By Yesenia Reynoso
PLATTSBURGH, N.Y. – Thunderous vocals and delicate melodies fill the Strand Center
Gallery in downtown Plattsburgh. The crowd listens intently and though many come from
different walks of life, for 45 minutes everyone shares a common thread: music.
The Brown Bag Sessions are a series of new-time concerts made possible by a
collaboration between Karen Becker and the Strand Center Gallery.
Becker who is the chair for the music
department at SUNY Plattsburgh, came up with the
idea after donating her piano to the Strand, and they
expressed interest in having someone play during
their art openings. Becker made a deal and agreed to
find a pianist for the Strand in exchange for a venue
to host what would become the Brown Bag Sessions.
“It just seemed to be kind of fortuitous. They are getting something they need, which is
music during their art openings, and we get a free, high visibility venue for our kids to perform
in,” Becker said.
This exchange of resources has been particularly beneficial for Ayrice Wilson and Daniel
De Cranie-Pierre, both who performed at the Strand on March 25, 2016.
“The creation of the Brown Bag sessions has given students more opportunities to
perform,” Wilson, who is a senior at SUNY Plattsburgh, said. “It gives us the opportunity to
show the community members a new side of college students.”
Daniel De Cranie-Pierre holds note “There’s two sides to every coin,” Cranie-
Pierre, who is also a senior at SUNY Plattsburgh said. “Community members often think that the
college students are just loud and rowdy, but because of these concerts, we can shed a different
light. We can show them what we’re actually here in Plattsburgh to do.”
The lack of event interaction between community members and college students has been
an ongoing issue for the past several years.
“There aren’t many events happening that both college students and regular community
members both attend,” community member Casey Koziatek said.
“People think that there aren’t any similarities between college students and everyone
else in the town, maybe because of age or culture, but it’s important that we foster a relationship
with each other, because we all live in the same place,” Koziatek said.
The Strand Center Gallery served as a “melting pot” as a mix of college students and
community memebers watched and listened as both Wilson and Cranie-Pierre performed songs
in Italian, German, and French.
At the end of the show both Wilson and Cranie-Pierre received a thunderous applause,
with some members giving a stand ovation.
“It was our first one, and for a first event I think it went pretty well. We needed to pull out
more tables and chairs, so I’ll take it,” Becker said.
“We’re hoping to have these four times in the school year; in October, November and then
again in March and April,” Becker said.
For SUNY Plattsburgh’s music department and for community businesses such as the
Strand, music seems to be the way to unite the two sides of Plattsburgh.
“Music is the universal language that everyone understands,” Becker said. “We need to
publicize the event, and get the word out.”
“Interactions between community members and SUNY Plattsburgh students needs to
happen more,” Wilson said. “There is no way we can be an island within ourselves. We can learn
from each other.”
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