Fall Concert Series features Grammy-winning cellist Mike Block, internationally renowned percussionist Kyaw Kyaw Naing

Kyaw Kyaw Naing (left) and Alex Peh

The Department of Music at SUNY New Paltz is pleased to announce its fall 2019 Concert Series lineup, featuring performances by student and faculty musicians, and special guest appearances by visiting artists from around the world.

Series highlights include a one-of-a-kind performance with internationally renowned percussionists Kyaw Kyaw Naing and Susie Ibarra, and Department of Music faculty pianist Alex Peh, on Saturday, Oct. 5; and Grammy Award-winning cellist, singer and composer Mike Block, who headlines Ridge String Fling at SUNY New Paltz on Sunday, Oct. 27.

The fall 2019 Concert Series kicks off Tuesday, Sept. 10, with a Faculty Showcase of Department of Music distinguished teaching artists in a variety of solo and group settings.

Performances continue through Dec. 12, when the series concludes with three days of Solo & Duo Juries, spotlighting the progress and development of music majors throughout the semester.

View the full fall 2019 Concert Series schedule at https://www.newpaltz.edu/music/concertseries.html.

Mike Block

An award-winning member of Silk Road Ensemble, Mike Block has been called the “ideal musician of the 21st century” by frequent collaborator Yo-Yo Ma.

On Oct. 27, Block headlines Ridge String Fling at SUNY New Paltz. He will lead a 1 p.m. string improvisation workshop with middle and high school students, a 2:45 p.m. performance with students in Shepard Recital Hall, and a 4 p.m. recital in McKenna Theatre.

The Ridge String Fling workshop is open to violin, viola, cello and bass students in eighth grade and up. Use this link to learn more and register.

With Gongs, Drums and Pianos: Traditional Southeast Asian Music,” on Saturday, Oct. 5, is a joint production with the New York Conference on Asian Studies, also being hosted by the New Paltz campus.

Niang, Ibarra and Peh will perform Southeast Asian gong-chime music from Myanmar and the Philippines, alongside the first Burmese-American ensemble in the country composed of students and faculty.

Other notable appearances on the Music Concert Series calendar include:

  • Recurring favorites Innisfree Piano Trio—featuring New Paltz emeritus faculty Carole Cowan on violin, Susan Seligman on cello, Sylvia Buccelli on piano, and guest flutist Marcia Gates—present an evening of Mozart’s chamber music, Oct. 22 in Studley Theatre.
  • Violinist and concertmaster of the Bavarian Symphony Radio Tobias Steymans joins New Paltz faculty violist Christiana Fortune-Reader, cellist Ruth Marshall and pianist Garret Ross on Nov. 12 for a performance of Johannes Brahms’ “Piano Quartet in A Major, Op. 26” and “Phantasy for Piano Quartet H. 94 in F-sharp Minor” by Frank Bridge.
  • Back by popular demand, “Music + Stars,” a collaboration between the Department of Music and the Department of Physics & Astronomy, brings Alex Peh together with lecturer and John R. Kirk Planetarium director Raj Pandya for a planetarium star show, set to the music of American avant-garde minimalists Steve Reich and John Adams, performed by music students. Performances will be given from Nov. 15–17.

Tickets are available one hour prior to each performance in the venue lobby. Prices are $8 for the general public, $6 for seniors (62+) and Faculty/Staff, and $3 for student.

If you have accessibility questions or require accommodations to fully participate in these events, please contact Russ Thompson at thompsor@newpaltz.edu at least two weeks prior to the event[s] you plan to attend.

Use this link to view the full concert series schedule, and visit the Department of Music website for more info about music programs at SUNY New Paltz.