Eastman to inaugurate Undercofler

Undercofler, who was appointed director last fall after an extensive national search, becomes only the fifth director of the school since its founding by George Eastman in 1921. He is the first alumnus to hold the position.

The ceremony, presided over by President Thomas Jackson, will include the conferring of an honorary doctoral degree on Leilani Lattin Duke, the director of the Getty Education Institute for the Arts in Los Angeles and a leading advocate for arts education in the nation's schools.

Also featured will be music by the Eastman Horn Choir, the Eastman Wind Ensemble, the New Eastman Symphony, an Eastman faculty ensemble, and the "Many Voices, Many Songs" Chorus--120 city middle school students under the direction of Susan Wharton-Conkling, assistant professor of music education.

Eastman alumni, arts leaders and supporters, and local and regional officials also are expected to attend.

A 1967 graduate of Eastman, Undercofler has been a performer, teacher, conductor, and administrator. He was the founding and executive director of the Minnesota Center for Arts Education in Minneapolis from 1986 to 1995 and was director of the Educational Center for the Arts in New Haven, Conn., from 1972 to 1986.

He returned to the school in July 1995 as associate director for academic affairs and professor of music education, and in January 1997 became acting director--a position he held until his appointment as director.

Since his arrival, Undercofler has led the groundbreaking, nationally noted Eastman Initiatives, a series of innovative programs and processes designed to educate the classical musician of the future. The Initiatives are one of the reasons U.S. News & World Report ranks Eastman as the No. 1 music school in the nation.

The inaugural festivities will continue in the evening with a free concert by the Eastman Virtuosi at 8 p.m. in Kilbourn Hall.