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SUNY Potsdam Alumna Raquel Acevedo Klein '16 Returns to Campus for Art Exhibition & Musical Performances

SUNY Potsdam's Gibson Gallery Hosts 'Pluralidad: A Concerto for Contours & Colors,' an Exhibition by Raquel Acevedo Klein '16, Followed by Upcoming Crane School of Music Residency

Potsdam, NY (02/27/2026) — SUNY Potsdam is proud to welcome back award-winning artist, composer, conductor, performer and Crane School of Music alumna Raquel Acevedo Klein '16 for a multiweek artistic residency this spring, featuring a new visual art exhibition, classroom collaborations and a culminating public concert.

Klein -- an acclaimed multidisciplinary creator whose work spans contemporary classical music, multimedia performance and largescale visual art -- will present her newest exhibition, "Pluralidad: A Concerto for Contours and Colors," at SUNY Potsdam's Gibson Gallery from March 5 to April 17.

Learn more: Spotlight on Raquel Acevedo Klein '16

Art exhibit

"Pluralidad" showcases Klein's vibrant mixed media collages, which merge drawing, illustration, painting, fabric and layered materials. In the exhibition statement, Klein -- who is of Puerto Rican, Colombian and Jewish heritage -- describes her work as a reflection of both her multilingual artistic practice and her multiplicity of identity, weaving her backgrounds in illustration, portraiture, music and orchestration into a unified visual language.

"These images hold multiple personal histories at once, not as fragments to be resolved or whittled down, but as voices that inform and embrace one another. This exhibition is an offering from a multi-hyphenate practice -- one that understands identity, medium and form as layered, resonant and inseparable," Klein said.

The show will be on view in SUNY Potsdam's Gibson Gallery, located in Brainerd Hall, from March 5 to April 17. The gallery's regular opening hours are from Wednesday to Friday, from 1 to 6 p.m., and on Saturdays from noon to 4 p.m. Please note that the gallery will be closed from March 7 to 15 for the College's spring break.

Klein will be installing the exhibition from March 1 to 5, working alongside SUNY Potsdam student gallery assistants. During the opening exhibition week, Klein will offer interactive walkthroughs and class visits for SUNY Potsdam art students.

The opening reception for "Pluralidad" will be held on Thursday, March 5, from 5 to 7 p.m., in the Gibson Gallery lobby. Both the reception and the exhibition are free and open to the public.

Music residency

Klein will return to SUNY Potsdam in April for the 45th annual McElheran Visiting Artist Residency, presented by the Community Performance Series, in coordination with The Crane School of Music.

During her residency, Klein will engage with composition performance classes, conduct ensembles and perform along with both guest artists and students at her alma mater.

Klein's concert will be held on Saturday, April 18, in the Performing Arts Center. Starting at 6:45 p.m., there will be a pre-concert audience-interactive vocal symphony experience, "Polyphonic Interlace," held in the Performing Arts Center Lobby.

Then, at 7:30 p.m., her guest artist concert will begin in the Proscenium Theater, as Klein performs alongside four guest artists and Dr. Timothy Sullivan. In addition, a student string quartet has also been invited to take part, including Crane student artists Paolina Iori, Emma Kuegel, Stephen Borgia and Maggie Christie.

About the artist:

The Washington Post describes composer, conductor, vocalist, instrumentalist and visual artist Raquel Acevedo Klein as a "force to be reckoned with." She has been commissioned by Opera Philadelphia to write her first opera detailing her family's immigration from Colombia and migration to New York City from Puerto Rico. Raquel recently made her Los Angeles Philharmonic conducting debut at Walt Disney Concert Hall. Recent recordings and performances include singing with Florence + The Machine on "The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon," singing on the record release of Florence's latest record "Everybody Scream," conducting the premiere of Gabriela Ortiz' "Kauyumari" and "Canta la Piedra-Tetluikan" at Carnegie Hall and the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and starring in Jamar Roberts' "Dance is a Mother" as a vocalist with New York City Ballet and Sara Mearns at New York City Center. Earlier this season, Raquel made her Broadway debut as music director for Justin Peck's Tony Award-winning musical "Illinoise," featuring music and lyrics by Sufjan Stevens. Sony Music released Raquel's debut record with Arcade Fire's Richard Reed Parry, titled "Adrianne and the Castle." Raquel tours and records as a vocalist in the Grammy Award-winning vocal band Roomful of Teeth. Her conducting credits include conducting the New York Philharmonic, New Jersey Symphony Orchestra, Attacca Quartet, So Percussion, Beth Morrison Projects and Brooklyn Youth Chorus. Raquel has premiered vocal works by John Adams, Nico Muhly, Bryce Dessner and Paola Prestini. Her favorite vocal performance and recording highlights include working with Alicia Keys, Bon Iver, Claire Chase and the Boston Symphony Orchestra. Raquel's compositions and performances have captured the attention of the New York Times, the New Yorker and the Los Angeles Times. Raquel has performed at Lincoln Center, Radio City Music Hall, Town Hall, Park Avenue Armory, "The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon," WNYC, Brooklyn Academy of Music, St. Ann's Warehouse, Celebrate Brooklyn!, the Guggenheim, Rockefeller Center, National Sawdust, Caramoor, Bard Fisher Center and elsewhere.

Raquel composed a body of ambisonic music presented by NASA and the European Space Agency that explored human consciousness and cosmic origins through the lens of the James Webb Space Telescope, and incorporated scientific data into each composition. The music premiered at the Texas Eclipse Festival in a 360 audio/visual dome and was published in NASA's online publication, NTRS. In 2024, Raquel mounted a three-month-long exhibit and performed a three-week run of live shows titled "Meta/Physical Therapy" at the Museum of Modern Art, with collaborators Nick Hallett and Shana Moulton. In 2022, Raquel formed a trio with Caroline Shaw and Angelica Negron, where they co-composed and performed a new song cycle comprised of voice, electronics, viola and accordion at Caramoor. As part of NY PopsUp, Raquel curated a four-week festival titled NYC FREE, to celebrate the opening of Little Island in 2021. She premiered an original, audience-interactive vocal symphony, "Polyphonic Interlace," made from 40 recorded layers of her voice that audiences can play using their phones. As a vocalist, she has recorded and performed with artists including Glen Hansard, Arcade Fire, Bon Iver, The National, Grizzly Bear, Sufjan Stevens and the New York Philharmonic, among others.

To learn more about Raquel Acevedo Klein, visit www.raquelacevedoklein.com.

This LoKo Arts event is supported by the generosity and artistic vision of Kathryn (Kofoed) '54 and Donald Lougheed (Hon. '54).

About SUNY Potsdam:

Founded in 1816, The State University of New York at Potsdam is one of America's first 50 colleges -- and the oldest institution within SUNY. Now in its third century, SUNY Potsdam is distinguished by a legacy of pioneering programs and educational excellence. The College currently enrolls approximately 2,500 undergraduate and graduate students. Home to the world-renowned Crane School of Music, SUNY Potsdam is known for its challenging liberal arts and sciences core, distinction in teacher training and culture of creativity. To learn more, visit www.potsdam.edu.

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Media Attachments

“Pluralidad: A Concerto for Contours and Colors” will be on display in SUNY Potsdam’s Gibson Gallery, featuring works by Raquel Acevedo Klein ’16, from March 5 to April 17.

Raquel Acevedo Klein ’16 will return to her alma mater for an art exhibition at SUNY Potsdam’s Gibson Gallery, followed by a residency at The Crane School of Music, this spring.

Raquel Acevedo Klein ’16 will return to her alma mater for an art exhibition at SUNY Potsdam’s Gibson Gallery, followed by a residency at The Crane School of Music, this spring.

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