Student Musicians, Special Guest Highlight GospelFEST 2015
GospelFEST 2015, a powerful one-night concert featuring the Plattsburgh State Gospel Choir, student musicians and a special guest performer, is set for Saturday, May 2 in the E. Glenn Giltz Auditorium.
The event marks the end of the academic season and the start to summer. Doors at the Hawkins Hall venue on campus open at 5:30 p.m. The two-hour event begins at 6 p.m.
Featuring a unique fusion of traditional gospel, urban gospel and contemporary Christian music, the choir blends its performances heavily with Caribbean and Afrocentric rhythms and spiritual overtones.
Along with highlighting student musicians throughout the performance, the evening will include special guest Mame Assane Coly, a master sabar, kutiro, djembe and tama drummer from Dakar, Senegal. Coly moved to Vermont in January and is currently working with the Jeh Kulu African Dance and Drum Theater in Burlington.
Selections to be presented include "The Gift" by Donald Lawrence, Brenda Moore's choral gospel classic "Excellent" and an original piece written by choir director Dr. Dexter Criss, SUNY Plattsburgh associate professor of chemistry. The choir's Step Team, Praise Dancers and Praise Team will also perform.
Tickets for students are $5 in advance and $7 at the door. General admission is $10 in advance and $12 at the door. Children 5 and under are free.
Tickets are available at the Angell College Center desk on campus, the Christian Supply Center on Prospect Avenue in Plattsburgh, Advance Music in Burlington and from the Plattsburgh State Gospel Choir office in Hawkins Hall. Purchases may also be made online at www.plattsburghstategospelchoir.org.
For more information on the concert, contact 518-564-2704 or [email protected]. Details on the Plattsburgh State Gospel Choir are online at the group's website or its Facebook page.