The Downtown Albany Business Improvement District’s free lunchtime concert series is returning in 2025. Grab a bite from your favorite neighborhood spot and enjoy Tunesday in Jim DiNapoli Park at Broadway and Pine Street every Tuesday, July 8 through August 26, featuring Albany Symphony musicians on Tuesday, July 8!

As part of the Erie Canal bicentennial commemoration, the Albany Symphony, the NYS Canal Corporation, and Hudson Crossing Park are presenting a festival day celebrating the rich, multifaceted history of Washington and Saratoga Counties, with an emphasis on the experiences of Black Americans, culminating in a free orchestra concert that will feature a thrilling world-premiere composition by DBR (Daniel Bernard Roumain) inspired by the legacy and life of Solomon Northup.

The daylong festival on July 5 celebrates the rich indigenous history of the Fort Plain region and of the members of the Haudenosaunee Confederacy who lived there for centuries. In the 17th century, Fort Plain was the site of four major Mohawk villages.

Inspired by Seneca Falls’ extraordinary history as the epicenter of the Women’s Rights movement in America, Tanner’s work will explore and honor the multi-layered stories of women, past and present, who have lived and worked along the Erie Canalway.

As part of its Water Music NY: More Voices partnership with the New York State Canal Corporation to commemorate the bicentennial of the Erie Canal, the Albany Symphony will present an all-day festival in the new Harbor Point in Utica on July 3, 2025.

The Water Music New York: More Voices festival in Medina on July 2, 2025. It is a free, daylong festival to commemorate the bicentennial of the Erie Canal and celebrate the waters that connect us through local food, arts, music, and outdoor fun, all made possible by the New York State Canal Corporation. 

The Palace Theatre, together with The Albany Black Chamber of Commerce, Inc. & Social Club and Albany Symphony, presents Lift Every Voice: A Juneteenth Musical Celebration featuring the Howard University Gospel Choir, Tuesday, June 17, 7:30pm. Award-winning actress, singer, and storyteller Barbara Howard will emcee an evening of performances that celebrate black performing artists throughout history. In addition to the internationally renowned Howard University Gospel Choir, the evening features the Black Theatre Troupe of Upstate NY, Empire State Youth Orchestra, and the Albany Symphony. This special evening of music is part of a week-long series of activities in Albany to commemorate the effective end of slavery in the United States. Residents and visitors are invited to lift their voices to celebrate freedom, unity, diversity, and Black history and culture.

From the composer’s imagination to the concert hall, watch as emerging composers have their newest works performed for the first time. Music Director David Alan Miller, composer Christopher Theofanidis, and musicians of the Albany Symphony guide each new voice through the challenges of composing in the 21st Century. In between the readings, sample new craft brews from SingleCut Beersmiths. 

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.

David Alan Miller, conductor

Stephen Williamson, clarinet

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

Be inspired by chamber music that explores unique stories to commemorate the Erie Canal bicentennial, featuring vocalists MaryNell Morgan, Britt Hewitt and Devony Smith.

Clarice Assad: Earth and Water

Juhi Bansal: Refuge

Francisco del Pino: Orenda

Selections from Liberty Minstrel

Presented in Partnership with the Underground Railroad Education Center

The Summer Soiree is an annual fundraising event featuring a Silent Auction, Live Auction, Fund a Need, and Standing Ovation Awards. Join us for dinner and drinks immediately following the Dogs of Desire concert to support your Albany Symphony!

David Alan Miller, conductor

Britt Hewitt, soprano

Devony Smith, mezzo-soprano

Dogs of Desire, the orchestra’s electrifying, genre-bending new music group, presents newly penned works by some of today’s most adventurous American composers, including Katie Jenkins, Celka Ojakangas, & Max Vinetz.

Katie Jenkins: This Land of Ours: A Song Collection (world premiere)

Celka Ojakangas: Un Sogno (world premiere)

Max Vinetz: Redacted (world premiere)

Francisco del Pino: Memorial

Jack Frerer: Arrangements of pop songs & American classics

Peek behind the curtain as Music Director David Alan Miller and the orchestra explore the creative process of refining the concert program. 

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. Their mission is to inspire and educate through the creation of exciting and unexpected musical experiences. 

Third Coast Percussion's vision is a world-wide audience that embraces creativity, curiosity, and community through music. 

Bring a picnic and your lawn chairs or blanket to enjoy a perfect summer’s evening along the Hudson River!

Embark on a magical music adventure with David Alan Miller and the Albany Symphony and introduce your children and students to the imaginative world of orchestral music with Peter and the Wolf, a symphonic fairy tale for children by Sergei Prokofiev. 

Geared for children between the ages of 18-months and 6 years, Tiny Tots concerts are interactive school day performances that have thrilled preschool audiences, their teachers, and parents for over 20 years.

Join Vanguard-ASO for their Spring Luncheon at the Albany Country Club!

David Alan Miller, conductor

The music of John Williams has transported us beyond our imagination. To new worlds. Through heart-pounding adventures. Be there as David Alan Miller conducts all your John Williams favorites: Superman, Raiders of the Lost Ark, Harry Potter, E.T., and of course, Star Wars.

Want to make your concert experience a little more social? Join Crescendo Club! The next event is a special pre-concert Trivia at the Culinary Lab Seat in downtown Albany at 6PM on May 3, 2025. Enjoy John Williams movie trivia over drinks with fun, music-loving people like you! Tickets are $45 for the trivia event + concert. Use code CRESCENDO to order your discounted ticket and test your John Williams knowledge. (21+ event)

David Alan Miller, conductor

Kala Ramnath, violin

Abhijit Banerjee, tabla

Maurice Ravel: Boléro

Reena Esmail: Concerto for Hindustani Violin

Hector Berlioz: Symphonie fantastique

Open Rehearsals are an exclusive opportunity for donors as a way to thank you for supporting your Albany Symphony. Donors who give $100 or more are invited to attend one Open Rehearsal this season. Donors who give $250 or more are invited to attend all Open Rehearsals.

Vanguard, the Albany Symphony’s dedicated volunteer and fundraising organization, is delighted to present Evening in Vienna! This event features a concert program of Viennese waltzes and music performed by the Albany Symphony, live dancing accompanying the performance, and a post-concert reception at the Arts Center of the Capital Region.

Lidiya Yankovskaya, guest conductor

Amaryn Olmeda, violin

Missy Mazzoli: Orpheus Undone

Samuel Barber: Violin Concerto

Antonín Dvořák: Symphony No. 7

David Alan Miller, conductor

Harmony Zhu, piano

Randall Thompson: A Trip to Nahant

Sergei Rachmaninoff: Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini

Loren Loiacono: Sleep Furiously

Robert Schumann: Symphony No. 1, “Spring”

David Alan Miller, conductor

Harmony Zhu, piano

Randall Thompson: A Trip to Nahant

Sergei Rachmaninoff: Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini

Loren Loiacono: Sleep Furiously

Robert Schumann: Symphony No. 1, “Spring”

David Alan Miller, conductor

Marc Bamuthi Joseph, speaker

Carlos Simon: Fate Now Conquers

Daniel Bernard Roumain & Marc Bamuthi Joseph: Forgiveness, Suite for Spoken Word & Orchestra

Ludwig van Beethoven: Symphony No. 6, “Pastoral”

David Alan Miller, conductor

Marc Bamuthi Joseph, speaker

Carlos Simon: Fate Now Conquers

Daniel Bernard Roumain & Marc Bamuthi Joseph: Forgiveness, Suite for Spoken Word & Orchestra

Ludwig van Beethoven: Symphony No. 6, “Pastoral”

Open Rehearsals are an exclusive opportunity for donors as a way to thank you for supporting your Albany Symphony. Donors who give $100 or more are invited to attend one Open Rehearsal this season. Donors who give $250 or more are invited to attend all Open Rehearsals.

Join the panel in this discussion and explore the themes of identity, forgiveness, expression and the power of music in performance at the Albany Black Chamber of Commerce on Thursday, January 9. On January 11, and January 12, 2025, the Albany Symphony will perform Daniel Bernard Roumain and Marc Bamuthi Joseph's Forgiveness, A Suite for Spoken Word & Orchestra.