March 2025 - SUNY Ulster News Blog

Community/College Band & Stissing Mountain High School Presents their first Exchange Concert

March 31, 2025 by Dina Pearlman

SUNY Ulster Community/College Band & Stissing Mountain High School Presents their first Exchange Concert in April

March 27, 2025 – Stone Ridge, NY – The SUNY Ulster Music Department’s College/Community Band with the Stissing Mountain High School Band will perform an exchange concert on Thursday, April 10 at 7 p.m. at Stissing Mountain Junior/Senior High School, 2829 Church St., Pine Plains, NY.

Exchange concerts are an opportunity for two musical ensembles to perform for both each other and their respective audiences. It’s a chance for them to make music for and with each other and a fantastic opportunity for all parties involved to share their love of music and keep it alive and thriving which is the end goal.

The April 10 concert will have approximately 100 musicians and feature the SUNY Ulster College/Community Band co-directed by Victor Izzo and Carla Newsome. The Stissing Mountain High School Band will be directed by Erin Marlow.

The SUNY Ulster College/Community Band will perform “Strange Humors” by John Mackey and feature Paul Chambers on djembe and “Vesuvius by Frank Ticheli.” The Stissing Mountain High School Band will perform Selections from “The Greatest Showman”, including “The Greatest Show, A Million Dreams, Never Enough, This is Me and From Now On”, musical arranger Paul Murtha. The combined bands will perform “First Suite in E-Flat” by Gustav Holst and “Rippling Watercolors by Brian Balmages”.

For more information, contact Janet Gehres at gehresj@sunyulster.edu.

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Celebrating National Public Health Awareness Month with New York Blood Center Blood Drive in April

March 25, 2025 by Dina Pearlman

SUNY Ulster Celebrates National Public Health Awareness Month with New York Blood Center Blood Drive in April

March 25, 2025 – Stone Ridge, NY – SUNY Ulster’s Student Government Organization is donating blood with the New York Blood Center to celebrate National Public Health Awareness Month. The blood drive will be held on Thursday, April 3 from 9 a.m. – 3 p.m. in the Student Life Dining Hall in Vanderlyn Hall on the Stone Ridge Campus.

Schedule an appointment to guarantee your time, however walk-ins are welcome. In preparation for donating, please bring a photo student ID or government-issued ID, eat well and hydrate before your appointment, and be symptom free of any sickness.

Donating blood provides numerous benefits for both the donor and the recipient. We all know donating blood saves lives and donations are essential for medical procedures, surgeries, and emergencies. Recipients are provided life-sustaining treatment and blood transfusions can help patients with blood disorders, injuries, and chronic diseases.

Donating blood is a great way to get involved in the SUNY Ulster community and make a positive impact. This is a feel-good-factor that can provide a sense of purpose knowing you are helping others. Help the Student Government Organization make an impact. All students who donate will receive 1-hour of community service from the Office of Student Affairs.

For more information, contact Samm Chambers at chambers@sunyulster.edu or 845-687-1560. This event is free and open to the public.

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SUNY Ulster Athletics Scores New Golf and Women’s Basketball Coaches

March 31, 2025March 11, 2025 by Dina Pearlman

March 10, 2025 – Stone Ridge, NY – SUNY Ulster and Athletics Director, Ryan Snair, announce Vinnie Manginelli as its new golf coach and Omar Morales as the new women’s basketball coach.

Vinnie Manginelli is a PGA of America Golf Professional and has coached the SUNY Ulster men’s and women’s golf team since 2016. He is a writer and editor for PGA Magazine, managing content for five of its digital publications. With more than two decades of golf coaching and instruction under his belt, Coach Manginelli looks forward to growing the SUNY Ulster golf program after several recent individual player and team successes. He holds a Master’s Degree in English and Creative Writing from Southern New Hampshire University and is a member of the Metropolitan Golf Writers Association.

Omar Morales is a passionate basketball coach at SUNY Ulster, where he brings years of experience as both a player and coach to inspire the next generation of student athletes. A lifelong basketball player, he previously coached the women’s team at SUNY Ulster and was named 2019-20 Region XV Coach of the Year. In addition to his role as Head Basketball Coach at Ulster he currently serves as the Varsity Boys Basketball Assistant Coach at New Paltz High School. A proud Hudson Valley native, Omar attended SUNY Ulster where he played basketball and baseball, later transferring to finish his academic studies at SUNY New Paltz. Coaching at the youth, high school, and collegiate levels has helped deepen his connection to the local community. He prides himself on developing relationships and connections with his players, helping to mentor and coach them as individuals, students, and as athletes. Outside of coaching, he enjoys playing a variety of sports and cherishes time with his four children.

The golf team will begin practicing indoors soon with the first match taking place in April 2025. The women’s basketball season runs from October through March.

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