The Ballston Spa Athletic Hall of Fame class of 2020. Photo provided by Stuart Williams.
BALLSTON SPA — The Ballston Spa Athletic Hall of Fame committee has selected the following inductees into the Class of 2024:
Tyler Barnes (Class of 2018)
Wayne Evans Jr. (Class of 1998)
Jordan Hipwell (Class of 2017)
Mark Lawrence (Class of 1990)
Donald Monaco (Class of 1961)
Tom Talbot (Class of 1968)
1978 Varsity Football Team
A ceremony to honor the inductees will be held on Saturday, April 27 at 1 p.m. in the Ballston Spa High School auditorium. Tickets are available to the public for $10 and may be purchased at the door.
Adirondack Thunder hockey players Brendan Less and T.J. Friedmann celebrated the grand reopening of Dunkin’ at 95 Saratoga Ave in South Glens Falls. The duo signed autographs and posed for pictures with fans. Photo by Super Source Media Studios.
A young boy learns archery as part of the New York State 4-H Shooting Sports program. Photo via New York State 4-H.
BALLSTON SPA — 4-H is offering a beginner shooting sports course for boys and girls 12 and older on Tuesday evenings beginning March 5. All participants must be enrolled in 4-H. Instruction will take place at 556 Middleline Road in Ballston Spa.
Youngsters can learn the basics of air pistol, muzzleloader, rifle and shotgun, archery, hunting and wildlife. The course will focus on safety, ethics, and personal responsibility. A $50 course fee will cover the cost of ammunition and supplies.
To register, visit pub.cce.cornell.edu/event_registration/main/events_landing.cfm?event=SC4HShootingSportsSpring2024_241.
Any questions can be sent to Leland at glb76@cornell.edu.
Image: Aerial map of the Skidmore campus and baseball fields provided by The LA Group Landscape Architecture and Engineering/Skidmore Athletics. Image text added by Saratoga TODAY.
SARATOGA SPRINGS — The Skidmore baseball team is getting a new turf field that will accommodate more fans and “enhance the team and spectator experience,” the college announced last week.
Construction will soon begin on the $3.4 million project, which is being financed primarily by donors. The new field will be on Daniels Road, northwest of the school’s main campus, and will be ready in time for the spring 2025 season.
“Castle Diamond has been a wonderful home for our baseball team for many years, but between the expected aging of a well-loved facility, costs and challenges associated with renovating the current site, and the growth of both our program and Division III sports overall, it’s time for a move,” said Gail Cummings-Danson, assistant vice president for student affairs and director of athletics, in a statement.
“Our current field has a lot of history, a lot of memories,” said Ron Plourde, head baseball coach. “At the same time, it’s also brought a lot of challenges, and we’re grateful Skidmore and our fans see the value of this move for our program and Skidmore Athletics overall.”
The Albany Symphony has announced its 2024-2025 season. Photo provided.
ALBANY — The Albany Symphony 2024-2025 season will feature masterworks that include Beethoven’s Pastoral, Mozart’s Symphony No. 35, Dvorak’s New World Symphony, and Tchaikovsky’s Piano Concerto No.1, as well as new works by a wide array of current-day composers.
The programming for this season has been curated by conductor David Alan Miller. Concerts will take place in a wide variety of the most exciting Capital Region concert venues, including the Troy Savings Bank Music Hall, the Palace Theater, Proctors, and EMPAC.
The season opens in October with Tchaikovsky’s First Concerto, famed for the sequence of pounding chords with which the soloist’s part launches the first movement. The concert will also feature a world premiere by famed Cuban-American composer, Tania León, who won the 2021 Pulitzer Prize in Music for her orchestral work, Stride. Her Pregón is dedicated to Jesse Rosen and is inspired by the pregoneros, known as town criers in English, of her childhood memories, where she grew up, on the streets of Havana.
The year’s classics include Carl Nielsen’s Symphony No. 4, “The Inextinguishable,” Antonín Dvořák’s Symphony No 9, “From the New World,” Antonio Vivaldi’s Concerto for Two Oboes, Sergei Rachmaninoff’s Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini, and more.
Many of the country’s most exciting composers will be featured and celebrated throughout the season. Joan Tower’s Cello Concerto, A New Day, will debut in November and was written in memory of her husband, who passed away last year. The season brings first-time and returning composers to the Albany Symphony stage, including old friends like Loren Loiacono, Reena Esmail, and Daniel Bernard Roumain. Bobby Ge’s orchestral tone-poem, Water Music, will be given its world premiere at the American Music Festival. Ge is a Chinese American composer who explores the vivid beauty of the ephemeral. His work, often collaborative in nature, focuses on themes of home and communication. Additional high notes at the end of the season include Clarice Assad’s Percussion Quartet Concerto, with the amazing members of Third Coast Percussion, Sophia Jani’s What do Flowers do at Night?, and Christopher Theofanidis’ Clarinet Concerto.
Albany Symphony oboists Karen Hosmer and Grace Shyrock will perform at the Holiday Mozart and Vivaldi concert. Harmony Zhu, a teenage prodigy who made her debut with the Albany Symphony in 2020, will perform Rachmaninoff’s Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini. Kala Ramnath, a seventh-generation violinist specializing in Hindustani (Indian) classical music, will perform.
Guitarist Bokyung Kim will premiere a new concerto written for her by Nicky Sohn. Amaryn Olmeda will perform Samuel Barber’s Violin Concerto under the baton of guest conductor, Lidiya Yankovskaya, Music Director of Chicago Opera Theater, who grew up in Guilderland.
The 2024-2025 season runs from October through the American Music Festival in June. Subscriptions offer patrons the opportunity to purchase their favorite seats before tickets go on sale to the general public. Season subscriptions offer flexibility and convenience. The deadline to renew is April 14. Through the Nielsen Associates’ Student Access Program, students can purchase discount subscriptions and enjoy the full benefits of being a subscriber for as little as $45. To purchase a subscription online and see a full schedule, visit http://www.albanysymphony.com or call the Albany Symphony Box Office at 518-694-3300.
GALWAY — The Slocan Ramblers – recent recipients of the Canadian Folk Music Awards’ Ensemble of the Year, and 2020’s International Bluegrass Music Association’s Momentum Band of the Year, will perform at The Cock ‘n Bull in Galway on Thursday, March 7.
In October, the group made their debut performance on the Grand Ole Opry stage; The Slocan Ramblers have performed in front of audiences from Merlefest to RockyGrass and everywhere in between.
Seating is from 5:30-6:30 for the 7 p.m. show. $15 cover
The Cock ‘n Bull is located at 5342 Parkis Mills Road, Galway. For more information, go to: thecocknbull.com.
HMT Presents Peter Pan Feb. 23 – March 3 at Spa Little Theater. Eli Buck as John, Jacob D’Agostino as Michael, Sophia DeMasi as Wendy, and Lauren Berkman as Peter Pan. Photo: Dawn Oesch.
SARATOGA SPRINGS — For two weekends, starting on Friday, Feb. 23, Home Made Theater will present Peter Pan, A Musical Adventure, with music by George Stiles, lyrics by Anthony Drewe and book by Willis Hall.
The legend of Peter Pan has been delighting people for over 100 years, and this faithful new version is a festive adventure, perfect for the whole family.
The Director of Peter Pan, A Musical Adventure is Dawn Oesch, who has previously directed the Home Made Theater productions of Mamma Mia!, Young Frankenstein, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, and last season’s sold out run of The Sound of Music.
Returning as Musical Director is Richard Cherry, who collaborated with Oesch on The Sound of Music among many other productions. The Choreographer is Johnny Martinez, the artistic team includes Scenic Designer Eric Rudy, Lighting Designer Steve Moulton, Costume Designer Sherry Recinella, Sound Designers Anne-Marie Baker and Tom Moeller, Properties Designer Christina Toppin, and Production Stage Manager Susan Turner.
In addition to a cast of faces both familiar and new to Home Made Theater audiences, the company will be conducting online fundraising auctions for the role of Tinkerbell for each performance. A link to the bidding for this walk-on will be on homemadetheater.org.
Performances: Friday, Feb. 23 at 7:30 p.m., Saturday, Feb. 24 at 2 p.m. and 7:30 p.m., and Sunday, Feb. 25 at 2 p.m. The second weekend: Thursday, Feb. 29 at 7:30 p.m., Friday, March 1 at 7:30 p.m., Saturday, March 2 at 2 p.m. and 7:30 p.m., and Sunday, March 3 at 2 p.m. All performances are at The Spa Little Theater in the Saratoga Spa State Park. Tickets are $35 and are available on Home Made Theater’s website, www.homemadetheater.org, or by calling 518-587-4427 during box office hours (Mon.-Fri. from noon-4 p.m.).
Photo of the Schuylerville girls indoor track and field Section 2 championship team via Schuylerville Central School District.
SCHUYLERVILLE — The Schuylerville High School girls’ indoor track and field team won this year’s Division III sectionals, defeating Scotia-Glenville 93-82.
Sectional individual champions included Meaghan Lynch (55m, Long Jump), Keira Rogan (1000m, 1500m, 3000m), and Ryan Stark (Pole Vault). Rogan set a school record of 3:09:49 in the 1000m, and Lynch earned a new school record in the triple jump with 34’ 10.75”.
Photo of the Section 2 champion Saratoga Springs gymnastics team provided by Allesandra Skinner.
LATHAM — The Saratoga Springs gymnastics team won its 22nd-straight Section 2 championship last week at Shaker High School in Latham. The Blue Streaks took first place in vault, uneven bars, floor, and all around.
The Section 2 championship team includes Lily McKinley, Ellie Ott, Maddy Austin, Ayla Skinner, Alyssa Caiano, Kate Browne, Miranda Putorti, Gia DiMaggio, Nicole Fitzgerald, Makenzie Lanning, and Isabella Trimarchi.
