LAKE GEORGE —  “Painted Stories,” new work by Susan Hoffer is presented at Courthouse Gallery by Lake George Arts Project Jan. 16 – Feb. 19.  An Online Talk with Susan Hoffer will be held 4 p.m. on Saturday, Jan. 16 via Zoom. Link at: www.lakegeorgearts.org.   

Hoffer’s new work is deeply rooted in her surrounding environment, rural Upstate NY’s Adirondack Park. Her autobiographical paintings spring from her experiences and exchanges with family, friends, students and neighbors. With close attention to current events, and a keen eye for observing detail, she depicts how technology is relied on and weaved into everyday life. Her subjects are carefully staged in various interior spaces, often with dramatic lighting rendered through thick brushwork, and surrounded by objects that inform each narrative. Her compositions reveal psychological states of her subjects, her empathy for them, as well as her love of light and texture in paint.

“I am interested in the experience of real or perceived isolation that is a result of geographical place and in the ways we use technology to form connections. In our digital age, new media have become a primary means of informational access for many people living in rural areas such as the Adirondack Park,” Hoffer said, in a statement. “In each painting, I aim to connect my subjects to their broader context, hinting at their engagement with global concerns.” 

Hoffer’s work has been featured in solo shows at Adirondack Lakes Center for the Arts, Blue Mountain Lake, and group shows at Emerge Gallery in Saugerties, Albany Institute of History & Art, The Shirt Factory in Glens Falls, and Saratoga Arts in Saratoga Springs, among others. 

SARATOGA SPRINGS — Opera Saratoga announced last week that the company has converted its popular in-school OPERA-TO-GO tour into an interactive, virtual program this year to ensure safety for all while continuing to provide a unique and enriching arts education experience. 

The new program will feature the digital world premiere of The Selfish Giant, a new one-act opera based on the short story by Oscar Wilde, written by Brazilian-American composer Clarice Assad and librettist Lila Palmer, commissioned by American Lyric Theater in New York City specifically for young audiences. 

“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,” company artistic and general director Lawrence Edelson said in statement.

 Over the past six months, Opera Saratoga has re-envisioned the OPERA-TO-GO program as a digital initiative that will be available for free to educators for their students.  The program will be available to schools in late February, and is comprised of the following elements:

 • 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 6 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, by composer Clarice Assad and librettist Lila Palmer, based on the short story by Oscar Wilde. 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 SELFISH GIANT 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 also create an online library of student-created films of the opera, which will be hosted on the company’s website. 

Educators interested in offering this program to their students in Kindergarten through Grade 5 should register at www.operasaratoga.org/virtual-education no later than Jan. 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. 

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 annually. Opera Saratoga celebrates its 60th Anniversary this season. For more information, visit www.operasaratoga.org

SARATOGA SPRINGS — In this city, the guitars have all gone silent. Matt McCabe has passed away, COVID-19 taking from the city one of its most endearing souls. 

“June 14, 1994. Flag Day. I started in a little 160 square-foot hole-in-the-wall space on Caroline Street,” he recalled with a smile, on a weekday afternoon 25 years later, celebrating a quarter-century in this city. 

“That was my first real business venture. I opened with 48 used guitars and 10 used amplifiers. There was a lot going on and I’ll never forget it.” It was a week when he had watched his beloved New York Rangers hockey team win their first Stanley Cup championship in 54 years, and experienced the buzz among all the other storefronts on Caroline Street as O.J. Simpson slinked in the back seat of a white Ford Bronco, leading a low-speed chase by police through Southern California.

A quarter-century later, he had opened a number of Saratoga Guitar shops, where he sold new, used, and vintage instruments, a plethora of accessories, sheet music, vinyl records, and conducted instrument repairs. For a generation he hosted The Capital Region Guitar Show – which became one of the longest running guitar shows in the country – drawing dealers, musicians and fans from across the northeast to the Spa City. On occasion, he made the time to take to the stage – “playing and singing with whoever will have me, me and my guitar compadres.” 

The shop served as a musician’s meeting place, and he often played host for some of the biggest ones coming through town.   

“Over the years we’ve seen Graham Nash and Stephen Stills, John Fogerty, Joe Bonamassa. Beck stopped in. Dave Matthews has always been very nice to us. Sam Shepard, the actor. We’ve met some nice people over the years. They come here, they love Saratoga and they like that they don’t get bothered here. We always take the low key, engage as they want, but you have to know that they’re working people too.”

As a young man, McCabe had fancied becoming a veterinarian or a baseball player. “Everything else since then happened by accident,” he said. “Thanks to family and friends I’ve been able to make it work over the years. The city’s been very good to me. The kids were all born here. And the downtown vibe is great.” 

From 2004-2007, McCabe served as city Finance Commissioner.  He was a popular member of the council and independent of any political party. 

“You learn a lot about your fellow citizens, and what I learned was: how smart I wasn’t. At those meetings when people come up and speak – people from all walks of life and from all over our city – you see how varied our population is. When you listen to the public comments you realize: My goodness, how many passionate people there are; How many qualified opinions there are. And from people out there who are smarter than you. Just because you’re in office, it doesn’t mean you’re smarter. It was a life-learning experience for me,” he said.

“I certainly look back on it fondly. It was a challenge, but I thoroughly enjoyed working for the people of Saratoga Springs. I did my best.”

SARATOGA SPRINGS — When the Nazis invaded France in 1940, Jewish parents first ran, then hid, and finally entrusted their children to various organizations and churches to shelter their youngsters. The story of Fanny’s Journey  – Le Voyage de Fanny, a 2016 French and Belgian film – is told through the eyes of some of those children. 

Saratoga Jewish Community Arts and Temple Sinai presents a Zoom discussion of the film Fanny’s Journey at 7 p.m. on Jan. 10.

Fanny’s Journey is based on the life of Fanny Ben-Ami and her two sisters. The story is true, but as a film, elements were fictionalized. Ben-Ami, 85 in 2016 when the film was released, was at first taken aback by the liberties taken in the film, but then reconciled that the film conveys the appropriate message. Fanny did not help eleven children to escape to Switzerland, as portrayed in the film; she travelled with 28 children.

In 1943 France, Fanny had barely turned 13 when her father was arrested in German occupied Paris. Fanny’s mother sent her and her younger sisters to the French free zone until it was no longer safe there, and then they went on to an Italian foster home. She and her younger sisters faced language barriers and Nazi persecution. The young children were again threatened and must once again be on the run. This time, the agency head was determined that they get to Switzerland, obtaining false passports for them, coercing the children to learn new names and backstories, securing them on a train to Switzerland, and then disappears, leaving 13- year-old Fanny in charge. When the war ended, Fanny learned her parents had died in Auschwitz and Lublin. 

The film is based on Fanny Ben Ami’s 2015 memoir. Registration required for Zoom discussion at sjca.sjcf@gmail.com. For more information, visit: Saratoga jewish cultural festival.org; saratogasinai.org. 

BALLSTON SPA — Acclaimed scholar and international social justice activist Dr. James Brewer Stewart will be the featured speaker for the Saratoga County History Center’s January 2021 episode of “Experts Next Door.”

Dr. Stewart, Professor of History Emeritus at Macalester College, is one of the foremost experts on United States politics, law, and race.  His books are assigned reading in both undergraduate and graduate courses, he has appeared in several of the American Experience’s (PBS) historical documentaries, is a co-editor for Louisiana University Press’s series on “Abolition, Antislavery, and the Atlantic World,” and has spoken widely on college campuses.  Equally important, Dr. Stewart has devoted his life to combatting bigotry, racism, and slavery. 

In 2010, he founded Historians Against Slavery, an international coalition of scholars dedicated to raising awareness of modern forms of unfree labor.  In 2016, he spearheaded a national effort to save Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), starting with Tougaloo College (Jackson, MS).  Furthermore, he is the founder and director of the “Celebrate American Heroes Project,” which employs history to inspire a new generation of activists.  In 2020, he launched a national campaign against racism called “Jim Stewart’s Historical Tonic for Fragile White Folks” – a series of online videos that boldly confront 21st century white supremacy.

Stewart’s talk is entitled “From Classroom to Community,” and explores the myriad ways historians today are reaching out to the general public and pushing back against an onslaught of “fake news” and “alternative facts.”  He will also talk about his own personal experiences and his groundbreaking scholarship. 

The January episode of “Experts Next Door” is scheduled for 7 p.m., Thursday, Jan. 14.  Participants need to register in advance (brooksidemuseum.networkforgood.com/events/25669-experts-next-door-episode-7) and will receive a Zoom link. 

Any questions or inquiries should be directed to Dr. Michael Landis, Public Programs Manager, Saratoga County History Center, at mlandis@brooksidemuseum.org. 

An epic global streaming event “A Bowie Celebration: Just For One Day!” will broadcast 9 p.m. Friday, Jan. 8. 

Hosted by David Bowie’s longest-standing band member Mike Garson, the stream will bring together an array of artists who worked with Bowie, or were deeply influenced by him and his work, for a celebration on what would have been his 74th birthday and weekend of the fifth anniversary of his passing.

Artists on the all-star lineup include Boy George, Adam Lambert, Duran Duran, Taylor Momsen, Ricky Gervais, Perry Farrell, Peter Frampton, Rick Wakeman, Trent Reznor, and many others. 

Tickets are $25 and can be purchased via the event page at HYFI.com/Bowie, along with options for purchasing VIP experiences, and exclusive merch. $2 per ticket purchase will be donated to the Save the Children organization, a charity important to Bowie and the beneficiary of funds raised from his 50th Birthday Concert held in 1997 at a sold-out Madison Square Garden featuring many of the very artists who will be featured on Jan. 8.

LAKE GEORGE — The Peoples Pixel Project was created to provide audience exposure to professional and emerging videographers, and to foster local interest and growth in the medium. We are excited to relaunch The Peoples Pixel Project (or P3), knowing, now more than ever, how important it is for film makers to have a platform to show their work.

Film Categories: 

1. Tunes: Video where primary focus is music. 
2. Get Reel: Documentary work. 
3.Animated: Stop-action, table-top animation, computer-generated, hand-drawn, etc… 
4. 2020 Rewind: Work that reflects, or was inspired by, the crazy year that was 2020 
5. Narrative: Tell us a story! 
6. Other: Work that doesn’t quite fit into any of our other categories.

Guidelines: 

• Artists must be from NY 
• Artists can submit up to three works (links sent via YouTube or Vimeo) 
• Videos must be 5 minutes or less 
• The Peoples Pixel Project is open to artists ages 11 and up.

Awards and Recognition: 20 select works will be featured on our website, our YouTube Channel and at The Arts Project. There will be two Honorable Mention Awards, and a Peoples’ Choice Award. The Peoples’ Choice Award Winner will have their video screened at the prestigious Adirondack Film Festival in October of 2021.  To submit your work, go to: www.lakegeorgearts.org/submit-your-work/

SARATOGA SPRINGS — The Saratoga Performing Arts Center (SPAC) announced that its Student Artist Submission Portal for The 2021 Adirondack Trust Company Festival of Young Artists (FOYA) online gallery is now open at spacfoya.org. 

For the first time, SPAC is awarding one student in each of the three categories – Visual Art, Literary Art, and the Performing Arts – with the distinction “FOYA 2021 Outstanding Artist.”  Each of the three artists selected will receive a $500 Award to support the further development of their craft. Submissions for the Festival, which is themed Metamorphosis, will also be accepted in visual art, literary art, and the performing arts. The deadline for all submissions is Feb. 1. 

The Adirondack Trust Company Festival of Young Artists is an annual event held at Saratoga Performing Arts Center (SPAC) presenting student art shows, poetry slams, and live performances featuring hundreds of young dancers, singers, actors, and musicians. In the spring of 2020, an online gallery space was created to celebrate the work of the students involved in the 2020 festival, which was cancelled as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. 

In March 2021 the online gallery www.spacfoya.org will re-launch to showcase a new exhibit called Metamorphosis, showcasing all of the accepted student submissions for the 2021 Festival. In the event that SPAC is able to host a live festival event in the spring of 2021, all students with accepted submissions will be notified in late-March 2021 to make arrangements to showcase their work at SPAC in late spring.

Each of the three artists selected will receive $500 to support the further development of their craft. 

Students considered for a FOYA 2021 Outstanding Artist Award must meet the following criteria:

• Student must be enrolled in grades 9-12
• Students must live in or be part of an organization or school located in one the following NY counties: Albany, Essex, Fulton, Hamilton, Montgomery, Saratoga, Schenectady, Schoharie, Rensselaer, Warren, Washington
• Student’s submitted work should ideally adhere to the Festival theme of “Metamorphosis.” Definition: A change of the form or nature of a thing or person into a completely different one, by natural or supernatural means.

Works inspired by the Festival theme are strongly encouraged. However, it is not mandatory to adhere to the festival’s theme in order to be considered for inclusion in the exhibit. All submissions are welcome!

PLEASE NOTE: In accordance with the Dignity for All Students Act, any works of art that are deemed discriminatory, derogatory, intimidating, violent, harassing, taunting and/or bullying will not be accepted into this festival.

All Artists will be notified by email whether their submission was or was not accepted by March 1, 2021. For more information, contact the SPAC Education team at education@spac.org.

SARATOGA SPRINGS – Three area performing arts venues have come together to provide a free virtual ‘field trip’ for local students. 

The School of the Performing Arts at Proctors Collaborative, Saratoga Performing Arts Center and Troy Savings Bank Music Hall are bringing Black Violin into classrooms of all grade levels so students may experience artists who fuse traditional and contemporary genres while upending perceptions of what it means to be a classical musician. 

 Capital Region teachers who register may stream the Impossible Tour by classical-meets-hiphop duo Black Violin for students from Feb. 22 through April 2. Black Violin is led by classically trained string players Wil Baptiste (viola) and Kev Marcus (violin); joining them are DJ SPS and drummer Nat Stokes. The group uses their unique blend of classical and hip-hop music, often described as “classical boom,” to overcome stereotypes and encourage people of all ages, races and economic backgrounds to join together to break down cultural barriers.    

“Teachers have been given the enormous and challenging task of teaching their students in person and, or virtually at the ready,” says Christine Sheehan, Director of Education at Proctors Collaborative. “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.” 

 “SPAC is proud to be working with our colleagues at Troy Music Hall and Proctors on bringing Black Violin back to the Capital Region, this time virtually” says Saratoga Performing Arts Center President and CEO Elizabeth Sobol. “I had the privilege of working with Kev and Will when I was at Universal and we signed them to the label. At SPAC, Black Violin were one of the first bands we contracted to appear on our brand-new SPAC on Stage series and they returned a year later for education events. Their talent, spirit and message are powerful and meaningful, even more so now than ever: they open hearts and help break down stereotypes.” 

 Capital Region teachers can register for this virtual streaming event beginning January 5 at https://school.proctors.org/blackviolin/ Educators who register will receive a study guide and a unique link and access code prior to the event going live. 

SARATOGA SPRINGS — It may have been an unconventional, but the 2020 Date Night Gala benefiting the Saratoga Springs History Museum was a huge success, raising nearly $10,000. 

“When we knew we would be unable to host an in-person gala, we were stymied and stuck. Then we met with Fred McNeary Jr. and John Rowe from Prestwick Chase at Saratoga and they said, we have an idea,” James Parillo, Museum Director said, in a statement. Their idea and generosity paid off. 

The History Museum which is located in the Canfield Casino, was forced to cancel three fundraising events due to the pandemic. Funds raised help the museum to provide educational programming, create exhibitions and care for collections. 

To learn more about the museum, visit www.saratogahistory.org.