Crane Percussion Ensemble to Present Dynamic Performance on March 29

POTSDAM, NY (03/22/2011)(readMedia)-- The talented student musicians of the Crane Percussion Ensemble will present a concert on Tuesday, March 29 at 7:30 p.m. in the Sara M. Snell Music Theater.

The concert will open with Paul Siskind's 1987 piece "Claptrap," performed by all the group's female percussion players, who recently completed a tour of Westchester, N.Y., public schools. "The Downfall of Paris," a traditional Revolutionary War drum call, will follow that piece. It is performed by 16 snare drums, with a bass drum and cymbals.

Also featured are Daniel Kessner's "Knocktet," a piece for eight players that shows the dynamic side of percussion, with multiple metric changes and soft-to-loud volume changes in an instant, and Carlos Chávez's "Tambuco," a lengthy piece composed by the dean of Latin music that includes all of the percussion instruments.

The next two pieces, Kurt Engel's "Look Out Little Ruth," and George Hamilton Green's "Fluffy Ruffles," feature solo percussionists Heidi Crampton and Ashley Trudell, respectively. The pieces include performances by the marimba band, whose members have toured New York State. David Skidmore's 2005 work "Ritual Music" will be performed by four junior percussion majors.

The concert will conclude with a performance of Andrew Lloyd Weber's "Jesus Christ Superstar Medley," a great rock-jazz piece with all of the songs from the show.

Directed by James Petercsak, a SUNY Distinguished Teaching Professor, the award-winning Crane Percussion Ensemble has performed in concerts in New York City, Chicago and Los Angeles, as well as a statewide music conference in Rochester.

This concert is free and the public is invited to attend.

For more information about the many arts events on the SUNY Potsdam campus calendar, 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-