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.
The Crane School of Music offers rigorous undergraduate and graduate programs with a strong emphasis on performance and practice, in a tightknit atmosphere. With a 7:1 student-to-faculty ratio, you’ll benefit from working closely with our distinguished faculty artists, teachers and scholars.
Crane students regularly premiere new works, study with guest conductors and visiting artists, and perform in nationally televised concerts. But performance opportunities aren’t limited to Potsdam, N.Y.—our symphony and chorus have performed at Carnegie Hall and Lincoln Center, the traveling choir has performed in churches across Germany and Spain, and our Latin ensemble regularly plays in New York City and recently toured Cuba.
The broad Crane alumni network includes sought-after performing artists, award-winning educators, prolific composers, and executives in music business, non-profits and creative fields. Crane students also benefit from SUNY Potsdam’s vibrant arts environment, with programs spanning music, theatre, dance, the fine arts and creative writing.
The Crane School of Music is a community of musician-educators committed to fostering a vital musical society. Thriving programs in performance, composition, music business, and the academic disciplines of music history and theory enrich our long-standing heritage of leadership in music education. Our undergraduate programs are designed to provide a strong and comprehensive foundation across all areas of study, whereas our graduate programs bring greater depth and focus within these areas. In keeping with SUNY Potsdam's mission as a student-centered institution, Crane students and faculty collaborate in pursuing a broad range of opportunities for artistic, personal and professional growth. Blending proven traditional approaches and promising educational innovations in a uniquely supportive and cooperative learning community, The Crane School equips students with both the foundations and flexibility needed for the challenges of the 21st century.
The Crane School of Music has been accredited by the National Association of Schools of Music (NASM) since 1957.
For more about the National Association of Schools of Music (NASM), contact
11250 Roger Bacon Drive, Suite 21
Reston, VA 20190-5248
(703) 437-0700 Phone
info@arts-accredit.org
The Crane School of Music is distinguished as the only All-Steinway School within the SUNY System. In fact, Crane has made the largest piano order in Steinway & Sons history—twice. This happened in 1955 (with 125 pianos) and 2007 (with 141 pianos).
The Yamaha Corporation of America named SUNY Potsdam's Crane School of Music as a 2021 honoree in its inaugural Institution of Excellence program, acknowledging the school's extraordinary commitment to innovation in the study of music. Crane School of Music is one of only 10 outstanding schools nationwide earning the prestigious designation this year, and one of only two schools in New York State so recognized. Yamaha is committed to working with The Crane School of Music in substantive ways for the long-term growth and benefit of its music students and faculty.