Press Releases

Spencertown Academy Arts Center presents Nature Writing: Poetry and Prose Workshop with Donna Kaz on Saturday, June 15 from 10:00am to 3:00pm. Tuition is $30 for Academy members and $35 for non-members.

Spencertown Academy Roots & Shoots Concerts Series presents the Lovestruck Balladeers on Friday, May 31 at 8:00pm at the Academy’s Blanche Grubin Auditorium. General admission tickets ($25 public, $20 Academy members) are available via www.spencertownacademy.org. “The Lovestruck Balladeers are incredible musicians with an eclectic repertoire of old time jazz, swing, country, waltzes, ragtime, and more,” says Wayne Greene, member of the Academy Music Committee. “It’s going to be a fun night of toe-tapping music that will keep you smiling.”

Spencertown Academy Roots & Shoots Concerts Series presents the Pablo Shine Latin Jazz Band on Saturday, May 11 at 8:00pm at the Academy’s Blanche Grubin Auditorium. General admission tickets ($25 public, $20 Academy members) are available via www.spencertownacademy.org. “Pablo Shine and his band are masters of jazz with a Latin beat, and they’ll be playing the classics as well as originals,” says Wayne Greene, who co-chairs the Academy Music Committee with Michele Quigley. “Whether it’s an Afro-Cuban rhythm, or a Brazilian samba or bossa nova, I expect the audience will be dancing in their seats, and in the aisles!”

Spencertown Academy Arts Center Conversations with Neighbors presents “Let’s Chat About AI” on Sunday, April 21 at 2:00pm. A panel led by AI guru James Hendler will consider this ubiquitous phenomenon and its effect on a variety of human endeavors: technology, art, music, and society. Hendler will kick off the discussion with his own views on the subject, followed by a discussion with a diverse array of local luminaries, including Abby Fiorella, Stefan Kehlenbach, Orin Knopp, Victoria Sullivan, and Dusty Wright, moderated by Doug Grunther. While admission is free, advance reservations are requested via www.spencertownacademy.org.

Spencertown Academy Arts Center presents “Perspective: Six Artists,” an exhibition featuring painting, photography, and sculpture by Diahann Addison, Jeffrey All, Amy Cheng, Isabel Cotarelo, Takeyce Walter, and Kenneth Young. On Saturday, April 13, there will be an opening reception from 4:00p.m. to 6:00p.m. at the Academy and the show will remain on display through May 12. Norma Cohen, chair of the Academy’s Curatorial Committee, and Board member David Cudaback are co-curators of this exhibit. Gallery hours are Saturdays and Sundays from 1:00p.m. to 5:00p.m. Admission is free and the artworks are for sale, with a portion of the proceeds benefiting the Academy.

Spencertown Academy Arts Center will host a benefit concert for Operation Unite at the Academy’s Blanche Grubin Auditorium on Saturday, April 6 at 3:00pm. The concert will feature Antony Bracewell on violin and viola, pianist Gili Melamed-Lev, and cellist Julian Muller playing music by Piazzolla, Saint Saëns, Bach, Arvo Pärt, and Mendelssohn. Tickets ($30 general admission; $10 students) may be purchased in advance via www.spencertownacademy.org and will be available at the door pending availability.

Spencertown Academy Arts Center announces its ninth annual Young Writers’ Contest. Held in conjunction with the Academy’s Festival of Books, the contest is open to students in grades 9 through 12 (including homeschoolers) in Columbia County, NY, and Berkshire County, MA. Works will be judged in an anonymous process by published authors and publishing professionals, volunteering their services for this contest. The top three fiction and nonfiction winners will receive cash prizes ($250, $150, and $100 respectively).

Spencertown, New York–Spencertown Academy Roots & Shoots Concerts Series presents folk-rocker Johnny Irion on Saturday, March 30 at 8:00pm at the Academy’s Blanche Grubin Auditorium. General admission tickets (advance purchase: $25 public, $20 Academy members; at the door: $30 public, $25 Academy members) are available via www.spencertownacademy.org.

Spencertown Academy Arts Center, in collaboration with Millay Arts, presents “The Ninth Hour: A Beowulf for the Modern Age” on Saturday, March 9 at 2:00pm at the Academy’s Blanche Grubin Auditorium. Created and performed by Shayfer James and Kate Douglas, this rock-noir musical is a reimagining of the epic poem “Beowulf” that explores the intricacies of humankind’s relationship with power and violence. General admission tickets ($15 public, $10 students and Academy members) are available via www.spencertownacademy.org.

Spencertown Academy Roots & Shoots Concerts Series presents “Gary Lucas: Solo Electric and Acoustic” on Saturday, February 24 at 7:30pm at the Academy’s Blanche Grubin Auditorium. The acclaimed guitarist and Grammy-nominated songwriter will perform a tour de force program of original songs, blues, tributes to Lucas collaborators Captain Beefheart and Jeff Buckley, covers of 30’s Chinese pop, Wagner, Stones, electronic soundscapes, and more. General admission tickets ($25 public, $20 Academy members) are available via www.spencertownacademy.org.