Saratoga Springs company, Opera Saratoga, has announced that their series dedicated to highlighting BIPOC talent, America Sings, returns on February 21 to Caffe Lena.
America Sings Headliner Luis Alejandro Orozco
The free concert, America Sings, takes place at Caffe Lena after months of being paused due to the pandemic. America Sings was created to lift up the voices of the unheard and underrepresented racial groups on the opera stage. Texas native baritone, Luis Alejandro Orozco, is the first performer for this comeback, along with pianist Michael Lewis. The program will also feature music from classical composers, Schubert, Brahmsand Piazzolla.
Orozco is a Mexican-American opera singer and was apart of Opera Saratoga’s Young Artist Program. He is noted for his baritone and legato. For several seasons, Orozco performed in several shows for a plethora of operas. Due to COVID-19, the 2019-2020 season was short-lived, he performed at the Opera in Williamsburg and Opera Roanoake. While he has already performed nationally and internationally, he made his Swiss debut recently at Theater St. Gallen.
America Sings debuted in November 2020 with Mezzo-soprano Deborah Nansteel as the headliner for the first concert with pianist Giovanni Reggioli. COVID-19 put the series to a halt, however, it is ready to be put back in action. It is live-streamed and free to the public but viewers are encouraged to donate through a virtual tip jar. The tips are split evenly to support the Opera Saratoga and the performing artist since both parties have been financially impacted by opera shutdowns.
The series comes back this Sunday at 7 p.m. Future performers include soprano Brandie Sutton, baritone Justin Austin and composer and pianist Damien Sneed, who were originally supposed to perform in December and January. Leadership support for the show comes from Greenburg Traurig, LLP and hospitality sponsorship from The Hampton Inn & Suites Saratoga Springs. America Sings live-streams on Caffe Lena’s Youtube channel and Facebook and Opera Saratoga’s Facebook.
On February 13, the Albany Symphony Orchestra performed three works: Sir William Walton’s Facade: An Entertainment, Tyson Davis’s Distances, and Serenade in D, op. 11, by Johannes Brahms. The concert was streamed virtually from Universal Preservation Hall in Saratoga Springs.
William Walton was a British composer known for his instrumental writing, and was nominated for two Academy Awards in the 1940’s. He was inspired by a friend’s poem to write Facade. It started as a piece just for speaker and six instruments, but Walton later expanded it to an orchestra. The ASO did well on this piece. The speaker, Lucy Fitz Gibbon, navigated the tricky passages and was able to shine.
The next piece performed by Albany Symphony Orchestra was Distances. It was composed by Tyson Davis. Davis, 21, a young but talented composer. He entered the UNC School of the Arts, studying with Lawrence Dillon. Later, he wrote for Eighth Blackbird, the Attacca String Quartet, and UNCSA Symphony Orchestra. He worked with the National Youth Orchestra to premiere a work that was commissioned by the American Embassy in Berlin to commemorate the 30th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall.
Written after the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, Davis wanted to explore themes of emotions and anxieties that the “New World Order” of a pandemic have caused. To do this, he left the piece with ambiguity and lingering passages.
Brahms was a dominant composer of the nineteenth century; he was not revolutionary in terms of structural change, but he wrote beautiful, sweeping melodies. The Serenade was his first work for a “larger” group (originally eight people). The piece usually contains six movements, but the ASO opted instead for a rarity. Instead of those six, the ASO played four. Symphonies are traditionally four movements, not six, so the ASO played movements 1, 3, 4, and 6. With these four, it encapsulates what a traditional symphony is: a faster first movement, a slow second, a minuet or scherzo third, and a fast finale.
Brahms originally cast the work in four movements. Like so many of Brahms’ early efforts, that original form suggests a young composer wrestling with specter of the greatest of all symphonists, Beethoven, and trying to create a first symphony. The other movements were added later to create the Serenade.
Overall, the Walton was phenomenal, especially with the addition of Gibbon. If I had to describe Davis’s piece in one word, it would be, emotional. The piece evokes emotions that everyone is feeling. The symphonic arrangement gave better understanding of an earlier Brahms symphony.
Capital Region based quintet Quintocracy has begun their new residency at the Troy Savings Bank Music Hall. Their first project with the Hall is a series of four concerts featuring women composers. All performances will be broadcast live from the Music Hall stage.
Coming together in 2019, Quintocracy was created with the goal of showing the beauty of chamber music to the masses. The group prides themselves on there unique live shows in which they instill a sense of community through their funny audience interactions. Members of Quintocracy have preformed at a wide array of New York based concert halls from the likes of Carnegie Hall to Lincoln Center. Quintocracy consists of Melanie Chirignan (Flute), Kelly Lockwood (Oboe), Michael Dee (Clarinet), Kathryn Svatek (Horn), and William Safford (Basoon).
The Troy Saving Bank Music Hall is a historic classic music hall located in the heart of Downtown Troy. The Hall of built out of what used to be a banking office, hence The Hall’s name, and has since been host to hundreds of music acts from around the world. Since the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic The Hall has pivoted to offering several online concert performances, postposing all live shows until further notice.
Composer Tyson Davis’ commissioned orchestral work, Distances, will be Performed by the Albany Symphony on its Valentine’s Weekend “Romantic Brahms” Concert on February 13, 7:30 pm EST.
20-year-old Composer, Tyson Davis.
The Albany Symphony will be performing the orchestral work titled Distances by Tyson Davis. This 20-year-old composer has been writing music since age eight and currently attends the Juilliard School of Music. Tyson Davis has composed many pieces for small ensembles and solo instruments. As a child, Davis created works as he learned the piano. The instrument awoke the creativity within him, and he knew that music would be his one and only passionate path. His love for he process of seeing things grow propelled him into the world of composition.
In addition to Distances, music by composers Sir William Walton and Johannes Brahms will be performed by the Albany Symphony. The event will be streamed live from Universal Preservation Hall in Saratoga Springs. There will be a pre-concert talk at 7:00 pm and a post-concert question and answer session with the artists for season subscribers.
“I am so excited to share this program with our community, featuring three extraordinary composers just starting out on their glorious careers. We are very proud to introduce Tyson Davis and his wonderful new work. He is an immensely gifted composer. In addition, we are thrilled to present a virtually unknown major early work by Johannes Brahms, the original version of his First Serenade, in a version that simply may never have been played or heard before! And Walton’s wildly charming, witty, surreal narrated work, “Facade,” is one of my very favorite works from the early 20th Century,“ said Music Director David Alan Miller.
Composer Tyson Davis
The Albany Symphony was founded in 1930 and is now highly acclaimed with many ASCAP and Grammy awards. David Miller, the director for 27 seasons, fostered a community of diverse musical compositions. With numerous education programs, the Albany Symphony empowers youth to tackle issues of diversity and self-expression through songwriting, improvisation, and teamwork.
The 2020-2021 season continues through the American Music Festival in June. Concerts will be live and virtual, with the ability to purchase access online or by calling the Albany Symphony Box Office at 518-694-3300. Subscribers are also invited to attend a pre-concert chat and a post-concert, real-time “talk-back” session with guest composers, soloists, and Maestro Miller.
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Opera Saratoga announced that their OPERA-TO-GO tour will continue virtually. The company’s in-school program will continue to provide a unique arts education experience to the students of the Capital District. The new program will feature the world premiere of “The Selfish Giant,” a one-act opera based on Oscar Wilde’s short story, written by Brazilian-American composer Clarice Assad and librettist Lila Palmer. It was commissioned by the American Lyric Theater specifically for younger audiences.
Opera Saratoga has re-envisioned the OPERA-TO-GO program as a digital initiative over the past six months. It is available for free to educators for their students. The program will be ready for schools in late February, and is comprised of the following elements:
“For over 20 years, Opera Saratoga has offered its OPERA-TO-GO touring program to elementary schools in February and March each winter,” said Artistic and General Director Lawrence Edelson. “While we love visiting schools and introducing children to opera, proceeding with an in-person tour this winter and spring would not only be impractical, but also irresponsible. Safety must come first. However, we are still committed to providing access to the performing arts to students as well as robust arts education resources to educators – whether they are teaching virtually, in person, or in some combination of the two.”
Opera Saratoga is creating a series of short video lessons on opera, aligned to New York State Common Core Standards in Music, Theater, Visual Arts, and English/Literature at grade levels from K-5, as well as the National Social Emotional Learning Standards. For each grade level, there will be a series of six videos, each 10 to 15 minutes in length, available for use in class, or for at-home viewing. Each video is accompanied by a comprehensive teacher’s guide that includes details of the alignment to State standards, and grade appropriate follow-up activities for students.
Opera Saratoga is making a professional audio recording of the new opera “The Selfish Giant.” This recording will be fully integrated into the digital curriculum, providing opportunities to explore subjects including adaptation (how a short story becomes an opera), the role of the librettist, the role of the composer, collaboration, how words and music come together to create sung theater, the textual and musical “building blocks” of opera, and how opera is produced on stage.
Using the recording, students will have the opportunity to make their own film versions of “The Selfish Giant” by creating art that reflects the story and music. A scene-by-scene breakdown of the dramatic action of the opera will be provided to each class participating in the program, along with very clear, grade appropriate instructions. Students will be assigned specific moments of the opera to illustrate in a manner appropriate to their age/grade level, through drawing, painting, collage, or digital photography.
Opera Saratoga will then create films of “The Selfish Giant,” synching the recording of the opera to the art created by the students that bring each scene to life. Each school or class will have the opportunity to create their own versions of the film. In the spring, these videos will be completed and made available to share with family members as well as on each school’s website and social media channels. Opera Saratoga will create an online library of student-created films of the opera, which will be hosted on the company’s website.
Educators who are interested in offering this program to their students in Kindergarten through Grade 5 should register no later than January 22.
Opera Saratoga is able to provide free access to the entire video lesson series with educational support materials for all teachers and all schools. However, as the company does have limited capacity to create the opera-video projects, this portion of the program will be limited to schools in Saratoga, Warren, Washington, Essex, Albany, Rensselaer, and Schenectady counties, and will be limited to the first 50 schools or classes that register for the program.
The Albany Symphony is gearing up for their first concert of 2021. On Saturday, January 9 at 7:30 p.m., they’ll be live streaming Tchaikovsky Serenade from the Universal Preservation Hall in Saratoga Springs. In addition to Tchaikovsky’s Serenade for Strings, the program includes works by George Walker, Jean Sibelius, and two living female composers: Jessie Montgomery and Caroline Shaw. Season subscribers can arrive early at 7:00 p.m. for a pre-concert talk, and stick around afterwards for a Q&A session with the musicians.
The Albany Symphony, conducted by Maestro Miller.
Tchaikovsky Serenade will open with Banner, a piece Jessie Montgomery wrote in 2014 to commemorate the 200th anniversary of “The Star-Spangled Banner.” Banner combines the traditional national anthem with world music and protest songs, prompting the New York Times to call it a “musical melting pot.” Montgomery, a recipient of the Leonard Bernstein Award from the ASCAP Foundation, grew up in Manhattan’s Lower East Side with a creative family. Her father, a musician, and her mother, a theater artist and storyteller, brought her to rallies and performances for social movements.
Jessie Montgomery.
The Albany Symphony will also perform Entr’acte, composed by Caroline Shaw in 2017. The piece, inspired by the minuet of Haydn’s String Quartet in F Major, evokes Lewis Carroll’s Through the Looking Glass. Shaw is the youngest-ever recipient of the Pulitzer Prize in Music, thanks to her 2013 Partita in 8 Voices, an a capella composition for her vocal ensemble Roomful of Teeth. “Writing music sometimes feels like gardening. It takes a lot of work and preparation, but with the right attention and care, you end up with something beautiful and nourishing,” said Shaw. Shaw has previously collaborated with Kanye West and the National, and performed with artists such as Sara Bareilles and Ben Folds.
Caroline Shaw.
I’m elated we will perform Jessie Montgomery’s and Caroline Shaw’s breathtaking pieces, which are very different from one another but will both captivate members of our audience and provide them with a touching experience they will not soon forget.
David Alan Miller, Albany Symphony Director
Besides Montgomery and Shaw, the Albany Symphony will also play pieces by George Walker, Jean Sibelius, and of course, Tchaikovsky. Choreographer George Balanchine borrowed Tchaikovsky’s Serenade for Strings for Serenade, his first full-length ballet in America, and excerpts continue to circulate throughout pop culture. Tchaikovsky was no stranger to ballet himself, having composed Swan Lake, The Sleeping Beauty, and The Nutcracker.
The 2020-2021 symphony season, known as the Virtual Concert Hall, runs through June when the Albany Symphony will celebrate the American Music Festival. Other programs include Rachmaninoff’s Third on March 13, and Haydn & Schubert on April 24. This is conductor David Alan Miller’s 27th season as the Symphony’s music director: he won a Grammy for Best Classical Instrumental Solo in 2013, and has since racked up four more nominations. The Albany Symphony’s previous performance, The Magic of Christmas 2020, was televised on NewsChannel WNYT 13 last December.
Teachers have been given the enormous and challenging task of teaching their students in person and, or virtually at the ready. Arts education has suffered during the pandemic. Tens of thousands of students would have visited any one of our venues for educational programming during this school year. Opportunities such Black Violin can straddle the disconnect of social distancing, support wellness and foster creative development and critical thinking.
Christine Sheehan, Director of Education at Proctors Collaborative
Black Violin normally consists of Wil Baptiste on viola and Kev Marcus on violin, but for the show DJ SPS and drummer Nat Stokes will join them. Together, the group describes themselves as a “classical Boom” because of their distinctive sounds of both classical and hip-hop.
Black violin has held strong for 16 years in the music industry. The pair gained notoriety for their mixture of modern tunes and vocals with old school orchestral music. Since their start, they have sold out headline concerts across the country at various notable venues. Performing around 200 shows, many have been for low-income students in urban communities.
“The stereotypes are always there, embedded so deep in our culture. Just by nature of our existence we challenge those ideas. It’s a unique thing that brings people together who aren’t usually in the same room, and in the current climate, it’s good to bring people together,” said Baptiste.
Capital Region teachers are able to register for the virtual event starting Jan. 5 on https://school.proctors.org/blackviolin/. Teachers who do want to participate will be given a study guide, link and access code prior to the show.
