This coming Halloween marks 500 years since Martin Luther nailed his “Ninety-five Theses” to the door of All Saints’ Church in Wittenberg and subsequently launched the Protestant Reformation.
Radically breaking with church doctrine, Luther encouraged the common person to have a direct relationship with the divine. Over the ensuing five centuries, countless pieces of art and music have been inspired by Luther’s ideals.
SUNY Potsdam’s Crane School of Music will host a special fall choral concert exploring the impact of Luther’s legacy on music, on Friday, Nov. 3 at 7:30 p.m., in the Helen M. Hosmer Concert Hall.
The concert will highlight music that is composed or inspired by Martin Luther and his ideas, including music of the German Reformation, and the parallel tradition of the African-American spiritual.
All are welcome to join for this free performance, featuring three choral ensembles, including the Hosmer Choir, the Phoenix Club and the Crane Concert Choir.
The concert will include works by Johannes Sebastian Bach, Johannes Brahms, Claudio Monteverdi, Martin Luther, Shavon Lloyd ’18, Moses Hogan and Jake Runestad, among others.
About the performers:
The Hosmer Choir is one of two mixed voice (SATB) choral ensembles offered at SUNY Potsdam’s Crane School of Music. Though the choir is open to any singer enrolled at SUNY Potsdam or the Associated Colleges, it is primarily comprised of freshman level Crane vocal principals. The Hosmer Choir is dedicated to performing a wide array of music, from classical compositions to rock songs, as well as culturally diverse music.
The Phoenix Club is Crane’s all treble (SA) choir. Founded in 1894, it is the oldest choral ensemble on campus. The Phoenix Club studies the finest choral literature appropriate for a college level treble choir and is dedicated to performing at the highest level. In addition to performing as an independent ensemble, singers in the Phoenix Club also have combined musical experiences with other Crane choral and instrumental ensembles.
The Crane Concert Choir is a select, auditioned mixed ensemble at SUNY Potsdam’s Crane School of Music. The Crane Concert Choir has performed at regional conferences for the American Choral Directors Association and the National Association for Music Education, as well as at schools and churches in Gettysburg, Penn.; Binghamton, N.Y.; Syracuse, N.Y.; Long Island, N.Y., and New York City. Each year, the choir presents several on- and off-campus concerts, and in recent years, members of the Crane Concert Choir have toured Europe (2013, 2017), and China, performing at the International Coral Festival in Beijing (2007).
This concert will be broadcast live on the Crane School of Music YouTube channel at the performance time. To view the program and see other upcoming streaming performances, visit www.potsdam.edu/academics/Crane/streaming.
For more information about SUNY Potsdam’s Crane School of Music, please visit www.potsdam.edu/crane.
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.
Arts & Culture