Musical Presentations
SUNY Ulster's own chorus and instrumental music groups are well known in the area for their public presentations. Two or more concerts are scheduled each year. SUNY Ulster also hosts musical events presented by nationally known musicians and performers from the area and byond.
Check the Calendar of Events, the SLATE and bulletin boards for times and places.
PAST PERFORMANCES
ULSTER COUNTY COMMUNITY COLLEGE JAZZ ENSEMBLE
THE ULSTER COUNTY COMMUNITY COLLEGE JAZZ ENSEMBLE RETURNS ... The Ulster County Community College Jazz Ensemble presented its first jazz concert in over a decade on Thursday, May 11th at 7:30 pm in Quimby Theater on the college’s Stone Ridge campus.
Jazz Band Rehearsal, May 2006
The ensemble is under the direction of Rebecca Coupe Franks, jazz artist/composer and educator. Some of the songs that were performed are: ”Sweet Georgia Brown”, “Willow Weep For Me”, “Night in Tunisia”, and “Sing, Sing, Sing”, and an original composition by John Sardo written especially for this concert.
The program is free and open to the public.
UNITED STATES MILITARY ACADEMY, WEST POINT JAZZ KNIGHTS
WEST POINT JAZZ KNIGHTS IN FREE CONCERT AT SUNY ULSTER ... The Jazz Knights of the United States Military Academy Band at West Point will perform on Saturday, May 20, at 8:00 p.m. at Ulster County Community College’s Quimby Theater on the Stone Ridge campus. This is a return engagement of the popular band.
The United States Military Academy at WestPoint's Jazz
Knoghts
The Jazz Knights recreate the sounds of the big bands of the Swing Era, as well as performing the innovative jazz and popular music of today. In addition to performing at West Point, they entertain audiences all over the country, including Lincoln Center and Boston’s Fourth of July celebrations. Members of the Jazz Knights are graduates of some of the United States’ finest music schools and have played with jazz icons including Count Basie, Buddy Rich, Ahmad Jamal and the Glenn Miller Band.
Reservations are not required for this free concert. For more information, call the SUNY Ulster Community Relations office at (845) 687-5262.
SUNY ULSTER COLLEGE-COMMUNITY BAND & CHORAL CONCERTS
SUNY ULSTER BAND AND CHORUS TO PERFORM IN FREE CONCERTS ... The annual Spring College-Community Band concert and the Choral Concerts are scheduled for the first week of May.
The College-Community Band will present a concert on Wednesday, May 3rd at 7:30 p.m. in Quimby Theater on the college’s Stone Ridge campus. The 55-member ensemble, led by Lee Harrington, is composed of student and community musicians. The group will perform pieces ranging from classical overtures to popular favorites. The program is free and open to the public.
Lee Herrington and cohorts once again gave a rousing performance to an audience of close to 200 people in Quimby Theater.
Ulster County Community College’s Chorus will perform in concert on Friday, May 5th at 12:15 and 7:30 p.m. in Quimby Theater on the college’s Stone Ridge campus. The 40-member chorus, led by George Strauser is composed of student singers. The event is free and open to the public.
For information call (845) 687-5263.
And, students in our music program will be in-recital on Monday, May 8th, at 7:30 p.m., also in Quimby. This is another opportunity to hear great music performed by our students.
JONELL MOSSER, VISITING ARTIST
SUNY VISITING ARTIST JONELL MOSSER ... Jonell Mosser, Ulster County Community College's Spring 2006 Visiting Artist performed in concert on Thursday, April 20 in the Vanderlyn Hall Student Lounge on the College's Stone Ridge campus.
Mosser, a Kentucky native who moved to Nashville in the 1980's, has recorded and performed with Etta James, Patti Smyth, B. B. King, Waylon Jennings and many others. She will be performing original music and favorites in the rock, blues and soul traditions.
Mosser has been nominated as the Best Female Vocalist by the Nashville Music Awards, and has appeared on Austin City Limits and other television programs. Her music has been featured on the movie soundtracks of Hope Floats, Boys On The Side and Look Who's Talking Now.
She has collaborated with local musicians John Hall and Johanna Hall in producing So Like Joy which also features some of Woodstock's best musicians in addition to Mosser's Nashville cohorts.
Keyboardist Ross Rice appeared with Mosser.
HUDSON VALLEY PHILHARMONIC ORCHESTRA
THE ANNUAL SPRING SYMPHONY CONCERT OF THE HUDSON VALLEY PHILHARMONIC ORCHESTRA ... SUNY Ulster hosted this season's symphony concert featuring the Hudson Valley Philharmonic Orchestra in the Quimby Theater on Friday, April 7.
The Bardavon Opera Chorus with soprano Oksana Krovytska and baritone Zheng Zhou joined the Hudson Valley Philharmonic in a performance of the Brahms Requiem (Ein Deutsches Requiem, Op. 45).
 Oksana Krovytska |
 Zheng Zhou |
Oksana Krovytska was recently honored with New York City Opera's coveted Diva Award. Her engagements take her throughout the United States and Europe.
Zheng Zhou, who possesses a rich, "creamy baritone" (Los Angeles Times) has excelled with major opera companies and orchestras in a wide range of repertoire from Mozart, Donizetti and Schubert to Verdi, Mendelssohn and Orff.
The Hudson Valley Philharmonic
This is the fifth year that the Ulster Community College Foundation, Inc. has hosted a concert featuring the world-class orchestra at the College. This concert is made possible through a bequest from the Robert H. Wahl's Charitable Remainder Trust.
Maestro Randall Craig Fleischer
As at all HVP concerts, audience members were invited to a pre-concert talk one hour prior to the performance with Maestro Randall Craig Fleischer.
JUSTIN KOLB, PIANIST
CONCERT AND LECTURE BY PIANIST JUSTIN KOLB AT SUNY ULSTER ON MARCH 31 AND APRIL 1, 2005 ... Pianist Justin Kolb, an internationally acclaimed interpreter of contemporary and classical music, will present a lecture and concert at SUNY Ulster in his role as the college’s Visiting Artist for Spring 2005. Kolb’s lecture is on Thursday, March 31, 2005 at 7:00 p.m., and the concert follows on Friday, April 1, 2005 at 7:30 p.m. The public is welcome to both events, which will take place in the Vanderlyn Hall Student Lounge on SUNY Ulster’s Stone Ridge campus.
Justin Kolb, who resides locally in Fleischmanns, has been described as a pianist who “understands how to tell a story through his playing.” A music critic explains, “He plays from the heart, with power where needed, yet with a tenderness that almost brings a sigh.” Kolb has performed in more than 100 recital halls throughout Europe and the Middle East. He has also appeared as soloist at the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, DC, at Lincoln Center and Carnegie Hall in New York City, and in Chicago’s Orchestra Hall. Kolb is a favorite performer at the International Liszt Festival and at Canada’s Great Romantics Festival and has several recordings to his credit.
Justin Kolb
Kolb’s performance on Friday, April 1, at SUNY Ulster will include works by contemporary American composers Stephen Paulus of Minnesota and the late Robert Starer. of Woodstock. Kolb was a close friend of Starer and was praised by the composer, who said that “I felt totally and completely understood [by Kolb]. Every tempo, every musical gesture, every nuance was absolutely right. . . .” The program will also feature traditional pieces by Muzio Clementi and Franz Liszt.
The evening before the concert (March 31, 7:00 p.m., Vanderlyn Student Lounge), Kolb will present an interactive lecture aimed at aspiring and professional musicians. Justin Kolb is a popular motivational speaker in the music field who often lectures at colleges and universities. His talk, entitled Know the Score: Inspiration and Motivation for Performers After School, is meant to instruct musical performers on “how to respond aggressively yet professionally when performing opportunities are at a minimum and competition is fierce.” Kolb will also discuss the many music career opportunities available.
Both the concert and the lecture are sponsored in part by the Ulster Community College Foundation, Inc. Suggestion donation for the lecture is $5 and for the concert $8. For more information, contact the Office of Community Relations at 845:687-5262.
THE STRING TRIO OF NEW YORK
MUSICAL WORKSHOPS ON JAZZ HISTORY, IMPROVISATION AND COMPOSITION BY THE STRING TRIO OF NEW YORK AT SUNY ULSTER ON FEBRUARY 10, MARCH 10, AND APRIL 14, 2005 ... The String Trio of New York, an internationally known chamber jazz group of acoustic violin, guitar and bass, will be presenting three musical workshops at Ulster County Community College on February 10, March 10 and April 14, 2005 in the Vanderlyn Hall Student Lounge on the college’s Stone Ridge campus. The February 10 and March 10 workshops will be held at 7:30 p.m. The April 14 workshop, specially designed for students, will be presented at 10:30 a.m. All three workshops are open to the public, with a suggested donation of $5.
Critics have called the award-winning String Trio of New York “one of the finest avant-garde chamber jazz groups around.” Since their founding in 1977, they have been regulars at jazz festivals such as Ravinia and Newport and have been featured on National Public Radio’s Weekend Edition and PRI’s International Concerts.
The String Trio of New York
Rob Thomas, John Lindberg and James Emery
The trio has won an enthusiastic audience for the chamber jazz idiom. The three members of the trio—John Lindberg on bass, James Emery on guitar and Rob Thomas on violin—are composers as well as performers. Their workshops feature their own compositions as well as insights into the arts of jazz composition and improvisation. Noted for their clear communication and informal teaching style, the String Trio workshops have engaged students of all ages, amateur and professional musicians and jazz lovers across the country.
The first workshop on Thursday, February 10, History of Jazz Through Strings, traces the growth of jazz in the 20th century. The works of jazz greats Duke Ellington, Bud Powell, Miles Davis, Charles Mingus and Muhal Richard Abrams will be featured.
The second workshop on Thursday, March 10, is Composition and Improvisation as a Creative Language, an exploration of the technical and emotional side of jazz composition. The experienced and innovative composer-musicians of the String Trio will share insights into development of new repertoire, commissioning and recording new works. The workshop includes performances of works composed by the trio members.
The third workshop on Thursday, April 14, a special workshop for students titled Jazz Through the Ages, is a chronological demonstration of the growth and development of jazz in the 20th century. The trio will perform works by Duke Ellington, Charlie Parker, Thelonious Monk, Charles Mingus, Miles Davis, John Coltrane and others, tracing the development of jazz to the present time.
The three workshops are co-sponsored by SUNY Ulster and Chamber Music of America, a membership organization that promotes festivals, schools and workshops of chamber music. For more information, contact the College’s Office of Community Relations at 845: 687-5262.
THE HUDSON VALLEY PHILHARMONIC
THE HUDSON VALLEY PHILHARMONIC IN CONCERT ... On Friday, April 2, 2004, SUNY Ulster hosted the Hudson Valley Philharmonic on the Stone Ridge campus.
The Hudson Valley Philharmonic Maestro Randall Craig Fleischer
The concert featured world-renowned pianist Ignat Solzhenitsyn performing Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's Piano Concerto No. 22 in E flat, K482 and conducting Johannes Brahms Symphony No. 1 in C minor, op. 68. Rounding out the program was John Corigliano's Elegy for Orchestra.
Ignat Solzhenitsyn
Recognized as one of today's most gifted artists, and enjoying an active career as both pianist and conductor, Ignat Solzhenitsyn's lyrical and poignant interpretations have won him critical acclaim throughout the world. A gifted conductor at 31, he has appeared as guest conductor with the symphonies of Seattle, Nashville, Toledo, Lexington, Anchorage, Charleston, Flagstaff, and Vermont, as well as several of the major orchestras in Russia. In recent seasons, his extensive touring schedule in the United States and Europe has included concerto performances with numerous major orchestras, including those of Boston, Chicago, London, Philadelphia, Los Angeles, Seattle, Baltimore and Washington. Ignat Solzhenitsyn is a winner of the Avery Fisher Career Grant. His father, Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, wrote The Gulag Archipelago 1918-1956, which had a tremendous impact on the Soviet Union and the rest of the world when it revealed the entire apparatus of Soviet repression.
