Full Slate of Music, Theater Performances Rounds Out End of SUNY Plattsburgh Year

With the semester winding down for the academic year, SUNY Plattsburgh’s music and theater departments will give campus and community a chance to see and hear an array of performances, beginning with the Symphonic Band’s  spring concert, “Folk Songs from Both Sides of the Atlantic,” Wednesday, April 23.

Under the direction of Daniel Gordon, professor of music, the concert, 7:30 p.m. in E. Glenn Giltz Auditorium, Hawkins Hall, will feature English, Irish, French, American, Mexican and Cajun folk songs by Ralph Vaughn Williams, Percy Grainger, Darius Milhaud, Ellie Siegmeister, H. Owen Reed and Frank Ticheli.

“Folk Songs from Both Sides of the Atlantic” is free and open to the public.

GospelFEST ’25

On Saturday, April 26 from 6 to 8 p.m., the Plattsburgh State Gospel Choir will present, “GospelFEST 2025” at the Church of the Nazarene, 187 Broad St., Plattsburgh.

Under the direction of Dr. Dexter Criss, professor of chemistry, GospelFEST will be a fusion of traditional gospel, urban gospel and contemporary Christian music, mixed heavily with Caribbean and Afrocentric rhythms and spiritual overtones.

Selections include "Holy Water" by Tasha Cobbs, Kurt Carr's "Great God Great Praise," Rollo Dilworth's spiritual arrangement of "Walk in Jerusalem," and Trey McLaughlin’s cover of "I Shall Wear a Crown,"  among others.

Student soloists include Jerrique Ortiz, Charlotte Feliz and Keely Huling as well as community members Barbara Jackson, Barbara Criss, Brett Carpenter, Angelica Sanchez, Van Dora Williams and Gina Lindsey.

Gabriel Kneller, STEM tutor in the Learning Center, will open on the banjo at 5:45 p.m.

Student admission is $5 advance online and $10 at the door. General admission is $15 advance and $20 at the door.

For more information, visit www.plattsburghstategospelchoir.org.

Senior Recital

Soprano Georgia Becker will perform her senior recital Sunday, April 27 at 2 p.m. in Krinovitz Recital Hall, Hawkins Hall. Becker’s concert is free and open to the public.

The student of Timothy Morningstar, lecturer in music, will present a variety of works by Handel, Schumann, Brown, Flaherty, and more. She will be accompanied on stage by Dr. Karen Becker, professor and chair of music.

The recital is free and open to the public.

10-Minute-Play Festival

The Department of Theater will present a series of student-directed short plays in two locations in downtown Plattsburgh Saturday, May 1 at 5:30 p.m. as part of the 10-Minute-Play Festival at the Strand Center for the Arts Gallery, 23 Brinkerhoff St., and Chapter One Coffee & Tea, 30 City Hall Place.

Artistic director Dr. Shawna Mefferd Kelty, professor and chair of the theater department, said the festival theme this year “is inclusive community — the unique or unknown everyday stories of the people who make up where we live,” she said.

“I hope that we can share stories that need to be told, voices that need amplifying and experiences that are deserving of empathy.”

10-Minute-Play Festival will feature “Matriarchy,” by Robin Berl, “Can Superman Smash the Klan?” by Sarah Bowden, “Spoons,” by France Violet Jones, and “Mimo,” by Luis Roberto Herrera at Chapter One.

The Strand will play host to “As the Crow Flies,” by Zach Hancock, “Dirty Dishes,” by Eric Braman, and “Honest Lesson in Self Defense,” by Patricia Lynn.

Both locations will begin performances at 5:30 p.m., with a second performance starting at 6:30 p.m. This allows any who would like to experience the entirety of the play festival a chance to view all of the performances.

“The festival celebrates our student theater artists as well as the playwrights and strengthens the creative community here in Plattsburgh,” Kelty said. “Theater creates a space to start conversations and to create connections, even if it isn’t in an actual theater, building community through art. We are so grateful to everyone who has helped bring this year’s festival to fruition and look forward to sharing it with the community.”

Tickets for the 10-Minute-Play Festival are $5 for general admission and $3 for SA members advance purchase or $5 day of show at the door with cash, only. Tickets may be purchased online at https://campusgroups.plattsburgh.edu/themus/events/.

JazzFest ’25

JazzFest ’25, featuring the SUNY Plattsburgh Jazz Ensemble, will be held Saturday, May 3 at 7:30 p.m. in Giltz. Directed by Michael Lewandowski, adjunct lecturer in music, the evening includes special guests Matt Dunne and Wayne Davison.

JazzFest ’25 is free and open to the public.

Guitar Ensemble: 'Guitars from Outer Space'

The SUNY Plattsburgh Guitar Ensemble will present, “Guitars from Outer Space: Music from all Space and Times,” Wednesday, May 7 at 7:30 p.m. in Krinovitz Recital Hall, Hawkins Hall.

Directed by Michael Fratino, adjunct lecturer in music, the concert is free and open to the public.

Concert Choir: 'Love is All We Need'

Morningstar will also direct the SUNY Plattsburgh Concert Choir’s “Love is All We Need,” featuring “Animal Crackers” and more, Friday, May 9 at 7:”30 p.m. in Giltz Auditorium.

The Concert Choir’s performance is free and open to the public.

For more information on these and other events in music and theater, contact Dwayne Butchino, music and theater office assistant, at 518-564-2243 or email [email protected]. For a full schedule of music and theater events, visit https://campusgroups.plattsburgh.edu/themus/events/.

— By Associate Director of Communications Gerianne Downs