Hudson in Concert: A Community Celebration

The Hudson Festival Orchestra (HFO) will present a magnificent musical event, ”Hudson in Concert: A Community Celebration,” on July 30, 2022. This free community event will occur in the scenic Henry Hudson Riverfront Park, Hudson, NY, from 4:00 pm to 9:00 pm.

HFO Founder and Artistic Director Gwen Gould commented, “I believe that music and culture can bridge divides and build community. I envision this as an annual musical event bringing area residents together through a live musical celebration of our shared American and diverse cultural heritages in a glorious natural setting on the Hudson River!”

Gould continued, “We welcome our friends, neighbors, and community members to join us in celebrating the vibrant community of Hudson in all its splendor. It will be an unforgettable summer event.” The HFO relies on support, in any amount, for this annual free public concert on the Hudson River waterfront.

Join us at 4 pm for the Opening Acts in the Henry Hudson Riverfront Park Gazebo. The program will feature the following:

· Trio Candela plays lively traditional Latin music from around the world, featuring guitar, conga, bongo, Latin percussion, and vocals.

· Bangladeshi Songs sung by Haroon and Valina Rashid.

· Tony Kieraldo, pianist and composer, will perform his new “Hudson Ragtime Suite.”

· And more…

At 7 pm, the Hudson Festival Orchestra (HFO) takes center stage.

· Bring a drum or hand instrument and join the rousing community drum circle led by Kuumba Dance & Drum Academy/Operation Unite! This will be a dramatic introduction to Aaron Copland’s Fanfare for the Common Man to begin the program.

· A full professional orchestra of 55 players, and several guest artists, will perform such cultural favorites as American hoe-down; Gospel; Latin music; Cuban danzon; Argentine tango; Ragtime; Indian classical music; and more…

· During the intermission, children are invited to join “The Teddy Bears’ Picnic” parade, following a larger-than-life teddy bear (a brave volunteer in a bear costume) to a picnic blanket with treats for all!

· We will express our solidarity with Ukraine by starting the program’s second half with the Ukrainian National Anthem.

· Program details will be posted soon on our website at hudsonfestivalorchestra.org.

FIRST HALF
• Community Drum Circle and Dance – Kuumba Dance & Drum Academy/Operation Unite, Elena
Mosely, improvisation dancer
• Fanfare for the Common Man – Aaron Copland
• Welcome: Kamal Johnson, Mayor of Hudson
• Danzon No. 2 – Arturo Marquez with dancer Anna Mayta
• Libertango – Astor Piazzolla – Argentine Tango danced by Linda Díaz Balloqui-Smith and Steven Melendez
• Bhatiyali Dhun (Bangla Folk Melody) arr. for Bansuri flute, sitar, tabla, and orchestra by Eric Fraser & Jonathan Talbott.
• Al Oula “The First” – Andre Soueid, with Emily Daggett Smith, violin, and belly dancer Donna Barrett
• Warren Street Rag from Hudson Ragtime Suite by Tony Kieraldo, arranged for orchestra and performed by the composer

INTERMISSION
• Rag: “Teddy Bears Picnic” – John Walter Bratton, arr. Dan Paget

All attending children are invited to join “The Teddy Bears’ Picnic” parade, following a larger than life
teddy bear (a brave volunteer in a bear costume) to a picnic blanket with treats for all!

SECOND HALF
• Opening Remarks by Assemblymember Didi Barrett
• Ukrainian National Anthem
• Bonaparte’s Retreat/Hoedown – Stepp/Copland, conducted by Elias Miller, assistant conductor,
with students from Stringendo, Orchestra School of the Hudson Valley
• Gospel Goes Classical: “Don’t You Worry” by Jonathan Butler, with Anneice Cousin, singer/songwriter and founder of Beautiful Racket, and singers Jessica Laddin, Lexi Beaumont, and Christina Dellea
• Ashokan Farewell – Ungar/Mason with Emily Daggett Smith, violin
• “Servicemen on Parade” – A medley of marches: arr. Richard Hyman

The HFO seeks to promote Henry Hudson Riverfront Park as a community resource contributing to a vibrant and inclusive Hudson where families or individuals can kayak, fish, and enjoy all the riverfront offers. The concert will be performed under a large tent on the lawn overlooking The Hudson River and the Catskill Mountains. The park is a short distance from town and universally accessible.

We also encourage you to bring a picnic to enjoy on the lawn!

HFO seeks broad community support – from music lovers, civic-minded residents, and advocates for the waterfront – to help bring this free outdoor concert to Hudson. HFO welcomes donations or sponsorships of all sizes from individuals, businesses, corporations, foundations and civic organizations that reside in or serve the City of Hudson and its surrounding communities.

Hudson Festival Orchestra is supported in part by:

· CREATE Council on the Arts – “Our programs are made possible in part with funds from Decentralization Program, a regrant program of the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Kathy Hochul and the New York State Legislature and administered in Columbia County by the Greene County Council on the Arts dba CREATE Council for Resources to Enrich the Arts, Technology & Education.”

· Alexander & Marjorie Hover Foundation

· Bank of Greene County Charitable Foundation

· Berkshire Taconic Community Foundation

· Broadway Cares

· Churchtown Dairy

· Columbia County Tourism New York

· Columbia Memorial Hospital

· Francis Greenburger Charitable Fund

· HRBT Foundation

· Hudson Business Coalition, Inc.

· Hudson Hall

· J.M. Kaplan Fund

· The Spark of Hudson

and corporate and individual donors from across the region.

About Hudson Festival Orchestra:

Hudson Festival Orchestra (HFO), founded in 2019 by Artistic Director and Conductor Gwen Gould, is a professional orchestra featuring area musicians in the Hudson Valley. Believing that music and culture can bridge divides and build community, HFO’s mission is to bring diverse area residents together through live musical celebrations of our shared cultural heritage. Hudsonfestivalorchestra.org