Instagram Combined Shape quotation Created with Sketch. 69

Crane Symphony Orchestra Will Take the Stage for Their First Performance of the Season

September 19, 2017

Crane Symphony Orchestra performing their first performance of the season at SUNY Potsdam Helen M. Hosmer Concert Hall.

SUNY Potsdam’s Crane Symphony Orchestra will take the stage for their first performance of the academic year on Thursday, Sept. 28 at 7:30 p.m. in Helen M. Hosmer Hall. The orchestra will be conducted by Associate Professor and Director of Orchestras, Ching-Chun Lai.

The concert will open with Christopher Theofanidis’ “Rainbow Body,” followed by Carl Maria von Weber’s “Concerto for Bassoon,” with a solo performed by Matthew Boice, the 2017 winner of the Student Concerto Competition. The performance will conclude with Piotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky’s “Symphony No. 4.”  The concert will be available for online streaming during the performance at www.Potsdam.edu/academics/Crane/streaming.

This event is free and open to the public.

About the Performers:

Conductor Ching-Chun Lai is the Director of Orchestras and Assistant Professor of Music at the Crane School of Music.  Under her direction, the Crane Symphony Orchestra has advanced swiftly in both quality of performance and reputation. In 2014, the Crane Symphony Orchestra was invited to perform at the opening concert of the New York State School Music Association’s annual conference. In addition, the orchestra has performed in prestigious venues such as Lincoln Center and Carnegie Hall.

Lai made her conducting debut at the age of 19 with Taiwan’s National Cheng Kung University Wind Ensemble and was appointed their conductor shortly after joining the group.  She led the ensemble to win music competitions in Taiwan and became one of the top university wind ensembles in the country.  The group was even invited to perform at the Sydney Opera House in Australia under Lai’s direction.  She has since worked on and conducted many operas including Debussy’s “Pelléas et Mélisande,” Donizetti’s “Don Pasquale,” Handel’s “Alcina" and the world premiere of Maura Bosch’s opera, “Art and Desire.” 

For more information about SUNY Potsdam’s Crane School of Music, visit www.potsdam.edu/crane.

Founded in 1886, SUNY Potsdam’s Crane School of Music has a long legacy of excellence in music education and performance. Life at Crane includes an incredible array of more than 300 recitals, lectures and concerts presented by faculty, students and guests each year. The Crane School of Music is the State University of New York’s only All-Steinway institution.

For Media Inquiries

Alexandra Jacobs Wilke, College Communications

news@potsdam.edu (315) 267-2114

Arts & Culture