FIRST HALF

• “Fanfare for the Family Farm” by Gwyneth Walker commissioned by the Vermont Agriculture and Arts Association, is a boisterous celebration of life on a family-owned dairy farm. The climax of the music arrives at the "milking section" in which the conductor leads the orchestra in downward milking sounds, and, finally, the percussion enters, (special thanks to Chaseholm Farms) playing milk cans, pails, and a cowbell.

• “Mambo” from West Side Story, by Leonard Bernstein, with dancers Elena Mosley, Donna Barrett, Addison Gear, and Debbie Waithe. “Mambo!” was performed by the Sharks during the 'Dance at the Gym' scene, where the community tries to bring the gang members together at a social event.  The two gangs dance in their own style and refuse to mix with the 'other side'.

• “Only Paradise Will Do” (Premiere) by Adriana Tampasis, composer and poet, conducted by David Banoczi-Ruof.  A piece inspired by the experiences of community engagement along the Hudson Riverfront. The narrative invites listeners to reflect on their own experiences of the Hudson River and envision their personal ideas of paradise. The poet observes small vignettes of activity along the river’s shore; fishermen casting a long line out into the water, or a couple holding hands. Tension arises when the poet grapples with their own thoughts of paradise and the difficulty of holding onto the idea that only paradise will do.

• “Wedding Medley” from “The Well-Tempered Klezmier” by Harold Seletsky, featuring Margot Leverett, clarinetist, orchestrated by Edward Marcus, and conducted by Dávid Bánóczi-Ruof. “Wedding Medley,” is a fully orchestrated version of the improvisations of clarinetist and composer, Harold Seletsky (1927-2010). It includes an opening doina in the cantorial style followed by a Chusidl and a closing with a virtuosic Freylekh.

• “The Lighthouse” - A Celebration of the 150th Anniversary of the Hudson Athens Lighthouse, music by Miroslav Maršík, arranged and conducted by Meghan Mercier (Premiere of this arrangement), with a video produced and edited by Glenn Wheeler and David Oliver.

  The 150th anniversary of the Hudson-Athens Lighthouse is more than a commemoration of its past; it is a celebration of its ongoing role in the community. We celebrate not just a lighthouse, but a symbol of community, resilience, and the enduring connection between the people of Hudson and Athens and the river.

  The music will be accompanied by a video produced and edited by Glenn Wheeler, showcasing stunning shots of the lighthouse captured by Glenn Wheeler and David Oliver. This video showcases the lighthouse's architectural beauty, its vital role in the river's navigation, and the peril it faces every day with each passing ship that creates massive turbulence underwater.

• “Wake and Arise” (Premiere) by Sheila Silver is inspired by a Native American prophecy that speaks of a time to come when Mother Earth will summon a sleeping giant who will wake, arise, and rally the people to save her from human destruction. Wake and Arise is part of a series of works Silver has been composing entitled Resilient Earth.

-INTERMISSION-

SECOND HALF

• Sound Immersion with Crystal Singing Bowls by Nea’/Sister RedHawk, an indigenous medicine woman of the tribes of New England (Narragansett/ Wampanoag & Shinnecock). She is a passionate sound healer dedicated to harmonizing mind, body, and spirit through the ancient indigenous powers of sound.

• Bhānaka Sangha performing "Tatah Kim" and “Aum Alleluia Aim” (Premiere) created by Phillip Roebuck and featuring singers Manik Choksi, Kevin Dann, Damon Daunno, Vicky Finney, Eamon Mertes, Ryan Tiano, and Holly Troy. A Polyrhythm Mantra Choir, exploring and celebrating the dazzling prosody (rhythmics & metrics) of ancient poetic texts, Bhānaka Sangha is an American world-music choir-band of “scripture singers.” Using a unique “verse-stacking” technique, the layering of texts in Sanskrit and other languages creates an immersive and exciting scripture-as-performance experience.

• “Questaterra” (Premiere) by Tristan Geary features The Tristan Geary Jazz Trio, with Mark Venuto (bass) and Marco Spodek (drums), conducted by David Banoczi-Ruof. “Questaterra” blends the composer's jazz background with his composition explorations. A dedication to a view of the Hudson River, “Questaterra” is performed equally to the audience gathered at the riverfront, as it is to the river itself; an offering to a new-found home by the London-born composer.

• Take a Seat…in the Orchestra A mentoring program for area students, prepared by Zoë Auerbach, teaching artist and violinist, and HCSD music teacher Scott Vorwald. The students will perform with their mentors on the following two pieces, conducted by Meghan Mercier:

  “Vivace” from Concerto for 2 violins
  by Johann Sebastian Bach
  with soloists Abby Mercier and Laïla Eshel
  and
  “Fiddle Fury” by Kathryn Griesinger.
  This energetic original work moves swiftly with the spirited essence of a hoedown, alternating between minor and major modes. A relentless tour de force that reinforces bow skills and rapid-fire rhythms!

• "Fly, Sad Song," Ukrainian tango by Bohdan Vesolovsky, arranged by Maxim Kolomiiets (Premiere of this arrangement), with Vira Slywotsky, contralto, dancers Anna d `’Onofrio and David Salvatierra, and conducted by Ukrainian conductor Valerii Biloshopko, who is a wonderful recent addition to our community. Ukrainian composer Bohdan Vesolovsky (1915-1971) wrote popular dance music featuring his own lyrics. After World War II, his music was outlawed in the USSR. The composer found refuge in Canada, where his music flourished within diaspora communities globally. In "Fly, Sad Song," the singer mourns and regrets the inevitability of living far from home, conveying his sorrow by sending a melody across the elements to where the heart finds solace.

• “We Are the World” by Lionel Richie, and Michael Jackson featuring The Hudson Community Choir, conducted by Andrew Stein, featuring soloists Tisi Bishop, Claire Wegh, Echo Green, Claude Vachal-Snider, Zuri Melo Fried, and Kelly Ann McCaughan.  Forty-five superstar recording artists checked their egos at the door and recorded “We Are The World” in 1985 to raise money for famine relief in Africa.

• “Fanfare for Tomorrow” by Peter Boyer perfectly captures the resiliency of the American spirit. Finely crafted with genuine humanity, it draws from the traditions of John Williams’ Hollywood film scores, Broadway musicals, and American neo-Romanticism. It was premiered by Gerard Schwarz at the Eastern Music Festival, and performed by the Cincinnati Symphony and Pops Orchestra, which had commissioned the original brief solo horn version of the work.