The Purchase College Conservatory of Music Has Announced its Spring 2020 Season

By: Jan. 16, 2020
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The Purchase College Conservatory of Music Has Announced its Spring 2020 Season

The Purchase College Conservatory of Music has announced its spring 2020 season, which will include classical, Jazz, and chorus concerts, and a full opera production. All performances will feature the professional-caliber students selected from the highly competitive conservatory.

Highlights of the spring season include performances by the Purchase Latin Jazz Orchestra and the Purchase Jazz Orchestra in New York City, including a special tribute to Jazz legend Charlie Parker in honor of the centennial of his birth. The two ensembles will perform at some of New York's most acclaimed venues such as Birdland (March 1), Blue Note (April 13), and Dizzy's Club at Jazz at Lincoln Center (April 20).

The popular Soul Voices choir will celebrate Black History Month on February 26, when they will be joined by the BFA Junior Acting Company for a program that will highlight Black American stories of triumph and success.

From March 26 to March 28, the National Opera Award-Winning Purchase Opera will present a powerful staging of Poulenc's epic opera, Dialogue of the Carmelites. The performances, which will take place at The Performing Arts Center, will also feature the Purchase Symphony Orchestra. The Purchase Symphony Orchestra will perform a wide ranging program entitled From the Old World to the New on February 28, which will include Dvořák's Symphony no. 9, among other works.

"The Purchase College Conservatory of Music thrives as part of a dynamic arts community, both at the College and in the larger Westchester area," says Jennifer Undercofler, director of the Conservatory at Purchase College, SUNY. "We are thrilled to invite the public to enjoy a season of collaborative, joyful, and thought-provoking performances presented by young musicians who are poised to change the world with their lives and art."

About the Concerts

All concerts will be held at Purchase College, SUNY, 735 Anderson Hill Road, Purchase, NY unless otherwise stated. Events at The Performing Arts Center or other venues require tickets. Visit www.purchase.edu/music for more information.

Soul Voices: Lift Ev'ry Voice- A Celebration of Black History

Wednesday, February 26, 7:00 pm

Music Building, Recital Hall

Free

Pete Malinverni, Founder and Artistic Director
Pamela Prather, Spoken Word Coach

"Lift Ev'ry Voice" is the twelfth annual concert in celebration of Black History Month at Purchase. In addition to the Soul Voices choir, the BFA Junior Acting Company, under Professor Pamela Prather, will share spoken word highlighting Black American stories of triumph and success.

Purchase New Music: A Concert of Premieres

Thursday, February 27, 8:00 pm and
Wednesday, April 22, 8:00 pm
Music Building, Recital Hall
Free

Dominic Donato, Artistic Director

See the next generation of composers at their best. Students of the Purchase College composition studio spend the semester developing and refining pieces written specifically for the members of the Purchase New Music Ensemble. The night of premieres will feature works of diverse instrumentation and inspiration.

Purchase Symphony Orchestra: From the Old World to the New

Friday, February 28, 7:00 pm

The Performing Arts Center, Recital Hall

$20 with discounts for students and seniors

Mina Kim, Conductor

Antonin Dvořák, an established Czech composer, wrote his Symphony no. 9 when on a two-year stint as the Director of the National Conservatory. Fifty years later, German composer Paul Hindemith, while teaching at Yale, wrote his Symphonic Metamorphoses on Themes of Carl Maria von Weber, using European themes to create a virtuoso showpiece for American orchestral players.

Purchase Latin Jazz Orchestra in NYC

Sunday, March 1, 5:30 pm
Birdland
315 W 44th St.
For tickets visit http://www.birdlandjazz.com

David DeJesus, Conductor

The Purchase Latin Jazz Orchestra (PLJO) is an exciting ensemble that performs music from all over Latin America. Featuring top students from the Purchase College Conservatory of Music, the PLJO explores numerous genres including Mambo, Cha-Cha, Danzon, Festejo, and Porro. Whether performing classic compositions by the masters or newer works commissioned for the ensemble, seeing and hearing the PLJO is always a memorable occasion.

Percussion Ensemble: Music for Mallet Instruments

Thursday, March 5, 8:00 pm
Music Building, Recital Hall
Free

Dominic Donato, Artistic Director

The Percussion Ensemble of the Conservatory of Music, led by Professor Dominic Donato, will present their annual Music for Mallet Instruments concert, featuring marimba duos originally written for the Double Play Percussion Duo as well as pieces for the solo marimba repertoire.

Purchase Opera: Poulenc, Dialogues of the Carmelites

Thursday, March 26, 7 p.m., Friday March 27, 7:00 pm
Saturday, March 28, 7:00 pm
Sunday, March 29, 1:00pm

The Performing Arts Center, Recital Hall
$20 with discounts for students and seniors

Jacque Trussel, Director

Hugh Murphy, Music Director

Featuring the Purchase Symphony Orchestra

In this epic work from 1956, French composer Francis Poulenc portrays the martyrdom of the Carmelite nuns of Compiègne, who sacrificed their lives during the last days of the French Revolution.

Purchase Jazz Orchestra in NYC

Monday, April 13, 8 and 10:30 p.m.
Blue Note
131 West 3rd St.
$25
For more information and tickets visit www.bluenote.net.

Todd Coolman & Jon Faddis, Conductors

Guest artist: Ralph Lalama, saxophone

The Purchase Jazz Orchestra (PJO) is a 17-piece big band that performs jazz from every era. From staples like Ellington and Basie, to more modern works by today's leading composers and arrangers like McNeely, Clayton, Abene, and Schneider, the PJO swings and is always a pleasure to listen to. Grammy Award-winning jazz bassist Todd Coolman and legendary trumpeter Jon Faddis conduct the group.

Purchase Jazz Orchestra: Celebrating Charlie Parker

Monday, April 20, 7:30 and 9:30 p.m.
Dizzy's Club Coca Cola Jazz at Lincoln Center
10 Columbus Circle

For more information and tickets visit www.jazz.org/dizzys.

Todd Coolman & Jon Faddis, Conductors

Featured saxophone soloists David DeJesus, Nick Green, and Andrew Gould

To celebrate the centennial year of Charlie Parker (August 29, 1920-March 12, 1955), the Purchase Jazz Orchestra pays tribute to this legendary musician. The alto saxophonists revolutionized the jazz language and brought it into the modern age.

Percussion Ensemble: Looking Backward Part IV: 1990s-2000s

Tuesday, April 21, 8:00 pm
Music Building, Recital Hall
Free

Dominic Donato, Artistic Director

The Percussion Ensemble of the Conservatory of Music, led by Professor Dominic Donato, will perform music by Annea Lockwood, Eric Moe, and Barbara White.

Contemporary Ensemble: When the Smoke Clears
Wednesday, April 23, 8:00pm
Music Building, Recital Hall
Free

Dominic Donato, Artistic Director

The Purchase Contemporary Ensemble, led by Professor Dominic Donato, will present the chamber and percussion music of Eric Moe and Barbara White.

Soul Voices: The Soul of Spring
Wednesday, April 29, 7:00 pm
Music Building, Recital Hall
Free

Pete Malinverni, Founder and Artistic Director

Since their founding in 20017, the Soul Voices have become a beacon of diversity, inclusion, and positivity on campus. For its spring concert, the choir will continue its exploration and performance of music of the African-American tradition, which has had a seminal role in all other American- and by extension, world- musical forms.

Purchase Chorus

Monday, May 4, 7:30 pm

Music Building, Recital Hall
Free

David J. Recca, Conductor

The Purchase Chorus is a mixed ensemble of singers comprised of students from across the college campus. It seeks to expose chorister and concertgoer alike to choral masterworks ranging from the Renaissance motet to world premieres of 21st century compositions. Recent concerts have included Handel's Messiah, Mozart's Great Mass, Orff's Carmina Burana, and Stravinsky's Les Noces.



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