Noche de Salsa

It was cold last night, but the practice room at the Crane School of Music in Potsdam was sizzling with salsa! Production Director Joel Hurd and I sat in on a rehearsal of the Crane Latin Ensemble. Actually, I sat while Joel recorded their music.

The 21 musicians represent nearly every aspect of music life at Crane – strings, brass, percussion, piano, woodwinds and voice. Under the direction of Dr. Marsha Baxter, the ensemble is preparing for another trip to Mexico this summer. I sat grinning for more than an hour during their prep session. It’s dynamic music from a group of talented young people who played their hearts and souls out. I could have grinned all night.

We’ll share a snippet of their music Thursday morning during the “8 o’clock Hour” and more next week. In the meantime, catch the ensemble’s Noche de Salsa (Night of Salsa) this Friday night at 7:30 in SUNY Potsdam’s Hosmer Hall. It’s free!