SUNY Potsdam Celebrates 'La Vida Musical' with Spanish Concert

POTSDAM, NY (09/30/2010)(readMedia)-- SUNY Potsdam invites the public to take part in a celebration of Spanish culture and music in "La Vida Musical," a unique concert being prepared at the Crane School of Music.

Led by College President Dr. John F. Schwaller, an expert in early colonial Mexican history who will serve as the master of ceremonies, the concert will take place at 7:30 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 15 in Sara M. Snell Music Theatre on the SUNY Potsdam campus.

The music of Spain and countries influenced by Spanish culture will be on display in a variety of works for piano, voice, violin, guitar and more.

"I spent many years outside of the United States as an opera singer and on my return to the States and coming as a professor here to Crane I noticed immediately a cultural and language shift in America. Spanish was becoming a major language in the daily lives and culture of America. I found this fascinating and interesting and wanted to know more about this 'Spanish' culture and especially its meaning in the arts and music," said concert organizer Donald George, an associate professor of voice at the Crane School of Music. "I hope through our better acquaintance with Hispanic music (to use a more modern term) we all will understand the joyous and celebratory aspects of this culture."

Most of the music on the program is from Spain, meaning from Castile, the Basque country, Catalonia or Andalusia, but much is also from Latin American countries such as Cuba and Mexico. The Latin-American music incorporates myriad influences from Aztecs to Incas, to Africa and to the Taino and Zapotec tribes.

From the musical nationalism showcased in Enrique Granados's work for piano, "Allegro de Concierto in C Major, Op. 46," to the Basque Zarzuela opera forms developed in Pablo Sorozábal's "La Tabernera del Puerto," or the Cuban composer Joaquin Nin Castellanos's "Chants d'Espagne," the audience will see the evolution of music inspired by Spain.

Well-known opera arias from Manuel de Falla and, of course, Georges Bizet, will also be performed--not to mention a modern piece for baritone, "Canto Negro," by Xavier Montsalvatge. Crane professor Douglas Rubio will present a guitar piece by turn-of-the-century composer Isaac Albéniz, while professor Eugenia Tsarov will perform his "Tango from España, Op. 165, No. 2."

After a brief intermission, the Crane Latin Ensemble--fresh from a summer trip to perform in Mexico--will take the stage. Led by director Dr. Marcia Baxter, the group will complete the evening with such mambo hits as "Mama Guela" by Tito Rodriguez, "Perfidia" by Alberto Dominguez and "Llora Timbero" by Arsenio Rodriguez. In addition, four students will perform "Concierto de Aranjuez" by Joaquin Rodrigo, which was famously arranged for Il Divo, the multinational operatic pop vocal group.

"With the Gypsy laments of De Falla, the African rhythms of Montsalvatge, the passion of the Zarzuela and the joy in the songs of Tito Rodriquez, Arsenio Rodriguez and the sensuous beauty of Rodrigo's 'Aranjuez,' sung by Crane's own Il Divo quartet, Hispanic culture in all its variety presents itself to Potsdam and to the North Country," said George. "Enjoy the joy of this culture! Viva España!"

This event is free, and the public is invited to attend. For more information about the many events on the Crane School of Music's busy concert 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-