Camp Stomping Ground board member Careina Yard (on the left) interviewing filmmaker Quarius Lucas about his short documentary. Photo provided.
MIDDLE GROVE — Camp Stomping Ground hosted its first Third Space Gallery Show on Oct. 18. The event showcased the work of campers and visiting artists who contributed to the camp’s arts programming this past summer.
Coordinated by Brynna Hall, artist and camp art director, the show included works by Erin Wakeland (large-scale papier-mâché pieces inspired by children’s drawings), Warner Meadows (original music compositions and films), Alfred Dudley III (large-scale zine and a collection of camper zines), and Quarius Lucas & Careina Yard (short documentary film capturing stories of camp and community).
“This show is about more than just displaying art—it’s about lifting up the voices of young people and the artists who collaborate with them,” said Hall. “At camp, we see art as a way to imagine new possibilities, together.”
Camp Stomping Ground is a nonprofit summer camp in Middle Grove whose mission is to inspire the next generation of “radically empathetic decision makers through personal responsibility, humble curiosity, restorative practices, and unbounded creativity.”
SARATOGA SPRINGS — According to one scholar, Sherlock Holmes has been portrayed on stage, in films, and on television more than 25,000 times. But a local theater group has seemingly solved the mystery (using Holmesian deduction, no doubt) of how to portray the famed detective in a new light.
In “The Baker Street Adventuress: Sherlock Holmes on the Air,” audiences will be treated to a behind-the-scenes, true-to-life story of radio producer Edith Meiser’s efforts to adapt a Sherlock Holmes mystery into a successful radio drama in 1930. At the time, the Holmes character was not as popular as he would later become, and Meiser struggled to find a sponsor for her planned radio series.
The first act of “The Baker Street Adventuress” dramatizes Meiser’s (ultimately successful) ambitions to make her radio show, while the second act of the play is a recreation of the original broadcast of the Holmes mystery “The Speckled Band,” which reached airwaves on Oct. 20, 1930.
“For [Meiser] to go and knock on doors to try to find a sponsor was not easy, it was tough,” iTheatre Saratoga Chairman Will Severin told Saratoga TODAY. “Part of it was the property and maybe part of it was the fact that you’ve got a woman who is trying to sell this thing and, generally speaking, heads of business at that point were male.”
Reportedly, a 15-year-old Meiser was first presented with a Sherlock Holmes book while aboard the Europe-bound SS Bremen. While still just a teenager, she fell in love with the character, sparking a lifelong passion. When she first pitched her idea for a Sherlock radio drama, Meiser was a stage performer trying to make the leap into radio, which at the time was a new technology having a transformational impact on the entertainment industry.
With the Great Depression keeping many entertainment-seekers away from pricey movie theaters and vaudeville productions, radio was a comparatively budget-friendly medium that became increasingly popular. Meiser was able to use radio to both showcase her talents and bring her beloved Holmes mysteries to the masses.
“The Baker Street Adventuress” is a wholly original (and local) production making its world premiere at the Saratoga Music Hall. It was written by Mary Jane Hansen, iTheatre Saratoga’s artistic director. Severin, the organization’s chairman, composed the play’s score, drawing inspiration from composer Bernard Herrmann, best known for his work on Alfred Hitchcock films like “Psycho” and “North by Northwest.”
Performances will take place at 474 Broadway on Nov. 14, 15, 16, 21, 22, and 23. For more information or to purchase tickets, visit itheatresaratoga.ticketspice.com/the-baker-street-adventuress-sherlock-holmes-live-on-the-air.
iTheatre Saratoga is the only year-round professional theatre in Saratoga Springs and has more than 35 productions under its belt, 16 of which were original works.
Installation view with Tony Oursler’s “No” in the foreground in “See It Now: Contemporary Art from the Ann and Mel Schaffer Collection,” Tang Teaching Museum, 2025. Photo by Mindy McDaniel.
SARATOGA SPRINGS — The Frances Young Tang Teaching Museum and Art Gallery at Skidmore College announced on Tuesday the first Dunkerley Dialogue of the 2025-26 season, scheduled to take place on Thursday, Oct. 30 at 6 p.m. The event will feature artists Tony Oursler and Jolene Lupo, in conversation with Skidmore Professors Mimi Hellman and Sarah Sweeney.
Known as a pioneer of video art, Oursler currently has work on display in Tang’s “See it Now” exhibition. Lupo is an artist who creates 19th century-style tintypes using the wet-plate collodion process. She is also a senior photographer at the New York City Office of Chief Medical Examiner, and her artistic work explores themes of death, memory, and identification.
The artists will engage in a conversation about the history of photography, historic photographic processes, and spirit photography. Admission to the event is free.
SARATOGA SPRINGS — On Sunday, Oct. 26 at 3 p.m., the Excelsior Vocal Ensemble will perform a collection of German choral music at the Bethesda Episcopal Church at 26 Washington Street.
The performance will include:
• Johannes Brahms’ “Liebeslieder Op. 52” and “Neue Liebeslieder Op. 65”;
• Choral transcriptions from Gustav Mahler’s “Des Knaben Wunderhorn”;
• Benjamin Britten’s gem for male chorus, “The Ballad of Little Musgrave and Lady Barnard”;
• Selections from Max Reger’s “Sacred Songs Op. 138.”
Excelsior called the show a “romantic afternoon of Romanticism’s finest, exploring love’s depth through music, from desire to devotion, luck to loss, joy to pain, and more.”
Tickets are available at: excelsiorvocalensemble.org/home/tickets-donate/.
A New Orleans-style “second line” celebratory funeral procession streams through Congress Park in Saratoga Springs on Tuesday afternoon, honoring the life of Joel Moss.
The procession gathers in front of Caffe Lena on Phila Street prior to several hours of performances and tributes to Moss. Photos by Jonathon Norcross.
SARATOGA SPRINGS — It was a rare, perhaps unprecedented sight in the City of Saratoga Springs: A New Orleans-style jazz funeral procession winding through the lovely Congress Park, marching, twirling, and clapping in rhythm towards Caffe Lena.
Tuesday’s celebratory spectacle was in honor of Joel Moss, a six-time Grammy Award winner who served as the famed venue’s broadcast and sound technician. Moss passed away last month at the age of 79.
“That was so beautiful,” said Sarah Craig, Lena’s executive director, once the second line had reached the caffe. “This is a snapshot of what could’ve been one of a thousand celebrations for Joel in so many different communities that he’s touched. But since he got here to Saratoga, these are the friends that he’s made,” Craig said, gesturing towards the large gathering on Phila Street, “which is just mind blowing.”
For hours, a seemingly endless lineup of musicians and artists then performed both inside and outside of Lena, with many offering odes to Moss.
“Joel Moss was indeed a giant,” said his friend James Mastrianni. “Not in a loud or self-important way and not in the trophies. But in the generous way he lived. How he embodied the very best qualities of friendship, which is the very best that humanity has to offer.”
“Joel was literally incapable of phoning it in,” said John Wager, who shared a studio space with Moss for a decade. “He could never go halfway with anything. It was either all-in or not at all. That’s how I knew Joel was doing exactly what he wanted to do. One of the many things Joel inspired in me and taught me was to live a full life and do what you love and keep finding ways to stretch yourself.”
“When my dad left Los Angeles officially and fully, and moved to Saratoga, he was so excited,” said Rachael Moss, Joel’s daughter. “He wanted us to move here so badly. He said, ‘I have found the best place with the best people,’ and I think he was right. It took us a little longer to get here. We’ve only been here for five years, but we got five years with him in Saratoga. Growing up, I was either in a recording studio or a sound truck or backstage somewhere. I didn’t know where I was half the time, but I knew I was with my dad, so I was safe… Now, I think about the fact that papa’s not going to make any more music and so all of those moments are going to be memories. I’m so proud of all of you and all of the people that he’s met here, and all of the musicians who are going to carry on his legacy and the music that he loves and his memory.”
Moss had a long and celebrated career in the music world, recording albums for artists such as Ray Charles, The Beach Boys, Little Richard, and Joe Cocker. For his efforts, he was awarded multiple Grammys, an Academy Award, and two Emmy nominations. His life and career began in Detroit, where he led a Hebrew folk quintet called The Hi-Liters that played at Lena in 1963. In the Saratoga area, he recorded and produced several albums for charity, including “A Saratoga Christmas Wish,” which raised $70,000 for Make-A-Wish Northeast New York.
“It never failed to amaze us that a man who produced records for Johnny Cash, Tony Bennett, The Talking Heads, Red Hot Chili Peppers, and hundreds of others, believed so much in the community of Saratoga Springs and the value of Caffe Lena, that he spent his evenings running our livestream cameras and recording our shows,” the venue said in a statement shortly after Moss’ passing. “He was passionately committed to recording every show that happened at Caffe Lena because he felt that Lena’s stage is a national treasure and what happens on it is important. You never know when you’ll capture lightning in a bottle. When he saw that special spark in an artist, he told everyone–whether the artist was 10 years old, was playing their first show, or was an under-appreciated treasure who had put in decades on the road. Joel’s presence and faith elevated the Caffe in the eyes of many, and we are forever richer because of our time with him.”
“Ment (detail)” by Sayward Schoonmaker, pencil shavings and glue on paper, 2015. Image provided.
SARATOGA SPRINGS — The Schick Art Gallery at Skidmore College unveiled its latest exhibition, “Crux of the Matter,” on Oct. 15.
The exhibition features interdisciplinary work by Margo Mensing, a former professor of fiber arts at Skidmore, and Sayward Schoonmaker, an artist, writer, and former student of Mensing. “Crux of the Matter” will be on view until Nov. 9.
All exhibitions and events are free and open to the public. Gallery hours are Monday through Thursday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., and Friday through Sunday, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.
SARATOGA SPRINGS — Universal Preservation Hall announced Monday a lineup of three performances, each bringing its own flavor of theatre, music, and immersive experience to the Great Hall.
• Adam Pascal & Anthony Rapp (7:30 p.m. Friday, Jan. 9)
Broadway icons and “RENT” alums Adam Pascal and Anthony Rapp unite on one stage in an intimate concert evening. They’ll deliver powerful duets and solo performances drawn from their careers in musical theatre and solo projects, all woven together with storytelling and reflections on their artistic journeys.
• Bingo Loco (7:30 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 31)
Flipping the traditional game of Bingo on its head into an 18+ three-hour-long interactive stage show complete with dance-offs, rave rounds, lip syncs, and more. Bingo Loco is part dance party, part bingo night, full of humor, prizes, and unexpected entertainment twists that keep participants on their toes.
• “Finnegan’s Farewell” (7:30 p.m. March 12-15; 2 p.m. March 14-15)
An all-new musical comedy from the co-creator of “Tony N’ Tina’s Wedding!” While the cast searches for the missing body of departed U.S. postal worker Paddy Finnegan, be ready to eat, drink, and dance to the music of The Dublineers, and watch Irish dancing champions, The Riverkids, strut their stuff on the floor. The evening combines Irish dancing, music, singing, and playful improvisation as mourners become part of the spectacle.
Tickets for all three shows are now on sale through the Box Office at Proctors in person, via phone at (518) 346-6204, or online by visiting atuph.org.
SARATOGA SPRINGS — The Saratoga Performing Arts Center (SPAC) recently announced the return of its popular “Sounds of the Season” holiday series from Dec. 12–14, featuring the acclaimed Irish ensemble Danú, rising jazz sensation Stella Cole, and, as previously announced, Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center performing Bach’s Complete Brandenburg Concertos.
“Each December, ‘Sounds of the Season’ brings together extraordinary artists and our Saratoga community in celebration,” said Elizabeth Sobol, CEO of SPAC, in a news release. “From Irish holiday traditions to Bach’s masterworks and the Great American Songbook, the series highlights music’s timeless power to connect us. This year, we are especially thrilled to extend that celebration into Zankel Music Center at Skidmore while our Spa Little Theater undergoes renovation.”
Kicking off the series on Dec. 12 is Danú with “An Emerald Isle Christmas,” following their sold-out “Sounds of the Season” appearance in 2022. Hailing from historic County Waterford, Danú delivers a mix of ancient Irish music with a fresh, original repertoire. For over two decades, their musicians (praised by The New York Times for performances ranging “from fierce fiddle reels to pensive ballads”) have toured globally, performing on flute, tin whistle, fiddle, button accordion, bouzouki, and vocals in both Gaelic and English. Featuring celebrated vocalist Nell Ní Chróinín and the vibrant flair of Irish step-dancers, Danú will bring the traditions of Ireland to the festive season.
Highlighting the series on Dec. 14 is the SPAC debut of rising jazz sensation and viral star Stella Cole. With a voice that bridges generations, Cole has cultivated over 1.7 million social media followers through her fresh interpretations of timeless songs by iconic artists, including Judy Garland, Frank Sinatra, and Nat “King” Cole. Her performance will feature her upcoming single “Merry Christmas, Darling,” along with her interpretation of beloved holiday selections from her EP “Snow!” highlighted by a duet with Tony Award-winner and “Glee” TV star Darren Criss.
Previously announced, Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center will present Johann Sebastian Bach’s six Brandenburg Concertos in their entirety on Dec. 13. A holiday tradition at Lincoln Center, the Brandenburgs are described by The New Yorker as “joyous, effervescent, and yes, festive.”
The announcement marks the continuation of SPAC’s expansion into year-round programming. The events will all be held in the Helen Filene Ladd Concert Hall in Arthur Zankel Music Center at Skidmore College while the Spa Little Theater undergoes renovations. Tickets are already available for purchase for members (tiered by level) and will go on sale on Oct. 20 for the general public. Visit spac.org for additional details.
SCHENECTADY — Proctors Collaborative recently announced that it will transition to the software Tessitura, a nonprofit customer relationship management platform, beginning Jan. 12, 2026.
Tessitura unifies ticketing, fundraising, memberships, education programs, and analytics into one system used by hundreds of arts and cultural institutions worldwide. The new platform will impact the Schenectady-Saratoga Symphony Orchestra, Universal Preservation Hall, and Opera Saratoga. For the organizations, staff will use Tessitura to manage patron data, process tickets, run reports, and send communications. For patrons, the transition should result in a smoother online experience to manage accounts, purchase tickets, access benefits, and more.
“This change is about putting our patrons first,” said Philip Morris, CEO of Proctors Collaborative, in a news release. “Tessitura stood out as the most intuitive, secure, and adaptable platform for the arts, and it will allow us to provide a more seamless experience for our audiences.”
Patrons with existing accounts will see their tickets and information automatically transferred to Tessitura in January. Only minimal action will be required, such as resetting passwords and, in some cases, updating stored payment information.
SARATOGA SPRINGS — The Saratoga Springs Arts District (SSADI) will present Art for Good, a fundraiser to support local nonprofits, on Oct. 25 at the Elks Lodge (69 Beekman Street) between 11 a.m. and 5 p.m.
Contributed art works by local artists will be sold for whatever people offer. Proceeds will be given to the Franklin Community Center, the Frederick Allen Elks Lodge, and SSADI. The project is spearheaded by ceramic artists Nancy Niefield and Rebecca Cigal. There will also be entertainment and free art lessons at Living Resources across the Street at 70 Beekman Street.
For more information, visit SaratogaArtDistrict.com.
