By Dresden Engle
Rochester Music Hall of Fame inducting three genres for first time in 2024 — YouTuber, Christian rock, Salsa
Concert and Ceremony is May 5 at Eastman Theatre
The Rochester Music Hall of Fame’s Class of 2024 inductees today marks three new genres never before represented among past inductees — Salsa, Christian rock, and social media influencer/YouTuber.
The Class of 2024 inductees are:
Rick Beato, YouTube star/social media influencer, music producer, multi-instrumentalist
Jennifer Cody, Broadway and Disney-film star
John Ellison, vocalist and songwriter, including the classic “Some Kind of Wonderful”
Charlie Lowell, keyboardist, and Matthew Odmark, guitarist, of Grammy-winning Christian alternative-rock band Jars of Clay
Scott Mayo, Grammy-nominated producer, songwriter, saxophonist, and flutist, who has worked with John Legend, Beyonce, Sergio Mendes, and Earth, Wind, & Fire
Johnny Vega, singer/songwriter, international recording artist, Salsa-music pioneer
The 11th induction ceremony of the Rochester Music Hall of Fame will take the stage Sunday, May 5 at 7 p.m. at Kodak Hall at Eastman Theatre.
The Rochester Music Hall of Fame celebrates the legacy of music of Rochester natives or music professionals who spent their formative years in Rochester. This new class will bring the total to 68 inductees.
The all-volunteer board of the non-profit Hall of Fame — of which most members are musicians themselves — have modeled this event after world-class music awards shows like the Kennedy Center Honors, the Grammy® Awards, and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony.
“Rochester has a rich and diverse musical heritage and we are proud to foster and celebrate that through the Rochester Music Hall of Fame,” said Jack Whittier, president of the Rochester Music Hall of Fame Board of Directors.
A new award announced in 2024 is the Ned Corman Educators Award. This new award, to be given annually to two music educators, is named for Ned Corman, who led music programs at Penfield schools for 26 years and founded The Commission Project, which for 14 years connected musicians with schools to bolster music education. The inaugural recipients are:
Bill Tiberio, instrument music teacher with Fairport High School for 28 years who is on the faculty of Eastman Community Music School and Ithaca College
Johnny Cummings (1904-1989), late leader of Monroe County Parks Band and numerous school bands and taught music at Webster, Williamson, Canandaigua, and Sodus high schools
Read bios of the inductees and get tickets at RochesterMusic.org. Tickets range from $31 to $81 and are also on sale at Eastman Theatre box office and online at EastmanTheatre.org.