Nominees
On April 30th we announced 23 nominees for potential induction into the new Rochester Music Hall of Fame. Ten people, events or places will be inducted into the first class of the Rochester Music Hall of Fame. A date and venue for the 2010 ceremony has not been determined yet.
Some of the nomninees may surprise you; others may seem obvious. But what they all share is a remarkable contribution to music. Here they are:
In the Venue Category, before there was a Carnegie Hall, before the Metropolitan Opera House, before Madison Square Garden, this state of the art venue located on Corinthian St. in the City, was considered by architects, oratory and music fans alike to have the finest acoustics of any hall in the entire country. It was designed by Henry Searle and constructed in 1849. The original “Hall of Fame,” Corinthian Hall.
In the event category, before Ed Sullivan and the British invasion, there was P.T. Barnum and the Swedish invasion. Back in July of 1851, Rochester most enthusiastically surrendered to two of the most unforgettable performances this city had ever seen – The performances of “The Swedish Nightingale,” Jenny Lind.
This nominee was the first Rochester-born-and-bred Superstar whose musical talents took him around the world, and whose heroics in battle, cut short his life – the namesake of the Hochstein School of Music and Dance, violin virtuoso, David Hochstein.
The next nominee was one of Rochester’s first and most generous supporters of fine art and music in the City. She was the principal benefactor of David Hochstein, and after his death, she became the driving force behind the creation of the school named in his honor – Emily Sibley Watson.
You might have seen or heard the next nominee’s name around town. The creator of Kodak, a phenom of philanthropy and the Maestro of music appreciation, the one and only, George Eastman.
You may not have heard of our next nominee, but without his leadership many of our subsequent nominees might never have even chosen music as a profession. The Director of the Eastman School of Music from 1924 to 1964 and the man most responsible for it becoming the world class school that it is today, Howard Hanson.
Before Michael Jackson knew Billie Jean, before James Brown got the feelin’, before Sammy Davis Jr. met the Candy Man, we were hearing all about, “Minnie the Moocher” from the Hi De Ho man himself. Rochester’s fabulous, Cab Calloway.
The next nominee’s career was as bouncy as the bouncing ball we followed to sing along with him. From professional musician to record industry executive and from top recording star to hit TV show host, Rochester’s own, Mitch Miller.
For our next nominee and Eastman graduate, Space, was not the “final frontier.” He also voyaged to the bottom of the sea and introduced us to many TV shows with his wonderful theme songs. The composer of the Star Trek Theme, “Where no man has gone before,” and much, much more, Alexander Courage.
The next nominee would have been more than justified to showboat about his talents as a bass-baritone singer. This voice major from The Eastman School of Music went on to great success on stage, screen and TV and performed the definitive film version of the song, “Old Man River” in the musical, “Showboat,” William Caesar Warfield.
Maybe it was in her blood, but this Eastman graduate and second cousin of Susan B. Anthony, lacked no determination in breaking the gender barrier to become the first woman to win a principle chair on a major orchestra back in 1952. It’s our pleasure to nominate the gifted flutist and accompanist to Frank Sinatra, Doriot Anthony Dwyer.
Our next nominee told us to, “Put on a happy face” in the musical, “Bye, Bye Birdie” and he had Annie remind us that the sun will come out, “Tomorrow.” He gave, “Bonnie and Clyde” some get-away music, and he lamented on the radio about being, “Born Too Late.” Well, “Those Were the Days” according to Archie and Edith. We nominate Eastman graduate and stage, screen, television and pop song composer, Charles Strouse.
It was said of our next nominee and R.I.T. graduate that, for a photographer, he was as improvisational as the jazz musicians he was photographing. While his photos may have been of unscripted moments, Ken Burns relied heavily on those photographs to make his script for the documentary, “Jazz” come to life. Jazz musician photographer, Paul Hoeffler.
You should have no trouble finding a recording featuring our next nominee and Eastman graduate. He can be heard playing bass on over 2000 albums. From his days in the Miles Davis Quintet to lecturing and performing at clinics and master classes at numerous universities, he has been among the most original, prolific and influential bassists in Jazz, Ron Carter.
The next nominee is as familiar to Rochester as the boy next door. He is the spokesman for “Megalo-mart” and can be seen playing himself on the “King of The Hill” TV show. He also plays flugel horn and makes hit jazz records. “It Feels So Good” to nominate, Chuck Mangione.
Though he was born in Canada, he learned his chops on guitar in the garages and clubs of Rochester, NY. With the help of three friends he gave the Beatles a run for their money, and if there is a guitar players hall of fame in the world, he deserves his own wing. Founding member of the Young Rascals and solo performer, Gene Cornish.
There must be fifty ways to introduce the next nominee, but suffice it to say that he’s the drummer whose beat everyone marches to, dances to and records with, Rochester’s own, Steve Gadd.
Our next nominee is the guy who snagged the Holy Grail of gigs and showed ex-Beatle, Paul McCartney, that a Rochester boy can “wing it” with the best of them. The most righteous drummer the band, “Wings” ever had, Joe English.
When he outran the law on Lake Avenue, the cops might have considered our next nominee to be an illegal alien, but we know him better as our favorite “foreigner.” Singer/songwriter and founding member of the band Foreigner, solo performer and a hometown inspiration to us all, Lou Gramm.
When our next nominee isn’t moonlighting on one of his many jobs as a record producer or arranger or guest conductor, he can be seen performing as the front man for a little ensemble over at Eastman. Principal Pops Conductor of the RPO for the last 16 years, Jeff Tyzik.
Whether it’s opera, jazz or show tunes, our next nominee can’t seem to satisfy an audience no matter how hard she tries. She’s been known to leave them wanting more even after a half hour of encores. Raised and educated right here, “Rochester’s own Nightingale,” Renee Fleming.
We don’t want to say that the next two nominees had it easy on the way to the top, but the last guy to make a name for himself with a “Flood” had to build an Ark to do it. Rochester’s two, true treasures in “Jars of Clay,” piano player Charlie Lowell and guitarist Matt Odmark.
HOW THE NOMNINEES WERE SELECTED IN 2010
In order to move things forward for this first year, the selection committee has, through painstaking research, assembled a list of 23 nominees for induction into the first class of the Rochester Music Hall of Fame. Nominees were chosen by the Selection Committee, which includes members of the RMHF Board of Directors and special advisors from the community.
This first group of nominees not only meets any standards or criteria that could be justifiably applied to them, but in many respects they have defined the standards. They all represent the very finest in their class and cover a wide cross section of society in terms of religion, race, sex, styles, disciplines, living and deceased and spanning three centuries of Rochester’s history. The selection of these nominees shows the inclusive nature of the Hall of Fame while emphasizing the exclusive tribute becoming a member represents.
Not just musicians will be inducted and honored, but also places that brought us entertainment from all over the globe, such as the old War Memorial, Red Wing Stadium, the Auditorium, the Eastman Theatre and other legendary Rochester music venues – all of which contributed to our community’s rich history and tradition of musical excellence.
In the future, the nominations will come from the general public’s input. There will be nomination criteria and a nomination form on this website.
