CCM Dean Douglas Lowry to Head Eastman School of Music

University of Cincinnati Senior Vice President and Provost Anthony Perzigian today announced that Douglas Lowry, dean and Thomas James Kelly Professor of Music at the College-Conservatory of Music (CCM), has resigned to become dean of the Eastman School of Music at the University of Rochester (New York). Lowry's appointment becomes effective August 1, 2007.

"As a prolific composer, as an eloquent ambassador, as a zealous advocate, Dean Lowry provided exemplary leadership for CCM, the university and the community," said Perzigian. "We are all the richer from his presence."

Echoed UC President Nancy Zimpher, "Doug Lowry has been a true master in leading our nationally prominent College-Conservatory of Music. His spirit of partnership in both the community and the university as well as his impeccable talents will be sorely missed. I wish him all the best in his new endeavor."

"My feelings about leaving CCM are obviously terribly bittersweet," said Lowry. "The remarkable personal and professional alliances I have established here will be with me forever. CCM is a school with an amazing future, furnishing some of the most powerful opportunities for artistic synergy anywhere. Its flagship programs have risen to positions of national prominence. It is not only a standard-bearer for the university and the community, but a national leader."

Perzigian explained that details of a CCM dean's search are forthcoming. "We will begin immediately to plan for a seamless transition by meeting with the faculty of the College-Conservatory of Music, appointing an interim dean and appointing a search committee as soon as possible," he said.
 
Recognized as one of the leading conservatories for the performing arts and electronic media, CCM offers the benefit of a professional training conservatory within the setting of a comprehensive public university. The school's roster of eminent faculty regularly receives distinguished honors, and its alumni go on to notable success in the performing and media arts. In the most recent rankings available by U.S. News and World Report (1997), CCM was honored as the sixth top university program in the country for pursuing a graduate degree in music. Within the specialty areas of voice and conducting, CCM's programs placed third and fifth, respectively. CCM is also the largest single source of performing arts events in the state of Ohio, presenting nearly 1000 events annually.

Lowry joined CCM in August 2000, succeeding retiring dean Robert J. Werner. During his tenure,  Lowry has forged strategic partnerships locally, nationally and internationally. Within CCM, he oversaw recruitment of key faculty members, the establishment of important endowments, and the founding of successful fundraising events including "In a Whirl of Jazz" and "A Moveable Feast." Locally, he served on the boards of the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, Cincinnati Opera, School for the Creative and Performing Arts, and as chairman of the artistic directorate of the Cincinnati-based American Classical Music Hall of Fame. He also fostered the growth of CCM programs overseas, including: the Opera Theatre and Music Festival of Lucca (Italy); the Great Wall Academy, a summer chamber music festival in Beijing, China; and the CCM Electronic Media division's Munich Summer Curriculum DAAD academic exchange program. An active composer and conductor, Lowry received commissions to create works for the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, Louisville Orchestra, Music from Angel Fire, Playhouse in the Park, St. Louis Repertory Theater, and a multimedia installation at the Kodak Center in Los Angeles.

Lowry's appointment at Eastman is the culmination of an extensive international search initiated in 2006 after his predecessor, James Undercofler, resigned to become president and CEO of the Philadelphia Orchestra. Jamal J. Rossi currently serves as interim dean.

The Eastman School of Music at the University of Rochester is widely regarded as one of the premier music schools in the world. Established in 1921 by industrialist and philanthropist George Eastman, the Eastman School is recognized for the quality and intensity of its disciplinary training and for the unique emphasis it places on providing opportunities for musical leadership and community enrichment. Its faculty are world-class artists, scholars, composers, theorists, historians and educators committed to the highest standards of excellence in music performance and scholarship. Prominent Eastman alumni include opera singers Renee Fleming, Anthony Dean Griffey and the late William Warfield; jazz musicians Ron Carter, Chuck Mangione and Steve Gadd; conductor, oboist, and record producer Mitch Miller; and composers Dominick Argento, Charles Strouse and Michael Torke.

"Doug Lowry has been an extraordinarily successful academic leader as well as a composer and conductor of note," said Joel Seligman, president of the University of Rochester. "He will bring to Eastman the leadership, musicality and drive to provide new energy to this nation's leading school of music."

Continued Lowry, "The opportunity at Eastman presents some thrilling challenges. The Eastman School of Music's historic legacy is formidable. The positions it has staked for the future of higher education in music are visionary. In that light, I will carry with me the many valuable lessons I have learned in Cincinnati in order to galvanize, with their faculty, the process of defining Eastman's future. I have been honored to serve the College-Conservatory of Music, the University of Cincinnati, and the community. I am so thankful for CCM's excellence and most particularly its resonance."