WNBZ Community Calendar

Conductor Andrew Benware

The Quintessential Sound of Christmas 
The Northern Adirondack Vocal Ensemble will give three performances of a Festival of Lessons
and Carols:
- Friday, December 21 at 7:30 pm at Notre Dame Church in Malone
- Saturday, December 22 at 7:30 pm at St. Peter’s Church in Plattsburgh
- Sunday, December 23 at 3:00 pm at St. Agnes Church in Lake Placid
The Northern Adirondack Vocal Ensemble (NAVE), conducted by Andrew Benware, is a mixed chamber choir of professional and amateur singers: soprano, alto, tenor, and bass. A small and balanced ensemble to which each member brings extensive previous choral experience, NAVE performs a variety of periods and styles with harmonies of four-to-eight parts.
NAVE’s twenty members represent a cross-section of the Adirondacks, hailing from points in Clinton, Essex, and Franklin Counties. Distinct from other choral groups in our region, NAVE is essentially an a cappella choir focusing on the rich and historical repertoire composed specifically for chamber choir unaccompanied by instruments.
NAVE’s Festival of Lessons and Carols follows the traditional model of those performed annually on Christmas Eve (since 1928) at King’s College Chapel in Cambridge, England. The customary format is built around nine short Bible readings from the Old and New Testaments that trace the story of the fall of humanity and the promise of a Messiah to the birth of Jesus. Anthems, carols, and hymns are liberally interspersed throughout to illuminate the narrative musically.

NAVE’s special a cappella version features two early music masterpieces sung in Latin: the medieval carol dating from the 12th century, “Personent Hodie” (“On This Day Earth Shall Ring”) and the 16th-century renaissance antiphonal motet “Hodie Christus Natus Est” (“Today Christ is Born”) by Jan Pieters Sweelinck. Fast-forward to a pair of contemporary works that have won a place in the constellation of essential Christmas music: “O Magnum Mysterium” (“O Great Mystery) by Morten Lauridsen (1995) and “The Shepherd’s Carol” by Bob Chilcott (2001).
The program includes the well-loved traditional carols “Infant Holy, Infant Lowly,” “Sans Day Carol,” and “Herefordshire Carol” (respectively Polish, Cornish, and English). Also of interest are Boris Ord’s setting of the 15th-century text “Adam Lay Ybounden” and Harold Darke’s setting of Christina Rossetti’s “In the Bleak Midwinter” (both were English composers active in the mid-20th century).
Of special note will be the folkish “A Virgin Unspotted” (1778) by the Colonial American composer William Billings and the juicy “Bogoroditsje Djevo” (“Hail Mary”) of Sergei Rachmaninoff (1915), so evocative of the Russian Orthodox Church.
Community members will read the texts, which include passages from Genesis and the Gospels, as well as a contemporary poem, “Annunciation,” by Denise Levertov. The audience is invited to join with the choir in congregational singing – accompanied by the mighty organ! – of familiar Advent and Christmas hymns: “O Come, O Come Emmanuel,” “Come, Thou Long Expected Jesus,” “O Little Town of Bethlehem,” “Silent Night,” “While Shepherd’s Watched Their Flocks by Night,” ”As With Gladness Men of Old,” and “O Come, All Ye Faithful.”

Admission is a suggested donation of $10. For more information please telephone 518-293-7613 or send a message by e-mail to hillholl@hughes.net

Drew M. Benware is currently the Director of Choral Activities at Saranac Lake High School, where he conducts the Festival Chorus, Concert Choir, Men’s Ensemble, Women’s Ensemble, and teaches small group vocal instruction. He also serves as the Music Director for the annual musical theater production and maintains a small private piano studio. Benware is also the founding Artistic Director and Conductor of the Northern Adirondack Vocal Ensemble (NAVE), a highly selective chamber choir which operates under the umbrella of Hill and Hollow Music in Saranac, NY.
Additionally, Benware serves as Lecturer in the field of Music Education at the Ithaca College School of Music in Ithaca, NY, where he teaches summer graduate courses in Band Methods and conducts the Summer Graduate Choir and Band. He previously held full-term employment as Assistant Professor of Music Education at the College, instructing wind instrument pedagogy, instrumental conducting, and secondary instrument methods. Additionally, he has supervised student teachers, conducted the Brass Choir and served as a sabbatical leave replacement as conductor of the Concert Band. He also served as accompanist and guest conductor for the Campus Chorale and accompanist and collaborative instructor for the Musical Theater Workshop.
Benware has been a member of the inaugural and subsequent faculties of the Ithaca College Summer Music Academy, an intensive college-preparatory music program at the School of Music where he has held various instructional roles in the fields of conducting, musical theater preparation, music fundamentals, and conducted the selective choral ensemble.
He is a native of Northern New York State where he has served several years as a public school music educator, both as Director of Instrumental Music at Saranac Lake High School and as Director of Choral Activities at the Peru Middle/High School.
Benware is active as a lecturer and clinician, having recently presented at the NYSSMA Winter Conference in Rochester, NY, and is in frequent demand as a guest conductor for honors ensembles (both instrumental and choral) throughout New York State. He is also active as a performer, taking part in the Upstate New York Chorus (UNYC) under the direction of Dr. Janet Galvan, and as a church musician, holding positions at both St. Bernard’s and St. Agnes Catholic Churches in Saranac Lake and Lake Placid, respectively. He holds both a Bachelor of Music degree in Music Education with a concentration on the Trumpet and a Master of Music degree in Choral Conducting from the Ithaca College School of Music.

The Quintessential Sound of Christmas
The Northern Adirondack Vocal Ensemble will give three performances of a Festival of Lessons
and Carols:
- Friday, December 21 at 7:30 pm at Notre Dame Church in Malone
- Saturday, December 22 at 7:30 pm at St. Peter’s Church in Plattsburgh
- Sunday, December 23 at 3:00 pm at St. Agnes Church in Lake Placid
The Northern Adirondack Vocal Ensemble (NAVE), conducted by Andrew Benware, is a mixed chamber choir of professional and amateur singers: soprano, alto, tenor, and bass. A small and balanced ensemble to which each member brings extensive previous choral experience, NAVE performs a variety of periods and styles with harmonies of four-to-eight parts.
NAVE’s twenty members represent a cross-section of the Adirondacks, hailing from points in Clinton, Essex, and Franklin Counties. Distinct from other choral groups in our region, NAVE is essentially an a cappella choir focusing on the rich and historical repertoire composed specifically for chamber choir unaccompanied by instruments.
NAVE’s Festival of Lessons and Carols follows the traditional model of those performed annually on Christmas Eve (since 1928) at King’s College Chapel in Cambridge, England. The customary format is built around nine short Bible readings from the Old and New Testaments that trace the story of the fall of humanity and the promise of a Messiah to the birth of Jesus. Anthems, carols, and hymns are liberally interspersed throughout to illuminate the narrative musically.
more …..
Weatherwatch Farm • 550 Number 37 Road • Saranac NY 12981
518-293-7613 • hillholl@hughes.net • www.hillandhollowmusic.org
H
ill and Hollow Music
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NAVE’s special a cappella version features two early music masterpieces sung in Latin: the medieval carol dating from the 12th century, “Personent Hodie” (“On This Day Earth Shall Ring”) and the 16th-century renaissance antiphonal motet “Hodie Christus Natus Est” (“Today Christ is Born”) by Jan Pieters Sweelinck. Fast-forward to a pair of contemporary works that have won a place in the constellation of essential Christmas music: “O Magnum Mysterium” (“O Great Mystery) by Morten Lauridsen (1995) and “The Shepherd’s Carol” by Bob Chilcott (2001).
The program includes the well-loved traditional carols “Infant Holy, Infant Lowly,” “Sans Day Carol,” and “Herefordshire Carol” (respectively Polish, Cornish, and English). Also of interest are Boris Ord’s setting of the 15th-century text “Adam Lay Ybounden” and Harold Darke’s setting of Christina Rossetti’s “In the Bleak Midwinter” (both were English composers active in the mid-20th century).
Of special note will be the folkish “A Virgin Unspotted” (1778) by the Colonial American composer William Billings and the juicy “Bogoroditsje Djevo” (“Hail Mary”) of Sergei Rachmaninoff (1915), so evocative of the Russian Orthodox Church.
Community members will read the texts, which include passages from Genesis and the Gospels, as well as a contemporary poem, “Annunciation,” by Denise Levertov. The audience is invited to join with the choir in congregational singing – accompanied by the mighty organ! – of familiar Advent and Christmas hymns: “O Come, O Come Emmanuel,” “Come, Thou Long Expected Jesus,” “O Little Town of Bethlehem,” “Silent Night,” “While Shepherd’s Watched Their Flocks by Night,” ”As With Gladness Men of Old,” and “O Come, All Ye Faithful.”
Admission is a suggested donation of $10. For more information please telephone 518-293-7613 or send a message by e-mail to hillholl@hughes.net

SKATING ICON DOROTHY HAMILL JOINS

EMMY AWARD-WINNING STARS ON ICE

Olympic Gold Medalist, World Champion and Three-Time U.S. National Champion Dorothy Hamill Returns to America’s Most Beloved Figure Skating Tour,

Joining Fans in Lake Placid as They Honor Figure Skating Legend Kurt Browning in One of His Final U.S. Performances at the Olympic Center on December 30^th at 7:30 PM

TICKETS FOR LAKE PLACID ARE ON SALE NOW

 (Lake Placid, NY) – The country’s premier figure skating production, Stars on Ice, is proud to announce the return of one of the sport’s most cherished athletes, Olympic Gold Medalist, World Champion and Three-Time U.S. National Champion, Dorothy Hamill. One of the most beloved American sports icons, Hamill won the hearts of skating fans around the world with her dominant performance in taking Gold at the 1976 Winter Olympic Games in Innsbruck, Austria. Hamill is credited with developing a new skating move; a camel spin that turns into a sit spin, which became known as the “Hamill Camel.” The bobbed hairstyle that she wore during her Olympic performance started a fad, and she quickly became “America’s Sweetheart.”

Joining a cast of Olympic, World and National Champion skaters on the 2012-13 Tour, Hamill will help bid a fond farewell to longtime cast member Kurt Browning, who will be giving his final U.S. tour performances. The Stars on Ice “Now & Then” Tour will kick-off with a special performance at the Olympic Center in Lake Placid, NY on Sunday, December 30, 2012, at 7:30 PM.

Stars on Ice continues to be a pioneer in figure skating by offering fans the rare opportunity to witness some of the world’s most creative and cherished champions performing together in both individual and ensemble routines. Joining Dorothy Hamill on this year’s tour is a stellar cast of world-renowned athletes, including Four-Time World Champion & Four-Time Canadian National Champion Kurt Browning; Two-Time Olympic Gold Medalist Ekaterina Gordeeva (Russia); 1998 Olympic Gold Medalist Ilia Kulik (Russia);2010 Olympic Bronze Medalist Joannie Rochette (Canada); U.S. National Champion Ryan Bradley; Two-Time European Bronze Medalists and Seven-Time British National Dance ChampionsSinead & John Kerr; and Canadian National Silver Medalist Shawn Sawyer.

Stars on Ice, founded by Olympic Gold Medalist Scott Hamilton, is one of the premier touring entertainment events in the world. Tickets for the Stars on Ice “Now & Then” Tour in Lake Placidare on sale now. Special on-ice seating is available upon request. Group discounts are available for parties of 10 or more. Tickets start at $25 and are available via www.starsonice.com, by phone at 518-523-3330 and the Olympic Center Box Office. Please visit www.starsonice.com for more information as well as exciting show announcements.

The Emmy Award-winning production will be made into a one-hour syndicated televisionspecial, recording in Japan during a brief January tour. The special will be shown on network affiliates across the country this winter. Visit www.starsonice.com or check your local listings for more details on when you can see the highlights of the 2012-2013 show!

February 1 Children’s Theatre: Long Live– The Lake Placid Center for the Arts will host an original play written and directed by Joan O’Leary. Long Live will be performed on Friday, February 1 at 7pm and Saturday, February 2 at 3pm.Featuring a versatile cast of characters brought to life by local kids! With choreography by Christina Stanton.Donations accepted at the door.

February 2 Children’s Theatre: Long Live– The Lake Placid Center for the Arts will host an original play written and directed by Joan O’Leary. Long Live will be performed on Saturday, February 2 at 3pm.Featuring a versatile cast of characters brought to life by local kids! With choreography by Christina Stanton.Donations accepted at the door.

February 1 Children’s Theatre: Long Live– The Lake Placid Center for the Arts will host an original play written and directed by Joan O’Leary. Long Live will be performed on Friday, February 1 at 7pm and Saturday, February 2 at 3pm.Featuring a versatile cast of characters brought to life by local kids! With choreography by Christina Stanton.Donations accepted at the door.

February 2 Children’s Theatre: Long Live– The Lake Placid Center for the Arts will host an original play written and directed by Joan O’Leary. Long Live will be performed on Saturday, February 2 at 3pm.Featuring a versatile cast of characters brought to life by local kids! With choreography by Christina Stanton.Donations accepted at the door.

This is a free all day concert at the Adirondack Carousel with more than a dozen acts, Donations of food and money will be accepted.

Lake Placid Center for the Arts presents an Encore HD Screening of a new comedy that recently premiered at London’s National Theatre. Join us on Friday, April 12 at 7:30pm for People. Tickets are $16 adults, $14 LPCA Members and $10 students 18 and under. For reservations or more information contact the LPCA Box Office at 523-2512 or visit online at LakePlacidArts.org.

Award-winning writer Alan Bennett is reunited with director Nicholas Hytner and Olivier Award-winning actress Frances de la Tour, with whom he worked on The History Boys and The Habit of Art.

People spoil things; there are so many of them and the last thing one wants is them traipsing through one’s house. But with the park a mess and a bath on the billiard table, what is one to do? Dorothy (Frances de la Tour) wonders if an attic sale could be a solution.

Alan Bennett is one of Britain’s most celebrated playwrights, and the much anticipated People is the sixth of his plays to have its premiere at the National Theatre. Following its original run at the National Theatre, The History Boys transferred to Broadway, winning the Tony Award for Best Play in 2006, and toured internationally before being turned into a film, again directed by Nicholas Hytner and with a cast including Frances de la Tour.

Bennett and Hytner also collaborated on the award-winning play and film The Madness of King George and their last stage production, The Habit of Art, was broadcast as part of National Theatre Live in 2010.

The Lake Placid Center for the Arts presents The Philadelphia Orchestra’s Live in HD presentation of Stravinsky’s Rite of Spring. Join us on Sunday, April 21 for an Encore Screening at 2pm. Tickets are $16, $14 LPCA Members and $10 students 18 and under. For reservations or more information contact the LPCA Box Office at 523-2512 or visit online at LakePlacidArts.org.

Stravinsky’s Rite of Spring received its U.S. premieres in both staged and concert versions in Philadelphia, under Stokowski’s direction. Now, in a first-of-its-kind partnership with Philadelphia Live Arts, The Philadelphia Orchestra collaborates with the New York-based Ridge Theater Company to present a 21st- century treatment of The Rite of Spring with dancers, video projection, and theatrical lighting. Philadelphia also gave the first American performances of Ravel’s Piano Concerto in G, which will be performed by star soloist Jean-Yves Thibaudet.

The program opens with a modern-day Philadelphia first, the world premiere of a brand new composition by Oliver Knussen, co-commissioned by The Philadelphia Orchestra and the Pittsburgh Symphony.

The Philadelphia Orchestra – A Brief History

Renowned for its distinctive sound, desired for its keen ability to capture the hearts and imaginations of audiences, and admired for an unrivaled legacy of “firsts” in music-making, The Philadelphia Orchestra remains one of the preeminent orchestras in the world. While wholly committed to the exploration of classical music and repertoire, the Orchestra also continues to develop compelling programs that resonate with contemporary audiences. The Philadelphia Orchestra is focused on inspiring the future while transforming its rich tradition of achievement, and seeks to not simply sustain the highest level of artistic quality, but to challenge—and exceed—that level by creating powerful musical experiences for audiences at home and around the world.

The Philadelphia Orchestra has long pushed the boundaries of convention in the classical music realm. Signature to such a reputation are world and/or American premieres of such important works as Mahler’s Symphony No. 8 (“Symphony of a Thousand”), Stravinsky’s The Rite of Spring, Schoenberg’s Gurrelieder, and Rachmaninoff’s Symphonic Dances. As part of its commitment to bringing classical music to audiences where they are listening, the Orchestra was the first to create an online store for purchasing music. To further expand such distribution, the Orchestra formed a new partnership with Independent Online Distribution Alliance (IODA), making its live recordings available on popular digital music services such as iTunes and Amazon, among others. The Orchestra has also joined with Specticast in pioneering simulcasts of Orchestra concerts into theaters, schools, and performing arts centers.

Artistic Leadership

Demonstrating a deep and abiding commitment to the highest levels of artistic excellence, The Philadelphia Orchestra has cultivated an extraordinary history of artistic leaders in its 112 seasons, including music directors Fritz Scheel, Carl Pohlig, Leopold Stokowski, Eugene Ormandy, Riccardo Muti, Wolfgang Sawallisch, and Christoph Eschenbach, and Charles Dutoit, who served as chief conductor from 2008 to 2012. Under such extraordinary guidance, The Philadelphia Orchestra has served as an unwavering standard of excellence in the world of classical music—and it continues to do so today.

Yannick Nézet-Séguin joins this small yet illustrious group in the 2012-13 season, serving as the eighth music director of The Philadelphia Orchestra. An integral member of the Orchestra’s leadership team since 2010 when he assumed the title of music director designate, Nézet-Séguin also serves as music director of the Rotterdam Philharmonic, principal guest conductor of the London Philharmonic, and artistic director and principal conductor of Montreal’s Orchestre Métropolitain. He brings a wealth of talent and vision that extends beyond symphonic music and into the vivid world of opera and choral music. Nézet-Séguin possesses a distinctive gift for reaching audiences, and arrives well-prepared to share his unmatched versatility and depth with Philadelphia and the world.

This event is part of DAFFEST 2013 – at St Bernard’s Church 2pm Sunday

Kim and Reggie Harris in Concert

Songs of Peace and Freedom

Monday May 6, 2013, 7:30 pm

Tickets $10.00 Adults , Students $5.00, Available at ­­­­­­­­­Saranac Village at Will Rogers

78 Will Rogers Dr.  Saranac Lake, NY 12983  (518) 304-5032

Sponsored by: sponsored by the Ecumenical Council of Saranac Lake and Inspired Dreamers of “The Dream”.

Proceeds benefit The Martin Luther King Scholarship Fund and Poster Contest

Saranac Lake will ring with the joyful sounds of Kim and Reggie Harris on May 6^th starting at 7:30 at Saranac Village at Will Rogers. Consummate musicians and storytellers, Kim and Reggie Harris combine a strong folk and gospel legacy with a solid background in classical, rock, jazz and pop music. Creative curiosity, years of road and stage experience and interactions with performers such as Pete Seeger, Ysaye Barnwell, Jay Leno, Tom Paxton, Bernice Johnson Reagon, Harry Belafonte and others, has led them to produce music that entertains and inspires.

Audiences at venues such as The Kennedy Center, The Brooklyn Academy of Music, The Smithsonian Institute, Reunion Arena in TX, the Psalm Festival in Graz, Austria, as well as a myriad of theatre arts centers, festivals, universities and schools, have given this inspiring duo standing ovations for their vibrant performances.

With numerous recordings on the Appleseed Recordings and the Folk Era labels they are also featured on a number of compilations, films and educational projects worldwide.

As a result of materials developed in their work with the Kennedy Center, Kim and Reggie have earned wide acclaimed for their contributions to the resources and knowledge base – in historical and educational circles – on the Underground Railroad and the modern civil rights movement.

Kim and Reggie Harris are dynamic and superbly talented traditional folk performers, whose captivating stage presence and unique harmonies has earned the respect and love of audiences throughout the US, Canada and Europe for over 30 years. They are unique in their ability to entertain audiences of any age and background as they blend their talents as singers, songwriters, educators, interpreters of history and cultural advocates.

This is an all ages show. Advance tickets are available from dreamers of the dream members and from Ampersound Music in Saranac Lake.

Kim and Reggie’s  Partners in Education Program “Dream Alive” will be presented at the Saranac Lake School on Tuesday May 7^th. The stories of people such as Harriet Tubman and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. have become a familiar part of the study of American History. The works of many other significant African-Americans from every walk of live and field of endeavor are not as well known. Dream Alive!, a multi-media presentation, will bring to light the heroes and sheroes: artists, educators, inventors, explorers, scientists, poets and other important contributors to the life and culture of America and the world. Kim and Reggie Harris have been affiliated with the John F Kennedy Center’s Partners in Education program for over two decades, offering multimedia performances for students and community, and in-depth workshops for educators at all grade levels. Touring, writing, researching and recording together for over 30 years, Kim and Reggie have amassed an amazing repertoire of African American music, blending spirituals and freedom songs, the old and the new.