Lessons, Instruments and Practice Rooms

Below is information about:

Lessons at Eastman

Any undergraduate* student who performs at an intermediate level, reads music fluently, and qualifies by audition can study privately at the Eastman School of Music. These individual studio lessons at Eastman are offered for collegiate credit (you may not audit) and count towards your total hours of registration each semester. Lessons are typically taught by graduate teaching assistants.

Please note, if you are currently taking lesson you are not required to re-audition. Instead you will receive an email from ESM Academic Affairs with registration instructions.

*Undergraduates only. TAKE 5 scholars, KEY students and UR/Simon graduate students are NOT eligible.

Auditions [Revised 3/26/2025]

Students wishing to take individual studio lessons (Fall 2025 semester) must audition first. STUDENTS MUST FILL OUT THE AUDITION WEB FORM - REGARDLESS OF THE AUDITION FORMAT).

Audition sign-up (filing out the audition web form ) will open on April 1, 2025. You should sign-up/fill-out web form as soon as possible after that date, but no later than 5PM, Monday August 25, 2025. 

Note that you may not register for lessons in UR Student/Workday until after you have passed the audition. At that time, your instructor will provide a code with which you can register.  

THE FORMAT FOR AUDITIONS VARY. Some may be by video. Others in-person.

MAKE SURE TO CHECK THE REQUIREMENTS BELOW FREQUENTLY as some are not updated for Fall 2025 at this time and may change after updated!

With a few exceptions, in-person auditions will be held on OR video recordings will be due by the first weekend of classes (August 29-30, 2025). IF IN-PERSON, you will be notified of the specific day and time nolaterthan Wednesday, August 27, 2025, 5:00 PM EST. 

If you receive an email verification at the time of filling out and submitting your audition web form, you are "signed-up," and will not receive your audition day or time until Wednesday, August 27, 2025.

Please note you must fill out the audition web form, regardless.

Audition requirements are below (read them carefully).As indicated,some may not be updated from the previous semester, but will be similar to Fall 2025. Make sure to "refresh" the page if you have visited it before! [Revised 3/26/2025].

For more in-depth information, please visit and read the following page: Individual Studio Lessons for River Campus Students

Lessons for Beginners

Students who are interested in taking beginner-level classes can do so through the Eastman Community Music School (ECMS) without credit and for a fee. For more information, please call (585) 274-1400 or visit the ECMS website.

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Practice Rooms

Music practice rooms are available to all students, staff & faculty of the University of Rochester (River Campus, Eastman, URMC, etc.). These rooms are not available to members of the community, with the exception of those community members performing in a University ensemble.

The primary location of practice rooms on the River Campus are in Spurrier Hall (located between the Towers athletic field and Susan B. Anthony Hall). See a map of rooms. Rooms are currently available 8 AM to 11:30 PM [NOTE- SEE UP-TO-DATE HOURS HERE] There are other, more restricted-use, rooms in Strong auditorium. Said Strong rooms are available to 1) music majors/minors; 2) students taking ESM 160 Primary lesson; and 3) students storing orchestral instruments in Strong.

All of these rooms are kept locked and by online reservation only (see below). To gain access to the online reservations (called "EMS") and to get a key to the rooms, follow the "How to access online reservations" steps below (read below for more details).

The cost for new* room access (key and reservation account) is a one-timefee of $50 ($40 fee, plus a refundable $10 deposit). CASH or CHECK ONLY, please. Note this fee may be reduced or waived for students of documented financial need (contact the Music Department, in confidence, for more information).

*"New" meaning you do not have keys or access to the practice rooms, never had a key or keys, etc.: first-year, transfer or have not purchased a key before Fall 2020

How to access on-line reservations

  1. Read the Practice Room Policies below (carefully!)
  2. Make an appointment for paying the fee here [use 'Jimmy! Practice Room Authorization' or 'Practice Room Authorization (Rembert)' schedule).
  3. Bring $50 cash or check at the time chosen above.
  4. After your appointment, and upon approval, you will receive authorization and instructions to begin reserving the practice rooms.

Practice Room Policies

[Please read carefully]

These general policies apply to all practice spaces (Spurrier and Strong) [Revised 4/16/24]:

1. Music practice rooms are available to all students, staff & faculty of the University of Rochester (River Campus, Eastman, URMC, etc.). These rooms are not available to members of the community, with the exception of those community members performing in a University ensemble.

2. Reservations required: All practice rooms on the River Campus mustbereserved - on-line- in advance. There are no exceptions. You may not use a room, unless you reserve said room online first. See “How to get access to on-line reservations” for details (if you don't, you won't be able to make reservations . . .).

3. Authorized use only. You may only reserve and use a room for yourself (the authorized user), no one else (see exception under “Occupancy Limits”). An “authorized user” is defined as one who has obtained a key to the practice rooms and registration into the EMS Music Practice Room system by way of paying a fee to the Music Department. You may not reserve a room for someone else, under your account or name. If you reserve, you must be in attendance during said reservation. This means no sharing accounts, passwords or IDs. No exceptions.

4. Using only the room you reserve: You must use the specific room that you reserved. As an example, - if you reserve G30, you must use G30, not G31 nor G29, even if those rooms are unoccupied. No room switching. Use the room you reserved.

5. Occupancy limits:

  1. All practice rooms are limited to a maximum occupancy of four (4) authorized persons at a time. No exceptions.  At anytime, occupancy may be limited, should conditions warrant.
  2. All persons must also be authorized practice room users (see No. 2, Authorized use only)
  3. Said additional persons/users must be listed in the EMS reservation when it  is made.

Failure to abide by this limit will result in immediate revocation of practice room access for the person under whose name said reservation is made, if not also anyone else using said room. For group practice rooms (Chamber Ensembles, Jazz Combos, etc.) email Jimmy Warlick

6. Cleaning rooms and pianos: Students will adhere to posted cleaning protocols in all practice rooms and utilize the provided cleaning products as instructed. Put simply - you will clean/disinfect the room and the piano therein before and after practicing. Cleaning is to be done within and considered a part of the reservation time.

7. There will be periodic checks by building managers throughout the day and evening.

8. Students who violate the practice room policies (including uncivil and/or disrespectful behavior toward building managers or student monitors, if said monitors become necessary) will lose their access to the practice rooms and may be subject to disciplinary action per the University of Rochester Student Code of Conduct.

9. These polices are subject to change throughout the semester. The Music Department and Office of Academic Affairs will solicit student and faculty feedback throughout the semester and will work diligently to ensure that students have appropriate access to practice spaces.

Private Percussion Practice Rooms (drum set)

Please note, all private drumset rooms are currently occupied for the '24/'25 academic year. Contact Jimmy Warlick if you would like to be put on a waiting list.
There are five (5) shared drum kit (private percussion) rooms in Spurrier (on a first-come, first-serve basis), but you mustprovideyour own drum kit. Contact Jimmy Warlickfor details [revised 8/30/24].

For students seeking non-ensemble or non-academic band rehearsal space (i.e., those wondering, "Where can my rock/metal/punk-fusion/jam band rehearse on campus?"), contact our friends at the MIF (Music Interest Floor) located at the top of Wilder Tower in Jackson Court.

Returning Keys

keys

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Instrument Storage

We have a limited number of rooms for both practice and storage of percussion equipment, large strings (double bass and cello), and larger brass instruments. These rooms are made available on a first-come, first-serve basis to students participating in ensembles or taking lessons at Eastman. The cost for the required set of keys is $50 ($40 fee, plus a refundable $10 deposit), CASH or CHECK ONLY.

Contact Jimmy Warlick for details.

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Instrument Loans and Repairs

The Department has certain instruments for loan. However these are reserved for use by members of the ensembles and for specific ensemble use only. Contact Jimmy Warlick for details.

If you are having problems with your instrument (brass, winds, strings, guitars, percussion, electronic, etc.) contact Jimmy Warlick in the Music Department, as he can either fix the problem, or if it is something beyond his expertise, can facilitate repair at one of the local repair shops. Most issues with instruments are minor and can often be remedied on the spot, so if you are having problems do not panic. Instead, contact Jimmy and he will tell you whether to panic or not . . .

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Learning to Play the Carillon

All Rochester-area community members are eligible to learn to play the carillon, either for academic credit or not. See the Hopeman Memorial Carillon Learn to Play page for more information.

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