Commencement-eve tradition continues with ‘The Sound of Music’ – State University of New York at Fredonia

Talented Music and Musical Theatre majors will be featured in “Commencement-Eve Pops 2025: The Sound of Music.”
A beloved Rodgers and Hammerstein musical will be presented as the 2025 Commencement-eve pops event at SUNY at Fredonia.
Rockefeller Arts Center presents “Commencement-Eve Pops 2025: The Sound of Music” at 7:30 p.m. on Friday, May 16 in King Concert Hall on the Fredonia campus.
Tickets are available online 24/7. Tickets may also be purchased on Monday, Wednesday or Friday by phone at (716) 673-3501 or in person at the Fredonia Ticket Office in the Williams Center during the same hours.
The concert features the 41-piece Western New York Chamber Orchestra under the direction of Glen Cortese and some of Fredonia’s most talented Music and Musical Theatre majors. Rockefeller Arts Center Director Jefferson Westwood is the producer.
The student cast includes:
Hamill said this production is special because it gives the student performers one last chance to be on stage with their friends.
“We’re having this last moment on the stage together,” Hamill said. “It’s a final good-bye to our last four years.”
With music by Richard Rodgers and lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II, “The Sound of Music” was the final collaboration by the famed duo.
It has been called a “heartwarming story” and follows Maria, a spirited young governess who brings laughter, music, and love into the lives of the von Trapp family.
With popular songs include “Do-Re-Mi,” “My Favorite Things” and “Edelweiss,” it is a journey of courage, family bonds, and the triumph of the human spirit.
“The Sound of Music” features a book by Howard Lindsay and Russel Crouse and it was suggested by “The Trapp Family Singers” by Maria Augusta Trapp.
The original production opened at Broadway’s Lunt-Fontanne Theatre on Nov. 16, 1959 and went on to earn five Tony Awards, including Best Musical. The 1998 production won the Tony for Best Revival of a Musical.
The Commencement-eve concert event offers the chance to rediscover why “The Sound of Music” continues to capture hearts all over the world.
“The Sound of Music” is a DFT Communications Pops Series event sponsored by The Observer and The Post-Journal as part of the 2024-25 Lake Shore Savings Season at Rockefeller Arts Center. It is presented through special arrangement with Concord Theatricals.
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