Dean Jamal Rossi was the Joan and Martin Messinger Dean of the Eastman School of Music from 2014-2024. He earned his Bachelor’s degrees in saxophone performance and music education from Ithaca College, his Master’s of Music from the University of Michigan, and Doctorate of Musical Arts from the Eastman School of Music.

Dean Rossi was faced with his biggest professional decision when he decided to move away from the pathway of becoming a saxophone professor, to a career in music administration, serving as Dean of the School of Music at the University of South Carolina, and Assistant and Associate Dean of the Ithaca College School of Music before coming to Eastman.

It’s fascinating to learn more about Dean Rossi’s musical journey. He shares his advice on making important decisions, especially when facing challenging crossroads in life, what the job of Dean looks like, including the responsibilities that come with such a leadership role, and how he has taken concrete steps to balance and prioritize his family throughout his career.

DEAN ROSSI’S EPISODE RESOURCES:

Current Fav Composer: Brahms, Stravinsky, Gershwin, Porter, anything by Paul McCartney

Current Fav Piece of Classical Music: Barber’s Adagio for Strings, Ravel’s Pavane for a Dead Princess

Fav Movie Soundtrack: Out of Africa by John Berry

Book Rec: Good to Great by Jim Collins

Musician You Admire: Diana Krall

Most Useful App on Phone: Windy App

Resource Rec: Finding mentors in life

Audible Free Trial: ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://amzn.to/3VXwMWf

Amazon Music Free Trial: ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://amzn.to/3W1Ttsr

CONNECT WITH DEAN ROSSI:

ESM Bio: https://www.esm.rochester.edu/directory/rossi-jamal/

Email: [email protected]

ORCHESTRATING YOUR CAREER 

YouTube: ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCaCPf5xynqMHcFuQhCWrNCQ⁠

Instagram: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/orchestratingyourcareer

Facebook: ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.facebook.com/orchestratingyourcareer

ABOUT THE HOST

Rebekah Carpio received her BMus in clarinet performance from the Eastman School of Music. She was awarded a Fulbright grant to study at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in their Orchestral Artistry program, which was in collaboration with the London Symphony Orchestra. She then went on to receive her PhD, also from the Guildhall School, researching the impact of education and community work in conservatoire training. 

CONNECT WITH REBEKAH

Instagram: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/bitesbybekah 

Websites: ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.bitesbybekah.com⁠⁠⁠

TIMECODES

00:00 Podcast Intro

1:25 Episode Intro

2:59 Start of Interview

5:53 Dean Rossi Musical Beginnings

10:53 Pursuing music professionally

12:40 Undergrad at Ithaca - Doing a Double Major

17:07 Doing a Doctorate

19:01 After Graduating from Michigan + Teaching

23:01 After Doctorate Degree + 1st job

25:37 Moving to South Dakota

27:07 Moving to Music Administration at South Dakota

29:29 Assistant Dean at Ithaca

32:27 The Transition into Music Admin 

34:29 Turning Down ESM + Navigating Difficult Decisions

41:08 Prioritizing Family and Finding Balance

44:31 Dean at ESM - What’s the Job?

49:04 Hiring Faculty

53:26 Highlights of the Job

57:40 Challenges of the Job

1:02:57 AI and the future of music

1:05:35 Looking Forward to Retirement

1:07:48 Advice for Going into Music Admin

1:09:20 Rapid Fire Q&A

1:13:20 Final piece of advice and connecting with Dean Rossi

1:15:11 Episode Outro

1:16:16 Dean’s Rossi Performance

MUSIC IN THIS EPISODE

Theme Music composed by Ben Roundtree: ⁠https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f0z6dZJL6GM⁠ 

PHOTO CREDIT

Ithaca College

University of Michigan

ESM

University of South Carolina

Ithaca College

ESM

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