Albany Symphony to Present Beautiful, Adventurous Works by World-Renowned Composers of our Time at the 2025 American Music Festival, Water Music NY: More Voices
Festival Commemorates the Bicentennial of the Completion of the Erie Canal
Festival Composers Include: Clarice Assad, Christopher Theofanidis, Bobby Ge, Sophia Jani, Katie Jenkins, Max Vinetz, Celka Ojakangas, and many more!
ALBANY, NY — The two-time GRAMMY® award-winning Albany Symphony is thrilled to present captivating, adventurous works by some of the most exciting composers of our time at its 2025 American Music Festival, Water Music NY: More Voices. The concerts and events will take place June 4 through June 8 at the state-of-the-art EMPAC concert hall located on the RPI campus, and at locations throughout Troy and Albany, NY.
“Our 2025 American Music Festival will be chockfull of absolutely glorious new and recent music by many of the most extraordinary composers of our time,” said Music Director David Alan Miller. “It’s a chance for music lovers to experience all the newest trends in our field and to hear where the rich, gorgeous field of orchestral music is headed. We’re featuring incredible young composers like Bobby Ge, Sophia Jani, and Celka Ojakangas, alongside established masters like Christopher Theofanidis and Clarice Assad. One of the world’s greatest clarinetists, Stephen Williamson, principal clarinet of the Chicago Symphony, will perform Chris’ beautiful, brand new Clarinet Concerto. And we’re particularly excited to welcome Chicago’s brilliant Third Coast Percussion to perform at a special free event in Albany at the site of Historic Lock 1 along the gorgeous Hudson River, as well as in Clarice’s magical work for percussion quartet and orchestra, “Play!” Our Late Night Lounge will feature vocalists Britt Hewitt and Devony Smith. Plus, Dogs of Desire fans will love the electrifying program we have planned. Come join us for all these captivating, once-in-a-lifetime musical events.”
“Your Albany Symphony’s signature American Music Festival is renowned nation-wide for its genre-defying innovation” said Executive Director Emily Fritz-Endres. “This festival, which brings nearly 100 brilliant orchestra musicians, composers, educators, and artists to Troy and Albany, has long been a source of discovering and amplifying some of the greatest emerging artists of our time. You, the people of the Capital Region, get to be among the first to hear their creative genius!” Emily continued, “This year, the American Music Festival carries additional urgency as we face the reality of National Endowment for the Arts funding termination. Embracing resilience befitting the Capital Region, we seek to make this the most exciting festival yet – join us to set record attendance with 2,500 people at the American Music Festival. This festival is also the launch of our journey along the Erie Canal, commemorating the Bicentennial of New York State’s vital waterways. Embark on the musical voyage with us, June 4-8!”
The American Music Festival launches Wednesday, June 4 at Jennings Landing in Albany with a FREE outdoor performance by Third Coast Percussion, Chicago’s GRAMMY-award winning percussion quartet. Concert attendees will feel the rhythm of the Hudson River at Albany’s historic Lock 1.
June 5 features a free open rehearsal at EMPAC (Experimental Media & Performing Arts Center at RPI), showcasing our incredible Albany Symphony musicians, and demystifying the creative process as our concert program comes into focus.
The Dogs of Desire performs on June 6. The orchestra’s electrifying, genre-defying new music group presents newly penned works by Katie Jenkins, Max Vinetz, Celka Ojakangas along with classic Dogs selections and pop covers. The audience will be able to meet the artists and celebrate immediately following the concert when the Albany Symphony hosts its Summer Soiree, an elegant fundraising event.
Kicking off Saturday, June 7 is another free performance, with chamber music written especially to showcase vibrant canalside communities. The program is presented in partnership with the Underground Railroad Education Center and brings to life a series of seldom heard original songs sung by those who traveled along the Underground Railroad. The concert is at St Paul’s Episcopal Church in Troy, which features one of the country’s most stunning fully integrated Tiffany interiors, including gorgeous stained-glass windows.
The orchestra’s season finale American Music Festival concert will be held at EMPAC on June 8. There will be a pre-concert talk at 6:30pm and the program begins at 7:30pm. The evening will feature Bobby Ge’s Beyond Anthropocene, a world premiere, as well as Clarice Assad’s Play! A Concerto for Percussion Quartet, Vocalist and Orchestra, performed by Third Coast Percussion. Sophia Jani’s beautiful What do Flowers Do at Night? is included in the evening. Indigo Heaven for Clarinet and Orchestra by Christopher Theofanidis and featuring soloist Stephen Williamson closes the program.
Bobby Ge has written about his new work, Beyond Anthropocene, “For the last few centuries, we have treated the Earth as a canvas on which we could impose our will. These next decades will be crucial in determining a new way forward. Scholars and activists have posited several possible futures, with the ‘Symbiocene’ being, perhaps, the most optimistic: a proposed era where humanity lives in balance with nature, taking only what is needed, giving back in equal proportion. It might feel like a far-off dream, but it may well be a necessity.”
Play! A Concerto for Percussion Quartet, Vocalist and Orchestra includes a huge array of sounds and colors. Play is a word of boundless meanings. For some, it offers an escape from life’s stresses, fostering creativity and imagination. Musicians play instruments, actors perform, and athletes compete. Yet, darker shades exist, like a child toying with fire or a devious mind playing psychological games. Fascinated by this word’s depth, Clarice Assad began a sonic exploration with Third Coast Percussion.
Assad, a longtime beloved friend of Maestro David Alan Miller and the Albany Symphony musicians, is thrilled to return to be part of the American Music Festival. “Play has always meant exploring new worlds and finding awe in the little things. As an artist, I seek connections through playful art, transcending differences, and worries, uniting us in a harmonious symphony of life,” said Assad.
What do Flowers do at Night? was inspired by a plant called Selenicereus grandiflorus – a cactus species that blooms in a beautiful way, but only once a year for one night. The charged, mysterious mood that comes with the anticipation of a unique event served as the starting point and form-giver for this work, and the beauty and elegance of the blossom, seemingly created so effortlessly by nature, served as an inspiration for Jani in crafting her composition.
Indigo Heaven for Clarinet and Orchestra by Christopher Theofanidis is a title taken (with permission) from author Mark Warren’s wonderful post-civil war era novel of the same name. In an affecting scene, the protagonist, a former soldier named Clayt, sees a work of art and finds a deep truth in the representation of nature in it, as if there is no barrier between the landscape’s depiction and reality he knows. In our case, the story’s setting of Colorado and Wyoming is personal here, as clarinetist Stephen Williamson spent most of his early life between those two states, and Theofanidis spent time in both places himself. The description of the sky at dusk, an indigo heaven, is haunting and tied to the beauty of the end of the protagonist's life. Each of the movements in the work takes its effect from imagery in the novel.
The evening closes with Late Night Lounge at Evelyn’s Café at EMPAC following the concert. Vocalists Britt Hewitt and Devony Smith will present an intimate evening of genre-bending music including works by Meredith Monk and Jake Landau. There will be heartfelt originals, jazz standards and pop duets.
The American Music Festival concludes on Sunday June 8 with First Draughts Reading Session and Beer Tasting at 4pm at Bush Hall in Troy. From the composer’s imagination to the concert hall, emerging composers will have their newest works workshopped and performed for the very first time. Music Director David Alan Miller and musicians of the Albany Symphony will work with the young composers in bringing their works to life in real time. Between the readings, audience members can sample new craft beverages from SingleCut Beersmiths, a beloved Clifton Park brewery.
Additional Information: https://www.albanysymphony.com/upcomingconcerts/2025/6/14/american-music-festival-water-music
Tickets can be Purchased: albanysymphony.com
AMF Concerts, Programming and Events:
JUNE 4:
Third Coast Percussion: Jennings Landing, Albany, 5:00PM
Feel the rhythm of the Hudson River at Albany’s Historic Lock 1 – Jennings Landing with Chicago’s GRAMMY-award winning Third Coast Percussion quartet.
JUNE 5:
Open Rehearsal: EMPAC Concert Hall, Troy, 7:00PM
David Alan Miller, Conductor
Peek behind the curtain to see the creative process of refining a concert program. All welcome, especially designed for RPI ARCH program students.
JUNE 6:
Dogs of Desire + Summer Soiree: EMPAC Theatre, 6:00PM
David Alan Miller, Conductor
Britt Hewitt, Soprano
Devony Smith, Mezzo Soprano
Hear the orchestra’s electrifying, genre-defying new music group present newly penned works by Katie Jenkins, Max Vinetz, Celka Ojakangas, and others. Spend the evening with the artists at Summer Soiree, celebrating your Albany Symphony’s endless innovation.
JUNE 7:
More Voices Showcase: St Paul’s Episcopal Church, Troy, 11:00AM
Be inspired by chamber music that explores unique stories to commemorate the Erie Canal bicentennial. Presented in partnership with Underground Railroad Education Center.
American Music Festival (Season Finale): EMPAC Concert Hall, 7:30PM (Pre-Concert Talk at 6:00PM)
David Alan Miller, Conductor
Stephen Williamson, Clarinet
Clarice Assad, Vocalist & Narrator
Third Coast Percussion
Bobby Ge: Beyond Anthropocene (World Premiere)
Clarice Assad: Play! A Concerto for Percussion Quartet, Vocalist and Orchestra
Sophia Jani: What Do Flowers Do at Night?
Christopher Theofanidis: Indigo Heaven for Clarinet and Orchestra
Late Night Lounge: Studio 1, EMPAC, 9:30PM
Join vocalists Britt Hewitt and Devony Smith for an intimate evening of genre-bending music. With works by Meredith Monk and Jake Landau, heartfelt originals, jazz standards, and unexpected pop duets.
JUNE 8:
First Draughts Reading Session and Beer Tasting, Bush Memorial Hall, Troy, 4:00PM
From the composer’s imagination to the concert hall, watch (and sip a brew) as emerging composers have their newest works performed for the first time.