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Poets Debuting New Work Inspired by Tang Museum Art

Written by Saratoga TODAY on . Posted in Entertainment.

SARATOGA SPRINGS — Thirteen local poets recently selected a piece of art at the Tang Museum’s All These Growing Things exhibition and wrote a poem about it. Those poems will be unveiled on Sunday, April 19 at 3 p.m. in the Tang’s upstairs Molloy Gallery. 

Each poet will read their original poem next to the painting, sculpture, drawing, or photograph that inspired them. The poets and audience will travel around the gallery, moving from work to work and from poem to poem.

The event, part of the Laureate Poetry Series, is free and open to the public. 

Saratoga Springs Poet Laureate Jay Rogoff will host a roster of writers, including Nicola Marae Allain, Peg Boyers, Joseph Bruchac, Catherine Clarke, David Graham, Mary Kathryn Jablonski, Susan Jefts, Marilyn McCabe, Lucyna Prostko, Krista Rivera, Mary Sanders Shartle, and Melora Wolff.

Opera Saratoga Launches Newcomer Tickets for First-Timers

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Image via Opera Saratoga.

SARATOGA SPRINGS — Opera Saratoga recently launched its $25 newcomer tickets, a special initiative designed for people attending their first opera performance.

The newcomer ticket program offers first-time opera-goers the opportunity to attend select performances during Opera Saratoga’s season, inviting more people to discover the artistry of live opera.

The initiative is part of Opera Saratoga’s ongoing commitment to expanding access and building new audiences for the art form.

Patrons who have never attended an Opera Saratoga performance are eligible to purchase newcomer tickets to “The Elixir of Love,” “My Fair Lady,” and “Happy End” for $25, available while supplies last. The tickets can be purchased online at atuph.org with the code NEWCOMER.

Yaddo Centennial Season Events Announced

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Attendees of the 2025 Yaddo Summer Benefit gather under a tent on the nonprofit retreat’s lawn for dramatic letter readings and a musical performance by singer-songwriter Natalie Merchant. Photo courtesy of Yaddo.

SARATOGA SPRINGS — Yaddo recently announced a slate of events celebrating the famed artists’ community’s 2026 centennial season.

The season will kick off with The Artists’ Table, a tequila-inspired chef dinner on May 14. The evening offers a salon-style culinary experience inside the Yaddo Mansion, limited to 50 guests. 

On June 2, Yaddo will host the 4th Annual Golf Invitational at The Country Club of Troy, a day of camaraderie and community in support of Yaddo’s residency program.

The Summer Benefit lights up June 25. This year’s party will serve as a Saratoga farewell to Yaddo President Elaina Richardson, who announced in December that she would be stepping down from her post. More than 500 guests are expected at the benefit (450 attended last year). Past performers have included Natalie Merchant, Suzanne Vega, and Gabriel Kahane.

The Gardens at Yaddo will open to the public on June 8, offering several opportunities for the community to experience the grounds. Throughout the summer season, Yaddo will present a series of free and low-cost community events, including Wine & Roses (a concert series in the rose garden), The Nature of Art (artist-led conversations), and Art of Wellness (Sunday morning yoga).

SPAC News: Muse & SPACtacular On the Way

Written by Jonathon Norcross on . Posted in Entertainment.


The SPAC stage is transformed into a dance floor at the 2024 SPACtacular fundraiser. Photo by Jonathon Norcross.

SARATOGA SPRINGS — The Saratoga Performing Arts Center (SAPC) summer calendar is rapidly filling up, and two recently-announced events will bring a Grammy-winning rock group and a much-lauded dance floor to the amphitheater stage. 

The arts center’s Summer SPACtacular fundraising event will return for its fourth iteration on Friday, May 29 from 5 to 11:30 p.m. The celebration, spread across the SPAC grounds, includes live music, a multi-course gourmet dinner, culinary tastings in the Party Tent, cocktails and zero-proof beverages, fireworks, and a culminating dance party with DJ Trumastr. This dance party, recently heralded as the “best dance floor” in Saratoga, presents a unique opportunity to not only be up on the main stage, but also get a glimpse behind the scenes of a storied music venue.

“As we mark SPAC’s 60th anniversary and my 10th year with this extraordinary organization, this evening feels especially meaningful, honoring a remarkable legacy while looking ahead to the future, and inviting guests to experience the energy, creativity, and connection that define SPAC at its best,” said SPAC CEO Elizabeth Sobol.

Tickets to the Summer SPACtacular are available online at spac.org.

A couple months later, on July 24, Grammy-winning English rockers Muse will hit the SPAC stage, perhaps for a dance party of their own. The show will be preceded by the release of Muse’s tenth studio album, “The Wow! Signal,” on June 26. Opening for Muse in the Spa City will be Bloc Party, English rockers who incorporate electronica and house music into their sound, and Aussie rock group The Temper Track.

Tickets for Muse’s concert are available here: spac.org/events/muse.

Locals Nominated for High School Musical Theatre Awards

Written by Saratoga TODAY on . Posted in Entertainment.

SCHENECTADY — The Collaborative School of the Arts (CSOA) recently announced the first group of nominations and callbacks for this year’s High School Musical Theatre Awards at Proctors. This year’s celebration at 7 p.m. on Saturday, May 16 marks a decade of spotlighting the talent and artistry of local high school theatre.

This year’s High School Musical Theatre Awards will feature a host for the first time, welcoming multi-hyphenate Apollo Levine to the stage. A Broadway performer, actor, musician, choreographer, and producer, Levine brings a range of experience across stage and screen, including his work in “MJ The Musical,” where he originated roles and now portrays Joe Jackson.

On April 1, CSOA announced the first group of students nominated for awards this year, as well as the top 20 students in the running for Outstanding Lead Performer. Those 20 students will participate in callbacks in the coming weeks, and the final 10 will be announced on April 20. The two winners of that category will join students from across the country to participate in the 17th Annual National High School Musical Theatre Awards (The Jimmys) on Monday, June 22 in New York City.

Backstage Excellence

 Colonie Central High School — “Mamma Mia!”

 Glens Falls High School — “Once Upon a Mattress”

 Mohonasen High School — “Newsies”

 Shenendehowa High School — “Natasha, Pierre & The Great Comet of 1812”

 South Glens Falls High School — “Mamma Mia!”

Outstanding Student Orchestra

 Albany High School — “Mean Girls: High School Edition”

 Ballston Spa High School — “The Addams Family”

 Columbia High School — “Pippin”

 Mechanicville Jr./Sr. High School — “Legally Blonde the Musical”

 Saratoga Springs High School — “Newsies”

Outstanding Choreography Execution

 Albany High School — “Mean Girls: High School Edition”

 Mohonasen High School — “Newsies”

 Queensbury High School – “The Addams Family”

 Shenendehowa High School — “Natasha, Pierre & the Great Comet of 1812”

 Voorheesville High School — “Hadestown: Teen Edition”

Outstanding Ensemble

 Albany High School — “Mean Girls: High School Edition”

 Mohonasen High School — “Newsies”

 Queensbury High School – “The Addams Family”

 Saratoga Springs High School – “Newsies”

 Shenendehowa High School — “Natasha, Pierre & the Great Comet of 1812”

Outstanding Musical Tier A

 Mohonasen High School — “Newsies”

 Queensbury High School – “The Addams Family”

 Shenendehowa High School — “Natasha, Pierre & the Great Comet of 1812”

Outstanding Musical Tier B

 Saratoga Springs High School — “Newsies”

 South Glens Falls High School – “Mamma Mia!”

 Voorheesville High School – “Hadestown: Teen Edition”

Outstanding Supporting Performer

 Angel Rodriguez as Race in Mohonasen High School’s “Newsies”

 Ainsley Stone as Fate #2 in Voorheesville High School’s “Hadestown: Teen Edition”

 Allison Ott as Race in Saratoga Springs High School’s “Newsies”

 Everett Mercier as Aaron Samuels in Albany High School’s “Mean Girls: High School Edition”

 Henry Mack as Orin Scrivello (The Dentist) in Ticonderoga High School’s “Little Shop of Horrors”

Outstanding Supporting Performer

 Haley Hammer as Les in Saratoga Springs High School’s “Newsies”

 Natalie Riccio as Fate #1 in Voorheesville High School’s “Hadestown: Teen Edition”

 Rodney MacNaughton as King Sextimus in Glens Falls High School’s “Once Upon a Matress”

 Sophie Cottrell as Balaga in Shenendehowa High School’s “Natasha, Pierre & the Great Comet of 1812”

 Treyce Elethrop as Audrey II in Ticonderoga High School’s “Little Shop of Horrors”

Callbacks for Outstanding Lead Performers

 Adam Spero as Gomez Addams in Queensbury High School’s “The Addams Family”

 Ameilia Sapienza as Donna in Colonie Central High School’s “Mamma Mia!”

 Annon Breault as Dorothy Brock in Whitehall High School’s “42nd Street”

 Carmen Tarlo as Edward Bloom in Cohoes High School’s “Big Fish”

 Carter Mack as Seymour in Ticonderoga High School’s “Little Shop of Horrors”

 Delaney Sano as Wednesday Addams in Queensbury High School’s “The Addams Family”

 Giovanni Gallione as Jack Kelly in Mohonasen High School’s “Newsies”

 Ian Roach as Damian in Albany High School’s “Mean Girls: High School Edition”

 Isla Platek as Persephone in Voorheesville High School’s “Hadestown: Teen Edition”

 Jameson Rivet as Anatole in Shenendehowa High School’s “Natasha, Pierre & the Great Comet of 1812”

 Karissa Beam as Princess Winnifred in Schenectady High School’s “Once Upon a Mattress”

 Lily Sinnott as Natasha in Shenendehowa High School’s “Natasha, Pierre & the Great Comet of 1812”

 Macklin McGrath as Prince Dauntless in Glens Falls High School’s “Once Upon a Mattress”

 Maeve Stein as Gretchen in Albany High School’s “Mean Girls: High School Edition”

 Max Mittler as Jack Kelly in Saratoga Springs High School’s “Newsies”

 Nicolas Merzig as Fester Addams in Queensbury High School’s “The Addams Family”

 Olivia Bradt as Donna in South Glens Falls High School’s “Mamma Mia!”

 Paige Rivers as Eurydice in Voorheesville High School’s “Hadestown: Teen Edition”

 Roman Mangino as Gomez Addams in Ballston Spa High School’s “The Addams Family”

 Rosalyn Annely as Sandra Bloom in Cohoes High School’s “Big Fish”

Upcoming Poetic Events: Readings and Workshops

Written by Saratoga TODAY on . Posted in Entertainment.

SARATOGA SPRINGS — Saratoga area residents will share poems they love at Favorite Poem Night on Thursday, April 9 at 6:30 pm in the Saratoga Springs Public Library’s Dutcher Community Room. The reading is free and open to the public. City poet laureate Jay Rogoff will host as part of the Laureate Poetry Series.

In partnership with Ballston Spa’s Random Acts of Poetry celebration, the Laureate Poetry Series will also present a poetry reading by Hajar Husseini, Rogoff, and Barbara Ungar on Sunday, April 12 at 6 p.m at the Brookside Museum in Ballston Spa. The reading is free and open to the public, but reservations are required at brooksidemuseum.org.

For National Poetry Month, Rogoff will lead a free poetry workshop for high school students in grades nine through twelve. They’ll meet on four consecutive Thursdays, from 4 to 5:30 pm, in the Saratoga Springs Public Library’s Glasby Room. Sessions begin April 16 and continue through May 7. Participants must register with the library at https://sspl.libcal.com/event/15756927.

Sing in the Streets: Caffe Lena Announces Free Music Festival

Written by Saratoga TODAY on . Posted in Entertainment, Featured.

Image via Caffe Lena.

SARATOGA SPRINGS — Caffè Lena will present its fifth annual Sing in the Streets Festival on Sunday, May 17 from noon to 5 p.m. 

The free, family-friendly celebration will feature 23 acts across 10 stages, with a genre-spanning lineup that includes folk, blues, jazz, country, and soul. A dedicated Family Stage will offer performances tailored for children and families.

Performers include the Alexis P. Suter Band, Sway Wild, Reese Fulmer & the Carriage House Band, Tops of Trees, Kevin McKrell, Kathleen Parks Band, Carolyn Shapiro, Honeysuckle, Olivia Ellen Lloyd, Caity Gallagher, Jenna Nicholls, Beecharmer, High Tea, GNP, Strawberry Wine, Michael Jerling, Roosevelt Baker, Girl Love, and CowBelle.

The Family Stage performers include The Rolling Pebbles (Caffè Lena School of Music Folk Ensemble), The Jazz Modes (Caffè Lena School of Music Jazz Ensemble), The Volunteers of America (Caffè Lena Volunteers Ensemble), and Deb Cavanaugh & Dandelion Wine.

The festival is open to the public and will take place rain or shine. In case of inclement weather, performances will move to nearby indoor locations. A full schedule and weather plan will be posted at www.caffelena.org/singinthestreets/ in the days leading up to the event.

The Saratoga Singers Who Comfort the Dying

Written by Jonathon Norcross on . Posted in Entertainment, Featured.


The Saratoga Threshold Singers rehearse inside a studio space at the SPAC School of the Arts on March 23. Photo by Jonathon Norcross.

SARATOGA SPRINGS — What do the final moments of a person’s life on Earth sound like?

For those with the Saratoga Threshold Singers at their bedside, it could sound like the ethereal acapella music that drifted down the echoing halls of the SPAC School of the Arts one recent Monday afternoon.

“Oh, fold thy wings and seek thy nest now; Oh, shine the berry on the bright tree; The bird is home from the mountain and valley,” sang the choir, rehearsing the Gaelic lullaby “Hush Thee My Dove.” The folk song concludes with “Cadul gu lo,” which translates to “sleep on.”

The Threshold Choir operates more than 200 chapters across the globe, each of which offers bedside singing to those on the threshold of life and whatever may follow. The Saratoga Springs-based chapter has nine members and rehearses weekly at the SPAC School of the Arts.

“Six weeks ago, we sang at the hospice for a family where the wife and adult children were there, and they had all said their goodbyes and ‘you can go now’ to their father,” recalled Saratoga Threshold singer Avena Ward, a retired United Church of Christ minister. “We were asked to come in, and we sang several of our songs about being able to release and lay down your burdens. As we left the house, we found out that he had taken his last breath. To be able to communicate something that was needed in the moment is just a beautiful gift that we have with music that you can’t accomplish with words.”

“We sang, via telephone, to my sister as she was dying,” said Threshold singer Lizzie Mehrtens. “She was a Catholic nun, and she had just expressed to people, her friends, that she wasn’t feeling connected to God… That was in the afternoon, and she died the next morning. That, to me, was so special because I couldn’t be there with her.”

“We sang for a woman who was unconscious, or she didn’t appear conscious, but after we sang, she let out an [exhale], a beautiful sound, clearly relaxing with our music,” said Abigail Reid. “I think that [moment] really stuck with me.”

Reid initiated the Saratoga chapter of the Threshold Singers after she stopped teaching. She caught wind of the international Threshold organization, got in touch with them, and was soon provided with a mentor. Reid then found a handful of locals, all of them women, who were interested in volunteering. For about a year, this small coalition worked on a musical repertoire with their mentor. Then they officially launched, and in the past three years, they’ve sung for about 30 different individuals or families.

“The beauty of the greater Threshold community is, if you want, if you’re part of this community, you can travel to anywhere there’s a chapter, and you can sit in on a rehearsal and connect,” said Donna Sardone, a hospice volunteer and massage therapist. “It’s such a wide community of connection, and that’s what I love about it.”

Threshold Singers arrive at their respective chapters with different sets of skills and life experiences. But all members seem united in their willingness to, as ancient philosophers once phrased it, “Memento mori,” or “remember that you must die.” For some, thinking about death is not merely an unpleasant subject; it’s a way to make the most of their finite lives. 

“I am a proponent of talking about death,” said Elizabeth Conant, a professional musician who has also hosted local Death Cafes in which participants gather to discuss life’s final departure.  “[The Saratoga Threshold Singers] is a lovely combination of the two things I do… What we do here with this group is—I’m not a religious person, but I say it’s God’s work in the world. It really is. We’ll all nod to that. It feels like that. It really does. It’s a beautiful thing that we’re able to do. I feel so honored to be a part of it.”

Those interested in either joining the Threshold Singers or requesting their services can do so by emailing saratoga@thresholdchoir.org.

To learn more about the worldwide Threshold organization, visit thresholdchoir.org.

Saratoga Concert Aims to Alleviate Veteran Homelessness

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SARATOGA SPRINGS — Every $1,000 raised at a concert at 7 p.m. on Thursday, April 16 at The Music Hall at Saratoga City Hall will help a veteran move from homelessness into safe, dignified housing.

RallySound, a nonprofit working to empower community through music, is organizing the pay-what-you-can event “Songwriters in the Round: An Evening of Music and Storytelling.”

The concert will feature artists Adam Ezra, Margo Macero, and Melanie Krahmer & Rich Libu of Sirsy. These musicians, all of whom are donating their time, will perform some of their favorite songs and share the stories behind them.

For more information or to reserve tickets, visit Rallysound.org/songwriters-in-the-round.

Bob Dylan Birthday Bash at Caffe Lena

Written by Saratoga TODAY on . Posted in Entertainment.

Image via Caffe Lena.

SARATOGA SPRINGS — On Sunday, May 24, Caffè Lena will celebrate the 85th birthday of Bob Dylan with a special evening of live music that honors one of the world’s most influential songwriters.

In 1961, a young Bob Dylan performed for three nights at Caffe Lena, becoming its most famous alum. Photographs of Dylan still hang inside the venue.

Hosted by Michael Eck, the Dylan concert will bring together a diverse lineup of Capital Region artists, each offering their own take on Dylan’s work. Eck, a Caffè Lena board member, is staging the show as a benefit for the venue.

The evening will feature:

• Julia Alsarraf, a rising voice in the indie and alternative scene, known for her emotionally direct songwriting and distinctive vocal style.

• The BlueBillies, a Capital Region bluegrass group rooted in traditional sounds, bringing tight harmonies and driving acoustic energy.

• Buggy Jive, a genre-blending musician with strong songwriting and lyrics heavily influenced by literature.

• Girl Blue (Arielle O’Keefe), an award-winning singer-songwriter whose deeply personal songs and powerful voice have earned national attention.

• Chuck Lamb, acclaimed jazz pianist and longtime host of Caffè Lena’s Jazz Series, known for his expressive playing and wide-ranging musical collaborations.

• Kate McDonnell, a seasoned songwriter and performer whose work blends folk, jazz, and pop influences with sharp lyrical insight.

Together, these artists will explore Dylan’s expansive catalog, from early folk songs to later-era compositions, offering new interpretations shaped by their own musical perspectives.