Crane School of Music | SUNY Potsdam

Listen. Create. Inspire.

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 SUNY’s only All-Steinway institution and in 2021 was named one of only ten Yamaha Institution of Excellence programs nationally.

The Crane School of Music offers rigorous undergraduate and graduate programs with a strong emphasis on performance and practice, in a tightknit atmosphere. You’ll benefit from working closely with our distinguished and dedicated full-time faculty artists, teachers and scholars.

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Concert & Streaming Info

Over the summer, Dr. Jeffrey Francom and 17 students embarked on an amazing 500-mile trek along the Camino de Santiago in Spain! Crane students Zian Taylor, Lindsay Hebert, Noah Unser, and Matthew Bahr discuss the transformative experience, a trip was made possible, in part, by the Gail and Richard Stradling Travel Endowment.

Putting it All Together

Elira Mavraj ’22 & ’24 and a dozen other graduate students, many of whom are already working as music teachers around the state, are mastering technical instrument repair skills this summer at Crane. Taught by Musical Instrument Technician Miles DeCastro, the hands-on class offers students a unique opportunity to learn how to fix everything from flutes and clarinets to trumpets and trombones—invaluable knowledge to help them launch their careers as elementary, middle and high school music teachers.

A Musical Feast

After getting his degree in music education from Crane, Kyle Peters ’15 has continued to excel as a composer, educator and professional percussionist. He now holds the position of percussion instructor at the Eastman Community Music School where he leads a studio of 45 students, while staying sharp in his free time as a member of the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra. Every summer he returns to SUNY Potsdam as a leader and instructor at Crane Youth Music.

The Shape of Music

Fifty years of Crane Youth Music has left a lasting imprint on the lives of many young musicians. From the first note to the latest camp, this enduring symbol of passion and purpose has shaped countless futures. Led by the talented faculty and alumni educators, campers have learned valued skills and forged lifelong friendships—many choosing to return to Crane to pursue their undergraduate degrees after high school.

Compositions for Nature

When the Wild Center was looking for a new music installation for their Forest Music Trail, they turned to three students at the Crane School of Music. Katherine McAuliffe ’23, Cole Fortier ’23, and Amanda Rizzo ’22 were commissioned by the center to create unique, original music, which is now being amplified through a series of 24 speakers along the peaceful trail, to enhance the experience of visitors to the Adirondack museum.

Windows to the World

With their woodwinds in hand, a quintet of Crane students recently traveled to New York City with Assistant Professor Dr. Brian Dunbar to connect with Crane alumni, meet with prospective music students interested in pursuing a degree at SUNY Potsdam, and attended a concert by the New York Philharmonic Orchestra— a trip that put them at the center of an arc linking accomplished alumni to students of the present and future.

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Musically Driven

As she pulls the microphone close and hits record, Tatiana Merced ’24 captures audio for her podcast series—part of a multi-year Presidential Scholars project to examine how people of color have shaped the fabric of music history. Merced’s ongoing research, and subsequent podcasts, are now available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and Youtube, and feature interviews with prominent musicians, conductors and composers from diverse backgrounds including Crane’s own Dr. Michael Dudley Jr.

Lights, Camera, Action

During her final semester at Crane, Erika Murata ’22 lined up the internship of a lifetime, working on the set of the Late Show with Seth Meyers in New York City. Leaning on skills from her music business degree, she has been assisting audio engineers and the house band as they prepare the music for the show.

Finding Mentors for Success

Marking the culmination of her success as a musical studies major at Crane, Christina Morris ’21 recently staged A Concert for Equity and Equality at Hosmer Hall. Pouring her heart and soul into the concert, she organized the event, secured a grant to pay her musicians and composers, and then conducted the concert from start to finish. She leaves Crane with unrivaled experiences—working one-on-one with Crane professors, touring Asia with the National Youth Orchestra, and attending Tanglewood’s prestigious conducting program—as she embarks on a career in conducting.

Chords of Success

For more than a decade Shannon Boyle ’20 & ’22 has been mastering the harp at Crane, first in middle school and high school through the National String Project, then as an undergraduate student, and now while pursuing her master’s degree in music performance. Through an outpouring of scholarships, she will be graduating in May without any debt as she looks ahead to the future as a musician and educator.

The Perfect Balancing Act

Pursuing a degree at SUNY Potsdam’s Crane School of Music is a daunting task in and of itself, but Natalia Buitrago ’21 went the extra mile, recently graduating with a double major in music performance and music business. Over the past four years she has not only continued to refine her abilities as a musician, but she learned valuable entrepreneurial and communication skills.

Love and Music

As an alumnus of SUNY Potsdam’s Crane School of Music, Drew Coles ’12, has come full circle, and is now leading Crane’s music business program as an assistant professor and program director. Leaning on the experience he’s acquired as a musician and entrepreneur through the Metropolitan Players—a highly successful wedding band business he launched with his wife Erin Coles ’12—he is sharing his real-world experiences with his students, and preparing them for successful music business careers.

From Zeppelin to Mozart

Introduced to music on his father’s electric guitar, Alex Mariano ’21 played the songs of Led Zeppelin and Van Halen throughout his youth. Now he’s pursuing a music performance degree at The Crane School of Music where he’s been mastering the classical guitar under the guidance of Dr. Douglas Rubio.

SUNY Potsdam’s TikTok Sensation

A refuge from the grief of COVID-19 became a way to connect with millions of viewers for alumnus Daniel Mertzlufft '15. His viral TikTok videos struck a chord with many, including the Late Late Show’s James Corden, who recently hosted him on the show and featured Mertzlufft’s latest hit, “The Thanksgiving Musical,” a tension-relieving romp through collective pandemic realities, holiday foibles, and even post-election drama.

The Man Behind the Music

The otherworldly sound of an orchestra playing Adagio for Strings can be lost without someone like Dr. Douglas McKinnie, the audio and video streaming engineer at SUNY Potsdam’s Crane School of Music. Since 2014, McKinnie has worked behind the scenes at Crane to ensure that hundreds of performances are professionally recorded—leaning on two decades of experience as the chief engineer of live sound at Tanglewood, the summer home of the Boston Symphony Orchestra.

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Crane School of Music News

The Crane School of Music Opens New Academic Year with Faculty Gala

September 1, 2023

SUNY Potsdam Dedicates Goodman Percussion Alley & Petercsak Percussion Studio at The Crane School of Music

August 7, 2023

SUNY Potsdam Education Alumni Honor Thomas Burns ’92 & ’97 with 2023 St. Lawrence Academy Medal

July 20, 2023

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