SARATOGA SPRINGS — The sixth class of inductees in the regional Eddies Music Hall of Fame have been announced and includes artists from the fields of classical, folk, jazz and electronic music, as well as a pioneering hip-hop songwriter and two individuals who chronicled the local music scene as journalists.
The late Jackie Alper, the late Nick Brignola, George Guarino, David Alan Miller, the late Pauline Oliveros, Margie Rosenkranz, Billy Waring and Don Wilcock will be inducted into the Capital Region Thomas Edison Music Hall of Fame on Monday, March 25 at Universal Preservation Hall in Saratoga Springs.
The ceremony is open to the public and includes musical performances, a social hour, videos on the musical career of each inductee and acceptance speeches.
The class brings the total number of inductees to 40 since 2019. An aluminum engraved plaque honoring each recipient is permanently hung at UPH.
The 2024 slate was chosen by an advisory council made up of professionals in the local music field.
Tickets for the March 25 event are 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 by visiting atuph.org.
About the inductees:
Jackie Alper sang with the Almanac Singers - which included Woody Guthrie and Pete Seeger – and later helped found the influential mid-20th century group The Weavers, introducing a 16-year-old Ronnie Gilbert to Pete Seeger, Lee Hayes and Freddie Hellerman. Alper also turned her husband Joe Alper’s 30,000 music photographs into one of the folk revival’s most meticulously documented archives. Together, they played a key role in supporting Caffè Lena in Saratoga Springs in its early years, often housing musicians, including Bob Dylan, at their Schenectady home. She passed away in 2007.
Troy native Nick Brignola, a baritone sax player and a band leader, shared the stage with jazz greats including Woody Herman and Chet Baker, and recorded 20 albums of his own. Brignola taught jazz theory and history at several local colleges and helped start a jazz education program at the College of Saint Rose. He passed away in 2002.
George Guarino created Albany’s music television show, “Real George’s Backroom” (1981-91) and Buzz magazine (1985-95). He was a featured DJ at Albany’s infamous 288 Lark (1981-87) and QE2 (1987-90) clubs and was also a DJ at WRPI.
David Alan Miller has been music director and conductor of the Albany Symphony Orchestra since 1992 During his tenure, the ASO has released more than 30 albums; in 1994, Miller founded Dogs of Desire, an 18-member ensemble that has commissioned over 150 new works from emerging American composers.
Pauline Oliveros was an American composer, accordionist and central figure in the development of post-World War II experimental and electronic music. A Houston native who relocated to upstate New York in 1981, Oliveros developed a ground-breaking music theory called “Sonic Meditations” and founded the term Deep Listening, a practice of profound sonic awareness which came from her childhood fascination with sounds. Known for her works in composition, improvisation and electro-acoustics, she was Distinguished Professor of Music at RPI in Troy where she founded the Center for Deep Listening. She passed away in 2016. A documentary film project by Daniel Weintraub - “Deep Listening: The Story of Pauline Oliveros” – was previewed this year and includes the likes of avant-garde pioneer Laurie Anderson to Sonic Youth’s Thurston Moore. A trailer may be viewed at: vimeo.com/783733294.
Margie Rosenkranz has been the executive artistic director of the Eighth Step Coffee House since 1987. Founded in 1967 in the basement of the historic First Presbyterian Church in Albany, the organization is renowned nationally for its presentation of top contemporary singer-songwriters, as well as social justice work.
An unsung hero of hip-hop, Harlem native William “Billy Bill” Waring began his musical career with longtime friends Kurtis Walker (aka Kurtis Blow) and producer Danny Harris. Waring got his first taste of hip-hop music at DJ Kool Herc parties and from 1980-84 he penned the classic songs “Hard Times,” “Basketball,” “You Gotta Believe” and “Games People Play,” and co-wrote much of the Fat Boys’ first album.
Don Wilcock, founder and president of the Northeast Blues Society, founded “Kite,” the area’s first arts weekly, in 1970. As a journalist, his columns have appeared in numerous area publications. Wilcock is contributing editor of The Blues Music Magazine, and he also co-produced the annual Fleet Blues Festival, a three-stage event featuring the world’s hottest blues stars.
More information about the Eddies Music Hall of Fame is available at theeddiesawards.com. The Capital Region Thomas Edison Music Awards and Hall of Fame, as well as UPH, are part of Proctors Collaborative.
