The Beal Institute presents Visual Music 7.0: An Evening of Original Music Performed Live-to-Picture

Each year, the Eastman School of Music and the Beal Institute of Film Music and Contemporary Media present a unique departmental recital. The Beal Institute, ranked as one of the best music programs in the world by The Hollywood Reporter and Billboard, offers a highly selective two-year master’s program, admitting no more than six students per year. On January 24, 2025, at 7:30 p.m. in Kilbourn Hall, “Visual Music 7.0” presents current Beal Institute students in a live-to-picture staging of their original compositions. Each composer will conduct the performance of their pieces, as played by the Empire Film and Media Ensemble, comprising 35 instrumentalists.

The featured student composers are Sijia Xiong, Jaemin Park, Bill Liu, Odysseas Papthanasiou and Siqi Jiang, who have written a score to accompany the 1928 silent film Laugh, Clown, Laugh, starring Lon Chaney and Loretta Young. In this 73-minute story, Chaney plays a circus clown named Tito, who, despite his outward cheerfulness, is consumed by inner sorrow and a tragic secret from his past.

“Getting to do a live-to-picture concert at Eastman is very special to me,” says Bill Liu, an international student from China who shares that he grew up in a culture where “attachment to film music” isn’t as common as it is in America. “This opportunity represents a stepping stone to the film scoring industry, and will certainly make us better composers and conductors in practice.”

The director of the Beal Institute and head of the Media Composition curriculum at Eastman is six-time Emmy Award-winning composer and conductor, Mark Watters. “‘Visual Music’ is something very unique to Eastman. No other school provides the opportunity for students to compose an original film score and conduct it live-to-picture with an orchestra performing it,” shares Watters. “We are excited to present this wonderful concert in its seventh year!”

In addition to the full-length film, this program will feature the world premiere performance of “Vienna,” a 30-minute work for strings and harp, written by esteemed Eastman alumnus Laurence Rosenthal ’47E, ’51E (MM), under the baton of Brett Miller ’24E. Rosenthal, who will be in attendance, will be presented with the Eastman Artist Award following the performance of his piece. This award is bestowed upon individuals who have achieved great success in their chosen field and have demonstrated exceptional commitment to the Eastman School of Music — Rosenthal is only the third person to receive it. “We are honored to have Mr. Rosenthal as our guest for the week. A two-time Oscar-nominated composer, he is truly a legend; the fact that he is an Eastman alum makes it even more exceptional,” exclaims Watters. Read more about Rosenthal’s life and career by visiting Eastman’s News Room.

The “Visual Music 7.0” performance is free and open to the public. You may also click here to watch the concert via livestream, starting approximately 15 minutes before the event.