Purchase College Announces Free Fall Concerts

The Purchase College Conservatory of Music has announced its fall 2020 season. As in other years, the professional-caliber students from the highly selective program will perform a wide range of music including classical, Jazz, choral, opera, contemporary, and new, original compositions by students. Unlike in previous years, all concerts will be performed without a live audience. Concerts will either be livestreamed or recorded and presented at a certain time as a Watch Party, to encourage audiences to watch together. All performances will be made available for free to the community.

“The Purchase College Conservatory of Music thrives as part of a dynamic arts community, both at the College and in the larger Westchester area,” says Jennifer Undercofler, director of the Conservatory at Purchase College, SUNY. “At this challenging time, when music has the ability to help bring us together, we look forward to giving back to the community through this series of free, virtual concerts.”

Visit www.purchase.edu/music for more information on the Conservatory of Music.


About the Concerts


Music & Technology Showcase
Friday, October 16, 7:00 pm
Livestream on YouTube

This concert showcases the next generation of songwriters from the Music and Technology Department. Students from both Studio Composition and Studio Production have written songs showcasing their unique style of contemporary composition. This performance will be streamed live with students performing 2-3 songs each. Similar to a songwriting showcase, students will also be given the opportunity to discuss their writing process and the stories behind the songs.


Music & Technology Showcase
Friday, November 13, 7:00 pm
Livestream on YouTube

This concert showcases the next generation of songwriters and performers from the Music and Technology Department. Students from both Studio Composition and Studio Production will present pre-recorded performances created in collaboration with artists, dancers, musicians and videographers showcasing their unique style. This performance will be a combination of pre-recorded videos showcasing the student's compositions and a live interview between faculty and student to follow discussing their inspiration and collaboration.

Purchase Percussion Ensemble
Monday, November 16, 7:00 pm
Livestream on YouTube

Christopher Graham and Russell Greenberg, Co-Artistic Directors

This performance will feature the music of Devonte Hynes, Mauricio Kagel, Ellen Reid, and Elizabeth Hoffmann.

Purchase Latin Jazz Orchestra
Tuesday, November 17, 7:00 pm
Livestream on YouTube

David DeJesus, Conductor

The Purchase Latin Jazz Orchestra (PLJO) is an exciting ensemble that performs music from all over Latin America. Featuring top students from the Purchase College Conservatory of Music, the PLJO explores numerous genres including Mambo, Cha-Cha, Danzon, Festejo, and Porro. Whether performing classic compositions by the masters or newer works commissioned for the ensemble, seeing and hearing the PLJO is always a memorable occasion.

Purchase Jazz Orchestra
Thursday, November 19, 7:00 pm
Livestream on YouTube

David DeJesus and John Mosca, Conductors

The Purchase Jazz Orchestra (PJO) is a 17-piece big band that performs jazz from every era. From staples like Ellington and Basie, to more modern works by today’s leading composers and arrangers like McNeely, Clayton, Abene, and Schneider, the PJO swings and is always a pleasure to listen to.

Virtual Chamber Music Festival
Friday, December 5, 7:00 pm,
Watch Party on YouTube

Students in our Classical Chamber Music program present an evening of chamber duos recorded over the course of the semester.

Soul Voices: “Be the Change” Watch Party
Friday, December 9, 7:00 p.m.
Watch Party on YouTube

Pete Malinverni, Founder and Artistic Director

Soul Voices celebrate the diverse and talented student body of Purchase College. Comprised of young people of various backgrounds, interests, and major study areas, the singers in the group come together to experience and express to their audiences the unity possible via the great and universal gift of the human voice. In this concert, Purchase Soul Voices offers music, old and new, that expresses the eternal need to stand up for justice and human worth.

Purchase Symphony Orchestra Watch Party
Friday, December 11, 7:00 p.m.
Watch Party on YouTube

Mina Kim, Conductor

The Purchase Symphony Orchestra will perform the following pieces:
Beethoven: Leonore Overture No.3
Walker: Lyrics for Strings
Berlioz: Rakoczy March
Mussorgsky (arr. Ravel): Selections from Pictures at an Exhibition

Purchase Opera: Opera Outside the Box
Saturday and Sunday, December 12 and 13, 7:00 p.m.
Watch Party on YouTube

Jacque Trussel, Director
Hugh Murphy, Music Director

Purchase Opera presents scenes filmed live on location throughout Westchester and presented as an online watch party.

Purchase Chorus Watch Party
Monday, December 14, 7:00 p.m.
Watch Party on YouTube

David J. Recca, Conductor

The Purchase Chorus will perform “To Sit and Dream,” featuring choral settings of poetry by Langston Hughes composed by Rosephanye Powell, Evan Mack, Ricky Ian Gordon, and more.

Purchase Percussion Ensemble
Tuesday, December 15, 7:00 pm
Watch Party on YouTube

Christopher Graham and Russell Greenberg, Co-Artistic Directors

This performance will feature the music of Cat Hope, Annea Lockwood, and Mauricio Kagel.

Purchase New Music Watch Party
Wednesday, December 16, 7:00 pm
Watch Party on YouTube

Amanda Gookin, Artistic Director

This multi-media performance features the next generation of composers and performers. Students of the Purchase College composition studio spend the semester developing and refining pieces written specifically for the members of the Purchase New Music Ensemble. This collaboration culminates in a night of inter-disciplinary premieres featuring the PNM Ensemble members, dancers, and artists in a series of student-produced music videos.

About Purchase College, SUNY
Purchase College, part of the State University of New York (SUNY) network of 64 universities and colleges, was founded in 1967 by Governor Nelson Rockefeller. His aspiration for Purchase was to create a dynamic campus that combined conservatory training in the visual and performing arts with programs in the liberal arts and sciences, in order to inspire an appreciation for both intellectual and artistic talents in all students. Today, Purchase College, SUNY is a community of students, faculty, and friends where open-minded engagement with the creative process leads to a lifetime of intellectual growth and professional opportunity. For more information about the College, visit www.purchase.edu.