Global superstar Pitbull has announced his upcoming “Party After Dark” tour beginning August 21 and wrapping up October 5. The tour sees five stops in New York including, SPAC, Jones Beach, Forest Hills Stadium, Darien Lake, and Syracuse.
The “Party After Dark” tour plans to hit over 25 cities across the U.S. with special guest T-Pain and openers SiriusXM Globalization DJ’S. Lil Jon is also set to make appearances at select markets. Mr. Worldwide is set to deliver another incredibly dynamic tour with an electrifying mix of his biggest career-spanning hits of instantly recognizable smashes and surprises.
The tour sees a stop at Forest Hills Stadium in Queens on August 25. Pitbull makes his way to Darien Lake Amphitheater in Buffalo on September 6. Empower FCU Amphitheater in Syracuse gets a visit on September 7, then SPAC the following night. Lastly, September 12 sees the tour’s last NY stop at Jones Beach Amphitheater in Long Island.
PARTY AFTER DARK TOUR DATES:
Wed Aug 21 – Bristow, VA – Jiffy Lube Live
Fri Aug 23 – Virginia Beach, VA – Veterans United Home Loans Amphitheater
Sat Aug 24 – Hershey, PA – Hersheypark Stadium
Sun Aug 25 – Queens, NY – Forest Hills Stadium
Thu Aug 29 – Cuyahoga Falls, OH – Blossom Music Center
Fri Aug 30 – Tinley Park, IL – Credit Union 1 Amphitheatre
Sat Aug 31 – Milwaukee, WI – American Family Insurance Amphitheater
Sun Sep 01 – Noblesville, IN – Ruoff Music Center
Wed Sep 04 – Clarkston, MI – Pine Knob Music Theatre
Fri Sep 06 – Buffalo, NY – Darien Lake Amphitheater
Sat Sep 07 – Syracuse, NY – Empower FCU Amphitheater at Lakeview
Sun Sep 08 – Saratoga Springs, NY – Broadview Stage at SPAC
Thu Sep 12 – Wantagh, NY – Northwell Health At Jones Beach Theater
Fri Sep 13 – Hartford, CT – Xfinity Theatre
Sat Sep 14 – Bangor, ME – Maine Savings Amphitheater
Sun Sep 15 – Mansfield, MA – Xfinity Center
Wed Sep 18 – Burgettstown, PA – The Pavilion at Star Lake
Thu Sep 19 – Cincinnati, OH – Riverbend Music Center
Sat Sep 21 – Ridgedale, MO – Thunder Ridge Nature Arena
Sun Sep 22 – St. Louis, MO – Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre
Wed Sep 25 – Salt Lake City, UT – Utah First Credit Union Amphitheatre
Fri Sep 27 – Ridgefield, WA – RV Inn Style Resorts Amphitheater*
Sat Sep 28 – Auburn, WA – White River Amphitheatre
Thu Oct 03 – Chula Vista, CA – North Island Credit Union Amphitheatre*
Fri Oct 04 – Phoenix, AZ – Talking Stick Resort Amphitheatre
Sat Oct 05 – Albuquerque, NM – Isleta Amphitheater
*with Special Guest Lil Jon
Tickets go on sale beginning on Friday, April 26 at 10 AM at LiveNation.com. For more information on Pitbull’s upcoming “Party After Dark” tour click here.
Respected blues and roots music songwriter and performer Joe Louis Walker from the Hudson Valley of New York brought his diverse blues driven songs, incredible musicianship and warm performance skills to a packed house at Caffe Lena in Saratoga Springs on Sunday, April 21.
Joe Louis Walker – photo by carlrubinomusicphotographer.com
Walker did two sets of his original contemporary blues, R&B and rock, infused with a hint of gospel, from “Run Me Down”, which he opened the show with, to “Too Drunk To Drive Drunk”, which he did as an encore and said emanated from when he and a friend were in a bar and the friend looked at someone and said “that guy’s too drunk to drive drunk”, delivering a truly energetic show throughout to a highly appreciative crowd.
He interspersed his performance with crowd-pleasing stories about what brought him to write some of the songs he performed and what they mean to him, such as “Don’t Walk Away” which he wrote for his wife, and “The Blues Comin’ On” which he wrote with Dion of Dion and the Belmonts.
At the end of his show Walker credited those he referred to as the creators of rock ‘n roll, of which he said there could not be a better mousetrap, and launched into a rock ‘n roll tribute performance that included an instrumental medley of measures from multiple chart topping rock songs that spanned decades and brought the crowd to its feet.
Weaving passages of musical tension and release into each song on his triple humbucking pickup electric guitar and with his melodic larger-than-life singing of his well-crafted lyrics, he delivered a performance that owned the room at Caffe Lena, giving the audience a clear understanding of what lies behind his being an inductee of the Blues Hall of Fame, his Grammy for Contemporary Blues for “Everyone Wants A Piece”, his multiple M. C. Handy awards, and his place as a featured performer at countless blues festivals.
Joe Louis Walker was backed up with stellar performances by Scott Milici on keys and backing vocals, Geoff Murfitt on electric bass and John Medeiros Jr on drums, all of whom also played on his Weight Of The World album.
Scot Milici, Keys & Vocals, Joe Louis Walker – photo by carlrubinomusicphotographer.comGeoff Murfitt, Bass, Joe Louis Walker – photo by carlrubinomusicphotographer.comJohn Medeiros Jr, Drums, Joe Louis Walker – photo by carlrubinomusicphotographer.com
The show was part of his 2024 tour covering locations as wide-spread as New York, California and Morocco, with performances at the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival on April 26 and in the Netherlands at the Holland International Blues Festival. He will next appear in New York State at the Full Moon Resort in Big Indian on June 26th. The tour is also in support of his 2023 album “Weight Of The World” which was recorded in a studio outside of Woodstock, NY.
During the show Walker, who has played at Caffe Lena before, mentioned how much he felt honored to play in the same place that legends like Bob Dylan had, and after the show he said he truly enjoyed performing in this special place with such an appreciative audience.
Joe Louis Walker – photo by carlrubinomusicphotographer.comJoe Louis Walker – photo by carlrubinomusicphotographer.comJoe Louis Walker – photo by carlrubinomusicphotographer.comJoe Louis Walker – photo by carlrubinomusicphotographer.comJoe Louis Walker – photo by carlrubinomusicphotographer.com
Saratoga Performing Arts Center has announced “Beethoven For Three” featuring Emanuel Ax, Leonidas Kavakos, and Yo-Yo Ma. The show takes place August 25 at 3 pm in the 500-seat Spa Little Theater. Proceeds from the performance will go toward establishing a programming fund for the Theater, SPAC’s year-round performance home.
Beethoven For Three features Emanuel Ax, Leonidas Kavakos, and Yo-Yo Ma in Beethoven’s Piano Trio No. 6. The trio is joined by special guest, Antoine Tamestit. Together, the group will then perform the monumental “Eroica” Symphony No. 3 reimagined for four players, in an intimate arrangement that maintains the power and immediacy of Beethoven’s orchestral work.
The show also presents a new opportunity for performers and listeners to examine the boundaries between musical genres, and how musicians can collaborate freely and creatively. The trio’s previous tours and recordings on Sony Classics have been met with rave reviews around the world. This is by no means a show to miss.
Spa Little Theater at SPAC
All tickets purchased for this event support SPAC’s efforts to provide year-round programming for the community in Spa Little Theater. Tickets go on sale April 25 at 10AM. SPAC Member presales begin on April 22 and April 23, tiered by membership level. Tickets are $500, of which $150 is a tax-deductible donation.
“One of the things that has separated people since recording began is the categories that we put people in, in which chamber musicians, orchestra players, people who play concertos, people who do transcriptions, people who compose, people who conduct, are all viewed as separate categories with no overlap. That siloed thinking discourages actual creativity and collaboration between people. And so we feel that one of the things that is really important to do today is to actually go back to the first principles of music, the simple interaction between friends who want to do something together.”
Yo-Yo Ma
For more information on the Beethoven For Three show and to purchase tickets, click here.
Opera Saratoga announced its 2024 summer festival, featuring three new productions at Universal Preservation Hall from June 27 to July 7. For more information on tickets and the season, visit here.
Opera Saratoga, formerly known as Lake George Opera, began with a production of Die Fledermaus at the Diamond Point Theatre on July 5, 1962, playing to an audience of 230. The Company now calls Saratoga Springs home and performs for more than 25,000 people. Opera Saratoga celebrates its 60th Anniversary this season, serving the communities of Saratoga Springs, the Lower Adirondack, and New York State Capital areas by providing access to world-class opera through the production of an annual Summer Festival, as well as year-round activities including extensive educational programs, mentorship of emerging operatic artists, and unique opportunities for the public. The company has performed 106 fully-staged works by 66 composers, including 42 works by American composers and 14 premiere productions.
“This season pays homage to Saratoga Springs’ history as a pleasure-seekers paradise and betting destination while looking to the future by pushing the definition of what opera can be – and how it can be made – forward,” said Mary Birnbaum, General and Artistic Director. “We hope to tempt risk-takers to the festival by dazzling them with reinventions of two classics in addition to a totally unique creation that they can only see in Saratoga.”
In 2023, the company hired its 10th Artistic and General Director, Mary Birnbaum. She has directed opera and music theater around the world, including staging critically acclaimed productions of L’Orfeo, Proving Up, and The Rape of Lucretia at The Juilliard School and The Classical Style at Carnegie Hall. She has also directed productions at Opera Philadelphia, Seattle Opera, Opera Columbus, Virginia Opera, Virginia Arts Festival, the Ojai Festival, Montclair Peak Performances, and Boston Baroque in the U.S, as well as in Taiwan (National Symphony Orchestra), Central America (National Theatre of Costa Rica and Guatemala), Australia and Israel.
She most recently directed the world premiere of In A Grove by Christopher Cerrone and Stephanie Fleischmann at Pittsburgh Opera and will direct the world premiere oratorio ÉMIGRÉ at the New York Philharmonic in collaboration with the Shanghai Symphony. On the faculty of the Juilliard School since 2011, she teaches acting to singers and serves as a Dramatic Advisor to the MMGD program. She also teaches and coaches for the Lindemann Young Artists Program at the Metropolitan Opera.
For more information on tickets and the season, visit here.
GUYS AND DOLLS
June 29–July 7
Universal Preservation Hall
The first of the trifecta, Guys and Dolls, features Mikaela Bennett (City Center Encores’ The Golden Apple, West Side Story at Glimmerglass), as Sarah Brown. The beloved gambling musical will feature direction by Mary Birnbaum, choreography by Caili Quan, and musical direction by Andy Einhorn (Broadway’s Carousel and Hello, Dolly!.), with scenic design by Kristen Robinson, lighting design by Anshuman Bhatia and costume design by Oana Botez. In addition to those already announced, the cast of Guys and Dolls will feature William Socolof as Nathan Detroit, Ariadne Greif as Miss Adelaide, Shavon Lloyd as Sky Masterson, Maximillian Jansen as Nicely Nicely Johnson, and Aubrey Allicock as Arvide Abernathy.
COSÌ FAN TUTTE
June 28–July 7
Universal Preservation Hall
Next is Mozart’s wager opera Così fan tutte, featuring GRAMMY-nominated bass-baritone Aubrey Allicock as the cynical Don Alfonso. The opera will also feature Nicoletta Berry as Despina, Julia Stuart as Fiordiligi, Anna Kelley as Dorabella, Maximillian Jansen as Ferrando, and Michael Hawk as Guglielmo.
INTI FIGGIS-VIZUETA WORLD PREMIERE OPERA
June 30 & July 5
Universal Preservation Hall
Finally, the biggest gamble of them all: a world premiere opera, devised and composed during the summer season by Composer-in-Residence inti figgis-vizueta. inti’s work explores the transformative power of group improvisation and play, working to reconcile historical aesthetics and experimental practices with trans & Indigenous futures. “The Festival Residency with Opera Saratoga is an incredible opportunity to explore the expressive world of contemporary opera, a first for me as a composer,” figgis-vizueta said.
LISTEN TO THIS: VOICES FROM THE FUTURE!
June 4, June 11, and June 18
Universal Preservation Hall
Listen to This is a three-part concert series that hands the mic to cutting-edge creators who break through boundaries of what opera can be through the lens of access and healing. The series is composed of: The Other Side of Silence, Winterreise, and finally, i woke up in the sky.
THE OTHER SIDE OF SILENCE
Tuesday, June 4 will feature work by RPI Director of Institute Ensembles Robert Whalen who is collaborating with librettists Mark Steidl, Katherine Skovira, and Sara Pyszka on a new opera for synthetic and acoustic voice The Other Side of Silence written by and for people who use Alternative Assistive Communication.
The Other Side of Silence explores what it means to be our true self, and which of our voices—our inner or outer voice— represents our identity. The Other Side of Silence examines technology’s role in the fabric of human society as seen through the lens of an AAC user – someone who uses a synthetic voice to communicate with the world.
WINTERREISE
On June 11, Director George Miller, Bass-Baritone William Socolof, and Pianist Chris Reynolds collaborate on the workshop of a contemporary staging of Schubert’s seminal song cycle Winterreise. Originally from Albany and Saratoga Springs, respectively, Miller and Reynolds bring their many accolades back to the Capital Region.
i woke up in the sky
On June 18, composer-performer Catherine Brookman shares her album i woke up in the sky with Opera Saratoga’s audiences. Her music deals with the experience of time passing, collapsing, unfinished business, heartbreak, loneliness, and depression.
On April 17, the Frances Young Tang Teaching Museum and Art Gallery at Skidmore College will present “as if our hands could hold the weight of promise” in conjunction with the Elevator Music 48: Alone, only in flesh exhibition.
Artists MIZU, Theresa-Xuan Bui, Antonius-Tín Bui, and dancer Glenna Yu will turn the Tang elevator and atrium staircase into a living canvas of sound, movement, and spoken word poetry. They take the audience on an excursion, joining the diasporic artists on a migration embodying the hesitations, expectations, and contemplations of returning home.
Elevator Music 48: Alone, only in flesh is a collaborative meditation on the intersections of identity, belonging, and the spaces in-between. The artists invite viewers to commune with the unknown through Asian snacks, traditional Vietnamese áo dài clothing, and experimental cello. In this experience, they engage all five senses.
Additionally, Ivy K. Vương, Curatorial Assistant, is working with the artists to organize the performance. At 4:30pm, Skidmore College’s K-Pop II students will perform under Visiting Artist-in-Residence Chia-Ying Kao before the main event.
The Tang Teaching Museum at Skidmore College explores interdisciplinary learning, blending arts within history, economics, and biology. Designed by architect Antoine Predock, this award-winning building symbolizes the fusion of art and ideas. Open Tuesday-Sunday, noon-5pm, with extended Thursday hours until 9pm.
Save April 17 in your calendars to celebrate art, culture, and community at the Tang Teaching Museum. The performance is free for anyone to see and begins at 5pm. For show and artist details, click here.
Legendary rockers Deep Purple have announced the “1 More Time” tour alongside fellow rock legends, YES this summer. The tour sees stops at SPAC, Jones Beach Amphitheater, and Bethel Woods Center for the Arts.
Deep Purple Live in 1971
The tour kicks off on August 14 in Hollywood, Florida and wraps up September 8 in Scranton, PA. The tour makes its way to New York State for three shows September 1, 4, and 6. Deep Purple and YES plan to rock cities all across the US with their highly influential and explosive discographies. The groups have lineups of unforgettable hits that are sure to get the audience rocking.
Legendary Ian Gillan fronts the band with vocals that have defined generations. He is accompanied by the masterful bassist Roger Glover, the powerhouse drummer Ian Paice, the maestro on keyboards Don Airey, and the sensational guitarist Simon McBride. Deep Purple guarantees a musical journey like no other.
Yes
Deep Purple, Yes 2024 Tour
Aug 14 – Hollywood, FL – Hard Rock Live Aug 15 – Tampa, FL – Seminole Hard Rock Event Center Aug 17 – The Woodlands, TX – Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion Aug 19 – Fort Worth, TX – Dickies Arena Aug 21 – Cincinnati, OH – PNC Pavilion at Riverbend Music Center Aug 22 – Sterling Heights, MI – Michigan Lottery Amphitheatre at Freedom Hill Aug 23 – Tinley Park, IL – Credit Union 1 Amphitheatre Aug 25 – Toronto, ON – Budweiser Stage Aug 27 – Montreal, QC – Bell Center Aug 28 – Gilford, NH – BankNH Pavilion Aug 30 – Camden, NJ – Freedom Mortgage Pavilion Aug 31 – Holmdel, NJ – PNC Bank Arts Center Sep 01 – Wantagh, NY – Northwell Health at Jones Beach Theater Sep 03 – Bridgeport, CT – Hartford Healthcare Amphitheater Sep 04 – Saratoga Springs, NY – Broadview Stage at SPAC Sep 06 – Bethel, NY – Bethel Woods Center For the Arts Sep 07 – Bristow, VA – Jiffy Lube Live Sep 08 – Scranton, PA – The Pavilion at Montage Mountain
To learn more about Deep Purple and Yes’ upcoming tour, and to purchase tickets, click here.
Grammy-Winning Artists BeauSoleil avec Michael Doucet will celebrate a half century of cajun music as they bring the bayou to Saratoga Springs’ Universal Preservation Hall on Thursday, April 18.
BeauSoleil is known to bring audiences to their feet, being born from the rich Acadian ancestry of members, created and driven by bandleader Michael Doucet’s spellbinding fiddle playing and soulful vocals, offering inspiring two-stepping, waltzing, and standing ovations wherever they go.
BeauSoleil avec Michael Doucet can be credited with taking Cajun music from its regional roots in Louisiana to popularity worldwide. Their most recent album, and the 25th in their 45-year career, was titled From Bamako to Carencro, alluding to the cultural and migratory connection between Bamako, in Mali, West Africa, and Louisiana (symbolized in name by the Lafayette, LA suburb of Carencro), a connection that draws a sonic bloodline back to BeauSoleil’s roots.
Since becoming the first Cajun band to win a Grammy with L’amour Ou La Folie (their Traditional Folk Album–1998) and then a second Grammy in 2010, “Live at the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival,” BeauSoleil has garnered many accolades, including 12 Grammy nominations.
Universal Preservation Hall hosts the multiple Grammy Award-winning group’s 50th anniversary tour 7:30 p.m. in the Great Hall Thursday, April 18 as part of the Passport Series-Music Haven at Proctors Collaborative.
Local Saratoga-based southern restaurant Hatties will serve free jambalaya samples alongside the bar in UPH’s lobby directly before the show for ticket holders.
Tickets are available through the Box Office at Proctors in-person, via phone at (518) 346-6204 Monday-Saturday 10 a.m.-6 p.m. or online visit atuph.org.
Texas singer songwriter Ruthie Foster brought her incredible cross-genre versatility to a standing-room-only house at Caffe Lena in Saratoga Springs on Thursday, April 4.
Combining a long set of her own songs of contemporary blues, Americana, gospel and country blues, including “Singing The Blues,” “Brand New Day,” and “4am” with her truly unique arrangements of covers like Pete Seeger’s “If I Had A Hammer,” June Carter Cash’s “Ring Of Fire” and Patty Griffin’s “When It Don’t Come Easy,” interspersed with crowd-pleasing stage banter that ranged from where the ideas for some of her songs came from, to family stories, she delivered a truly energetic show to a highly appreciative crowd in an intimate setting.
With her brilliant flatpicking and fingerpicking on a hollow body electric guitar, which she introduced as “Pearl”, she delivered her well-crafted original songs in a solo performance that matched the legendary intimacy of the room at Caffe Lena, giving the audience a clear understanding of what lies behind her multiple Grammy nominations, Blues Foundation’s Koko Taylor Award, and induction into the Texas Blues Hall of Fame.
The show marked the start of a six-month tour for Ruthie Foster, covering the US and parts of Canada, immediately followed with an April 5 show at The Folkus Project in Syracuse, with other shows in the region in Massachusetts and New Jersey. The tour is followed by a multi-day blues cruise out of Florida.
Ruthie referred to herself at one point as a country girl who grew up on a farm in Texas where she learned how to drive a car at eight years of age in the fields by sitting on phonebooks on the seat of her dad’s pickup truck, moving it slowly at his direction as farmhands loaded hay bales onto the back of the truck. She then segued into her beautifully fingerpicked rendition of Mississippi John Hurt’s “Richland Woman’s Blues” that brought her audience in for chorus sing-alongs.
Throughout the show, Ruthie’s energy fed the crowd and, in turn, was fueled by her audience’s response, both by her playing and singing as well as her eye contact and facial expressions. At the end of her single long set when she said she had only time for one more, she acceded to the the audience request of “Phenomenal Woman” saying “Okay, but that’ll be the encore,” and gave a stellar and moving performance that brought the crowd to its feet where they stayed and cheered until she returned for an a cappella gospel type tune with her appreciative audience joining in on.
There is something very special about a talented solo performance of well-crafted songs delivered to an audience in an intimate venue setting and this was just such an experience.
Goose has announced more headlining 2024 show dates which includes two nights at SPAC. The newly announced run will begin in NJ at Holmdel’s PNC Bank Arts Center on September 1 and the following week will see the band returning to SPAC for two shows on September 6 and 7. This summer and fall will be the first extensive touring Goose will be doing with their new drummer Cotter Ellis.
The new slate of fall shows will see Goose hit the Midwest and then the West Coast, with the tour concluding on September 28 in Stanford, CA at Frost Amphitheater. This comes after an extensive June schedule of shows that includes stops in St. Louis, Atlanta, and New York City before concluding with a hometown show at Westville Music Bowl in New Haven, CT. Goose is also set to play the SolShine Festival in Chillicothe, IL this Memorial Day Weekend. See below for a full listing of upcoming shows.
The September tour ticket pre-sale lottery for all newly announced Goose dates is currently underway and will continue through Saturday, April 6, at 5pm ET. Lottery winners will be charged and notified via email by the evening of Thursday, April 11 at 5pm ET. Public on-sales are set to begin Friday, April 12 at 10am (local). For more information, please visit www.goosetheband.com/tour.
A portion of the proceeds will be donated to Greenpeace, a global network of independent campaigning organizations that is committed to transforming the country’s unjust social, environmental, and economic systems from the ground up to address the climate crisis, safeguard our planet for future generations, advance racial justice, and build an economy that puts people over profits.
Goose 2024 Tour Dates
MAY
24-26 – Chillicothe, IL – Summer Camp Presents Solshine: A Music & Arts Reverie †
JUNE
4 – St. Louis, MO – The Factory
5 – St. Louis, MO – The Factory
7 – Greenwood Village, CO – Fiddler’s Green Amphitheatre
8 – Greenwood Village, CO – Fiddler’s Green Amphitheatre
10 – Omaha, NE – Steelhouse
11 – Kansas City, MO – The Midland
12 – Indianapolis, IN – Everwise Amphitheater at White River State Park
14 – Swanzey, NH – Northlands Music & Arts Festival (Two Sets) †
15 – Canandaigua, NY – CMAC
16 – Cleveland, OH – Jacobs Pavilion
18 – Raleigh, NC – Red Hat Amphitheater
20 – Atlanta, GA – Fox Theatre
21 – Atlanta, GA – Fox Theatre
22 – Atlanta, GA – Fox Theatre – SOLD OUT
23 – Charlotte, NC – Skyla Credit Union Amphitheatre – SOLD OUT
25 – Portland, ME – Thompson’s Point
26 – Portland, ME – Thompson’s Point
28 – Philadelphia, PA – Mann Center
29 – New York, NY – Forest Hills Stadium
30 – New Haven, CT – Westville Music Bowl
SEPTEMBER
1- Holmdel, NJ – PNC Bank Arts Center
6 – Saratoga Springs, NY – SPAC Broadview Stage
7 – Saratoga Springs, NY – SPAC Broadview Stage
9 – Charlottesville, VA – Ting Pavilion
14 – Minneapolis, MN – The Armory
15 – Waukee, IA – Vibrant Music Hall
17 – Salt Lake City, UT – The Plaza at America First Field
19 – Missoula, MT – KettleHouse Amphitheater
20 – Missoula, MT – KettleHouse Amphitheater
21 – Seattle, WA – Remlinger Farms
22 – Troutdale, OR – Edgefield Concerts on the Lawn
24 – Eugene, OR – Cuthbert Amphitheater
26 – San Diego, CA – Cal Coast Credit Union Open Air Theatre
Saratoga Springs’ own Opera Saratoga has elected four new members to its Board in preparation of the 2024 summer season, and under the leadership of General and Artistic Director, Mary Birnbaum.
New board members include: Saratoga Springs Commissioner of Public Works, Jason Golub; Supervising Judge of the Supreme Court in the Third Judicial District, Hon. Christina Ryba; local business owner and musician Derek Stannard; and, president and CEO of Empire Media Network, Abby Tegnalia.
“It is tremendously exciting to have these four new members joining our board. All community leaders in the Capital Region, each new member brings a valuable perspective and talent to our leadership team. I am looking forward to working with them as we continue to take Opera Saratoga forward.”
board President Steve Rosenblum
Opera Saratoga shares the following about the new Board Members
Jason Golub is a lifelong lover of musical theater but relatively new to opera. He currently serves as the Commissioner of Public Works for Saratoga Springs and has held professional roles as an anti-corruption lawyer and chief compliance officer at General Electric, and various leadership roles at hedge funds and law firms. He attended Connecticut College and Columbia Law School. He is excited to help continue to build on Opera Saratoga’s success by expanding the reach of Opera Saratoga to new audiences in Saratoga Springs and beyond, including his two kids, Zoe and Max.
The Honorable Christina L. Ryba was elected in 2015 to serve as Justice of the Supreme Court of New York in the Third Judicial District and in 2023 she was appointed Supervising Judge of the Supreme Court in the Third Judicial District. She also serves as Co-Chair of the Permanent Commission on Access to Justice whose mission is to ensure equal access to justice in New York State. Prior to beginning her judicial term in 2016, she held various positions in the court system for the Office of Court Administration (OCA) and in the NYS Supreme Court Appellate Division, Third Department, including Special Projects Counsel to the Deputy Chief Administrative Judge for Courts Outside New York City and Special Projects Counsel to the Presiding Justice of the Appellate Division, Third Department. Prior to her work with the judiciary, Judge Ryba was an associate at Nixon Peabody. She also served as an Assistant Attorney General for the State of New York Litigation Bureau. Additional public service includes appointments first as General Counsel and then as Deputy Director for the City of Albany Community Development Agency. She began her career in public service with the City of Albany Corporation Counsel’s office. Judge Ryba is Second Vice President of the Association of Justices of the Supreme Court of the State of New York; member of the New York Women Judges Association; past-president of the Albany County Bar Foundation; past-president of the Albany County Bar Association; member of Judicial Friends Association; member of the American Bar Association; and a Trustee of Albany Law School, where she chairs the Law Committee and is a member of the Executive Committee.
Derek W. Stannard, pianist, organist, tenor, and conductor, is a graduate of the Crane School of Music with degrees in Performance and Music Education. From 2014-2019, Mr. Stannard was the Artistic Director and founder of Auriel Camerata, an acclaimed fully professional choral ensemble in the Capital District. He is currently the organist at Bethesda Episcopal Church, Saratoga Springs, and has served as Organist and Director of Music Ministries at Church of the Immaculate Conception, Glenville, St. Peter’s Episcopal Church, Bennington, Christ Church United Methodist, Glens Falls, and Grace Church, Canton, among others. From 2015 to 2021 he served as Associate Conductor of Burnt Hills Oratorio Society (now called Saratoga Voices), and served on their board until 2022. As a soloist, Mr. Stannard has been featured with many ensembles, including with Aoede Consort (Carnegie Hall premier of works by Vladimir Pleshakov), Albany Pro Musica, Burnt Hills Oratorio Society, Battenkill Chorale, Adirondack Voices, Voices of Cooperstown, and the Berkshire Choral Festival. In 2006, Mr. Stannard had the privilege of premiering the opera The Sailor-Boy and the Falcon at the Crane School of Music with Metropolitan Opera mezzo-soprano Stephanie Blythe. In addition to his vocal and choral work, he has given organ recitals throughout the capital district including Christ Church Methodist, Glens Falls, St. Peter’s Church, Bennington, Silver Bay Chapel, Silver Bay, and the Cathedral of All Saints, Albany. Mr. Stannard is the proprietor of The Pampered Pooch and Pals, a pet supply store in Ballston Spa. He is delighted to be serving on the board of Opera Saratoga.
Abby Tegnelia is the president and CEO of Empire Media Network, which publishes Saratoga Living and Capital Region Living magazines, a hyper-local Substack email newsletter, and the programs for Albany Symphony Orchestra and the SPAC summer classical season—while also producing a vibrant calendar of community and private events. A lifelong supporter of the performing arts, she attended a magnet school for the arts for dance (and performed in Don Quixote with American Ballet Theater principal dancer Leslie Browne) before moving to NYC to get her masters in journalism at Columbia University and begin her journalism career at New York magazine. She has written for Glamour, Marie Claire, Robb Report and many others, and served as editor-in-chief of several regional magazines on the west coast before moving to Saratoga Springs in 2019 for her work with Empire Media.
