Southern Adirondacks

(12/09/11) NCPR is media sponsor for the Glens Falls Symphony Orchestra Holiday Concert on Sunday afternoon at the Glens Falls High School (4 pm). The concert features the symphony and children's chorus performing a variety of holiday favorites. Todd Moe talks with conductor Charles Peltz about how he programs a concert full of music for Christmas, Hanukkah and winter. Peltz says the concert theme is, "A Musical Gift for All".

(10/05/11) The Hyde Collection art museum in Glens Falls has kicked off an exhibit of art created especially for children. Also on display are illustrated children's books. Todd Moe talks with associate curator Jayne Stokes about "Draw Me a Story," which includes children's book illustrations from more than 40 artists.

(09/07/11) This year marks the 150th anniversary of the start of the Civil War. Commemorative events are being held throughout the Northeast, including small towns. North Creek's Civil War weekend begins this Friday and will include lectures, historic photo displays and re-enactors in period uniforms. Todd Moe talks author and local historian Glenn Pearsall about the sacrifices Adirondack families made in the war. Pearsall says small towns, like North Creek and Johnsburg lost many of their young men in battle.

(08/09/11) One of the newest arts festivals in the Lake George region kicks off next week. Student and professional musicians from around the world will gather in Lake George village for a new series of classical music concerts. The three concerts will be performed at area churches next Sunday, Monday and Tuesday. The concerts are free.

Todd Moe spoke with Alexander Lombard, founder of the Lake George Summer Music Festival, who says the idea came after a visit to the Aspen Music Festival in Colorado. Lombard says one of the appealing aspects of next week's festival in Lake George will be student and professional musicians performing together.

(07/06/11) One of the highlights this summer at the Sembrich Museum in Bolton Landing is a tribute to Italian-American composer Gian Carlo Menotti. He wrote the classic Christmas opera, Amahl and the Night Visitors and dozens of other operas. Thursday marks the centennial of Menotti's birth. He died in 2007. There's a free showing this afternoon at the museum of an early television production of Menotti's Pulitzer Prize-winning Cold War tragedy, The Consul. Todd Moe talks with Sembrich artistic director Richard Wargo about a summer filled with music and Menotti's connection to the museum.

(06/09/11) The Hyde Collection, in Glens Falls, opens its major summer exhibition Friday evening. The art show, titled "New York, New York! The 20th Century", runs through mid-September and features more than 60 paintings, photographs and sculptures that capture life in New York City from 1889 to 2009. It includes works by Edward Hopper, George Bellows, Stuart Davis, Diane Arbus, Berenice Abbott and Rube Goldberg. Hyde Executive Director David Setford told Todd Moe that the new exhibit examines the metropolis and "the human interaction within".

(03/04/11) Yesterday, Brian Mann profiled TJ Fredette, a musician and rapper from Glens Falls. His story is gaining attention in large part because of the break-out success of his younger brother, Jimmer Fredette.

Fredette is one of the most dominant guards in college basketball, playing for Brigham Young University. And he has become a kind of hometown hero in Glens Falls.

"The city [of Glens Falls] has been amazing," TJ said. "That's where you want to see it the most."

As we head into the March Madness college basketball tournament, Jimmer Fredette is hoping to lift his school, Brigham Young University, past the first round.

He's also hoping that this year's break-out season will be a step to the NBA. Jim Nelson produced a profile of Jimmer Fredette for NPR's All Things Considered.

Jim Nelson's profile of Jimmer Fredette first aired on All Things Considered last month. Thanks to NPR for their permission to rebroadcast the report.

(03/04/11) It'll be all things strings at the Glens Falls Symphony's winter concert this Sunday afternoon. The program includes some of conductor Charles Peltz's favorite works by Mozart, Barber and William Schuman. Peltz spoke with Todd Moe about Sunday's concert in the Glens Falls High School auditorium (4 pm). Peltz says he enjoys conducting "high quality" musicians for a sophisticated audience. He says his goal is to entertain and challenge the listener.

(02/21/11) Bass, drums and tenor sax is a pretty sparce combination of instruments, but a tenor saxophonist with Vermont and North Country roots has a new CD, Borderlands, that pushes the idea of the saxophone trio. Joel Hurd has this profile of Jonathan Lorentz.

(02/18/11) The Hyde Collection art museum's winter exhibit examines 400 years of still life art. Works on display at the art museum in Glens Falls, through April 21st, include glass from the Ming dynasty of China to paintings by Andy Warhol. Todd Moe talks with Hyde Collection Director David Setford about the show, which includes more than 50 works of art from the collection of the Norton Museum of Art in West Palm Beach, Florida, where Setford served as chief curator for ten years.