The Cayuga Chamber Orchestra Youth Orchestra (CCOYO) will hold its opening concert of the 2023-24 season on Saturday, January 13, 2024, under the baton of Music Director, Kirsten Marshall.
This exciting concert opens with Chaminade’s Callirhoë Ballet Suite, Mascagni and Leoncavallo’s dramatic Intermezzos, and Grieg’s thrilling Concerto in A minor with pianist and concerto competition winner, Nathaniel Shuhan.
As a playful twist in this concert’s repertoire, winners from the Top Toy Tournament Fundraiser will also be featured in Haydn’s Toy Symphony. The afternoon will conclude with Tchaikovsky’s timeless Romeo & Juliet, promising a symphony of emotions.
Now in its seventh season, the CCO Youth Orchestra is embarking on its first overseas concert tour to Italy in April, 2024. Musicians will perform free concerts in major venues in Florence and Venice, including a side-by-side concert with an Italian youth orchestra. In addition to performing, students will visit museums and historic sites, study drawing, and attend an operatic performance.
To raise funds for the trip, the CCOYO have been hosting fundraisers throughout the fall semester, including a chamber concert, coffee fundraiser, leak raking fundraiser, and more. Among these efforts is the , where the most donated nominee winners will perform one of the seven, coveted solo parts in Haydn’s Toy Symphony.
The mission of the CCO Youth Orchestra is to offer a high-quality symphony orchestra experience for youth in Ithaca and the Finger Lakes Region of New York State. Now in its seventh successful season, we are thrilled to have a robust student membership of 67 players from all around Tompkins County. Our season typically includes two full-length symphonic concerts plus two run-out concerts to rural schools.
We will also be touring Italy in the Spring for our first overseas trip! Part of our mission is to bring our music to surrounding communities that might not otherwise experience live classical music and to educate and engage our students in being ambassadors of music. CCOYO students have experienced a side-by-side performance with the Cayuga Chamber Orchestra as well as individual sectional coaching with CCO members.
The Cayuga Chamber Orchestra Youth Orchestra’s Winter Concert be held on Saturday, January 13 at 4:00pm at Ford Hall, Ithaca College. This concert has free admission and donations are gratefully accepted.
On December 16, 2023, the Binghamton Philharmonic Orchestra performed its annual holiday concert, “Winter Wonderland,” to a packed house at the Broome County Forum Theatre.
A glittering celebration of the season, Winter Wonderland featured Christmas hits both old and new by Tchaikovsky, Johann Strauss, John Williams, and young American composer Quinn Mason; carol singalongs led by soloists from Tri-Cities Opera; and a screening of the British animated classic “The Snowman” with live orchestral accompaniment.
There was something for everyone in the lively concert. Mason showed a distinctly American voice in his lyrical, atmospheric “Christmas Eve Festivities,” which is becoming a new classic. Local newscaster Jim Ehmke was the narrator for Bill Holcombe’s charming “‘Twas the Night Before Christmas,” a musical setting of the beloved poem by Clement C. Moore. The guest conductor for Leroy Anderson’s “Sleigh Ride” was local businessman Jonny Norton, who had won the spot in a fundraising auction, and Norton clearly enjoyed himself heartily, along with the orchestra and audience. Young treble soloist Eva Dixon, a 13-year-old soprano from New York City, sang the haunting solo, “Walking in the Air,” in “The Snowman” with delicacy and aplomb.
The orchestra played with uplifting energy and precision, led by the confident conducting of Maestro Daniel Hege, who managed to infuse even the most familiar carols with a spirit of wintry revelry. Maestro Hege engaged the audience with his trademark lighthearted banter, and the audience responded with exuberant singing, hand-clapping, and a standing ovation at the end. For the enthusiastic and festively-dressed concertgoers, including many children, “Winter Wonderland” was a truly magical experience, and a not-to-be-missed event of the holiday season in New York’s Southern Tier.
Irish Arts Center (IAC) has announced it will be renamed to JL Greene Theatre at Irish Arts Center, to be dedicated in April 2024, following a $3 million gift from the Jerome L Greene Foundation.
Irish Arts Center. Photo by Albert Vecerka/ESTO.
IAC joins a roster of some of New York’s most prestigious cultural institutions supported by the Foundation, including BAM, The Public Theater, Lincoln Center Theatre, and The Whitney Museum.
The Jerome L Greene Foundation gift, which supports the larger scale of programming and operations in the new 11th Avenue facility, builds on recent support from the City of New York ($10 million) and the Irish government ($4.1 million), to support the Center’s future redevelopment of its historic 51st Street home. This donation will help lay the groundwork for the IAC’s upcoming Phase Two campaign to complete the vision for a new Irish Arts Center and secure the organization’s future for generations to come.
Irish Arts Center also revealed the Spring 2024 programming, filling its new facility at 726 11th Avenue that opened in December 2021. The opening of this new 21,700-square-foot building culminated a more than a decade-long transformation of IAC into one of New York’s most beloved multidisciplinary cultural institutions on an intimate scale. With a flexible performance space and acoustic design, it provides a new canvas for the presentation and development of performing arts in the city.
We are thrilled to join the outstanding portfolio of New York cultural institutions supported by the JL Greene Foundation and to announce this gift in conjunction with one of our most exciting seasons yet. We look forward to many moments of artistry and inspiration to come in the JL Greene Theatre. As we begin our third full year of operation in our new home, we also look ahead to the next phase of our important work: completing our 51st Street redevelopment, and building reserves and an endowment, to complete our vision of a new Irish Arts Center that will be successful and sustainable for future generations.
Irish Arts Center Executive Director Aidan Connolly.
“We are proud to play a role in the presentation of world-class Irish arts in New York City,” said Chris McInerney, President and CEO of the Jerome L. Greene Foundation. “Irish Arts Center has proven itself to be an important cultural destination, and the JL Greene Theatre will be host to an amazing array of performing arts for New York audiences.”
IAC’s Spring 2024 programming features a wide variety of voices and forms, including the timely new work of political theater Agreement, a beautiful new dance work from choreographer, director, and performer Jean Butler, a residency of internationally acclaimed singer-songwriter Lisa Hannigan, a large-scale exhibition of works by Irish women visual artists, and more. The new season expands on IAC’s mission to present the evolving arts and culture of Ireland and Irish America in an environment of warm Irish hospitality.
Throughout Spring 2024, beloved recurring programs continue to bring accomplished artists into IAC traditions. Pulitzer Prize-winning poet Paul Muldoon’s variety show Muldoon’s Picnic continues on March 11, April 1, and June 3. In IAC’s Devlin Café, the Café Concert Series brings spirited music out into a social and intimate environment, with Big City Folk Song Club, curated by Niall Connolly returning February 9, March 8, April 4, and May 23, and Traditional Irish Sessions, curated by Tony DeMarco, February 2, March 15, April 5, and May 17. Book Day, for which the Irish Arts Center distributes thousands of free books in New York’s five boroughs in celebration of St. Patrick’s Day, returns for its 12th year on March 15.
For the season, IAC’s latest exhibition will showcase women artists whose work reclaims traditional physical and cultural spaces using abstract art. Reclaiming a Space, featuring Diana Copperwhite, Erin Lawlor, Helen O’Leary, and Dannielle Tegeder, will be on view throughout the building from January 29 to June 23.
For more information on the Irish Arts Center, and to see a detailed view of the Spring 2024 programming, visit here.
The Binghamton Philharmonic Orchestra has announced a holiday show titled “Winter Wonderland,” happening at the Broome County Forum Theatre on Dec. 16.
Founded by Fritz and Marianne Wallenberg in 1955 at the Binghamton Symphony and Choral Society and later merged with the B.C. Pops, the Binghamton Philharmonic Orchestra presents an annual series of classical, pops, and chamber music concerts in Downtown Binghamton and throughout Broome County. The professional musicians of the Philharmonic hail from the Southern Tier, New York City, and surrounding states. Maestro Daniel Hege was appointed Music Director in 2018.
On Saturday, December 16, 2023, at 3 p.m., the Binghamton Philharmonic Orchestra presents “Winter Wonderland,” a holiday-themed concert of beloved Christmas classics. The program includes favorites from stage, film, and ballet, along with a traditional carol singalong and a visit from Santa. Artists from Tri-Cities Opera are featured, along with local news anchor Jim Ehmke as the narrator in “The Night Before Christmas.”The Philharmonic also continues its tradition of screening the classic animated short film The Snowman, with live orchestral accompaniment and treble soloist Eva Dixon. The concert will be preceded by a holiday-themed organ recital by Nancy Wildoner on the Robert-Morton Theatre Organ at 2:30 p.m.
Eva Dixon.
13-year-old treble soloist Eva Dixon attends Grace Church School in Manhattan, where she has been a member of the Grace Episcopal Church Choir for the past seven years. In seventh grade, she was Lead Chorister, and this year she was named Optima Chorister. She toured Ireland with the choir in the summer of 2022, and in the spring of 2023 sang the soprano solo in Mendelssohn’s O for the Wings of a Dove. Her theater roles include The Wicked Witch of the West and Glinda in Oz; Lucy in 13: The Musical, and DJ in Cyrano de Burger Shack.
Tickets are $25 to $65. Kids 17 and under attend free.
SLC Arts has announced their second annual “A North Country Christmas” Holiday Music Tour, performed by Josh Barkley.
SLC Arts musician Josh Barkley will present a holiday music tour featuring organ and piano this December. Four performances during the week of December 18th will begin at 6:00 PM and take place at different churches in St. Lawrence County.
Josh Barkley was born and raised in Madrid, NY, and is a graduate of The Crane School of Music, holding his Bachelors in Music Business. He currently works with SLC Arts through the Creatives Rebuild New York Artist Employment Program. Performing in many local venues, Josh has years of experience behind the keys as well as organ and bass. He is a prolific solo performer, in addition to performing with many bands since high school. He supplies bands with sound equipment and often does live sound for the regional ensembles.
The tour is free to the public, and performances will not include a religious service.
A North Country Christmas Tour Schedule
Monday, December 18: Potsdam United Methodist Church. 26 Main St. Potsdam, NY
Tuesday, December 19: Waddington First Presbyterian Church. 13 Fenton St. Waddington, NY
Wednesday, December 20: Ogdensburg United Methodist Church. 627 Caroline St. Ogdensburg, NY
Thursday, December 21: Massena First United Methodist Church. 189 Main St. Massena, NY
SLC Arts is the administrator of the New York State Council on the Arts’ Statewide Community Regrants (SCR) Program in Jefferson, Lewis and St. Lawrence Counties. Through this program, $160,000 in state funding is distributed to municipalities, libraries, 501(c)3 organizations, individual artists and collectives, for the purpose of arts programming. Initiatives may include (but are not limited to) concerts, exhibitions, theatrical performances, readings, screenings, art classes, public art and more. Grants are project-based, and support community-centered projects in any artistic discipline.
The 65th Street Session project took place at the newly renovated David Geffen Hall at Lincoln Center in New York City (on 65th Street), the home of The New York Philharmonic, on November 28.
Launched back in October, the first four shows are curated by Mandolin virtuoso, composer, singer, and winner of Grammy Awards Chris Thile. The series is a true collaboration with the space that lends itself to epic acoustics, striking new decor, flawless lighting, and a true 360 view for the audience assembled all around the stage.
For the show, Thile assembled a pretty eclectic group of musicians that you might never get to see share the stage. Grammy-nominated guitarist Cory Wong (Vulfpeck, The Fearless Flyers), Louis Cato (bandleader of The Late Show Band), Grammy-winning singer-songwriter and bassist Meshell Ndegeocello.
The show started with Thile, solo with his mandolin, his true comfort zone, as one by one the other artists came out and weaved in and out of each other’s songs. Mid-set allowed for Cory Wong to bring out his full touring band for four songs, and the show ended with a collaboration of all the artists sharing the stage. A truly magical night for any music lover, with something for everyone.
The 65th Street Session – David Geffen Hall at Lincoln Center – November 28, 2023
Setlist: Singularity, Dionysus, Keep On Pushing, Back & Forth, Bubbles, Airplane, Separado, Acceptance, Real Job, Reflections, Pop Life, Modern Time, Bluebird, 1/4 Chicken Dark, Virgo, Against Mastery, Little Lights
The Cayuga Chamber Orchestra recently held auditions for section string positions and have announced seven winners, now members of the orchestra.
Distinguished by the designation of the “Official Orchestra of the City of Ithaca,” Cayuga Chamber Orchestra has been presenting exceptional live classical music to the region since 1976. The Orchestra was founded by Charles McCary when a group of local professional musicians debuted as the Finger Lakes Orchestra.
The Cayuga Chamber Orchestra has a strong commitment to serving its community in a variety of ways. Through its professional excellence, vibrant performances, community education, and passion for transformation through music, Cayuga Chamber Orchestra is devoted to fostering artistic life in the Ithaca and Finger Lakes regions of New York State.
Wan-Chun Hu – violin – Bloomsfield, New Jersey
Originally from Taiwan, Wan-Chun Hu is a classically trained musician and music teacher. In 2020, Wan-Chun won the second prize at the American Protege International Competition and was chosen to perform in Carnegie Hall. Additionally, Wan-Chun has won several orchestra positions, including first violin with the Annapolis Symphony, second violin with the Binghamton Philharmonic, and substitute violin with the Buffalo Philharmonic and Allentown Symphony.
William Knuth – violin – Liverpool
William Knuth, violinist and Fulbright Scholar, has earned recognition for his artistry as a solo and chamber musician. He is Assistant Professor of Violin and string department coordinator at the Syracuse University Setnor School of Music with a private teaching studio in Syracuse, NY. As a member of Duo Sonidos with guitarist Adam Levin, Knuth has performed extensively throughout the United States, Europe, Africa, and South America.
Asher Wulfman – violin – Ithaca
Asher Wulfman, violinist, is a performer of solo, chamber, and orchestral works for violin currently based in Ithaca NY. He is a member of Symphoria and Cayuga Chamber Orchestra and performs regularly with Opera Ithaca and Cornell University’s Ensemble X. He is also a guest lecturer at Cornell University, and is on the faculty of Opus Ithaca School of Music, where he also coordinates and coaches chamber music.
Bryce Bunner – viola – Penfield
Bryce Bunner, violist currently serves as principal violist of the Erie Philharmonic, and performs as an extra musician with the Rochester Philharmonic & Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestras. He also performs in the DC area with the Post Classical Ensemble, Inscape Chamber Orchestra, and the Washington Concert Opera. He spent 21 years as a violist with the Air Force Strings/USAF Band in Washington, D.C., and taught and coached the DC Youth Orchestra program for many years.
Peter Dudek – viola – New York City
Peter Dudek, Violist, completed his Bachelor’s degree in The Juilliard School, where currently he is pursuing his Master’s degree under the tutelage of Molly Carr. He is an alumn of Itzhak Perlman’s Perlman Music Program as well as Pinchas Zukerman’s Young Artists Program. Peter is under agreement to perform for the final time as a member of the Verbier Festival Orchestra in Switzerland this upcoming summer.
Grace Ho – cello – New York City
Taiwanese-American cellist Grace Ho, praised by South Florida Classical Review “…the warmth and flexibility of Grace Ho’s cello solos were standouts”, is an active soloist and chamber musician in the United States and Asia. Ms. Ho has appeared as soloist with the Vienna Ensemble, Xiamen Philharmonic Orchestra, Vietnam National Symphony Orchestra, Ho Chi Minh City Symphony Orchestra, Evergreen Symphony Orchestra, and many more.
Zachary Sweet – cello – Ithaca
Zachary Sweet, Cellist, is a registered Teacher Trainer with the Suzuki Association of the Americas. He is currently an instructor of cello at Nazareth College, Binghamton University, and on the faculties of Ithaca Talent Education and Music Together of Ithaca. Nationally, he is in demand as a clinician having lead workshops, masterclasses and institutes across the United States and Canada.
Auditions were held behind a screen and were evaluated by a panel of our musicians and Interim Music Director, Grant Cooper. Look for these new musicians onstage in the coming months.
Caroga Arts Collective announced the lineup for the 2023 Caroga Lake Music Festival (CLMF) WinterFest, spanning over four days from Dec. 13-16.
The Caroga Arts Collective presents over 50 performances and community events in the Southern Adirondacks throughout the year, featuring world-class musicians from across the country and from various styles of arts and entertainment. The mission of Caroga Arts Collective is to reimagine the Caroga experience through the power of the arts, founded in 2012 by Kyle Price when he invited friends to his grandmother’s house on Caroga Lake, where they presented a week of free concerts, calling themselves the Caroga Lake Music Festival (CLMF).
“For the past 4 years, CLMF WinterFest has brought acclaimed artists from the annual Caroga Lake Music Festival back to the region for a celebration of the holidays, music, and community,” said Price. “We are excited to gather once again for this beloved tradition, with an exciting mix of events that will offer something for everyone.”
CLMF WinterFest 2023 will kick off on December 13 with “Holiday Harmonies: An Evening with Rich Saunders featuring Caroga Arts Ensemble,” at the Nick Stoner Inn in Caroga Lake. Over the years, the New York-based artist Rich Saunders has gained over 1.3 million followers on Spotify, Instagram, and TikTok combined, quickly becoming a singer-songwriter sensation online. A founding member of Thirdstory, he has performed and opened for A-list artists like Tori Kelly and Chance The Rapper, in addition to making appearances on Saturday Night Liveand more.
On December 14, CLMF musicians will perform chamber works by Bach, Schumann, Mendelssohn, and more in “A Classical Winter Wonderland,” at the Paul Nigra Center for Creative Arts in Gloversville. On the 15th, the Caroga Arts Ensemble will perform Prokofiev’s Peter and the Wolf and Tchaikovsky’s famous Nutcracker Suite at the Glove Theatre in Gloversville.
The last performance, “Holiday Tchaikovsky Spectacular” on Dec. 16 at St. John’s Episcopal Church in Johnstown features Serenade, The Nutcracker Suite, and more. All shows at the CLMF WinterFest 2023 run from 7-9 p.m.
To buy tickets or learn more information about the CLMF WinterFest musicians, visit here.
Empire State Youth Orchestra (ESYO)’s CHIME musicians will present the program’s annual holiday concert on Tuesday, December 12, 5:30pm, at Schenectady High School. The performance is free and open to the public.
Launched in 2015 with 40 students, CHIME has grown steadily, weathering the pandemic and offering life-changing musical experiences to hundreds of Schenectady students. This year, with additional support from the Schenectady City School District (SCSD), and generous contributions from local foundations and individuals, elementary students from across the district are now eligible to join CHIME through a lottery system, doubling program membership to more than 140.
“CHIME simply would not be possible without our partnership with the Schenectady City School District. The school district’s advocacy for the arts and their unwavering commitment to equity and access is truly remarkable.”
Executive Director, Becky Calos
The SCSD/ESYO partnership allows CHIME to offer programming to enrolled SCSD students entirely tuition-free. The expanded program also includes transportation to and from CHIME sites, located at Yates Elementary School and Proctors Theatre. The entry to CHIME for the youngest students focuses on stringed instrument instruction, four days per week. As students advance in age and skill, they move to the Proctors site, where programming is offered for strings, wind and percussion players all the way through high school.
On Mondays, the full orchestra has an extended rehearsal until 6:45 pm, with dinner provided. “It’s so thrilling to see the increased amount of creativity and connection happening on our Mondays at CHIME. Sharing a meal together really deepens our sense of community and the extended time allows the students to explore new ways of expression through movement and spontaneous composition in addition to our full orchestra, chamber music and sectionals. We are already seeing really amazing results in just the past few months!” says Dr. David Bebe, ESYO’s Associate Music Director for CHIME and Chamber Music.
Many CHIME musicians participate in Empire State Youth Orchestra’s other performing groups and its leadership training program, Young Leaders. “We created CHIME to offer a pathway to musical exploration,” says Calos, “and we have built as much support as possible to allow youth to pursue their passions by removing as many barriers as possible.” For the youngest students this means providing dedicated teachers, quality instruments and daily practice. For the older students this means private lessons, college guidance and preparation, performance opportunities locally and across the US, and opportunities for leadership/mentorship experiences and training.
“At CHIME, we believe that immersive musical study centers the whole student. Together with our students, we strive to build an environment that nurtures musician-learners who are curious explorers and citizens, actively involved in their learning process, music-making and community. Our approach aims at far-reaching impacts both within and beyond the scope of music. The importance of breaking down barriers to this type of instructional space and experience — where students can explore how they learn, contribute and evolve as individuals and members of a community over time — cannot be overstated. Continuing to expand access to our programming is of critical and central importance to our program mission, and we’re incredibly fortunate to partner so closely with SCSD in our shared commitment to these goals.”
Zoë Auerbach, CHIME & Young Leaders Director
With CHIME’s expansion this year, dozens more young people will have access to music enrichment and perspective-shifting opportunities. This past summer, for example, CHIME cellist and Young Leader, Jazlyn Bronson, traveled to Chicago with three of her CHIME peers to participate in the National Seminario Ravina, playing side-by-side with Chicago Philharmonic musicians under the baton of famed conductors, Marin Alsop and Jonathan Rush.
This year, CHIME musicians will be working with artist Horacio Fernandez to create a series of collective compositions that will premier in May 2024. This project is part of CHIME’s annual Amplify Our Voice initiative, designed to offer youth a powerful vehicle to process deep emotion, explore shared life experiences and “amplify” their voices through music.
The Albany Symphony has a fun, festive lineup of holiday shows this December, featuring events and performances such as The Magic of Christmas, and two shows by world-renowned pianist and Grammy nominee Yefim Bronfman. The symphony organization will get involved this holiday season with a toy drive and collaborations with new and long-time community partners during their upcoming programming.
On December 3, The Palace Theater will present The Magic of Christmas, joined by community partners including The Music Studio, Capital District Youth Chorale, Boland School of Irish Dance, and the Zorkie Nelson African Drumming Ensemble. The performance will feature favorite Christmas carols, sing-a-longs, selections from the beloved Nutcracker musical, and more festive performances for all ages. In addition, Santa Claus will make an appearance for a night filled with family fun.
On December 9 and 10, the symphony will welcome six-time Grammy nominee Yefim Bronfman to Troy Savings Bank Music Hall, performing a selection of famed classical pieces for Capital Region audiences. A world-renowned piano soloist, Bronfman will present Johannes Brahms’ Piano No. 2, Robert Schumann’s Symphony No. 4, as well as the world premiere of Loren Loiacono’s Beanie’s Chapbook.
We are so fortunate to have Yefim Bronfman join us for these exciting concerts. He is one of the greatest pianists in the world, and a dear friend of our Albany Symphony. We are always deeply honored that he makes time in his busy schedule to come play with us. Working with an artist of his caliber elevates all of us, and always inspires us to match his brilliance. Hearing the mighty Brahms Piano Concerto No. 2 in the legendary Troy Savings Bank Music Hall with arguably its greatest living interpreter and our brilliant Albany Symphony musicians will be an unforgettable experience for everyone!
David Alan Miller, Music Director and Conductor
In addition to the upcoming performances, audiences are invited to participate in a Toy Drive for Mom Starts Here on December 3. The organization will be accepting new and unwrapped toys for the nonprofit that works to support local parents in need of resources and support as they navigate parenthood.
Tickets for these events and more information on Albany Symphony performances are available at albanysymphony.com.
