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The Crane School of Music Presents the 'Best of Candlelight' in Annual Holidays Concerts on Dec. 8

SUNY Potsdam's Crane School of Music Hosts Traditional Candlelight Concerts on Dec. 8, to be Filmed & Broadcast by Mountain Lake PBS

Potsdam, NY (12/03/2019) — More than 300 student and faculty musicians from SUNY Potsdam's Crane School of Music will join together this Sunday, Dec. 8, to celebrate the holiday season, with the 2019 Crane Candlelight Concerts.

The Crane Chorus and Crane Symphony Orchestra, under the direction of Jeffrey Francom and Ching-Chun Lai, will present two performances on Sunday, Dec. 8, at 3 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. Both concerts will be offered in the Helen M. Hosmer Concert Hall.

Titled the "Best of Candlelight," this year's performances will bring together all of the ensembles' favorite pieces from the past 10 years. Special guests will include the Holy Name of Jesus Academy Chorus, with 65 singers, plus a guest artist on the bagpipes. The 2019 Crane Candlelight Concerts will feature works by Ralph Vaughan Williams, Eriks Esenvalds, Mack Wilberg, Morten Lauridsen, Gary Fry and others. There will also be traditional sing-alongs with the audience.

The annual Crane School of Music holiday celebration performances are a major highlight of the Crane concert season. The holiday concert tradition began in the 1930s, at what was then the Crane Institute of Music at Potsdam Normal School, and has continued to grow in prominence ever since.

SUNY Potsdam and The Crane School of Music invite you to join us for this family-friendly event. While both concerts are free, audience members are invited to bring a donation of canned goods or non-perishable items to benefit the Potsdam Neighborhood Center.

The Crane Candlelight Concert evening performance will also be broadcast live on YouTube, at 7:30 p.m. on Dec. 8. To watch these and other Crane concerts live online, visit http://www.potsdam.edu/academics/Crane/streaming.

Mountain Lake PBS will film this year's concerts once again for a nationally syndicated public television broadcast. The station will broadcast both this year's performance and last year's concert ("Go Tell It On The Mountain") as follows this season:

Monday, Dec. 23

  • 9 p.m.: "The Best of Candlelight" (2019)
  • 10 p.m.: "Go Tell It On The Mountain" (2018)

Tuesday, Dec. 24

  • 1 a.m.: "The Best of Candlelight" (2019)
  • 2 a.m.: "Go Tell It On The Mountain" (2018)
  • 4 a.m.: "The Best of Candlelight" (2019)
  • 11 p.m.: "The Best of Candlelight" (2019)

Wednesday, Dec. 25

  • Noon: "The Best of Candlelight" (2019)

This year's Crane Candlelight Concert is sponsored by Jake's on the Water, Hannawa Falls.

About The Crane School of Music:

Founded in 1886, SUNY Potsdam's Crane School of Music has a long legacy of excellence in music education and performance. Life at Crane includes an incredible array of more than 300 recitals, lectures and concerts presented by faculty, students and guests each year. The Crane School of Music is the State University of New York's only All-Steinway institution. For more information, please visit http://www.potsdam.edu/crane.

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Media Attachments

Students fill the stage during the Crane Candlelight Concerts at SUNY Potsdam’s Crane School of Music. This year’s performances will be held on Sunday, Dec. 8, at 3 p.m. and 7:30 p.m.

Film crews from Mountain Lake PBS will be filming this year’s Crane Candlelight Concerts for national syndication once again. The station’s president and CEO, Bill McColgan, joined the camera crew for last year’s performance (seen here).

Students in the Crane Symphony Orchestra’s brass section don Santa hats during the 2018 Crane Candlelight Concerts.

Singers share a smile during the Crane Candlelight Concerts at SUNY Potsdam’s Crane School of Music. This year's concerts are on Sunday, Dec. 8, at 3 p.m. and 7:30 p.m.

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