Music has a way of opening hearts and connecting us to one another. The Concert to End Hate will focus on the joy of artistic expression as an antidote to hate. Join us on October 4th at Artisan Works for an evening of jazz, classical, and original composition with RPO trumpeter Herb Smith, his Freedom Trio, Strings for Success, and the Eastman Youth Jazz Orchestra. Make sure to get tickets ahead of time as we will NOT be able to sell tickets at the door. Cost should not be a barrier to attend. Please email info@endhateroc.org to learn more about ticket scholarships.
Thank you to our sponsors!
MEET THE PERFORMERS
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Voted “Best Instrumentalist” of Rochester 2022 by City Magazine, Herb Smith currently holds the third trumpet position in the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra, and the principal trumpet position in the Gateways Festival Orchestra and the Gateways Brass Collective. He has played wth such notable musicians as Jeff Beck, Aretha Franklin, Natalie Cole, the O’Jays, Johnny Mathis, and Doc Severinsen, to name but a few. He has been a frequent guest soloist with the Buffalo Philharmonic and the Rochester Philharmonic.
Herb is a regular guest conductor with the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra. He frequently conducts the Symphoria orchestra based in Syracuse, NY and currently directs the Eastman Youth Jazz Orchestra. Herb recently conducted and curated a Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra Brass performance of Copland’s “Fanfare for the Common Man” at a Black Lives Matter rally and a concert honoring Harriet Tubman. This performance united the City of Rochester, the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra and neighborhood churches in honor of Tubman’s bicentennial celebration. As a composer, Herb has been commissioned by brass ensembles, high school choirs, jazz ensembles and trumpet ensembles in addition to writing for his jazz trio and the Gateways Brass Collective.
Strings for Success (SFS) is a free, inclusive, and innovative instrumental strings program available to all students in grades 2-8 at the Dr. Charles T. Lunsford School 19 in the Rochester City School District. It began in 2008 with the vision that all children should have the opportunity to benefit from the life-changing power of learning a musical instrument.
Strings for Success students have performed with professional, college, and community orchestras, at festivals and in various museums and concert halls. Their past field trips have included travel to Albany, Washington DC, New York City, and Boston, where SFS students have performed at historical sites such as the Capital (for a Congressional Briefing on the Arts), the 911 Memorial, and the JFK Presidential Museum and Library.
Eastman Youth Jazz Orchestra is a unique, high-level jazz program, consisting of the extended area’s top high school jazz musicians. This ensemble’s primary focus is on developing the student’s technique, improvisational skills and deepening their understanding of jazz. Includes rhythm, saxophone, trumpet or trombone sectionals.
The band plays throughout the year at Eastman and in the Greater Rochester area including the Rochester International Jazz Festival. The students in the band are often intending to major in music at the college level.