Erie Canal Bicentennial
Water Music New York: MOrE Voices
SUMMER 2026
In partnership with NYSCC, these festivals celebrate the bicentennial of the completion of the Erie Canal with music and community along the historic waterway and bringing to life new commissions by renowned composers. Free community festivals return this summer to conclude the Erie Canal Bicentennial Season and launch the third century of New York's magnificent canal system.
Three full-day FREE festivals culminating in Albany Symphony concerts will commemorate the Erie Canal Bicentennial through an inclusive celebration of New York State’s canal-side communities. The three-year Water Music NY: More Voices Festival (WMNY:MV), a partnership with the New York State Canal Corporation, is a multi-arts creative placemaking initiative that blends artistic expression, cultural heritage, and contemporary issues. Through collaborations with composers, local artists, educators, and community members, the project reimagines the past, present, and future of life along the historic waterway.
THIS SUMMER’S UPCOMING FREE EVENTS
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Water Music NY: More Voices
Waterford NY & Rome NY Recaps
Friday, July 10 saw the Albany Symphony perform in Waterford, NY. Featured composer Celka Ojakangas' new work, The Ballad of Mr. Peebles, captured the hearts and minds of the audience — telling the story of a bald eagle's return to the Hudson-Mohawk region, from the species' near-collapse in the 1970s to its recovery today, and of Mr. Peebles finding love and raising a family along the river. The piece drew on original poems submitted by members of the Waterford community, celebrating the eagles soaring over the canal, the mules and lock-keepers of the historic waterway, and the Haudenosaunee Confederacy's enduring connection to these waters. It came with its own featured lyric zine, too! Adam Freeling's work, Walking Stones, featured 20 community volunteers carrying illuminated objects referencing the stone blocks used to build the Erie Canal. The procession looped through the park as the sun set, creating an experience unlike any other.
Saturday, July 11 saw the Albany Symphony perform in Rome, NY. Early in the afternoon, the SFM Skatepark Project hosted ollie workshops and a chalk mural. Later in the afternoon, artist Sarah Cameron Sunde led slow-looking water walks along the canal, part of her work as artist-in-residence with the Erie Canal. Featured composer Jack Frerer's work wove together stories and memories from current and former Rome residents — from newcomers drawn by Chobani's arrival, to lifelong residents' recollections of the Boilermaker, dirt-track racing, and the Griffiss Air Force Base years, to a beloved local recipe for chicken riggies passed down as a piece of hometown identity. The evening closed with both a heartfelt tribute to the region's resilience and a nod to its newest neighbors.
Both evenings culminated in an out-of-this-world drone show based on works by artist Jenny Kemp.
Featured Photos from Last Summer:
AN ERIE CANAL BICENTENNIAL EVENT
