A celebration of Bach to warm a February evening

SUNY Fredonia School of Music alumni, students, and faculty will perform with Baroque cellist Christopher Haritatos on Friday, Feb. 9, at 8 p.m., in Juliet J. Rosch Recital Hall.

The event is free and open to the public.

The celebration of J.S. Bach repertoire includes music from the composer’s cantatas to the St. Matthew Passion, and instrumental works. 

Fredonia alumni performers will include Kailey Czyz, Randy Leon and Mateo Mendez. Oboist Mendez graduated in 2019 from the Fredonia School of Music, majoring in Performance. He earned a M.M. in Performance at the Peabody Conservatory, and is now Manager of Education and Community Engagement for the Baltimore Symphony, English horn/Third Oboe with the Bozeman Symphony and Principal Oboe of the Warren Philharmonic. Violist Czyz graduated in 2019 with a major in Music Education from SUNY Fredonia. She teaches general music as well as beginner to high school orchestra at City Honors school in Buffalo, NY. Cellist Leon graduated in 2019 from SUNY Fredonia, majoring in Music Education. He completed a M.M. degree in Performance at Montclair State University, and teaches at Buffalo Public School #45 and Frederick Law Olmsted Public School #156.

The guest artists will be joined by student performers, including:

• Erich Brucker from Saratoga, NY; Music Education, Class of 2025, Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake High School;
• Lucas Cochran from Gansevoort, NY; Music Education, Class of 2025, South Glens Falls High School;
• Elizabeth Davis from Canton, NY; Music Therapy and B.A. Music/Voice, Class of 2024, Hugh C Williams High School 
• Che Dixon from Bronx, NY; Instrumental Performance, Class of 2025, Brooklyn Tech High School
• Caleb Duden from LaGrange, NY, Music Education and Jazz Studies, Class of 2024, Arlington High School
• Molly Gibson from Verplanck, NY; Music Education (minors in Arts Administration and Spanish), Class of 2025, Hendrick Hudson High School 
• Sam Guzzo from Orchard Park, NY; double major in Jazz Studies and  Music Education, Class of 2025, Orchard Park High School
• Jess Hall from Eden, NY; Vocal Performance and Theatre Arts, Class of 2024; Eden High School
• Eunmi Huang from the Republic of Korea; Vocal Performance, Class of 2023, Kaywon Middle School of the Arts
• John Klewicki from East Meadow, NY; Performance, Class of 2025, East Meadow High School
• Leah Magee from Colonie, NY; B.A. Music, Class of 2024, Hoosac Preparatory School
• Ella Monaco from Irving, NY; Vocal Performance, Class of 2025, Silver Creek High School
• Nathaniel Reyes from Long Island, NY; B.A. Music, Class of 2025, George W. Hewlett High School

Fredonia faculty performers will include Jessica Tong, Isabel Ong, David Rose, Dr. Emily Schaad, Kieran Hanlon, Fr. Sean Duggan, Dr. Sarah Hamilton, Laura Koepke, Joe Dan Harper, Lynne McMurtry, Sarah Luebke and Aurora Deeds.

In addition to Wednesday's performance, Dr. Haritatos has coached student ensembles and offered a master class for student cellists.

About the guest artist: Dr. Haritatos has gained a reputation as a passionate and intelligent performer on both the baroque and modern forms of his instrument. As a baroque cellist he has had an extensive and varied freelance career with ensembles such as the Handel and Haydn Society in Boston, Ars Lyrica in Houston, Tafelmusik in Toronto), Concert Royal in New York City, La Follia in Austin, TX, and Apollo’s Fire in Cleveland. He has performed chamber music with artists such as Marc Destrubé, Kristian Bezuidenhout, Elizabeth Wallfisch, and Sergiu Luca. Previously, while living in Europe, he worked with ensembles such as Fiori Musicali-Barockorchester Bremen, The Harp Consort, Ensemble Aperto, and Confetti Musicali, often as continuo cellist, taking part in numerous recordings and tours. Currently he is based in Rochester, NY, where he is Co-Director of the period-instrument ensemble Publick Musick and performs with other organizations such as Pegasus Early Music and NYS Baroque. He also teaches at the Eastman Community Music School, has been on the faculty of Texas State University-San Marcos and the Rochester Institute of Technology, and has given numerous workshops and master classes at colleges and universities including the University of North Texas, the University of Virginia and Luther College.