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Concerts

Thank you for your support of the SUNY Schenectady School of Music.
Unless otherwise noted, all performances are free and take place in Carl B. Taylor Auditorium. 

August 2024

Monday, August 5, 7-9 p.m.

Photo by Pedrito Martinez. Courtesy of www.pedritomartinezmusic.comThe SUNY Schenectady Faculty Jazz Combo with guest artist Delfeayo Marsalis at Music Haven  

Music Haven is an outdoor concert series that takes place in Schenectady's Central Park (500 Iroquois Path, Schenectady) that is free and open to the community.

Faculty Jazz Combo
Dylan Canterbury - trumpet
Brian Patneaude - saxophone
Christopher Brellochs - saxophone
Kevin Grudecki - guitar
David Gleason - piano
Erik Johnson/Jarod Greico - bass 
Bob Halek - drums
Mia Scirocco - guest vocals

Photo by Zac Smith. Courtesy of www.dmarsalis.com

 

September 2024

Friday, September 6, 7:30 p.m.

Tim Olsen conductingA Place for Jazz: Tim Olsen Big Band

Tickets: $25 per person; students with ID, $10
(cash or check only)
Learn more at A Place for Jazz

Piano/conductor: Tim Olsen
Saxes: Kristina Johnson, Dave Fisk, Eric Walentowicz, Matt Steckler, Tom Gerbino
Trumpets: Jon Bronk, Steve Lambert, Dylan Canterbury, Mike Banewicz
Trombones: Elias Assimakopolous, Rick Rosoff, Ken Olsen, Dan Cordell
Bass: Lou Smaldone
Drums: Pete Sweeney
Percussion: Brian Melick
Vocals: Susie Olsen

 

Wednesday, September 11, 12 p.m.

Faculty Recital

 

Wednesday, September 18, 12 p.m.

The Musicians of Ma'alwyckMusicians of Ma’alwyck: Player’s Choice

Ann-Marie Barker Schwartz, violin
Sten Isachsen, guitar
Norman Thibodeau, flute
André Laurent O’Neil, cello

Musicians of Ma’alwyck is a flexible-size chamber ensemble in residence at the Schuyler Mansion New York State Historic Site and SUNY Schenectady County Community College. Founded in 1999 by violinist and director Ann-Marie Barker Schwartz, the group specializes in music performed in America during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. Many of the performing materials are drawn from the Special Collections of the New York State Library. Learn more about the Musicians of Ma'alwyck.

 

Friday, September 20, 7:30 p.m.

A Place for Jazz: Warren Wolf/Joe Locke Quartet

Warren Wolf and Joe Locke

Tickets: $25 per person; students with ID, $10
(cash or check only)
Learn more at A Place for Jazz

Warren Wolf is a multi-instrumentalist from Baltimore, MD. From the young age of three years old, Warren has been trained on the vibraphone/marimba, drums, and piano. Under the guidance of his father, Warren Wolf Sr., Warren acquired a deep background in all genres of music. He has studied the classical composers and the legends of ragtime, as well as jazz artists and composers such as Charlie Parker, Miles Davis, Duke Ellington, Louis Armstrong, Freddie Hubbard, Clifford Brown, Herbie Hancock, Oscar Peterson, Milt Jackson, Bobby Hutcherson, Cal Tjader, Return to Forever, Weather Report, Wynton Marsalis and many others.

Long known to be a soloist capable of stunning physical power and broad emotional range, it was not until the last decades that Joe Locke emerged as the composer, bandleader and conceptualist that he is considered today. This is in no small part due to his solo projects since the beginning of the 2000s, notably Four Walls of Freedom​​, a 6-movement suite featuring the late tenor saxophonist Bob Berg; Live in Seattle​ (Origin) by The Joe Locke/Geoffrey Keezer Group, which won the 2006 EarShot award for Concert of the Year; and his eloquent and vibrant quartet Force Of​ Four​ (Origin).

 

Wednesday, September 25, 12 p.m.

Hot Wrk Ensemble

Saxophone/woodwind and percussion trio founded in 2020 by award-winning musicians J Brooks Marcus (J Why), Lois Hicks-Wozniak and Brad Hubbard, Hot Wrk Ensemble is committed to creating community through diverse, genre-eclectic “chamber grooves” that include everything from Bossa Nova, Son Jalisciense, Scarlatti, contemporary classical and collaborative improvisation. Both questioning and answering, “what is chamber music?" Hot Wrk explores, deconstructs and wrks out concepts of traditional chamber music and the concert experience.

 

October 2024

Friday, October 4, 7:30 p.m.

The members of Artemis standing together.A Place for Jazz: Artemis

Tickets: $25 per person; students with ID, $10
(cash or check only)
Learn more at A Place for Jazz

Named for the Olympian goddess of the hunt and the wild, this superlative sextet is an international affair, with members hailing from the U.S., Canada, Israel, Chile and Japan: ARTEMIS is an all-star group featuring six of the top performers on the jazz scene today: pianist and musical director Renee Rosnes, trumpeter Ingrid Jensen, clarinetist Anat Cohen, tenor saxophonist Nicole Glover, bassist Noriko Ueda and drummer Allison Miller, and frequently vocalist Cecile McLorin Salvant. Forget about gender! This is a significant and serious band that plays with passion, power and sensitivity. They will bring their collective artistry to the world with unforgettable performances of high-wire interplay and pure joy.
Source: https://artemisband.com

 

Sunday, October 6, 3 p.m.

Capital Region Wind Ensemble: Forests and Fanfares

Tickets: $10 for adults; $8 for students: $5 for children under 10, available at the door. SUNY Schenectady students are free with ID.

 

Monday, October 7, 7:30 p.m.

Chamber Music Series: A Journey through Modern Japanese Music

 

Saturday, October 12

Brass Day & Guitar and Bass Day

Details coming soon!

 

Friday, October 18, 7:30 p.m.

Bill O'Connell and Craig HandyA Place for Jazz: Bill O’Connell Quartet featuring Craig Handy

Tickets: $25 per person; students with ID, $10
(cash or check only)
Learn more at A Place for Jazz

Bill O’Connell is a living example of what can happen when the old axiom “Good things come to those who wait” is put to the test. His professional career spans almost half a century and has earned him widespread acclaim for his virtuosic skills as an attention-grabbing keyboardist, composer, arranger, and bandleader. Learn more about Bill O'Connell.

Born in Oakland, CA, as a music-hungry youngster, Craig Handy experimented on guitar, trombone, and piano before settling on his first true love, the saxophone. While listening to the radio at the age of 11, Handy fell under the spell of the transcendent saxophone playing of jazz legend Dexter Gordon. Berkeley High School’s (CA) reputable Jazz Program soon beckoned, and Handy joined the ranks of graduating stellar saxophone talent including David Murray, Peter Apfelbaum, and Joshua Redman, to name a few. He attended North Texas State University and won the coveted Charlie Parker Scholarship which enabled his early college experience as a psychology major and frontrunner in the school’s exceptional One O’ Clock Jazz Ensemble. Learn more about Craig Handy.

 

Friday, October 25, 7:00 p.m.

Choral Workshop Final Concert

 

Wednesday, October 30, 12 p.m.

Musicians of Ma’alwyck: Mayhem & Madness

 

November 2024

Friday, November 1, 7:30 p.m.

Bria Skonberg holding her trumpet.A Place for Jazz: Bria Skonberg Quintet

Tickets: $25 per person; students with ID, $10
(cash or check only)
Learn more at A Place for Jazz

Born in British Columbia, Canada and now residing in New York City, Bria has been a featured artist at hundreds of festivals and stages the world over, including New Orleans Jazz & Heritage, Kobe, Monterey, Breda, Newport and Montreal Jazz Festivals. Described as “one of the most versatile and imposing musicians of her generation” (Wall Street Journal), she has performed with Jon Batiste, Wycliffe Gordon, Stephane Wrembel, Steven Bernstein, U2 & Sun Ra Arkestra, The American Pops and Vancouver Symphony Orchestras, The Blacksmiths “We Insist” Band, and once sang the “Star Spangled Banner” at Madison Square Garden for a NY Rangers game.  The “shining hope of hot jazz” (NY Times) has been at the forefront of a revival of classic American music as both a performer and educator, programming concerts and workshops for students of all ages.

Source: https://www.briaskonberg.com/bio

 

Saturday, November 2, 2-4 p.m.

Friends of Chamber Music: Ulysses Quartet

 

Wednesday, November 6, 7:30 p.m.

Chamber Music Series: Music for Piano Four-Hands

 

Saturday, November 9, 10 a.m.-2 p.m.

Chamber Music Series (Educational Event): Music for Piano Four-Hands

 

Friday, November 15, 7:30 p.m.

Chamber Music Series: Amahl and the Night Visitors

 

Saturday, November 16, 3 p.m.

Chamber Music Series: Amahl and the Night Visitors

 

Monday, November 25, 12 p.m.

12 p.m. - Guitar & Bass Recital

7:30 p.m. - Brass Recital & Brass Ensemble Concert

 

Tuesday, November 26, 7:30 p.m.

Jazz Combos & Chamber Ensemble Concert

 

Wednesday, November 27, 12 p.m.

Woodwinds, Strings & Percussion Recital

 

December 2024

Monday, December 2

12 p.m. - Piano Recital

7:30 p.m. - Chorus Concert

 

Tuesday, December 3

4:30 p.m. - Applied Recital I

7:30 p.m. - Vocal Chamber Ensemble Concert

 

Wednesday, December 4

12 p.m. - Voice Recital

4 p.m. - Applied Lesson Recital II

7:30 p.m. - Percussion & Jazz Ensemble Concert

 

Thursday, December 5, 7:30 p.m.

Audio Listening Recital

 

Friday, December 6, 7:30 p.m.

Wind Ensemble

 

Monday, December 9

12 p.m. - Digital Music & Beat Production Listening Recital

7:30 p.m. - Guitar Ensemble Concert

 

 

YouTube Concerts Featuring Students and Alumni

SUNY Schenectady Brass Ensemble

 

SUNY Schenectady Wind Ensemble

 

Read about the concert series in The Daily Gazette.

Music of the Masters

 

The Class of 2021

View The Class of 2021 pre-concert discussion on YouTube.

 

American Currents in Song

View the American Currents in Song pre-concert discussion on YouTube.

 

Chopin Project

View the Chopin Project pre-concert discussion on YouTube.

 

Niamh Schmid, Piano