Hill & Hollow Music to kick off 21-22 season, 25th anniversary reset
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Jun. 17—SARANAC — Hill and Hollow Music is back in business after a very challenging year.
"COVID ruined our 25th anniversary season," Angela Brown, founder and director, said.
"Closed us right down. So now we're back, and we have rescheduled several of the ensembles who were to have played in our 25th celebration year. We filled in with others."
The chamber music series' slate is filled with concerts. (SEE BOX).
"We are starting this weekend," Brown said.
"We weren't sure how COVID was going to play out. So, the summer concerts are going to be outdoor concerts here at my farm. We're going to have one concert a month."
SEASON OPENER
Classical harpist Kathryn "Kate" Sloat will perform her signature solo program, "Moon and Stars," on Saturday, June 19 at 7:30 p.m.,rain or shine, at Weatherwatch Farm in Saranac.
Seating will be provided under a canopy, but audience may bring their own more comfortable camp chairs, warm sweater or jacket, and spill out onto the lawn.
The one-hour solo concert (performed without intermission) will finish at dusk.
HARP HAPPENSTANCE
When Sloat was a sixth-grader at Bethlehem public school outside of Albany, three other girls, coincidentally, played the harp.
"One of them brought her harp into school one day and played for us, and I just thought it was the most amazing thing," said the harpist, who first came to Hill and Hollow as one half of harp duo, Lilac 94, with Christina Brier.
"It wasn't a school program. They are pretty expensive. I barely remember this but my mother said I came home from school one day and I said, 'I want to play the harp.' She was like, "Yeah. Okay. Sure.' I think it took me like a year of bugging her enough until she was like, 'Okay. Fine."
Sloat was attracted to the instrument's beauty, physical and aural.
"When you're a kid playing a violin just starting out like it's not necessarily going to sound really pretty technically," she said.
"It takes a long time before it sounds pretty. When you're a kid just starting the harp, you might not have the chops to play anything really hard it still sounds really nice when you first start. I think I just really like the tactile feel of plucking the strings and just playing it. It just feels really good in your hands."
When she studied at the Crane School of Music in Potsdam, Sloat regularly drove through Saranac.
Afterwards, she studied harp performance at the Eastman School of Music in Rochester and Mannes College of Music in New York City.
A freelancer, Sloat performs regularly with regional orchestras, chamber groups and soloist for special occasions such as weddings and birthdays.
A dedicated harp instructor, Sloat instructs several private students and teaches at the Diller-Quaile School of Music and at the Dwight School in New York City.
HARP AT DUSK
Sloat's Hill and Hollow program is "Moon and Stars" features a mix of classical, contemporary, and popular works: Debussy's "Clair de lune," Britten's "Nocturne,"Salzedo's "Chanson dans la Nuit," Henry Mancini's "Moon River," Ruby Aspinall's "Night Dances," Jin Hee Han's "Morning Star," J.E. Salazar's "I See Stars in Your Eyes," and Harvey Schmidt's "Moonlight #2" from The Fantasticks.
"The first piece ('Claire de lune sur de L'étang du Parc' — Moonlight on a Pool) that I'll be playing I started learning a few years ago and it just sort of inspired me to create a whole program based on that theme," Sloat said.
"The harp is really good for evoking nighttime."
Sloat has practiced the program for two years on and off, and it concludes with "Claire du lune."
"It's so beautiful, and it's so peaceful and it's something that everybody knows," she said.
"I've done a few other performances of this program in other areas in practice performances and it's just great to hear you start the piece and you can feel the collective sigh from the audience.
"It's one of my mother's favorite pieces, and she's been after me for years to learn to play it so I finally did."
Email Robin Caudell:
Twitter:@RobinCaudell
HILL AND HOLLOW MUSIC 2021-22 SEASON
Kathryn Sloat, harp
Saturday, June 19 at 7:30 p.m.
Weatherwatch Farm, Saranac
Kathryn Sloat, whose harp playing evoked the angels (Brooklyn Discovery), is known for her work in opera, Broadway, orchestra, and contemporary chamber music in New York City and throughout the United States. Her program "Moon & Stars" features a mix of classical, contemporary, and popular works.
Suggested donation $20 (concert & dessert) or $50 (happy hour, concert & dessert). This event will follow safety guidelines and the honor system: masks should be worn if you are not fully vaccinated. A sign-in sheet will be kept at the door in case of possible need for contact tracing. Bring a warm sweater or jacket.
Mazel Tov Cocktail Party
Saturday, July 17 at 7:30 p.m.
Plattsburgh Marina
Sunday, July 18 at 4 p.m.
Weatherwatch Farm
The latest exciting over-the-top project of two brilliant artists, Mazel Tov Cocktail Partyâ features six international high-octane musicians in a "good vibes explosion" of powerful and unique original material created through enormous musical and cultural diversity. Clarinet wizard David Krakauer is godfather to Kathleen Tagg's quirky keys, Iranian dynamo Martin Shamanpour's hand-drumming, jazz guru Jerome Harris's driving bass, rapper Sarah MK's trenchant rhymes, and guitar- and oud-meister Yoshie Fruchter's sinuous lines.
Ingrid Jensen & Christine Jensen with Tim Collins
Saturday, August 7 at 7:30 p.m.
Plattsburgh Marina
Sunday, August 8 at 4 p.m.
Weatherwatch Farm
Sisters Ingrid Jensen, trumpet and Christine Jensen, alto sax are among the most original voices on the international jazz scene, headlining jazz festivals and clubs around the globe. In a quintet they give free reign to their intuitive sibling trust "Ingrid's mellifluous trumpet technique melds with Christine's warm, legato alto to conjure the aura of a wordless vocals" combined with the creativity of renowned colleagues, Marcos Varela on bass, Jon Wikan on drums, and Plattsburgh native Tim Collins, a world-class vibes player.
Cantrip
Monday, September 6 (Labor Day) at 4 p.m.
Weatherwatch Farm
The name Cantrip is an Old Scots word meaning “a charm, magic spell or piece of mischief, and it aptly describes the compelling potency of this Scottish-Celtic traditional roots music with its unexpected twists and turns. Swirling border pipes, raging fiddle, thunderous guitar, and three rich voices of Dan Houghton, Jon Bews, and Eric McDonald blend to create an energetic sound that can raise the roof.
Muller-Steigerwalt Duo
Sunday, October 3 at 3 p.m.
Saranac United Methodist Church
Duo pianists Dana Muller and Gary Steigerwalt have performed extensively in the United States, South America, and Scotland for 35 years. Their programs encompass the historical and stylistic gamut of the piano four-hand genre. In addition to works by Schubert, Mendelssohn, and Ravel, the duo will premiere a new multi-movement work recently composed for them by Pulitzer Prize winner Lewis Spratlan.
Horszowski Trio
Sunday, November 14 at 3 p.m.
Saranac United Methodist Church
The Horszowski Trio is a vital force in the international chamber music world, noted for performances that are "lithe, persuasive" (The New York Times), "eloquent and enthralling" (The Boston Globe), and described as "the most compelling American group to come on the scene" (The New Yorker). Their program features a combination of traditional piano trio repertoire and new music they have commissioned.
Le Vent du Nord
Sunday, February 6, 2022 at 3 p.m.
Assumption of Mary School, Redford
A leading force in Quebec's progressive francophone folk movement and winners of two Juno Awards, Le Vent du Nord's dynamic live performances expand the bounds of tradition in striking new directions. The group's vast repertoire draws from both traditional sources and original compositions, while enhancing the hard-driving soulful music (rooted in the Celtic diaspora) with a broad range of global influences.
Infusion Baroque
Sunday, March 13, 2022 at 3 p.m.
Saranac United Methodist Church
Performing music of the 17th- and 18th-centuries on historical instruments, Infusion Baroque enthralls audiences with creative programs described as "dynamic and alive" (Early Music America). "The playing is superb ... with a liveliness and unforced energy that seems to grow naturally out of the music combining spontaneity and abandon with technical perfection." (Fanfare)
Calmus
Sunday, April 24, 2022 at 3 p.m.
Church of the Assumption, Redford
Alumni of Leipzig's renowned St. Thomas Church Choir School, Calmus offers the unique combination of a pure soprano voice with four male voices ranging from bass to countertenor. The seamless blend of five voices lends itself to the almost limitless range of music the ensemble offers, from renaissance and baroque masters through great German romantic works, to contemporary choral repertoire, pop and jazz.
FOR RESERVATIONS: Phone 518-293-7613 or email: ambrown.hillholl@gmail.com
WEBSITE: www.hillandhollowmusic.org
