WILTON — Jacquelyn Carey died July 15, 2024. Calling hours, followed by a service was held at Compassionate Funeral Care. A graveside service was held following the service at Maplewood Cemetery. Online condolences, visit www.compassionatefuneralcare.com
NIAGARA FALLS — U.S. Navy veteran Keith Koster, a member of Adirondack Post 70 in Saratoga Springs for more than 26 years, was elected commander of the American Legion Department of New York at the 106th Annual Department Convention, July 17-19 at the Niagara Falls Convention Center.
Koster, a cancer survivor who climbed all 46 Adirondack peaks to commemorate The American Legion Centennial in 2019, will serve a one-year term.
While in the U.S. Navy, Koster served as an electronic warfare technician aboard the USS Suribaci during the 1980s. His service included deployment to the Mediterranean. After his honorable discharge, Koster eventually joined Xerox Corporation as a technician and became an area service manager, retiring after 33 years in 2021.
Koster served as commander on the county and district levels before serving a term as department vice commander. His Legion involvement extends to the national level where he served on four committees and in 2021 was inducted into Senate Veterans Hall of Fame.
A native of Schenectady and a graduate of Shenendehowa High School, Koster resides in Saratoga Springs with his wife of 39 years, Cindy. The couple have two children and two grandchildren.
SARATOGA SPRINGS— Rita (nee Murphy) Zehnter died July 16, 2024. Calling hours were held on July 25 and a Catholic service will be at 11:00 a.m. on July 26 at Compassionate Funeral Care, followed by a graveside service at 12:30 p.m. at Saratoga National Cemetery. For Online condolences, visit www.compassionatefuneralcare.com
SARATOGA SPRINGS —Solo performer, recording artist, composer and arranger and most famously a one-time lead guitarist in Paul McCartney’s Wings (1978-81), Laurence Juber will perform on solo acoustic guitar at Caffe Lena at 7 p.m. on Aug. 4.
Juber’s playing fuses folk, jazz, blues, pop and classical styles, creating a multi-faceted performance that belies the use of only one instrument.
Known to his fans as LJ, he has recorded more than two dozen albums which spotlight his unique touch and tone on acoustic guitar. His latest release, “A Day In My Life,” is a collection of a dozen of his celebrated arrangements of Beatles songs, recorded at London’s Abbey Road Studios.
For more information and tickets, go to: caffelena.org.
ALBANY— Three-hundred and fifty-nine people have been arrested and $101,000 in stolen property recovered NYSP Superintendent Steven G. James announced last week.
The State Police, working with the New York State Attorney General’s Office, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Homeland Security Investigations, and the New York City Police Department, formed partnerships with loss prevention and security teams from numerous large retailers in all regions of the state to share information and coordinate enforcement activities in a multi-agency retail theft crackdown announced by Gov. Kathy Hochul earlier this year.
Each State Police troop also contacted businesses in their area and identified retail locations most affected by theft. The initiative started with increased State Police patrols in the highest-impacted areas identified in each troop, and included intelligence gathering along with coordination with the loss prevention teams at targeted retail businesses. Additionally, State Police specialty units, including the NYS Intelligence Center, Violent Gang and Narcotics Enforcement Unit, Community Stabilization Unit, and the Special Investigations Unit were deployed throughout the state to support this initiative.
During the first 16 weeks of the multi-agency initiative, State Troopers investigated 412 retail larceny complaints, conducted 237 dedicated retail theft enforcement details, arrested 359 people on 571 separate charges, and recovered $101,000 of stolen property.
CLIFTON PARK — The Board of Trustees of the Clifton Park-Halfmoon Public Library has announced the proposed 2025 budget, to be voted on by Library tax district residents.
The total tax levy is $5,251,560 and is New York State tax cap compliant. The total 2025 proposed budget expenditure is $5,370,542.
The Library Budget Vote and Trustee Election will be held on Thursday, Sept. 12 at the Library, from 7 am to 9 pm.
Registered voters, both renters and property owners, living in the Library tax district are eligible to vote. Voters must be registered at least 30 days prior to the vote. Absentee ballot are available. Those who are unable to vote in person on Sept. 12, can fill out an application online at www.cphlibrary.org or at the Library. Residents of Clifton Park will also vote on two trustee positions, vacancies created by the expiring terms of two incumbents.
A Budget Information Session will be held 7 p.m. on Thursday, Sept. 5 at the Library. The Library is located at 475 Moe Road in Clifton Park and can be reached by phone at 518-371-8622 and online at www.cphlibrary.org.
SARATOGA SPRINGS — The Festival de Lanaudière and Saratoga Performing Arts Center have formed an unprecedented partnership for the 2024 edition of the mentorship program.
Founded by the Festival de Lanaudière, the program now benefits from a collaboration that brings together two prestigious festivals from different countries, providing exceptional opportunities for emerging Canadian classical musicians.
Now in its third year, the Festival de Lanaudière’s mentorship program, taking place from July 25 to Aug. 4, allows six promising Canadian classical musicians to forge professional relationships with acclaimed artists, solidifying their paths to international recognition.
This year’s participants will spend six days in Joliette, Quebec, followed by four days in Saratoga Springs, coinciding with The Philadelphia Orchestra’s annual residency at SPAC.
The participants will benefit from in-depth exchanges with conductors, soloists, and musicians from The Philadelphia Orchestra, along with other notable figures in the classical music world at both festivals. In addition, they will engage in workshops, attend rehearsals and concerts, and receive one-on-one coaching, all aimed at developing essential career management tools.
“We are very excited to be collaborating with our wonderful colleagues at Festival de Lanaudière, continuing our work to build bridges across the border,” SPAC President & CEO Elizabeth Sobol said in a statement. “SPAC has always been home to many of the greatest performing artists in the world. Our participation in the project gives us an opportunity to nurture the next generation.”
The 2024 Mentees: Mehdi Ghazi, pianist; Frédéric-Alexandre Michaud, conductor, violinist and radio cultural commentator; Elizabeth Polese, soprano; Antoine Rivard-Landry, pianist; Catherine St-Arnaud, soprano; Gabriel Trottier, solo, chamber and orchestral horn player.
Founded in 1978, today the Festival de Lanaudière is one of North America’s leading classical music festivals. It takes place at the Amphithéâtre Fernand-Lindsay as well as in churches and agrotourism sites in the Lanaudière Region.
SARATOGA SPRINGS — Saratoga Arts will host its second annual Foundation fundraiser – a summer gala – 7 p.m. on Aug. 3 at the Arts Center.
Saratoga Arts’ newly-branded “Foundation” events feature interactive, performance-based experiences that also raise funds for the organization.
This year’s event will focus on a curated silent auction of prolific artists from all over the Capital Region and beyond, including Jonathan Sweet, Victoria Palermo, Stu Eichel, Frittelli and Lockwood, Jill Fishon-Kovachick, Peter Harrison, and a rare piece by the elusive artist/activist Monarch, whose identity remains unknown.
This will also be an exclusive first opportunity to view and purchase art from the 10×10 Community Exhibition – featuring artwork measuring 10 inches, by 10 inches, by 10 inches – created by Saratoga Arts members and supporters in the community. Fine food and drink will be catered by 9 Miles East, and there will be special engagements by iTheater Saratoga and Mostly Modern Projects, resulting in a completely unique evening.
Tickets can be purchased for $120 for a non-member, $100 for a member either at https://www.saratoga-arts.org/event-5733363 or calling the Saratoga Arts at 518-584-4132.
SARATOGA SPRINGS — “It was time to bring back the art form of spoken word, where there’s a story with music behind it,” says country, bluegrass, and Americana legend John McEuen regarding his new album “The Newsman: A Man Of Record.”
The record, featuring 10 spoken word tracks and one instrumental piece, was released on Compass Records this week. On Aug. 9, McEuen performs live at Caffe Lena.
The collection spans various literary themes from Henry Wadsworth Longfellow’s Civil War-era poem “Killed at the Ford” to Robert Service’s “The Cremation of Sam McGee” about a Yukon prospector.
“The music does not have to reflect anything like a melody, so it’s supportive of the words,” says McEuen, who was born in California in 1945 and began his musical journey at 16 while working in a magic shop alongside Steve Martin, and later became co-founding member of the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, orchestrated the groundbreaking “Will The Circle Be Unbroken” album, and to date counts more than three-dozen albums in which he featured prominently.
“I chose some pieces that were not spoken words with music but made them so, and some pieces that were definite spoken words with music and tried to support them as well,” he says.
For more information about the artist, visit johnmceuen.com. For tickets to the Caffe Lena show on Aug. 9, go to: caffelena.org.
SARATOGA SPRINGS — Flutist Melanie Chirignan and pianist Melinda Faylor will perform a 45-minute free community concert, to be followed by a brief question and answer session, at 2 p.m. on July 28, at the Saratoga Senior Center, located at 290 West Ave., Suite 1.
The classically trained duo take elements of classical pieces and reimagine them into improvised compositions. They commissioned artist Mercedes Soriano to take a time lapse video of them while painting to one of their improvisations, and the duo will project this video while they perform live.
A second concert follows the same format, with the addition of cellist Laura Melnicoff, and is scheduled to take place 2 p.m. Sept. 29. The performances are made possible by a Saratoga Community Arts grant.
