Concert: Society for New Music
Friday, September 25, 11:15 am
Founded in 1971, the Society's purpose is to act as a catalyst for the continued growth of the CNY musical community by commissioning new works, through advocacy (e.g. Society News, and Fresh Ink on WCNY-FM and its Watertown and Utica affiliates), by featuring regional composers alongside guest composers, by providing regional musicians an opportunity to perform the music of their peers in order to gain new skills and techniques which they then share with their students, and by bringing new music to as broad an audience as possible through performances, broadcasts and cable TV.
The most convenient lots for the Gallery and Storer Auditorium are Lots 2 or 4 directly behind Ferrante Hall. Click here for a full campus map.
Concert: Stonewall Revisited: Celebrating 40 Years
Friday, September 25, 7pm
For lesbian and bisexual activists, the word “Stonewall” signifies quite possibly the most important, single landmark in the worldwide struggle for gay rights. Most chroniclers of the homosexual rights movement trace the beginnings of the movement’s militant phase to 1969 and New York’s lower-Manhattan (largely gay-frequented) Stonewall Bar. The Syracuse Gay and Lesbian Chorus is a community choral ensemble of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered people and their allies, dedicated to providing and performing an eclectic and entertaining offering of quality choral music which reflects the diverse nature of our community and serves to unite us with the wider community around us.
The most convenient lots for the Gallery and Storer Auditorium are Lots 2 or 4 directly behind Ferrante Hall. Click here for a full campus map.
Concert: Richie Havens
Wednesday, October 21, 7:00 pm
This event is sold out
Richie Havens is gifted with one of the most recognizable voices in popular music. His fiery, poignant, always soulful singing style has remained unique and ageless since he first emerged from the Greenwich Village folk scene in the early 1960s. It’s a voice that has inspired and electrified audiences from the Woodstock Music & Arts Fair in 1969 to the Clinton Presidential Inauguration in 1993 – coming full circle with the 30th Woodstock Anniversary celebration, "A Day In The Garden," in 1999. For over three decades, Richie has used his music to convey messages of brotherhood and personal freedom. With more than twenty-five albums released and a touring schedule that would kill many a younger man, he continues to view his calling as a higher one.
The most convenient lots for the Gallery and Storer Auditorium are Lots 2 or 4 directly behind Ferrante Hall. Click here for a full campus map.
Vocal Clinic: Applying Fundamental Vocal Technique to Professional Performance or Surviving as a Singer in the Music Biz with Doug Moncrief
Friday, October 23, 11:15 am
After attending Crane School of Music, Doug toured extensively as a founding member of the Todd Hobin Band. The band recorded and released 5 albums, played zillions of colleges across the country, and opened for artists such as the Kinks, the Beach Boys, Richard Marx, the Allman Brothers, Huey Lewis and the News, Hall and Oates and too many more to remember. During his tenure with Hobin, Doug polished his skills as a singer and his “utility man” approach to guitar, keyboards and bass; whatever was needed. He also became involved in producing and engineering the Hobin Band recordings. His experience in production and engineering, as well as his musical skills, continue to contribute to the recordings of many diverse artists.
Doug’s singing and songwriting can be heard on many records and CDs, and on TV & Radio in jingles, various soundtracks and theme songs. He was also the voice of “Pasquale” – one of the animatron “rats” at Chuck E. Cheese Restaurants coast to coast.
In recent years, Doug has been concentrating on his songwriting skills and solo performance. He has played many Songwriter nights at the “Bluebird Cafe” in Nashville and has performed solo in larger venues opening for Trisha Yearwood, Tracy Lawrence, Shenandoah, Kentucky Headhunters, Kevin Sharp, Buffalo Club and others. Doug has released a solo CD “It’s About .......Time” and is currently working on new songs for his next solo CD release. In addition to his solo performance and songwriting endeavors, he’s writing new songs and performing shows with the Original Todd Hobin Band. If there’s a Songwriter’s night – an “In the Round” type gig, you’ll probably find him there playing his songs in his quest for more musical challenges and the wisdom to enjoy the journey!
The most convenient lots for the Gallery and Storer Auditorium are Lots 2 or 4 directly behind Ferrante Hall. Click here for a full campus map.
Concert: Kevin Moore, Beethoven Sonatas Program #3
Sunday, October 25, 2:00 pm
The most convenient lots for the Gallery and Storer Auditorium are Lots 2 or 4 directly behind Ferrante Hall. Click here for a full campus map.
Concert: Guitar Foundation of America Contest Winner - Gabriel Bianco
Friday, October 30, 11:15 am
Founded in 1973, the Guitar Foundation of America (GFA) is America's leading guitar organization. The GFA provides its members the combined advantages of a guitar society, a library, a publisher, a continuing educational resource, and an arts council. Today the GFA is the largest multinational guitar organization; providing serious guitarists worldwide a full range of educational, literary and performance resources and opportunities.
The most convenient lots for the Gallery and Storer Auditorium are Lots 2 or 4 directly behind Ferrante Hall. Click here for a full campus map.
Lecture/Performance: Joanne Shenandoah
Photo Courtesy of Jason
Thursday, November 5, 7:00 pm
A Grammy Award and 11 Time Native American Music award winning artist, Joanne Shenandoah has fulfilled the promise of her Native American name, Tekaliwah-kwa (She Sings). A Wolf Clan member of the Iroquois Confederacy, Shenandoah emerged as an artist in 1990. She has performed at such high-profile gigs at Carnegie Hall, the White House, Kennedy Center, Earth Day on the Mall, Woodstock '94, the Parliament of the Worlds Religions in South Africa, the famous Sagrada Familia, in Barcelona Spain, Istanbul, Hwa Eom Temple, S. Korea and thousands of venues in the U.S.
"She's become one of the most acclaimed Native American recording artists of her time." – Associated Press.
The most convenient lots for the Gallery and Storer Auditorium are Lots 2 or 4 directly behind Ferrante Hall. Click here for a full campus map.
Concert: Red Line Saxophone Quartet
Friday, November 6, 11:15 am
The Red Line Sax Quartet is comprised of students from the Eastman School of Music, a school of the University of Rochester and America's "Hottest School for Music" according to the 2008 Kaplan/Newsweek How to get into College guide. Since the group began playing together in the Spring of 2008, Red Line has made a splash at the nation's top chamber music competitions, winning 1st prize in the 2009 Fischoff and MTNA National Chamber Music Competitions, as well as making their orchestral debut alongisde heralded saxophonist Branford Marsalis and the Alexandria Symphony Orchestra. In addition, RLSQ was recently given Eastman's 2009 John Celantano Award for Excellence in Chamber Music.
Today, the Red Line Sax Quartet is one of the world's only chamber music groups to perform full programs from memory, making their live performances uniquely engaging and communicative.
The most convenient lots for the Gallery and Storer Auditorium are Lots 2 or 4 directly behind Ferrante Hall. Click here for a full campus map.
Concert: Syracuse Symphony Orchestra Brass Quintet
Friday, January 29, 11:15 am
Storer Auditorium
The Syracuse Symphony Orchestra quickly evolved from its beginning in 1961 as a community orchestra into a fully professional resident orchestra serving the entire Central and Northern New York State region. Today an ensemble of national acclaim, the Symphony boasts 80 musicians and a conducting staff of international caliber, and performs 184 full-orchestra and chamber ensemble concerts throughout Central and Northern New York, reaching more than 225,000 audience members during its 39-week season.
The most convenient lots for the Gallery and Storer Auditorium are Lots 2 or 4 directly behind Ferrante Hall. Click here for a full campus map.
Concert: Steve Reich Percussion Sextet
Friday, February 5, 11:15 am
Storer Auditorium
Steve Reich was recently called "our greatest living composer," (The New York Times), "America’s greatest living composer," (The Village VOICE), “...the most original musical thinker of our time,” (The New Yorker) and “...among the great composers of the century” (The New York Times). This concert will feature a performance of his composition “Sextet.” The performers come from all over the United States and include: Andy Russo, Marc Mellits, Jenifer Vacanti, Jon Lee, Jeff Moore, and Rob Bridge.
Andrew Russo
American pianist Andrew Russo is a musical interpreter of uncommon vitality. A Grammy-nominated recording artist, Russo has made a name for himself through his work with many of today’s leading composers in the United States and Europe. His career has unfolded around the globe, with appearances in New York, Paris, Los Angeles, Tokyo, Moscow, St. Petersburg, Rome, Leipzig, Munich, Brussels and London.
Trained classically at The Juilliard School and the Hochschule fur Musik und Theater Mendelssohn in Leipzig, Mr. Russo pursued further specialized training in Paris with Frederic Chiu. It was during those years that Russo began developing relationships with many important American and European composers, began working with electro-acoustic music and explored an ongoing interest for the hybrid world of live musical performance and theater.
In the 2001 Van Cliburn International Piano Competition, Russo created a special and historical moment by performing George Crumb's A Little Suite For Christmas, A.D. 1979, making him the first person to ever perform on the inside of the piano in this major quadrennial event. The attraction that this performance spurred led to the development of the 2002 George Crumb Celebration Festival at the Angel Orensanz Performing Arts Center on Manhattan’s Lower East Side. Serving as artistic director and pianist for this event, Mr. Russo worked closely with the composer to develop a retrospective structure closely mirroring the trajectory of Mr. Crumb's inimitable career. With the composer on hand and performances by many of today's leading young contemporary music artists, the festival was a rousing success. In a rave review of the entire weekend, Shirley Fleming wrote of "Mr. Russo's totally absorbing solo performances of Volumes I and II of Makrokosmos" (Musical America)
A prolific recording artist, Mr. Russo’s series of American composer portraits for London's Black Box Records includes releases of John Corigliano's piano and chamber works – 2006 Grammy Nomination – Best Chamber Music Performance, Pick of the Month in BBC Magazine – and Steve Reich’s Piano Phase – Benchmark performance in BBC Magazine ‘A musically assured performance that sees off the Nonesuch recording quite decisively’).
As a recitalist and ensemble player, Mr. Russo has given premiere performances of works by many of the world’s leading composers – Finland’s Kaija Saariaho, France’s Philippe Manoury, Holland’s Jacob ter Veldhuis and America’s David Lang, George Tsontakis, Marc Mellits, Derek Bermel, Marc Neikrug, Annie Gosfield and Phil Kline.
In addition to his activities as a performer, event organizer and record producer, Mr. Russo dedicates time to the direction and development of the Music program at Le Moyne College in Syracuse, NY, where he is artist-in-residence. Through a number of community partnerships, Russo has exposed people of all socio-economic backgrounds to important American music and musicians through special presentations and clinics for schools in underprivileged areas, as well as an eclectic and interactive concert series at Le Moyne College's W. Carroll Coyne Performing Arts Center. It is because of the breadth and diversity of his activities that Gramophone magazine proclaimed: "Andrew Russo is by no means just 'another pianist’”.
Marc Mellits
Marc Mellits was born in Baltimore, Maryland in 1966, and is one of the leading American composers of his generation, enjoying many performances throughout the world. His unique musical style is an eclectic combination of driving rhythms, soaring lyricism, and colorful orchestrations that all combine to communicate directly with the listener. Mellits' music is often described as being visceral, making a deep connection with the audience. “This was music as sensual as it was intelligent; I saw audience members swaying, nodding, making little motions with their hands” (New York Press). He started composing very early, and was writing piano music long before he started formal piano lessons at age 6. He went on to study at the Eastman School of Music, Yale School of Music, Cornell University, and Tanglewood. Mellits often is a miniaturist, composing works that are comprised of short, contrasting movements or sections. His music is eclectic, all-encompassing, colourful, and always has a sense of forward motion. Mellits' music has been played by major ensembles across the globe and he has been commissioned by groups such as the Kronos Quartet, Orpheus Chamber Orchestra, Sergio and Odair Assad, Bang On A Can All-Stars, Eliot Fisk, Andrew Russo, Canadian Brass, Nexus Percussion, Real Quiet, New Music Detroit, Musique En Roue Libre (France), Fiarì Ensemble (Italy), the Society for New Music, Syracuse Symphony Orchestra, and the Albany Symphony's Dog's Of Desire. Marc remains active within the acclaimed Common Sense Composer's Collective, a group he helped found, which seeks new and alternative ways of collaborating with performance ensembles. Mellits also directs and plays keyboards in his own unique ensemble, the Mellits Consort. He was awarded the prestigious 2004 Foundation for Contemporary Arts Award. On CD, Mellits' music can be found on Black Box, Endeavour Classics, Cantaloupe, CRI/Emergency Music, Santa Fe New Music, & Dacia Music. Marc Mellits lives in upstate New York with his wife and two daughters, and spends significant time in Romania.
Jennifer Vacanti
Jennifer Vacanti received her Bachelors in Music Education from SUNY Fredonia. In 1992 she earned her Masters from Ithaca College studying with acclaimed marimba soloist and composer Gordon Stout. Mrs. Vacanti has been teaching traditional and marching percussion throughout central NY for 15 years and is currently teaching instrumental music in the Baldwinsville Central School District and percussion at Le Moyne College. In 1999 She conducted the Rensselaer County High School Percussion Ensemble and from 1989-1998 directed the Baldwinsville High School percussion ensemble winning two world championships in scholastic concert percussion at the WGI Percussion Finals in Dayton, Ohio.
Outside of teaching, Mrs. Vacanti keeps a busy performing schedule, playing with such groups as the Society for New Music, the Syracuse Symphony, the CNY Music Educator's Wind Ensemble and the Elaine Miller Jazz Collective. In March of 1998, Mrs. Vacanti also performed in the West Point Marimba Orchestra under the baton of Dr. Frederick Fennell.
Jon Lee
Jon D. Lee is an Adjunct Lecturer of Percussion at the Meadows School of the Arts at Southern Methodist University and is the Director of the Meadows Percussion Ensemble. He is an active performer, educator, clinician, and adjudicator. He is the Principal Timpanist of the Garland Symphony, Symphony Arlington, and the Las Colinas Symphony Orchestras. He performs regularly with the Dallas Wind Symphony, Plano Symphony Orchestra, East Texas Symphony, Richardson Symphony Orchestra, Lewisville Lake Symphony Orchestra, Wichita Falls Symphony Orchestra, The Voices of Change, and many others. At SMU, Lee also teaches a percussion techniques class and is the drumline instructor-arranger for the SMU Mustang Band. In addition to his responsibilities at Meadows, Lee maintains a private studio of fifty percussion students in Plano and surrounding areas. His students have excelled at all levels and have been accepted into the finest music schools in the world, including the Meadows School of the Arts, University of North Texas, New England Conservatory, and the Juilliard School of Music. Lee has been on the faculty of the University of Texas at Arlington, the Stephen F. Austin Percussion Symposium, Marimba Madness, and the Leigh Howard Stevens Pre-College Marimba Seminar. He is a member of the Percussive Arts Society and the Texas Music Educators Association. Lee holds a B.M. degree from the University of North Texas and a M.M. degree from the Meadows School of the Arts at SMU and has done post-graduate work at the University of North Texas.
Jeff Moore
Jeffrey M. Moore is a Professor of Music (Percussion) and Chair of the UCF Music Department. Receiving his appointment to the music faculty in 1994, Professor Moore's teaching duties include applied percussion lessons and conducting the Percussion Ensembles. Additionally, he has supervised the instruction and music arranging for the Marching Knights drumline and assisted in the instruction of Black Steel, the UCF Steel Drum Band. Receiving his appointment to the music faculty in 1994, Professor Moore's duties include teaching all applied percussion majors and conducting the "Pop" Percussion Ensemble, the Chamber Percussion Ensemble, and the Marimba Band. Additionally, he supervises the instruction and music arranging for the Marching Knights drumline and assists in the instruction of Black Steel, the UCF Steel Drum Band.
Active in all facets of percussion, he has performed with several major symphony orchestras and is a frequent performer of chamber music. He also performs on drum set, and is an international clinician, lecturer, and soloist. He is a contributing author to the third edition of Teaching Percussion by Gary Cook and has published a method book and CD package entitled Drumstick Control. He also serves as an Associate Editor of Percussive Notes, the Percussive Arts Society's scholarly journal.
Jeff has served as the Percussion Director of the internationally acclaimed Madison Scouts Drum and Bugle Corps, and as Program Consultant/Percussion Arranger with several European, Japanese, Thai, and Indonesian drum corps and bands.
Jeff is a Yamaha Performing Artist/Clinician, and endorses Paiste cymbal, sounds, and gongs. He endorses Pro-Mark sticks and mallets, and has three signature model sticks, seven keyboard mallet models and a custom designed practice pad. Professor Moore also endorses Remo Drum Heads and Latin Percussion.
Robert Bridge
Robert Bridge is a Professor of Music at Onondaga Community College where he was recently honored with the "Chancellor’s Award for Scholarship and Creative Activities." He received Trustee Recognition awards for “Excellence in Teaching” in both 2005 and 2007. He is also a 2005 recipient of the National Institute for Staff and Organizational Development "Excellence Award."
Robert has degrees from the University of North Texas (B.M.E.), Southern Methodist University (M.M.), and the Eastman School of Music (D. M. A.). In 1995 he was awarded the Eastman School’s “Performer’s Certificate”. He has performed concertos with the Eastman Kilbourn Orchestra and the Southern Methodist University Symphony Orchestra. In both 1985 &1986, Robert won first place at the Percussive Arts Society’s “Marching Percussion Forum” Individual Marimba Competition.
Robert has twice been selected to present his research at the Percussive Arts Society's International Convention - "Traditional Performance Practices in the Timpani Parts of Beethoven's Symphonies" (1999) and "An Overview of Steve Reich’s Sextet” (2002.) Robert has performed as a solo marimbist in many venues including "Days of Percussion" in Virginia, Long Island, and Kingston Ontario. Robert also performs regularly in the Syracuse area including performances with the Society for New Music and the Syracuse Symphony Orchestra and can be heard on commercial recordings of both groups. His compositions for percussion are published by Warner Brothers and Kendor. He is an artist endorser for Yamaha Percussion, Sabian Cymbals, and Innovative Percussion mallets and sticks.
The most convenient lots for the Gallery and Storer Auditorium are Lots 2 or 4 directly behind Ferrante Hall. Click here for a full campus map.
Concert: David Bamonte Alumnus Recital
Friday, February 12 at 11:15 am
Storer Auditorium
The most convenient lots for the Gallery and Storer Auditorium are Lots 2 or 4 directly behind Ferrante Hall. Click here for a full campus map.
Concert: Andy Zaplatynsky Violin Recital
Sunday, February 21, 2:00 pm
Storer Auditorium
A member of the SSO since 1981, Andrew Zaplatynsky was born in Germany, and earned a Bachelor of Music degree from Catholic University of American (Washington, D.C.). Since 2005, Zaplatynsky is a visiting professor at the School of Music of the Fundación Universitaria Juan Ñ. Corpas (Bogotá, Colombia), where he teaches each summer. He is also an active member and a past president of the Syracuse Sunrise Rotary, and a founding Board Member of the Onondaga County Public Library Foundation.
The most convenient lots for the Gallery and Storer Auditorium are Lots 2 or 4 directly behind Ferrante Hall. Click here for a full campus map.
Concert: Syracuse Symphony Orchestra String Quartet I
Friday, March 5, 11:15 am
The Syracuse Symphony Orchestra quickly evolved from its beginning in 1961 as a community orchestra into a fully professional resident orchestra serving the entire Central and Northern New York State region. Today an ensemble of national acclaim, the Symphony boasts 80 musicians and a conducting staff of international caliber, and performs 184 full-orchestra and chamber ensemble concerts throughout Central and Northern New York, reaching more than 225,000 audience members during its 39-week season.
The most convenient lots for the Gallery and Storer Auditorium are Lots 2 or 4 directly behind Ferrante Hall. Click here for a full campus map.
Concert: Lorin Sklamberg
Wednesday, March 10, 11:15 am
Accordionist and vocalist Lorin Sklamberg has been a member of the Klezmatics since the beginning. As a teenager in California, Sklamberg was involved with Jewish and Israeli folk-dancing, but it wasn't until the late '80s, upon moving to NYC and joining the Klezmatics that he became immersed in klezmer. Since the early '90s, Sklamberg has been co-Director of Living Traditions, Inc., a Yiddish folk arts non-profit organization that sponsors the annual KlezKamp, and releases archival CDs of music including rescued recordings of Yiddish radio programs from the 1920s-1950s. He has performed under pianist Zalman Mlotek, and appears on a variety of releases such as the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum's Remember the Children.
The most convenient lots for the Gallery and Storer Auditorium are Lots 2 or 4 directly behind Ferrante Hall. Click here for a full campus map.
Concert: Kevin Moore, Beethoven Sonatas Program #4
Sunday, April 11, 2:00 pm
The most convenient lots for the Gallery and Storer Auditorium are Lots 2 or 4 directly behind Ferrante Hall. Click here for a full campus map.
Concert: New Orleans' Own Hot 8 Brass Band
Photo Courtesy of Will Templin
Thursday, March 25, 7:00 pm
The Hot 8 Brass Band epitomized New Orleans street music for over a decade. The band plays the traditional Second Line parades, hosted each Sunday afternoon by Social Aid and Pleasure Clubs, infusing their performances with the funk and energy that makes New Orleans music loved around the world. The members of the Hot 8 Brass Band were born and raised in New Orleans and many began playing together in high school. What makes the Hot 8 so special are the sounds they coax from their well-loved, well-worn horns. An evening with the Hot 8 is like no other.
Second lines trace their roots back to the 19th century and the fraternal societies and neighborhood organizations that collectively provided insurance and burial services to members, especially among the African American community. The "first line" of a funeral consisted of the people who were an integral part of the ceremony, such as the members of the club or krewe, or family and friends of the deceased. The "second line" originally referred to people who were attracted to the music. Led by a "Grand Marshal," the band and mourners would move to the burial site, with the band playing a dirge to signal the struggles, the hardships, the ups and downs of life. On the way back, the music became more joyful. Relatives, friends, and acquaintances would become the second line and dance with wild abandon. The second line, usually sporting umbrellas and handkerchiefs, became traditional at these jazz funerals.
The noun second line, is also the name of a "unique dance", performed to the beat of New Orleans traditional jazz. The dance is an evolved version of an old African dance known as the, "Bambula."
The most convenient lots for the Gallery and Storer Auditorium are Lots 2 or 4 directly behind Ferrante Hall. Click here for a full campus map.
Concert: The CNY Day of Percussion
April 24, 2010
The most convenient lots for the Gallery and Storer Auditorium are Lots 2 or 4 directly behind Ferrante Hall. Click here for a full campus map.
