Eastman School of Music Announces the Paul R. Judy Ensemble Incubator Program for String Quartets

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Media only: Lauren Sageer, Associate Director of Public Relations and Digital Content, (585) 451-8492, lsageer@esm.rochester.edu

Eastman School of Music Announces the Paul R. Judy Ensemble Incubator Program for String Quartets

Starting fall 2027, Eastman will offer a tuition-free Advanced Diploma in String Chamber Music Performance

ROCHESTER, NY (November 4, 2026) — The University of Rochester’s Eastman School of Music announces the launch of its Paul R. Judy Ensemble Incubator Program, through which a new Advanced Diploma in String Chamber Music Performance will begin in fall 2027. This intensive one-year program offers free tuition and a generous stipend, funded by the Paul R. Judy Center for Innovation and Research—a division of Eastman’s Institute for Music Leadership—with additional funding support from the John and Mary Celentano Fund.

This unique program invites existing string quartets to enroll as a group to launch their professional careers in performance. It provides regular coachings with members of Eastman’s faculty Quartet-in-Residence, the renowned Grammy-winning Ying Quartet; performance opportunities on and off campus; and professional development through Eastman’s Institute for Music Leadership. While polishing their artistry, students will learn about the business of music—fundraising, networking, marketing, and more—through rigorous coursework and project-based curriculum. Discussing this new program, Eastman’s Joan and Martin Messinger Dean Kate Sheeran reflects on the legacy of successful groups founded at Eastman. “This new program is an outgrowth of the school’s long history of launching successful professional ensembles, large and small. We’re excited to give students in this program both the musical and professional skills to set them up for success, and to be leaders in the field.”

Associate Professor of String Chamber Music and Viola Phillip Ying, violist of the Ying Quartet, expresses enthusiasm around the development of this program: “To help the next generation of string quartets cultivate the necessary skills to flourish professionally is our teaching passion.” He continues, “By drawing on the Ying Quartet’s years of experience—which began as students at Eastman ourselves—we offer incoming students a musical and practical understanding of what it means to have a deeply fulfilling career as a musician.”

Applications for the inaugural graduate string quartet program are open until December 1, 2026. To learn more about the Advanced Diploma in Performance – String Chamber Music and other available programs, visit the Eastman website.

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About Eastman School of Music:

The Eastman School of Music was founded in 1921 by industrialist and philanthropist George Eastman (1854-1932), founder of Eastman Kodak Company. It was the first professional school of the University of Rochester. Mr. Eastman’s dream was that his school would provide a broad education in the liberal arts as well as superb musical training.

More than 900 students are enrolled in the Collegiate Division of the Eastman School of Music—about 500 undergraduates and 400 graduate students. They come from almost every state, and approximately 23 percent are from other countries. They are taught by a faculty comprising more than 170 highly regarded performers, composers, conductors, scholars, and educators. They are Pulitzer Prize winners, Grammy and EMMY Award winners, Guggenheim Fellows, ASCAP Award recipients, published authors, recording artists, and acclaimed musicians who have performed in the world’s greatest concert halls. Each year, Eastman’s students, faculty members, and guest artists present more than 1,000 concerts to the Rochester community and beyond. Additionally, over 1,700 community members, from young children through senior citizens, are enrolled in the Eastman Community Music School.

About the University of Rochester:

The University of Rochester is one of the nation’s leading private research universities, one of only 62-member institutions in the Association of American Universities. Located in Rochester, N.Y., the University gives undergraduates exceptional opportunities for interdisciplinary study and close collaboration with faculty through its unique cluster-based curriculum. Its College, School of Arts and Sciences, and Hajim School of Engineering and Applied Sciences are complemented by the Eastman School of Music, Simon School of Business, Warner School of Education, Laboratory for Laser Energetics, School of Medicine and Dentistry, School of Nursing, Eastman Institute for Oral Health, and the Memorial Art Gallery.