SUNY Potsdam’s Crane Wind Ensemble, led by Dr. Brian Doyle, comprises 58 of the most outstanding wind and percussion majors in The Crane School of Music. The CWE will perform a concert featuring Dr. Lauren Becker, assistant professor of horn at Crane, on Wednesday, Feb. 22 at 4:30 p.m. in the Helen M. Hosmer Hall.
The program includes: “Recoil” by Joseph Schwantner, “The Glass Bead Game” by James A. Beckel (featuring Becker on horn), “Winter Mountain” by Persis Vehar (a Crane faculty member from 1994-95) and Percy Aldridge Grainger’s magnum opus for wind band, “Lincolnshire Posy.”
About the performers:
The CWE was formed in 1956 by Willard Musser. They perform as a full wind band and also in smaller chamber groups with varied instrumentation. This group is dedicated to the performance of the finest wind repertoire, regardless of period or disposition of instrumental forces. The CWE is also committed to performing music of our time, and is active in working with composers in the commissioning of new works to support this goal. Recent premieres include works by Stephen Bryant, Joel Puckett, Kristin Kuster, Roshanne Etezady, David Heinick, James Mobberley, Christopher Theofanidis, Gregory Wanamaker, Dana Wilson, D.J. Sparr and Andre Previn.
The CWE performs at least three performances each fall and spring, and also tours regularly. Recent off-campus performances have included concerts at the NYSSMA Winter Conference and at the NYSBDA Winter Symposium. In November of 2014, the Crane Wind Ensemble released their latest compact disc, “Adirondack Songs.” A new compact disc, “cranesongs,” is in the works.
Prior to Becker’s appointment at Crane, she taught horn at Nazareth College, the University of Rochester and the Eastman Community Music School. Active as a freelance musician, she has performed with ensembles throughout the United States and beyond, including the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra, Detroit Symphony Orchestra, Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra, Albany Symphony Orchestra, Symphoria, Kuala Lumpur International Festival Orchestra and North Country Chamber Players.
Becker is a member of Music in the American Wild, a new music ensemble that performed world-premiere compositions in seven U.S. National Parks during the summer of 2016 to celebrate the centennial of the National Parks Service. She has performed on many recordings, including the Eastman Wind Ensemble's collaboration with the Canadian Brass entitled “Manhattan Music” and the Buffalo Philharmonic's recording of selected works of Béla Bartók (Naxos).
She holds a Doctor of Musical Arts degree from the Eastman School of Music, where she was awarded the 2013 Teaching Assistant Prize for excellence in collegiate teaching. She also has a Master of Music degree from Eastman in Horn Performance and Literature and a Bachelor of Music in Music Education from the University of New Hampshire.
This performance is free and open to the public.
This concert will be broadcast live on the SUNY Potsdam website 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.
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