News from SUNY Cortland

For more information contact: Jean Palmer, 607-753-2232

David Neal to Chair Performing Arts Department at SUNY Cortland

CORTLAND, NY (08/25/2008; 1534)(readMedia)-- SUNY Cortland has appointed David Neal of Groton, N.Y., as chair of the Performing Arts Department in the School of Arts and Sciences.

Neal, an associate professor of performing arts and music who has served the College for seven years, began his three-year appointment on Aug. 1.

The Performing Arts Department provides high quality music, theatre and dance education and training; fosters advancements in performance, creativity, research, scholarship and teaching among its faculty; serves the general student population of the College; and acts as an educational cultural resource for the College, the Cortland community and national and international constituencies. The department offers a B.A. in musical theatre and minors in music, theatre and American musical theatre.

Neal, who joined the College's Performing Arts Department in 2001, was promoted to associate professor in 2004. In addition to teaching, he is the artistic director of the Arts at Grace concert series in Cortland, which raises funds from businesses, individual donations and grants, and presents a wide variety of music to the community free of charge.

From 2001 to 2007, Neal was the musical director of SUNY Cortland's mainstage musical theater productions, conducting such shows as "Gypsy," "She Loves Me," "Carousel," "Chicago" and "A Little Night Music."

A native of Ithaca, N.Y., Neal has a bachelor's degree from Cornell University. He earned a Doctorate in Musical Arts from Peabody Conservatory in Baltimore, Md.

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