principal trumpet player for the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra have joined the Eastman School as full professors.

Robert McIver, who for the past academic year has been a visiting professor at Eastman, has worked since 1981 at Kentucky Wesleyan College as director of the music department and conductor of the Kentucky Wesleyan Singers. He previously was a member of the voice faculty and director of opera at Westminster Choir College from 1972 to 1981. A vocalist, composer, conductor, and clinician, McIver has taught courses in applied voice, diction, pedagogy, vocal literature, and conducting. He has had numerous choral and organ compositions published and has conducted nearly 100 major choral works. McIver holds a bachelor's degree in vocal performance from Oberlin College and master's and doctoral degrees in vocal performance from West Virginia University.

Robert McIver's brother, William, will work part time this year and join the faculty full time next year. He comes to Eastman from his current position as professor of music at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, where he has taught since 1970. He has served as chair of the music school's vocal studies division and as acting dean of the school. An active conductor and clinician, McIver frequently presents at conferences and adjudicates at festivals and competitions. He has written for several publications, including American Music Teacher Journal and The Journal of Singing. Like his brother, he received his bachelor's degree in vocal performance at Oberlin. He then earned a master's degree from the University of Illinois and a doctorate from West Virginia University.

James Thompson, principal trumpet of the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra since 1990, has joined the faculty of the Eastman School as professor of trumpet.

Thompson has taught trumpet and brass ensemble at Northern Arizona University, the National Conservatory of Music in Mexico City, and McGill University in Montreal, Canada. He has performed as soloist with orchestras in North and South America as well as Europe. Before joining the Atlanta Symphony, he held principal trumpet positions with the Phoenix Symphony, the Orchestra of the State of Mexico, the National Symphony of Mexico, and, for 14 years, the Montreal Symphony Orchestra.

In 1979, Thompson won a grand prize in the Maurice Andre International Trumpet Competition. Since then, he has made recital tours around the world and been a guest artist with renowned chamber groups. He was been a member of the Atlanta Symphony Brass Quintet, which toured Norway as a cultural exchange with the Olympic city of Lillehammer. At the 1996 Atlanta Olympic opening ceremonies, he was seen on television by more than 3 billion people performing a jazz/gospel trumpet solo.

Thompson has actively encouraged new compositions for the trumpet, including Malcolm Forsyth's Concerto for Trumpet, Jacques Hetu's Trumpet Concerto, and Glenn Buhr's Concerto for Trumpet. He also has recorded on a number of labels, including London Decca, Telarc, CBC Records, and Chandos.

A native of Germany, Thompson was raised in Phoenix, Ariz. Studying with Richard Longfield and Roger Voisin, he received his bachelor of music degree from the New England Conservatory of Music in 1970.