SPRING 2023 - COMMUNITY PERFORMANCE SERIES 33RD SEASON

40th Annual McElheran Visiting Artist Series

EXCELSIS PERCUSSION QUARTET

Fri, March 17, 2023 at 7:30 PM | Snell Theater at SUNY Potsdam

Hailed as "One of the most innovative and exciting percussion ensembles to emerge in the golden age of chamber music" (Jonathan Haas, New York University) for their immersive sound world, New York City-based Excelsis Percussion Quartet is Marcelina Suchocka (Poland)*, Aya Kaminaguchi (Japan), Britton-René Collins (United States), and Mariana Ramirez (Mexico). *Karlyn Viña will replace Marcelina for this performance.

This international group of women with a multilingual combination of five languages join together to speak the universal language of rhythm, rooted in their belief that music possesses an ability to unite us all. Excelsis brings vibrancy into the percussion community through eclectic programming, innovative storytelling, and embracing their intersectional identities.

Excelsis' breadth of repertoire spans from classical to avant-garde. With the presence of exciting arrangements, including Björk and other pop music covers, Excelsis advocates for multi-genre representation in their programming, charming audiences with contrasting and uniquely innovative concert experiences. Excelsis proudly endorses Sabian Cymbals.

Excelsis made their debut at the PAS NYC Weekend of Percussion in 2014, playing with Lisa Pegher. Described as a "Fiery new percussion quartet on the rise," Excelsis has twice been featured on NPR's "From The Top" with Christopher O'Riley, and made several guest ensemble appearances, including the Zeltsman Marimba Festival.

Notable projects include Excelsis' inaugural program featuring women composers, which was premiered in Sō Percussion's concert series, "Brooklyn Bound," and participating in the Tippet Rise Music Festival in Montana, performing John Luther Adams' outdoor percussion piece "Inuksuit" alongside Doug Perkins and members of the Montana Symphony. In addition to their active performance schedule, Excelsis delivers masterclasses and educational workshops, most recently giving a clinic at the Salem State University in Massachusetts.

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41st Annual McElheran Visiting Artist Series

ARTURO O'FARRILL AND THE AFRO LATIN JAZZ ENSEMBLE

Sat, April 15, 2023 at 7:30 PM | Hosmer Hall at SUNY Potsdam

ARTURO O’FARRILL, pianist, composer, and educator, was born in Mexico and grew up in New York City. He received his formal musical education at the Manhattan School of Music and the Aaron Copland School of Music at Queens College. Arturo’s professional career began with the Carla Bley Band and continued as a solo performer with a wide spectrum of artists including Dizzy Gillespie, Lester Bowie, Wynton Marsalis, and Harry Belafonte.

In 2007, he founded the Afro Latin Jazz Alliance as a not-for-profit organization dedicated to the performance, education, and preservation of Afro Latin music. Learn more about ALJA here: http://www.afrolatinjazz.org

In December 2010 Arturo traveled with the original Chico O’Farrill Afro Cuban Jazz Orchestra to Cuba, returning his father’s musicians to his homeland. He continues to travel to Cuba regularly as an informal Cultural Ambassador, working with Cuban musicians, dancers, and students, bringing local musicians from Cuba to the US and American musicians to Cuba.

Arturo has performed with orchestras and bands including his own Afro Latin Jazz Orchestra and Arturo O’Farrill Sextet, as well as other Orchestras and intimate ensembles in the US, Europe, Russia, Australia, and South America.

An avid supporter of all the Arts, Arturo has performed with Ballet Hispanico and the Malpaso Dance Company, for whom he has written three ballets. In addition, the Alvin Ailey Dance Company is touring a ballet entitled “Open Door,” choreographed by Ron Brown to several of Arturo’s compositions and recordings. Ron Brown’s own Evidence Dance Company has commissioned Arturo to compose New Conversations, which premiered in the Summer of 2018 at Jacob’s Pillow in Becket, MA. Arturo has received commissions from Meet the Composer, Jazz at Lincoln Center, The Philadelphia Music Project, The Apollo Theater, Symphony Space, the Bronx Museum of the Arts, the Young Peoples Chorus of New York, Columbia University and the New York State Council on the Arts.

Arturo’s well-reviewed and highly praised “Afro-Latin Jazz Suite” from the album CUBA: The Conversation Continues (Motéma) took the 2016 Grammy Award for Best Instrumental Composition and the 2016 Latin Grammy Award for Best Latin Jazz Album. His powerful “Three Revolutions” from the album Familia-Tribute to Chico and Bebo was the 2018 Grammy Award (his sixth) winner for Best Instrumental Composition. Arturo’s current album “Four Questions” (ZOHO) is the first to embody all original compositions, including the title track, which features the brilliant orator Dr. Cornel West.

In 2019, Arturo was Artist in Residence for The Greene Space in New York City, for which he created a four-concert series including a newly commissioned composition. The series title was “Radical Acts and Musical Deviancy.”

In 2020 Arturo’s weekly concerts with the Afro Latin Jazz Orchestra, dubbed “Virtual Birdland,” top the list of 10 Best Quarantine Concerts in the New York Times.

Arturo is Professor of Global Jazz Studies and Assistant Dean for Equity, Diversity and Inclusion at University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), and has been honored as a Steinway Artist for many years.

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- PAST PERFORMANCES -

SPRING 2023 SEASON OPENING PERFORMANCE

PAUL TAYLOR DANCE COMPANY

March 1, 2023 | Proscenium Theatre, Performing Arts Center at SUNY Potsdam

The genesis of the Paul Taylor Dance Company occurred on May 30, 1954 in Manhattan, when dancemaker Paul Taylor first presented his choreography with five other dancers on the Lower East Side. That performance marked the beginning of 64 years of unrivaled creativity, and in the decades that followed, Mr. Taylor became a cultural icon and one of American history’s most celebrated artists, and was part of the pantheon that created American modern dance. Leading the Company that bears his name until his death in 2018, Mr. Taylor molded it into one of the preeminent performing ensembles in the world. Under the artistic direction of Taylor alumnus Michael Novak, the Company continues to bring “America’s most communicative and wildly theatrical modern dance" to audiences and students around the world, with a yearly residency at Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts.

The hallmark of the Company is its ever-expanding repertory. Over 170 dances exist within the Foundation’s canon, 147 of which were choreographed by Mr. Taylor. The body of Mr. Taylor’ work is titled the "Taylor Collection," and is home to dances that cover a breathtaking range of topics, and moods. These dances speak to the natural world and man’s place within it; display love and sexuality in all gender combinations; contemplate iconic moments in American history; and reveal to the spectrum of life’s beauties, complexities, and society’s thorniest issues. While some of these dances are termed “dark” and other “light,” the majority are dualistic, mixing elements of both extremes.

This performance was made possible in part by a Mid Atlantic Arts ArtsCONNECT grant. ArtsCONNECT is made possible through support from the National Endowment for the Arts’ Regional Touring Program.

Seventh Cania Visiting Artists

MET Opera Mezzo-Soprano

KATHERINE BECK

accompanied by Grammy Award Winning Pianist

CRAIG TERRY

SEPTEMBER 15, 2022 at 7:30 PM
Snell Music Theatre at SUNY Potsdam

Fourth Maresca Visiting Artist

SIERRA BOGGESS

Saturday, September 24, 2022 at 7:30 PM
Hosmer Hall · SUNY Potsdam

SIERRA BOGGESS has been seen on Broadway in the Tony nominated
musical School Of Rock, It Shoulda Been You directed by David Hyde Pierce, two separate engagements of the Broadway production of The Phantom of the Opera (the first for the show’s 25th Anniversary and the second opposite Norm Lewis), the revival of Master Class (opposite Tyne Daly) and The Little Mermaid (Drama Desk and Drama League nominations, Broadway.com Audience Choice Award).

22nd Annual Ranlett Organ Recital

ISABELLE DEMERS

Sunday, October 2, 2022 at 3:00 PM
Hosmer Hall · SUNY Potsdam

Public Organ Encounter workshop to learn about the organ Saturday, October 1, 2022 at 3:00 PM in Hosmer Hall

Demers has appeared in recital throughout Europe, Oman, Australia, New Zealand, the United States, and Canada, including at the Cathedrals of Cologne and Regensburg (Germany); the ElbPhilharmonie (Hamburg); the Royal Festival Hall, St. Paul’s Cathedral, Westminster Cathedral, and Westminster Abbey (London); City Hall (Stockholm); the Royal Opera House of Muscat (Oman); the Forbidden City Concert Hall (Beijing, China); Victoria Hall (Singapore); Melbourne Town Hall (Australia); Auckland Town Hall (New Zealand); Disney Hall (Los Angeles), Davies Hall (San Francisco), the Meyerson Symphony Center (Dallas), the Kimmel Center, and the Wanamaker Organ at Macy’s (Philadelphia); and the Maison Symphonique (Montréal).

It’s Okay to Be Different - Stories by Todd Parr

Created by Mermaid Theatre of Nova Scotia

Sunday, October 16, 2022 at 3 pm in Snell Theater - Maresca Family Performance (Performance for Young Audiences - children in Grades Pre-K-3 and their grown-ups)

Three contemporary stories by New York Times bestselling author and illustrator Todd Parr will be adapted and staged by Mermaid Theatre for the 2022-2023 season. With his signature blend of playfulness and sensitivity, Todd Parr explores important and timely subjects. It’s Okay to Be Different cleverly delivers the important messages of acceptance, understanding, and self-confidence. Equally whimsical and heartfelt, The Earth Book, is a sweet homage to our beautiful planet inspiring readers of all ages to do their part to keep the Earth happy and healthy. This is My Hair is a funny exploration of how silly hair can be and that no matter how your hair looks, always feel good about yourself. Todd Parr is the author and illustrator of more than 71 books for children. His books are available in over forty countries throughout the world. Todd is the co-creator of the three-time Emmy-Nominated children’s television show ToddWorld™ as well as short films for Sesame Street.

38th Annual McElheran Visiting Artist Series

fivebyfive with guest composer/harpist Amy Nam

Sunday, October 23 at 3:00 pm | Snell Music Theatre at SUNY Potsdam

The premiere of Amy Nam’s “of breath and fire”, supported by a Chamber Music America Commissioning Grant*, as part of an all-glass inspired program featuring music by Missy Mazzoli, Brittany Green, Anthony R. Green, Edie Hill, Patrick Burke, Philip Glass, Kari Telstad Sundet.

*This commission has been made possible by the Chamber Music America Classical Commissioning Program, with generous funding provided by The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, and the Chamber Music America Endowment Fund.

fivebyfive (flute, clarinet, electric guitar, bass and piano) performs music of today’s leading and emerging composers from around the world, advocates for creators who are underrepresented in the field, and collaborates with artists across the disciplines.

Described as “classical turned loose in the toy store” (Jeff Spevak, WXXI-FM arts & life editor), fivebyfive (Laura Lentz, flute and artistic director; Marcy Bacon, clarinet; Ken Luk, electric guitar; Eric J. Polenik, bass; Haeyeun Jeun, piano; and Marc Webster, audio/video engineer and technical director) is an artist-led Rochester, NY-based ensemble formed in 2015 with a mission to engage audiences in the collaborative spirit and creativity of today’s chamber music.

39th Annual McElheran Visiting Artist Series

Akropolis Quintet
Friday, October 28 at 7:30 pm - Snell Theater

Celebrating their 13th year making music with a “collective voice driven by real excitement and a sense of adventure” (The Wire), Akropolis has “taken the chamber music world by storm” (Fanfare). As the first reed quintet to grace the Billboard Charts (May 2021), the untamed band of 5 reed players and entrepreneurs are united by a shared passion: to make music that sparks joy and wonder.

Winner of 7 national chamber music prizes including the 2014 Fischoff Gold Medal, Akropolis delivers 120 concerts and educational events each year and has premiered over 130 works. They are the first ensemble of their kind to grace the stage on noteworthy series like Oneppo (Yale University), Chamber Music San Antonio, Phillips Collection (Washington, D.C.), Summerwinds Münster (Germany), Flagler Museum (Palm Beach), and many more.

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The box office at the venue of the event you are attending opens one hour before curtain.

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