SARATOGA SPRINGS — Universal Preservation Hall in Saratoga Springs has announced three new shows that will stage in the Great Hall later this year:
Billed as a paranormal expert, Dustin Pari of “Ghost Hunters” hosts a live show – “Ghosts: Do You Believe?” – at 7:30 p.m. on Friday, May 3.
Preacher Lawson, who is best known for his appearance on season 12 of NBC’s hit series “America’s Got Talent” (2017) where he made it to the final round, will be at UPH 7:30 p.m. Friday, May 10. He recently completed his residency hosting AGT Live in Las Vegas and continues to perform at sold-out venues around the world.
“The Magicians Guild Presents Glitches in Reality” features World Champion of Close-up Magic and FISM Grand Prix winner, Simon Coronel, in a show that blends theater and magic into a one-of-a-kind, once-in-a-lifetime experience not for children 7:30 p.m. July 25-27.
Tickets on sale now 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.
SARATOGA SPRINGS — Two special events highlight this spring’s CulinaryArts@SPAC initiative at The Pines at Saratoga Performing Arts Center.
“On the heels of January’s completely sold-out Win Son: A Taste of Taiwan event, we are excited to bring these unique experiences to our community,” Elizabeth Sobol, President and CEO of Saratoga Performing Arts Center, said in a statement. “From the rich culinary tradition of the ‘pintxo’ in San Sebastián, Spain — to creating farm-fresh produce in our own backyard with Upstate NY native Emma Hearst — we hope to create connection through great food, drink and conversation.”
The CulinaryArts@SPAC initiative, founded in 2020, combines culinary excellence and education with exquisite meals that emphasize socially conscious cultivation and consumption, local procurement, and fair wages.
Kicking off the series on April 11 is Pintxos: A Taste of Spain’s Basque Country featuring Spanish wines and an array of these small bites from 6-9 p.m., alongside conversation with author and chef Marti Buckley and WAMC’s Sarah LaDuke. Tickets to attend are $95. Attendees can also purchase a copy of The Book of Pintxos for the special event pricing of $25 onsite (retail: $30). Seating is on a first-come basis. Visit spac.org for details.
On May 8 the program features Flavors from the Farm with Emma Hearst featuring cocktails and mocktails, tastings inspired by the book, and conversation with Hearst, founder of Forts Ferry Farm, alongside WAMC’s Joe Donahue, from 6 – 9 p.m.
Tickets for Flavors from the Farm with Emma Hearst are $95 and will go on sale on March 21. Visit spac.org for details.
WILTON — On Saturday, March 9, Home Made Theater will hold an open house for both potential and existing volunteers. The open house will be held from 10 a.m. – 12 p.m. at HMT’s Wilton Mall headquarters, which is located in the wing nearest the Saratoga Hospital offices.
Most of the work of producing live theater at Home Made Theater is done by volunteers who work in almost every aspect of production and work side by side with theater professionals. No experience is necessary, just a willingness to learn.
Areas of volunteerism one may learn about include “Front of House” (interacting directly with patrons in positions like ushering), “Behind the Scenes” (backstage work such as running crew, lighting assistant, costumes assistant, props assistant, scenic assistant, and stage management, to name a few), and “Administrative” (box office, mailing assistant, and general office work).
Attendees at the open house will have the opportunity to mix with members of the staff, Board of Directors, and veteran volunteers to learn more about the ins and outs of volunteering at Home Made Theater.
Tedeschi Trucks will stage two shows at SPAC in late summer.
SARATOGA SPRINGS — Tedeschi Trucks Band ‘Deuces Wild’ Tour – with dates that run from late Spring to Fall 2024 in North America – will include two shows at Saratoga Performing Arts Center this summer.
The shows, on Friday, Aug. 30 and Saturday, Aug. 31, will feature special guests Greensky Bluegrass and Margo Price on Aug. 30; and Little Feat and Margo Price on Aug. 31.
To purchase tickets and for more information, please visit tedeschitrucksband.com/tour.
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.).
SARATOGA SPRINGS — Midnight Mass is back for its second iteration at Universal Preservation Hall (UPH) in Saratoga Springs.
The electronic dance music experience is back Saturday, April 6 with “Bloomin’.”
The event features new DJs for an immersive musical journey: Crusy is one of Spain’s more influential artists of recent years, having recently collaborated with some of the industry’s biggest names. Jenn Getz & Alfie burst onto the scene from the UK to become Dubai’s only female DJ duo. Also joining the experience is local DJ junglePunk.
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 by visiting atuph.org.
James Taylor & his All-Star Band take the stage in the Spa City in September.
SARATOGA SPRINGS —James Taylor & His All-Star Band will perform live at Saratoga Performing Arts Center on Sept. 2. Tickets go on sale on Friday at LiveNation.com.
Over the course of a songwriting and performing career that has spanned more than a half-century, Taylor has sold more than 100 million albums, earning gold, platinum and multi-platinum awards since the release of his self-titled debut album in 1968.
In November 2015, Taylor was presented with the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the Nation’s highest civilian honor and in December of 2016 he received the Kennedy Center Honors, which are presented annually to individuals who have enriched American culture by distinguished achievement in the performing arts.
In early 2020 he released Break Shot, an audio-only memoir detailing his first 21 years. He also released his newest album, American Standard, his 19th studio album.
