SUNY New Paltz Music Department

The SUNY New Paltz Music Department is a part of the State University of New York at New Paltz School of Fine and Performing Arts. The Department is fully accredited by the National Association of Schools of Music and the American Music Therapy Association.
History
SUNY New Paltz has had a music department for over a century. When the New Paltz Normal School was founded in 1855, music was a fundamental part of the institution. As early as 1892, the school's faculty included Josephine Lindholm, an instructor of instrumental music.
Also in 1892, the school featured a glee club for boys and girls, the Thekla quartette, and A.D.N. quartette. By 1894, a vocal group called the Chef Club had formed. A small orchestra featuring strings, piano, clarinet, and cornet performed in school concerts at the village hall. Other musical groups formed in the 1890s included the Autoharp Club and the Banjo, Mandolin, and Guitar Club.
When Stanley Osborn came to the school in 1900, he structured the vocalists into an organized glee club with 20 members. The club performed in concerts open to the local community every December and June. The glee club notably performed for then-New York State Governor Theodore Roosevelt and some of his associates in Albany.
The glee club eventually reached 150 members and studied cantatas, oratories, and operas. Its repertoire included Mendelssohn's ', Robert Schumann's Minstrel's Curse, and Schubert's Song of Miriam. Osborn's tenure culminated in a performance of Faust on June 20, 1905. The department began to flourish, and a new building was added after 1905.
Around 1909, a women's glee club was formed, and a concert before commencement became tradition. During World War I, the Normal School and the community schools also made up songs and dances for the Allies and called To Arms For Victory.
In 1917, Mrs. Leon Green started a string ensemble. Green, and later Amy E. Clark, continued the ensemble for the next ten years. A band and an instrumental group for beginners were added after Marion Harding's appointment in 1928. In 1929, Harding conducted the orchestra.
By the 1930s, woodwinds were added to the string ensemble. The group was further developed by Howard Hoffman, who became the conductor in 1930. Under Hoffman, the Normal School Orchestra widened its range of instruments. The orchestra played in chapel or assembly every week, and gave an annual concert. Hoffman created a curriculum with instruction in instrumentation and conducting. Other musical activities, such as a mandolin club, flourished.
The glee club under the direction of Jennie L. Dann was a direct descendent of the Chef Club of the 1890s and Osborn's later organization of 1900. The voice group performed operettas and other various songs. Harding conducted the larger college chorus.
There was a men’s glee club, and it reflected the larger number of men on campus. Harding was the conductor of the woman's chorus. The men's glee club performed in the 1939 New York World's Fair mass concert, as well as in radio broadcasts. The men's group lasted three years; it was revived a decade later in 1947. In 1942, the Normal School became the State Teachers' College at New Paltz.
Members of all the music groups were automatically a part of the music association. From 1938 to 1949, the association sponsored regular musical programs and sought to keep a high level of performance in musical activities around campus. It functioned through a board composed of students and faculty.
In 1947, a mixed chorus was formed, following the appointment of O. Lincoln Igou. Igou suggested that the college orchestra accept members from the community. The orchestra eventually became known as the college community orchestra. The organization presented a regular series of concerts.
In 1948 there was a swing band. In following years, Robert Strothenke's mixed chorus followed the same path. The program of the college community chorus featured ' and Brahms' Song of Destiny.
Mu Sigma Epsilon and the music faculty sponsored the first choral clinic for high school singers from Long Island and the Hudson Valley at New Paltz in 1949. Ralph Hunter of the Juilliard School conducted. Helen Hosmer of the Crane School of Music, Postdam, was the second guest director. The groups sang music by American composers like Randall Thompson and Roy Harris, but also performed classics. The organization flourished for many years.
Around 1950, the taping of notable performances by college groups was the norm. A quartet composed of Juanita Will, Collette Magnussen, Henry Hopper, and Fred Roth created a recording for posterity.
Four student choral groups existed on campus in the 1950s, participating in spring concerts and other events. In 1950-51, the college band was revived by Victor Landau. Until 1950-51, the Glee Club was under Harding's direction; it was the oldest organization in the history of the Normal School and College. Under the direction of Horace Fishback in the fall of 1958, several organizations combined and presented The Mikado.
In 1959 the college's name changed to College of Education. In 1961, it became the State University of New York College of Arts and Science at New Paltz.
Marion Harding retired in 1964 and her final bequest was a scholarship. In 1966, Thomas Barr was the chairman of the division of music; there were 15 music department faculty members. Peter Bagley was the conductor of the Concert Choir and Chamber Singers.
The 1960s and 1970s were wrought by civil rights demonstrations and peace rallies. Music became one of the most powerful mediums of expression; the Woodstock Festival, held thirty minutes' drive north of the SUNY New Paltz campus, was very influential. New Paltz was a stopping point before Woodstock. Many notable musicians came to New Paltz in 1969: Lou Rawls,Gary Puckett & The Union Gap , and Buffy Sainte-Marie, There was also a student Rock and Roll Ensemble.
In the early 1970s, due to the popularity of Woodstock and the civil rights and anti-war movements, dozens of musicians performed on campus. The town was known for its popularity among demonstrators. These acts included The Who Sam & Dave Ten Years After Chuck Berry, Seals and Crofts The Jefferson Airplane Van Morrison B.B. King Chambers Brothers The Byrds and The Beach Boys
In 1986, the school yearbook indicates that the following musical organizations existed: concert choir, symphonic orchestra, collegium musicum, college chorale, symphonic band jazz ensemble, symphonic orchestra, jazz workshop, music therapy club, and classical jazz concert.
Upon his arrival in the United States in 1987, Russian virtuoso pianist Vladimir Feltsman accepted a professorial chair on the faculty at the New Paltz music department. Critics enjoyed his performances at the White House, Carnegie Hall, and Kennedy Center.
In 1994, the Campus renamed itself the State University of New York at New Paltz. In 1995, Feltsman established the annual Piano Summer festival. Professional pianists come from all over the world to participate in a competition and workshops.
Concert Halls and Theaters
*Julien J. Studley Theatre
*McKenna Theatre
*Nadia and Max Shepard Recital Hall
*Parker Theatre
Concert Ensembles
The department has a full range of performing ensembles including the College-Youth Symphony, Symphonic Band, College-Community Chorale, Concert Choir, Chamber Singers, Collegium Musicum, and Chamber Jazz Ensembles.
Concert Series
The Concert Series program is a series of performances the institution exhibits throughout the semester. The concerts very in genre.
The SUNY New Paltz Music Department provides for the local community. A free concert is held annually on Make a Difference Day.> </ref>
Notable faculty
*Vladimir Feltsman, Pianist
*Carole Cowan, Violinist
*Susan Seligman, Cellist
*Ruthanne Schempf, Pianist
*Teri Roiger, Jazz Vocalist
Notable alumni
*Yashar Zadeh—better known as the underground rapper Yak Ballz
*Andy Shernoff—Rock Musician
*Murali Coryell—Guitarist
*Karen Bernod—R&B Vocalist
*Julie Novak—Singer, indie punk
Bibliography
*Elizabeth Lang and Robert Lang, In a Valley Fair: A History of the State University College of Education (New Paltz, NY: State College of Education, 1960)
*Phyllis Freeman and David Krikun, A Brief History of SUNY New Paltz (SUNY New Paltz, 1997)

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