Academic Forum to Focus on the Discovery of Rare Crane Chorus Recording

POTSDAM, NY (09/24/2010)(readMedia)-- The story of how 110 Crane Chorus members got to travel to New York City in 1958 to perform a unique Turkish oratorio under the direction of a famed conductor will be on display in an academic forum at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday, Sept. 30 in the Wakefield Recital Hall on the SUNY Potsdam campus.

Crane School of Music Audio Engineer Gary A. Galo will present his article, "Leopold Stokowski's Rarest Recording: Saygun's 'Yunus Emre'-United Nations 1958." He will describe what led up to Seyfullah Esin, the former Turkish Ambassador to the United Nations, extending an invitation to the choir to participate in the Western Hemisphere premiere of an oratorio in 1958.

World-renowned conductor Leopold Stokowski conducted the Crane Chorus in the premiere of the oratorio "Yunus Emre" by the Turkish composer Ahmed Adnan Saygun on Nov. 25, 1958. The performance took place in New York City, in the General Assembly Hall of the United Nations.

Later, limited recordings of the concert were released, but were very difficult for the College to find. An incredibly rare live recording was found being auctioned off online on eBay by a dealer in Turkey by Crane Librarian Edward Komara a couple of years ago.

After many discussions about the recording and consultation, Galo made an offer to the dealer based on donations from SUNY Potsdam faculty.

"The Saygun record remains the most elusive of all of Leopold Stokowski's recordings. Although at least three Stokowski discographers have listed the record, to the best of my knowledge none have actually seen it," said Galo. "The extreme rarity of this record, combined with the importance of this performance in Crane's history, made it an invaluable addition to our College archives."

An accomplished author, Galo has published a variety of articles and reviews in over a dozen publications. He has contributed to AudioXpress Magazine, is a writer for the newsletter of the Wilhelm Furtwängler Society of America and Toccata, the journal of the Leopold Stokowski Society. Galo teaches courses in music history and audio technology at SUNY Potsdam's Crane School of Music.

The Academic Forum is free, and the public is invited to attend. For more information, visit www.potsdam.edu/newsandevents.

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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.

-www.potsdam.edu/crane-