Five Jazz Students from the Crane School of Music Get Opportunity to Perform with Wynton Marsalis

Students are Excited to Take Part in Ceremony Recognizing Jazz Legend with Honorary Doctorate from SUNY Potsdam

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The five Crane jazz students visited the SUNY Potsdam President's House recently to practice for their performance. Check it out here.

POTSDAM, NY (12/02/2010)(readMedia)-- They're normally used to performing on campus or in downtown Potsdam, but five jazz students at the Crane School of Music at SUNY Potsdam will get a chance to show off their talents at a world-class performance space in Manhattan next week.

That's not all -- the five guys are performing for, and with, jazz legend Wynton Marsalis, as the internationally acclaimed jazz musician receives an honorary degree.

"Can you imagine being a jazz student here at SUNY Potsdam, and you get to jam with Wynton Marsalis? It's incredible," said College President Dr. John F. Schwaller.

"I'm a little nervous, but it's a nervous excitement sort of thing," said pianist Max Howard. "I get to play with this great musician in this great celebration, so obviously I'm a little nervous, but I'm more excited about it."

SUNY Chancellor Nancy L. Zimpher, who oversees all 64 campuses in the nation's largest comprehensive system of public higher education, will confer Marsalis with the honorary doctorate alongside SUNY Board of Trustees Chairman Carl T. Hayden on Friday, Dec. 10.

Dr. Schwaller and Crane School of Music Dean Dr. Michael Sitton will also join to honor the composer, bandleader, educator and humanitarian in the ceremony at the Yamaha Piano Salon at Yamaha Artist Services Inc. on Fifth Avenue in New York City.

Under the direction of Crane Jazz Studies Program Director Bret Zvacek, the five students will perform throughout the event and will play alongside Marsalis as he takes his trumpet at the end of the ceremony.

"The fact that a quintet featuring members of the Crane Jazz Ensemble has been invited to perform for this once-in-a-lifetime event speaks volumes for the quality of the jazz experience that students receive at Crane," said Professor of Music Zvacek. "The quintet represents all of the students who perform in the Crane Jazz Band and Crane Jazz Ensemble. Over the years, the jazz ensemble has been honored at noteworthy festivals, and the upcoming performance in New York is a living tribute to that legacy. The training that many musicians have received enrolled in our jazz studies minor has prepared them for graduate level jazz study at leading graduate institutions."

The students include:

  • Drew Coles, a senior music business major with a minor in jazz studies from Clifton Park, N.Y., on saxophone.
  • Taylor Clay, a senior music performance major with a minor in jazz studies from Pleasantville, N.Y., on saxophone.
  • Max Howard, a senior music performance major from Schenectady, N.Y., on piano.
  • Joseph Goehle, a junior music performance and education major with a minor in jazz studies from Lockport, N.Y., on bass.
  • Kevin Urvalek, a senior music education major with a minor in music business from Ballston Lake, N.Y., on percussion.

To see a video of the students practicing for their performance at the SUNY Potsdam President's House recently, view the video below or visit www.youtube.com/thesunypotsdam.

The ceremony will be recorded and streamed live over the web. Links for the livestream will be available on Dec. 10 at www.potsdam.edu/crane.

SUNY Potsdam students, faculty and staff will also view video of the event live in a screening on campus that day at the Crane School of Music. The public is invited to attend this free, drop-in event from 3 to 5 p.m. on Friday, Dec. 10, in Ralph Wakefield Recital Hall.

SUNY Potsdam is grateful to the generous sponsors for this event, including The Yamaha Corporation of America, and Michael and Barbara Maresca.

About Wynton Marsalis:

Marsalis is an internationally acclaimed musician, composer, bandleader, educator and a leading advocate of American culture. He is the world's first jazz artist to perform and compose across the full jazz spectrum from its New Orleans roots to bebop to modern jazz. By creating and performing an expansive range of brilliant new music for quartets to big bands, chamber music ensembles to symphony orchestras, tap dance to ballet, Marsalis has expanded the vocabulary for jazz and created a vital body of work that places him among the world's finest musicians and composers. He is the co-founder and artist director of Jazz at Lincoln Center. Read more about the amazing career of this extraordinary individual at www.wyntonmarsalis.org.

About SUNY Potsdam:

Founded in 1816, and located on the outskirts of the beautiful Adirondack Park, the State University of New York at Potsdam is one of America's first 50 colleges. SUNY Potsdam currently enrolls approximately 4,350 undergraduate and graduate students. Home to the world-renowned Crane School of Music, SUNY Potsdam is known for its handcrafted education, challenging liberal arts and sciences core, excellence in teacher training and leadership in the performing and visual arts. Find out more at www.potsdam.edu.

About the Crane School of Music:

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. Learn more about the Crane School of Music at www.potsdam.edu/crane.

About the State University of New York:

The State University of New York is the largest comprehensive university system in the United States, educating nearly 465,000 students in 7,351 degree and certificate programs on 64 campuses. To learn more about how SUNY creates opportunity, visit www.suny.edu.

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