Symphony concert and picnic – Overview

by Posted in Buildings/Structures, Events, Landscapes Leave a comment
symphonyboscobel-1

About a month ago we went with friends to a symphony concert at Boscobel. It was given by the Greater Newburgh Symphony Orchestra on the lawn at picturesque Boscobel. Participants were invited to bring along a picnic to eat both before and during the concert.

According to the orchestra’s website:

2017-2018 marks our 23rd season, and the Greater Newburgh Symphony Orchestra has grown to become one of the most respected cultural resources in Orange County and the Mid-Hudson River Valley. Dedicated to presentations of great music performed by skilled musicians who are also your neighbors, the GNSO offers a full concert season, a highly regarded choral ensemble, educational outreach through its Side-by-Side program, and a glorious summer pops concert.

…

Founded in 1995 by Dr. Woomyung Choe, and led by George Handler and Fred McCurdy, the GNSO’s first presidents, the orchestra has succeeded in reaching wider audiences every year. This season we welcome our new Music Director, Russell Ger, to the podium, after an extensive, two-year search of over 100 candidates. Maestro Ger is dedicated to continuing the tradition of the Newburgh Symphony offering music that appeals to all ages and tastes – including exciting original compositions — is a hallmark of GNSO concert programming. Delighting young people is an essential goal, underscored by our free admission policy for students, a special Family Concert offered every January, the annual “Side by Side” concert where our orchestra members play alongside student musicians, and the magical “Pops” concert in July.

…

The majority of concerts take place in beautiful Aquinas Hall in Mount Saint Mary College in Newburgh. We also travel to venues such as Sugar Loaf Performing Arts Center, Newburgh Free Academy and other local high schools. The GNSO plays an educational role through the pre-concert previews offered by cellist Gordon Shacklett, who gives the audience an “inside look” at the pieces about to be performed.

Taken with a Sony A77II and Tamron A18 AF 18-250mm f3.5-6.3.

Hello Dolly

by Posted in Events, Theatre, Things Leave a comment
hellowdolly-1

My wife had wanted to see ‘Hello Dolly‘ for quite some time, but for a variety of reasons (e.g. the tickets were expensive and/or extremely difficult to get and we didn’t really put as much effort into looking as we should have) we hadn’t gone.

Eventually my wife decided to ‘take the bull by the horns’ and invited some friends to join us. She had really wanted to see Bette Midler in it, but by the time we got tickets she had moved on.

Some shows I can’t wait to see. Others I have no strong opinion about. And still others (relatively few) I just don’t want to see at all. ‘Hello Dolly’ falls in to this last category. I don’t know why but I didn’t want to see it. I didn’t even know anything about the show. Possibly it’s because I associate the show with Carol Channing, whose voice and overall personality I can’t stand. Maybe it’s because I tend to prefer musicals like those by Stephen Sondheim to those by Jerry Herman. I’m not that fond of Bette Midler either so that might have been a contributing factor.

Anyway my wife wanted to go so off we went into New York City.

I have to say that I enjoyed it much more than I thought I would: great sets, spectacular costumes, ‘feel-good’ tone, and the wonderful Bernadette Peters of whom I’m a big fan having seen her in Annie Get Your Gun; Gypsy; Into the Woods; and Sunday in the Park with George (possibly my favorite musical). I didn’t regret missing Bette Midler at all. Now I feel like seeing the movie with Barbra Streisand (whose voice I love), parts of which were filmed near where we live (see: Garrison Landing).

After the show we went back to our friend’s house for Peruvian Food (and Peruvian beer!) – Scrumptious! A great day.