SARATOGA SPRINGS — The Frances Young Tang Teaching Museum and Art Gallery at Skidmore College’s Upbeat on the Roof concert series concludes Thursday, Aug. 19, at 6 p.m. with a free concert by Heavenly Echoes.

Founded out of the Sweet Pilgrim Missionary Baptist Church in Albany, this lively six-piece ensemble brings feel-good gospel energy and radiant positivity to their audiences. Heavenly Echoes has been performing in the Capital District for over 50 years. 

The Upbeat on the Roof concert takes place on the Tang lawn near the campus outdoor volleyball courts. Visitors are welcome to bring blankets, chairs, and coolers, and are advised to arrive early as capacity is limited. Free parking is available off Perimeter Road, next to the museum. The Museum is on the Skidmore College campus at 815 N. Broadway in Saratoga Springs. In case of rain, the event will be canceled.

SARATOGA SPRINGS — In advance of an appearance at Saratoga Performing Arts Center Sunday night, John Oates – one half the duo known as Hall & Oates – will be the focus of a meet-and-greet Saturday at the Saratoga Automobile Museum in the Spa State Park. 

The meet-and-greet event takes place 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. Saturday. Tickets are $100 and proceeds benefit Feeding America, and supports educational and exhibition programming at the Saratoga Automobile Museum, located at 110 Avenue of the Pines.    

For tickets, go to: www.saratogaautomuseum.org, or call 518-401-5185. 

SARATOGA SPRINGS — A new multidisciplinary school featuring instruction in dance, music, theater and other art forms will open in September at the National Museum of Dance/Lewis A. Swyer Studios, on South Broadway. 

Elizabeth Sobol, president and CEO of the Saratoga Performing Arts Center, on Aug. 12 announced the launch of the project. The school is scheduled to open in September. 

“The National Museum of Dance and its School of the Arts has an exceptional history of philanthropy and artistic vision thanks to individuals like Lewis A. Swyer, Marylou Whitney and Cornelius Vanderbilt Whitney. In more recent years, that spirit, vision and generosity has been carried on by Michele and Ron Riggi,” Sobol said, adding that the launch of the school was made possible with support from Stewart’s Shops and the Dake Family.  Additional funding from the Charles R. Wood Foundation will go toward tuition assistance, supplies, instruments and transportation. 

The school will operate out of the Lewis A. Swyer Studios, a state-of-the-art facility located behind the National Museum of Dance and will focus on creating a joyful learning environment to include introductory and exploratory arts instruction for all age groups, physiques and abilities, designed to complement offerings by other community arts organizations and schools. 

“The opportunity to open a school dedicated to year-round arts education is a thrilling addition to our rapidly expanding education programs. With this new venture, we look forward to providing something truly unique to the Capital Region – a creative space where children can access and explore multiple art forms,” said Dennis Moench, SPAC’s Senior Director of Education and the School Director. 

The school will also further SPAC’s mission to facilitate inclusion, equity and access in arts education, and complement the organization’s extensive education program, which currently serves 49,000 students throughout the Capital Region annually and partners with more than 120 schools and non-profit organizations across the region. 

Following the Museum’s closure as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, SPAC has collaborated with New York State Parks and the administration of the National Museum of Dance to reopen it to the public. The Lewis A. Swyer Studios are part of the National Museum of Dance campus.

Online registration for fall classes begins on Aug. 18. For more information or to learn how to register for classes, visit www.spacschool.org. 

SARATOGA SPRINGS — The David Cassidy Memorial Legacy Group hosts a celebration of the life of David Cassidy Monday, Aug. 16 at Putnam Place. 

The event will kick off with an hour long “mix & mingle” at 3 p.m., followed by the Celebration of Life event from 4- 8 p.m. 

Cassidy was a one-time resident of Saratoga Springs and is best known as a singer as well as an actor in the 1970s TV show “The Partridge Family.”  The vocalist, composer, author, producer, director, actor and Broadway/theatre entertainer was an avid horseman and philanthropist.  Cassidy died in November 2017 at the age of 67. 

The event will feature the David Cassidy Remember Me Awards ceremony, as well as serving to honor 70’s Long Island based band Danny Calvagna & 45 RPM.  Calvagna lost his life to COVID-19 and DCMLG will offer a special tribute. 

In addition, videos showcasing three band,  Sly Fox & The Hustlers, RBones Revival and Twice Removed will be shown on the big screen, and a silent auction will be held to raise money for various charities that Cassidy held dear to his heart including: The National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame, The Thoroughbred Retirement Foundation, Friends of Saratoga County Animal Shelter and Columbia Greene Humane Society.

The event will continue into the evening with a live performance by Joe’s Boys, performing a variety of David Cassidy’s solo work, music from the Partridge Family and “good time rock n’ pop” songs from the 60’s, 70’s 80’s and beyond.  They will be joined by special guest, Vance Brescia.

Tickets are $25 in-person attendance, $15 live stream. Go to www.putnamplace.com.  To reach out to the David Cassidy Memorial Legacy Group, send email to: DavidCassidyIts4ever@gmail.com. 

BOLTON LANDING – The Sembrich continues its 2021 Summer Festival with Nature, Our Gentlest Mother an afternoon song recital with sopranos Sylvia Stoner and Suna Gunther. The show will take place 2 p.m. on Wednesday, Aug. 11. 

Celebrating the connection of nature and song, listeners will experience the beauty of Aaron Copland’s settings of Emily Dickinson poems, luscious songs by Richard Strauss, and works of women composers including Lori Laitman and Lili Boulanger.

A diverse professional singer and actor, soprano Sylvia Stoner – Artist-in-Residence in Voice at Skidmore College -has been seen on stages across the country in both opera and theater. Her operatic credits include Lisa in Pikovaya Dama, Tatiana in Eugene Onegin, Manon in Manon Lescaut, Nedda in I Pagliacci, and Marguerite in Faust. 

Soprano Suna Gunther is currently a professor of voice at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. She is a 14-year member of the Grant Park Chorus of Chicago and was assistant music director and soprano soloist for Trio Chicago and Friends for ten years, with whom she traveled the world on behalf of the U.S. State Department as a “cultural ambassador.”

Tickets are $30 and are available online at TheSembrich.org/festival or by calling 518-644-2431. This performance will take place on the lakeshore under a performance tent. A rain date is scheduled for Thursday, Aug. 12 at 2 p.m. 

The Sembrich is located at 4800 Lake Shore Drive, Bolton Landing. For more information, visit www.TheSembrich.org or email: Office@TheSembrich.org. 

BOLTON LANDING – The Sembrich will host a live-stream of Seagle Festival’s world premiere opera HARMONY with a champagne toast at 7 p.m. on Saturday, Aug. 14. The evening will include a live introduction by The Sembrich’s Artistic Director Richard Wargo, a champagne toast, and a live-streamed screening of Seagle Festival’s world premiere event.

HARMONY, by Robert Carl and Russell Banks, is set in Keene Valley and includes numerous Adirondack references. The opera tells the story of young composer Charles Ives, his love for high-class harmony Twichell, and the interference of Twichell family friend Mark Twain in their Betrothal – based on true events.

Tickets are $20 and are available online at TheSembrich.org/festival or via phone at 518-644-2431. The event is sponsored by the Lake George Mirror.

The Sembrich is located at 4800 Lake Shore Drive, Bolton Landing. For more information, visit www.TheSembrich.org or contact us at 518-644-2431 or Office@TheSembrich.org.

SARATOGA SPRINGS — The Frances Young Tang Teaching Museum and Art Gallery at Skidmore College’s Upbeat on the Roof concert series continues Thursday, Aug. 12, at 6 p.m. with Sun is Poison. 

 A lo-fi solo project of Ballston Spa’s Will Seifart, Sun is Poison creates immersive works that meld the mechanical sounds of drum machines and synths with banjos, guitars, and honest and poignant lyrics. Sun is Poison will be making its Upbeat debut.

 The Upbeat on the Roof concert takes place on the Tang lawn near the campus outdoor volleyball courts. Visitors are welcome to bring blankets, chairs, and coolers, and are advised to arrive early as capacity is limited. Free parking is available off Perimeter Road, next to the museum. The Museum is on the Skidmore College campus at 815 N. Broadway in Saratoga Springs. In case of rain, the event will be canceled.

 The Upbeat on the Roof concert series, now in its twentieth season, will conclude Aug. 19 with Heavenly Echoes. For more information, call 518-580-8080 or visit https://tang.skidmore.edu. 

SARATOGA SPRINGS — Nacre Dance Group is accepting applications for choreographers for Nacre Dance Group’s 6th annual “So, You Think You Can Choreograph?” performance. 

This program is Nacre Dance Group’s annual competition designed to highlight up-and-coming choreographers in modern dance.  For the 2021 competition, selected choreographers will be asked to create a piece in-the-round at The Universal Preservation Hall on Saturday, Nov.  6. 

This is a great opportunity for choreographers to present their work before a large audience.  Audience members along with a panel of judges vote to select the winning choreographer who will set a piece of original choreography on dancers in the Capital Region in spring 2022. 

Interested choreographers can apply at www.nacredance.org/sytycc. Applications will be accepted through Sept. 15, and selected choreographers will be notified by Sept. 30. For additional information, contact Artistic Director, Beth Fecteau at Beth@nacredance.com or by calling 518-817-3833

SARATOGA SPRINGS — Squeeze, featuring Chris Difford & Glenn Tilbrook have announced a 24-date headlining adventure – interspersed with 18 support dates for Daryl Hall & John Oates – that will be staged on Aug. 15 at Saratoga Performing Arts Center.

 “I’m so excited to be back on stage and in the thick of our wonderful set list of songs,” said Chris Difford, in a statement. “Seeing an audience again will be inspiring and emotional, it’s been too long.”

Adds Glenn Tilbrook: “I think this is my most anticipated U.S. tour since our first in 1978.  Our great band is just getting greater and we are also welcoming Owen Biddle, who joins us from Nashville. Can’t wait to see you!

Squeeze’s debut self-titled album was released by A&M in 1978 (after a three-song EP) with pop songwriting hooks and melodies hark back to the ‘60s British Invasion.  That album included the track, “Take Me I’m Yours,” followed by a cadre of   hits on the UK charts including “Cool for Cats,” “Up the Junction,” “Pulling Mussels From A Shell,” “Black Coffee in Bed” and “Labeled With Love.”  Squeeze’s hits “Tempted,” “Hourglass” and “853-5937” (from East Side Story) made their mark in the U.S. in 1981.

Squeeze disbanded in 1999 and reunited in 2007, releasing three new albums since then (2010’s Spot the Difference, 2015’s Cradle to the Grave and 2017’s The Knowledge,) as well as various member solo projects. 

GLENS FALLS — The Hyde Collection has announced a rare opportunity to view a rare European treasure before it returns to Europe on Aug. 22. 

The Hyde Collection is exhibiting an oil sketch by the great 17th-century Flemish painter, Anthony Van Dyck (1599-1641). Reportedly discovered in a barn in Kinderhook, New York, the old panel was acquired by Hudson, New York collector Albert B. Roberts. After years of private research that engaged Bender Grosvenor, host of Fake or Fortune, Mr. Roberts’ convictions were vindicated when art historian Rev. Dr. Susan Barnes published the panel as an authentic work by Anthony Van Dyck in the March 2021 edition of the eminent art history publication The Burlington Magazine. 

The panel is a preparatory sketch for the Flemish artist’s St. Jerome that is now at the Museum Boijmans van Beuningen in Rotterdam, The Netherlands. 

During its final month in upstate New York, the panel hangs in the company of the region’s finest collection of contemporaneous works at The Hyde Collection. Anthony Van Dyck’s Study for St. Jerome will be on view as part of The Hyde Collection’s exhibition Finding Van Dyck until Aug. 22. The Hyde Collection, located in Glens Falls, is open Thursday through Sunday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. For more information and reservations, visit www.Hydecollection.org.