News stories tagged with "crane"

(02/01/12) The Northern Symphonic Winds winter concert is this Saturday night (7:30) in the Massena High School Auditorium. "Altered States" is the theme of the concert that will also include select Massena student musicians. The concert is a benefit for the school's music program. Todd Moe talks with conductor Brian Doyle about choosing a theme and music for the concert.

(01/31/12) Todd Moe talks with Jennifer Choi, the violinist from the eclectic string quartet, Ethel. They're artists-in-residence at the Crane School of Music this week and will present a concert in Potsdam at Hosmer Hall Thursday night (7:30). They have a cool name and the young musicians like to play music influenced by pop and jazz. Ethel will perform its "Present Beauty" program featuring music by Philip Glass from the movie, The Hours. Choi says the four musicians have backgrounds in the classical genre, but the group prefers adventurous music.

(01/18/12) A new book tells the history of SUNY Potsdam through photographs. Potsdam is the oldest campus in the state university system and the new Arcadia Publishing book includes more than 200 vintage images. The book traces the school's history from its founding in 1816; its teacher training traditions, the Crane School of Music, School of Arts and Sciences, athletics and other activities. Todd Moe talks with the two local authors, Jane Subramanian and Virginia Rose Cayey, about their memories as students at SUNY Potsdam and some of the joys and challenges of sifting through hundreds of historic photos and documents.

(11/10/11) Some of the best brass players in the New York Philharmonic, the oldest symphony orchestra in the U.S., will take part in "Brass Day" at the Crane School of Music in Potsdam on Sunday. The Principal Brass Quintet's visit will culminate with a concert Sunday night (7:30) in Hosmer Hall.

The Quintet featuring Principal Trumpet Philip Smith, trumpet player Ethan Bensdorf, Principal Horn Philip Myers, Principal Trombone Joseph Alessi, and Principal Tuba Alan Baer, has hosted annual holiday concerts at Lincoln Center since 1995. They're also a regular encore feature on Philharmonic tours. Todd Moe spoke with principal trumpet, Philip Smith.

(09/16/11) Singer Linda Eder will perform a tribute to Broadway in Hosmer Hall at SUNY Potsdam on Saturday night (7:30). She originated the role of Lucy Harris in Jekyll & Hyde on Broadway. Todd Moe spoke with Eder about her big break on "Star Search" in the late 80's, and how she created her own niche as an interpreter of Broadway songs and pop classics.

(08/02/11) Crane School of Music professor of piano Paul Wyse has mastered two art forms. He's a classically trained concert pianist and also paints portraits. Two of Wyse's recent portraits of pianist and conductor Leon Fleisher have become part of the permanent collection of the National Portrait Gallery at the Smithsonian.

He's performed at the piano on the concert stage around the world, and his oil portraits hang in public and private collections and appear in national publications.

So, how does a classically trained concert pianist become an award winning visual artist? "It's hard to explain," says Wyse. But he adds that it's not uncommon for musicians who study the structure of a symphony to use those same skills in the visual arts.

During a visit to his portrait studio in his home near Prescott, Ontario, he told Todd Moe that the mystery of transforming cloth and pigment into something that is looking back at you is powerful, alluring, and part of the compulsion to paint.

(04/29/11) The Crane School of Music kicks off its 125th anniversary this weekend with its Spring Festival Concert in Hosmer Hall. Internationally acclaimed conductor Maestro Helmuth Rilling will direct the Crane Chorus and Crane Symphony Orchestra in a performance Saturday night (7:30) in Hosmer Concert Hall of Bach's Mass in B-Minor. It's a giant piece hailed by many to be the most perfect of musical compositions. Maestro Rilling, one of the world's preeminent interpreters of Bach, is known around the world for his work with choirs and orchestras. Todd Moe has a preview.

(04/07/11) NCPR is media sponsor for the Orchestra of Northern New York's spring concert this Saturday night (7:30) at Hosmer Hall in Potsdam. Todd Moe spoke with ONNY Music Director/Conductor Ken Andrews, who says the concert will include "Circle of Faith" featuring Native American drummers and dancers, and Beethoven's uplifting Symphony No. 7.

(03/02/11) Crane School of Music tenor Donald George tells Todd Moe why he chose to record the music of Boston composer Margaret Lang, who was the first woman to have had her music performed by a major American orchestra. She wrote more than 130 songs during the early 20th century. Though much of her music was popular during her lifetime, Lang was her own toughest critic, sometimes destroying pieces she did not feel confident of. Donald George and pianist Lucy Mauro have spent the last few years researching Lang's life and reviving an interest in her nearly forgotten music.

(02/24/11) Our week-long spotlight on music in the North Country continues. Metropolitan Opera star Stephanie Blythe talks with Todd Moe about her love for art songs. Blythe recently returned to the North Country to work with students at her alma mater -- the Crane School of Music in Potsdam.