PATCHOGUE, NY – OCTOBER 5, 2006 – As part of its 2006-07 cultural arts series, the St. Joseph’s College Council for the Arts is proud to present the musical concert “An Afternoon of Arias” with performances by various members of the Julliard community. The performance will take place on October 22, 2006 at 3:00 p.m. in the D’Ecclesiis Auditorium located in O’Connor Hall on the College’s Suffolk Campus. The event is open to the public with a suggested donation of $5.

Coming from points around the world, Clara Cheng, Ronnita Miller, Celine Mogielnicki and Patrick Cook found each other in New York City at The Julliard School. Now, together, they are combining their musical talents and performing, making a stop at St. Joseph’s in the fall. Each musician has her/his own comprehensive history in music and is an active member of the Julliard community.

Clara Cheng is an accomplished pianist having performed in venues such as Schoenberg Hall, Alice Tully Hall and Royce Hall in Los Angeles, and has received the Benno Rubiny Competition Award and the Gluck Fellowship. Cheng received her B.A. in piano performance from the University of California at Los Angeles. She is currently completing her Master’s Degree in Collaborative Piano at Julliard.

Ronnita Miller is now working on her second year at the Julliard Opera Center. In the past, she has been a member of the New York Symphonic Ensemble, the San Francisco Merola Opera Program and the Wolf Trap Opera Company. She received her B.A. in vocal performance from the University of South Florida and her Master’s degree at the Manhattan School of Music.

Celine Mogielnicki is a third year voice student at Julliard who attended the Walnut Hill School for The Arts with a Full Merit Scholarship and Departmental Honors in Music. She has been the recipient of the Dr. Florence Hong Wong Award from the Associated Music Teachers League and the Mariana Paunova Scholarship Award. Mogielnicki spent her summers at Boston University’s Tanglewood Institute Young Artist Vocal Program.

Patrick Cook, also a member of the Young Artist Vocal Program at the Tanglewood Institute, graduated from the Baltimore School for the Arts, and has since performed in the Alice Tully Hall, the Basilica of the Assumption and on the Armstrong Honors Recital. Cook is currently enrolled in the Bachelor of Music Program at Julliard and is a recipient of the Community Service Fellowship, which enables him to perform in a series of outreach concerts in New York area hospitals, rehabilitation centers and nursing homes.

Mastering their strengths by performing as a group, these musicians have come together not only to cultivate their personal talents but also for the entertainment and delight of their audiences. For more information, please call the Council for the Arts at (631) 447-3323 or visit www.sjcny.edu.

About St. Joseph's College

St. Joseph’s College has been dedicated to providing a diverse population of students in the New York metropolitan area with an affordable education rooted in the liberal arts tradition since 1916. Independent and coeducational, the College provides a strong academic and value-oriented education at the undergraduate and graduate levels, aiming to prepare each student for a life characterized by integrity, intellectual and spiritual values, social responsibility, and service. With campuses located in the Clinton Hill area of Brooklyn and in Patchogue, Long Island, the College offers degrees in numerous majors, special course offerings and certificates, affiliated and pre-professional programs through its School of Arts and Sciences and its School of Professional and Graduate Studies.