Yamaha Corporation of America has partnered with the Eastman School of Music to sponsor five graduate students to participate as fellows in the Institute for Music Leadership’s 2017 Eastman Leadership Conference.
The fellows include Clarissa Prohaska, the admissions counselor for Ithaca College; Lara Wilson, a doctoral student at the University of South Carolina with a Graduate Assistantship in Music Entrepreneurship; Mary Russek, the administrative manager of Pegasus Early Music and NYS; Benjamin Smith, a winner of the Kelley School of Business Clapp IDEA Competition and Project Jumpstart’s Entrepreneur of the Month; and Yung Yung Elsa Lee, an EdM in Music Education major at Columbia University.
The Eastman Leadership Conference, which runs from June 21 to 24, will offer session topics of “Vision and Strategic Planning,” “Best Practices of Effective Leadership,” and “The Administration/Faculty Relationship,” as well as give music school leaders the chance to discuss policies, programs, and strategies.
“As leaders in today’s music schools we are charged with navigating a continually evolving professional musical world for our graduates and our institutions,” said James Doser, director of the Institute for Music Leadership at Eastman. “We share the common goal of preparing students for a field that is shifting paradigms, business models, and essential skills. We must understand the opportunities and challenges that these changes present and engage faculty, staff, students, boards, and donors in the visionary evolution of our institutions in such a way that acknowledges tradition while embracing innovation.”
Through the Yamaha Graduate Fellows Program, fellows receive a full tuition scholarship and will have the opportunity to work with other faculty, staff, and administrators from national university music schools. When fellows complete the program, they are granted a certificate that notes their award and participation.
“The Yamaha partnership is transformative for the Graduate Fellowship component of the Conference,” said Jamal Rossi, the Joan and Martin Messinger Dean of the Eastman School of Music. “We are delighted to collaborate with such a venerable organization as Yamaha and welcome their commitment to support and train articulate music advocates and leaders of the next generation.”
