Eastman alumnus takes home Grammys
Anthony Dean Griffey, who received his master’s degree from the Eastman School of Music in 2001, took home two Grammy awards on Sunday, Feb. 8 for his performance in the Los Angeles Opera’s ‘Rise and Fall of the City Mahagonny.”
The DVD recording of the production won in the Best Opera Recording and the Best Classical Album categories. Griffey played the role of antihero Jimmy MacIntyre in the performance.
Accolades are nothing new to Griffey, who was named one of 12 exceptional singers of distinction by Musical America magazine in 2005. He was praised by the New York Times, which called him ‘an impressive young artist with an unusual tenor voice that boasts heroic heft and lyrical sweetness.”
Griffey continues to perform on the national stage. Griffey is Peter Quint in ‘The Turn of the Screw” for the Portland Opera and has the title role of Peter Grimes for the San Diego Opera.
Conor Willis is a member of the class of 2011.
Rare Lincoln letters added to UR library
In honor of President Abraham Lincoln’s 200th birthday, UR added online digital copy of the diary of Fanny Seward, Lincoln’s daughter, to the Rush Rhees Libraries Web site today, Thursday, Feb. 12.
The diary posting includes entries for April 5, 1865, the day of her father’s assassination, through April 14, 1865, the day both Seward and Lincoln were attacked in attempted assassinations.
The Web site includes rare correspondences with Lincoln, including 72 letters penned by the president.
‘These diary entries vividly capture the raw history of this horrific event,” director of the University’s department of rare books, special collections and preservation Richard Peek said. ‘It’s difficult to imagine that there’s a more dramatic first-person account of 19th-century American history than what is contained in the diary entry for April 14.”
Jerome Nathaniel is a member of the class of 2011.
$3.8 million granted for asthma study
UR Medical Center’s Golisano Children’s Hospital at Strong will be receiving $3.8 million in grants from the National Institute of Health’s Heart, Lung and Blood Institute for a five-year study of asthma prevention. The study was designed by Associate Professor of Pediatrics Jill Halterman, M.D., M.P.H.
Halterman aims to study whether simple interventions provided during visits to local doctors’ offices in Rochester can make a difference for children suffering from asthma. The project’s goal is to enroll 600 children with severe asthma conditions from around Monroe County.
Scientists have yet to find an effective cure for children’s asthma. This study aims to highlight the effectiveness of intervention therapies that are often under used and show how they can be implemented by pediatricians.
Sneha Rath is a member ofthe class of 2012.
