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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:

• Christopher Buettner, a sophomore B.F.A. Musical Theatre major from Gansevoort, NY. His previous Walter Gloor Mainstage Series credits include “Legally Blonde” and Fredonia Dance Ensemble. His other Fredonia credits include the Performing Arts Company productions of “Lord of the Flies,” and “Too Much Light Makes the Baby Go Blind.”
• Aurora Cabral, a first-year B.F.A. Musical Theater and B.F.A. Dance double major from Rochester, NY. She performed early this month with the Fredonia Dance Ensemble.
• Jude Chiarella, a sophomore Music Education and Theater Arts minor from Queens, NY. You may have seen them recently as Young John Watson in “221b: A Sherlock Holmes Opera” with the Western New York Chamber Orchestra.
• Sunny Custer, a sophomore B.F.A. Musical Theatre major from Medina, Ohio. She made her Walter Gloor Mainstage Series debut in “The Book Women.”
• Madeline DeJoy, a sophomore Music History major, with a double minor in Museum Studies and Arts Administration from Jamestown, NY, making her Fredonia debut.
• Cassie Gillen, a junior B.F.A. Musical Theater and B.S. Dance major originally from Westchester, NY. Previously, she has been seen in “Natasha, Pierre, and the Great Comet of 1812,” “Legally Blonde” with the Walter Gloor Mainstage Series and “Hamlet,” and “Too Much Light Makes the Baby Go Blind” with the Performing Arts Company.
• Leena Gonzales, a first-year B.F.A. Musical Theater major, making her Fredonia debut.
• Michael Hamill, senior B.F.A. Musical Theatre major from Rochester, NY, as Captain Von Trapp. His recent Fredonia credits include the Walter Gloor Mainstage Series productions of “The Wild Party,” “Into the Woods” “Natasha, Pierre and the Great Comet of 1812,” and “Legally Blonde.”
• Molly Herman, a senior B.F.A .Musical Theatre major from Boyertown, Pa., as Baroness Elsa Schrader. Her recent Fredonia credits include “Legally Blonde,” “Edges,” and “Hamlet.”
• Brent Hetrick, a senior year B.F.A. Musical Theater major. His previous Fredonia credits include “Natasha, Pierre and the Great Comet of 1812,” and “Edges."
• Paj Huson, a sophomore Music Education major with a B.A. in Applied Voice from Hamburg, NY, making their Fredonia debut.
• Sophia Jarosz, a first-year student studying Acting, Writing, and Music major from Clifton Park, NY. Her Fredonia credits include “Anything Goes” and the Student Opera Theatre Association’s “Grand Night of Singing.”
• Mia Mandineau, a second year graduate Voice Performance major from Paris, France, as Mother Abbess. Her previous Fredonia credits include “Così fan tutte” by Mozart with the Hillman Opera, and the world-premieres of “Having Guests for dinner” by Nick Bentz and “221B: A Sherlock Holmes Opera” by Glen Cortese with the Western New York Chamber Orchestra.
• Emma Grace McLaughlin, a sophomore B.F.A. Musical Theater major from Perry, NY. Her previous Fredonia credits include “Twelfth Night.”
• John Read, a senior Musical Theatre major from Skaneateles, NY. His previous Fredonia credits include “Legally Blonde,” “Natasha, Pierre and the Great Comet of 1812” “Into The Woods,” and “The Wild Party.”
• Stephanie Reed, a senior B.F.A. Musical Theatre major from Northern Virginia, as Liesl. Her previous Walter Gloor Mainstage Series credits include “Legally Blonde,” “Natasha, Pierre and the Great Comet of 1812,” and and “Romeo and Juliet.”  Her other Fredonia credits include “The Baltimore Waltz” and “Little Women.”
• Leilanis Sanchez, a junior B.F.A. Musical Theatre Major from Newburgh, NY. Her Mainstage credits include “The Great Comet of 1812,” “The Crucible,” and “The Book Women.”
• Margaret Shafer, a sophomore double major in Music Education and Vocal Jazz with a minor in Mathematics. Her Fredonia credits include The Hillman Opera’s “Così fan tutte.”
• Lauren Shilansky, a junior B.F.A. Musical Theatre major from West Hartford, CT, as Maria. Her previous Fredonia credits include “Cosi fan tutte,” “Cold Mountain,” and “221 B: A Sherlock Holmes Opera.”
• Amanda Sidman, a first-year B.F.A. Musical Theatre major from Long Island, NY, making her Fredonia debut.
• Hudson Smith, a sophomore Music Education major from Gowanda, NY. Their Fredonia credits include “221B: A Sherlock Holmes Opera” with the Western New York Chamber Orchestra.
• Fisher Sullivan, a B.F.A. Musical Theatre major and Dance minor from Binghamton, NY. Previous Fredonia credits include “Into the Woods” and “Romeo and Juliet.”
• Jack Tuccio, a first-year Musical Theatre major from Fredonia, NY. His previous Fredonia credits include the Performing Arts Company production of “Lord of the Flies.”

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.