As a part of SUNY New Paltz’s Fall 2023 Concert Series, “Visions and Variations,” the Music Department will be showcasing their third year of the Composition Concert. The concert will present original works of music created by composition students here at SUNY New Paltz. Tickets are $10 for general admission, but they are free to students who present their SUNY New Paltz ID. The show will be held in Studley Theatre on Tuesday, Nov. 14 at 7:30 p.m.
This particular concert will feature performances by Sion Kikuchi, Jennifer Poroye, Julian Slavin, Sarah Taxter, Taylor Weinstein, Carmen Costello, Ryan Diener, Vince Mandracchia and Ben Cherry. Some professors and faculty are also involved, including Professor Phyllis Chen, J. Marcus and Professor Jesse Stacken.
Julian Slavin is a third-year music composition major who primarily plays the guitar. Slavin will be performing “a piece of classical music called a fugue. In addition to this, there will also be a prelude.”
Slavin told The Oracle that “anybody who’s a composition major or in composition classes has to submit something. If there’s enough room within the slots, it’s allowed and then that person then has to start getting people together to try to perform.”
Vince Mandracchia is a third-year music major with a double concentration in composition and jazz performance. Mandracchia said that he will be “performing a piece called ‘Dinner Party’ which is an experimental piece that takes aspects of a lot of different genres and mixes them, such as classical and jazz primarily.”
This will be Mandracchia’s third composition concert, considering that he has “written and performed original pieces for it each semester since fall 2022,” Mandracchia told The Oracle.
Sion Kikuchi is a fourth-year music major with a double concentration in composition and cello performance. Kikuchi will be performing a piece called “In Memory Of.” This will be Kikuchi’s third year of participating in the concert. In addition to performing his own composed pieces, Kikuchi has “performed and played in other students’ compositions.”
Kikuchi also shared that “this song holds a lot of personal meaning to me that I hope will resonate with others. I will be playing piano for it and Hailey Brown and Jennifer Poroye will be singing.”
Music composition professor Phyllis Chen said that “as the coordinator of the composition program, [her] goal is to create a nurturing community for students to explore new sounds and play original new music together.” Professor Chen went on to share that since this is the third year of the program, she is “encouraged by the campus enthusiasm.”
Professor Chen shared that “students from the Experiments in Composition class will also do a unique sound-action piece by the legendary sound artist, Pauline Oliveros.”
The Fall Composition Concert will be at 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday Nov. 14 in Studley Theatre. Tickets for the upcoming show are now available online or at the Parker Theatre box office on campus.