PURCHASE COLLEGE HOSTS UNITED ACADEMIA CONCERT AS PART OF THE FIRST ANNIVERSARY OF THE UNITED NATIONS’ ACADEMIC IMPACT GLOBAL INITIATIVE

It’s rare that college music students have the opportunity to perform alongside world-class artists on one of the most impressive stages in the Hudson Valley. But that’s exactly what will happen when the Purchase Symphony Orchestra and other students from the School of Arts Conservatory of Music, Purchase College, SUNY share the spotlight with internationally acclaimed performers at the United Academia concert on Friday, Nov. 18, 7:30 pm, at the Purchase College Performing Arts Center.

The United Academia concert is a celebration of the first anniversary of the United Nations’ Academic Impact global initiative, which aligns institutions of higher education with the United Nations to support the highest principles in human rights, literacy, sustainability and conflict resolution.

Purchase students will perform under the baton of guest conductor George Manahan, music director of the American Composers Orchestra and former conductor of the New York City Opera for 14 years. Other guest artists include: celebrated Italian tenor Luciano Lamonarca, jazz musicians Sy Johnson and Mike Richmond; stand-up comedian Regina DeCicco and timpanist Matthew Centanni, a recent Purchase alumnus (‘10) who was one of last year’s winners of the School of the Arts Conservatory of Music Concerto Competition. The master of ceremonies is radio personality and producer Valerie Smaldone.

The program includes Brahms’ “Academic Festival Overture,” Tchaikovsky’s “Romeo and Juliet Overture” and William Kraft’s “Timpani Concerto # 1.” In addition Mr. Lamonarca will perform “The Impossible Dream” from “Man of La Mancha” and “Mamma,” a single released by Lamonarca in 2009.

“This is an exciting and unique opportunity for our students to perform with internationally acclaimed artists,” said Thomas J. Schwarz, president of Purchase College. “The concert brings to the attention of the public our highly accomplished students, who will become the next generation of professional musicians to perform around the country and the world.”  President Schwarz is a member of the International Association of University Presidents (IAUP), an Academic Impact partner organization of university chief executives from higher education institutions around the world.

The concert is sponsored by the Puglia Center of America, in collaboration with Purchase College, SUNY, and under the patronage of the Commissione Nazionale Italiana per l’UNESCO; the Commissioner’s Office for Culture, Tourism, Peace and the Mediterranean Area of the Region of Puglia; and the Province of Bari. The evening includes closing remarks by President Schwarz and H.E. Kiyo Akasaka, Under-Secretary-General for Communications and Public Information at the United Nations.

The Purchase Symphony Orchestra performs in four major concerts a year at the Performing Arts Center. This year’s guest conductors include Mr. Manahan; Guillermo Figueroa, music director of the New Mexico Symphony and principal guest conductor of the Puerto Rico Symphony; and Ransom Wilson, founder and conductor of the Solisti New York Orchestra and former Artistic Director of Oklahoma's OK MOZART International Festival.

For more information on the United Academia concert, please call 914-251-6202 or visit www.artscenter.org

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 aspirations for Purchase were to combine on one campus conservatory training in the visual and performing arts with programs in the liberal arts and sciences. 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.

About the Conservatory of Music of Purchase College’s School of The Arts:

The Conservatory of Music offers a unique educational experience—intensive training within the context of a spirited, supportive community. The college’s proximity to New York City makes it possible for students to study with many of the most respected names in music—and benefit from their extensive real-world experience as performers, composers, and producers through private lessons and small-group study.