Fredonia Chamber Choir to perform; part of new School of Music touring initiative
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The Fredonia Alumni Association will host a gathering for alumni and friends in New York City on Thursday, March 8, at New York University’s famed Torch Club.
Through the assistance of Judy Cope, executive director of the Sorel Organization, and Wende Persons, ’74, program director of Artists to Watch in New York, SUNY Fredonia alumni and guests will be welcomed by the exclusive Torch Club for a memorable evening reception.
The Fredonia Chamber Choir, under the direction of Dr. Gerald Gray, will perform at the alumni gathering as part of a new School of Music touring initiative.
Following the performance, the choir will enjoy the Voices of Ascension Concert at the Church of the Ascension on 5thAvenue and 10th Street. Tickets for this event were purchased for the students by the Alumni Association.
Borne of a suggestion raised during the School of Music’s Alumni Leadership Conference in the summer of 2010, the School of Music has designed a three-prong travel path for its student ensembles during the Spring 2012 semester to tour high schools and other venues.
Thus, in addition to the New York University performance, the choir will also showcase its talents on Long Island at Freeport High School, and at Liberty High School northwest of the city, during the week of March 5. They will also see a performance of New York’s famed Metropolitan Opera.
Meanwhile, Fredonia’s Brass Ensemble will visit high schools in Irondequoit (near Rochester), as well as Schenectady, Guilderland and Bethlehem (all near Albany).
Similarly, Fredonia’s Percussion Ensemble will perform at St. Edmunds Academy, as well as at high schools in Norwin and Bethel Park, Pa., near Pittsburgh.
“In March 2013, other groups will tour, and they will rotate such that each zone gets a very different experience,” explained School of Music Director Karl Boelter.
Separate from this initiative, the Fredonia Guitar Quartet will tour Germany and France over Spring Break (March 9 to 15). They will perform in Nuremberg, Colmar, Nancy and Ludres, before ending in Paris.
The touring concept provides numerous benefits for the university, as it not only enhances the School of Music’s reputation and strengthens its alumni relations, but it also provides an excellent recruiting opportunity for students considering all types of majors. “We also want to make sure that our students get a great experience out of this,” Dr. Boelter added. “They seem very excited about these new opportunities.”
The Fredonia College Foundation established and maintains the Ensemble Tour Fund, which will help ensure that future generations of students have similar life-changing opportunities. If you would like to consider a gift to this fund, please contact June Miller-Spann, ’94, ’02, the Fredonia College Foundation’s liaison to the School of Music, at 716-673-3321. You can also give online at www.fredonia.edu/give
