#REWIND | American Music Festival, Sing Out! New York: Schuylerville
Last night, audiences came from all over Saratoga, Washington Counties, and beyond to experience the first night of the Sing Out! New York Concert Tour at Hudson Crossing Park in Schuylerville, NY. David Alan Miller and the musicians of the Albany Symphony were warmly welcomed by park volunteers and the entire community.
Located between the Hudson River and Champlain Canal, the park has a storied past and a natural beauty that can only be found in Upstate New York.
After a rainy and overcast morning, the skies opened up, clouds parted, and the sun came out just in time for rehearsals. Sunny and 75 is perfect weather for an outdoor concert.
Did you know? Heat and direct sunlight can damage most orchestral instruments. Violins and even some woodwind instruments are made from delicate woods that can expand and contract in extreme temperatures. Our backstage staff set up some pop-up tents on stage to keep our musicians and their instruments cool and safe from the noontime sun. While the orchestra rehearsed, volunteers from AYCO, Goldman Sachs helped the “front-of-house” team set up and welcome guests and vendors as they arrived at the park.
Local folk singer, Bob Warren stopped by and performed some old time folk favorites.
World music artist Taina Asili entertained the audience with her Afro-Latin rhythms and soulful melodies.
Sing Out! New York was fun for the entire family! Everybody — children from nine to ninety — enjoyed some family-fun. Rural Soul Music Studio led the community in an interactive drum circle. Rebel Wood Soap Works brought the most adorable (and cuddly) goats, while Back Barn Brewing Company served up 19th Amendment, our signature Sing Out! New York Festival beer. Hudson Crossing Park also features over two miles of walking trails along both the Champlain Canal and Hudson River. A group of hikers from the New York State Canalway Trail and Empire State Trail stumbled upon our concert and fell in love with Beethoven’s Fifth.
BUCKET LIST ALERT: Do you walk, bike, or Kayak? Start at Schuylerville’s Canalway Trail or at Lock 5 and take the I Love NY Canalway Challenge.
Just as the sun was beginning to set over the treetops, WAMC’s Joe Donahue (a hometown hero) took to the stage and welcomed over 1,500 people to the Albany Symphony’s debut performance and the first-ever concert in Hudson Crossing Park. Once David Alan Miller took the stage, the audience was greeted with a lively performance of Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony followed by Petticoats of Steel, a brand new Sing Out! New York commission by Loren Loiacono and Capital Repertory Theater Director, Maggie Cahill. The work was inspired by the foremothers of the 19th Amendment and was a reimagining of three suffragist songs.
Did you know? Suffragist leader Susan B. Anthony grew up 4 miles from Hudson Crossing Park in Battenkill, NY.