ASO plans first-ever performance on Skidmore campus

The Albany Symphony will present the second performance of its 80th Anniversary-Carnegie Hall Season with a special collaboration with Capital Repertory Theater, highlighting a program that includes Mendelssohn's incidental music to Shakespeare's comedy A Midsummer Night's Dream.

The program also includes three new works by young composers inspired by the works of William Shakespeare. The concert will be held at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 21, at the Arthur Zankel Music Center at Skidmore College in Saratoga Springs, and 7:30 p.m. Friday, Oct. 22, at the Troy Savings Bank Music Hall. Tickets for the Skidmore performance may be purchased by calling the Palace Theatre Box Office at (518) 465-4663. Prices range from $19-$54, general admission, $15 students. Tickets for the Troy performance may be purchased at the Troy Savings Bank Music Hall, by calling (518) 273-0038.

The performance is centered on the complete incidental music to A Midsummer Night's Dream by composer Felix Mendelssohn creatively incorporating women's chorus, vocal soloists, and professional actors from Capital Repertory Theater to help illustrate memorable scenes from the play alongside Mendelssohn's music. A unique and innovative approach to programming rare among orchestras, the collaboration aims to inject a new freshness into a timeless, beloved classic. "We actively seek creative collaborations with other professional performing arts organizations" said Maggie Mancinelli Cahill, producing artistic director of Capital Rep. "When the symphony approached us, we leapt at the opportunity."

In addition to the artistic collaboration with Capital Rep, Albany Symphony Music Director David Alan Miller has invited three student composers from Bard College to present newly composed pieces on the program. The concert, which will receive two back-to-back performances in Saratoga and Troy, has also been adapted to be presented as one of the Albany Symphony's iconic "Sunday Symphonies for Families" performances on Sunday, Oct. 24 at 3 p.m.

The 2010-2011 season marks the 80th anniversary for the Albany Symphony, and one where it is being recognized for its steadfast commitment to new music, living composers, and innovative programming at the inaugural Spring for Music Festival, held at New York's Carnegie Hall. The appearance at the famous concert hall will be the first for the orchestra in its history. The symphony continues to invite supporters from around the area to join the celebration of the orchestra's landmark year, and participate in an extraordinary musical journey by becoming part of the orchestra's extended family through subscribing. For more information on subscribing, or to place an order, please click here.

In addition to the collaboration with the Albany Symphony Orchestra, Capital Repertory Theatre will perform a dramatic version of Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream in more than 20 schools in the Capital Region.  There will also be two public performances offered.  For more information, please click here. 

About the ASO

The Albany Symphony is one of this region's most revered music and cultural institutions, having won numerous national awards for its adventurous concert programming, recording projects, composer residencies, and innovative educational efforts involving area schools throughout the region. As the only professional symphony orchestra based within the Capital Region, the Albany Symphony enriches a broad and diverse regional community, engaging over 150,000 people each year across an extended geographical area. After reviewing the Albany Symphony's recent 2009 recording of music by resident composer George Tsontakis, American Record Guide proclaimed: "The Albany Symphony is now one of the country's great orchestras."
 
About Capital Repertory Theater
 
Capital Repertory Theatre is a not-for-profit professional theater with a mission to create meaningful theater generated from an authentic link to the community it serves. Now in its 30th season, Capital Rep produces a balanced season of dramas, comedies, musicals, contemporary and classic plays to appeal to all tastes. Possessing a history of more than 22 world premieres and dozens of regional premieres, Capital Rep also produces education and outreach programs that serve more than 20,000 students and adult learners each year.  The only affiliate of the League of Resident Theatres (LORT) within the fourteen counties of the Capital Region, Capital Rep has produced more than 4,750 performances, employed more than 1,200 artists and has contributed more than $30 million to the local economy since its inception in 1981.