Hyde Park, NY – Northern Dutchess Symphony Orchestra highlights its 10th anniversary
season with the premiere of Walkway Over the Hudson, an original
symphonic work commissioned by NDSO and written by Ben Kutner,
a 24 year-old New York-based composer.
Under the direction of Kathleen Beckmann, the orchestra will
perform the complete work on Saturday, April 2 at 8 p.m. in The Culinary
Institute of America’s Marriott Pavilion in Hyde
Park, NY. Plus, in recognition of the 100th anniversary of the National
Park Service, NDSO will present Ferde Grofé’s Grand Canyon Suite.
Both works are to be accompanied by images of the bridge and
canyon projected on a screen behind the orchestra. Photos of the bridge have
been selected from thousands taken over the span of 23 years by Poughkeepsie
attorney Fred Schaeffer—a visionary and driving force behind the transformation
of the bridge.
Mr. Kutner describes Walkway Over the
Hudson as a three-movement symphony in which each movement corresponds
loosely with a chapter in the bridge’s history: a vital rail link, a fire-damaged
structure lying in disuse, and the grand footbridge that exists today.
“While the bridge’s function has evolved, its structure has
remained largely untouched,” says Mr. Kutner. “The
three movements of this piece all have threads of interconnectivity—a way to trace the changing function of the bridge while
still maintaining its recognizable shape. I wanted the audience to hear the
same bridge at every moment of the piece,” he explains.
To complement this evening of inspiring music and images, the Ѹ will
open its for a
special $39 pre-performance dining experience. The menu will include family-style
Caesar salad and antipasti, a selection of five pastas served tableside, and a
set dessert. Reservations for this pre-performance dinner are available from 5–6:15
p.m. The $39 excludes beverages, service charge, and tax. To book your table,
call 845-905-4533 or e-mail ciarestaurantgroup@culinary.edu.
This special dining event will sell out, so please make reservations early.
Tickets for the concert are $20 for adults, $15 for seniors, and $5 for students. To buy tickets and get more
information about the concert, go to or call
845-635-0877.
The Northern Dutchess Symphony Orchestra was formed in 2006
to bring live orchestral music to northern Dutchess County and the surrounding
Hudson Valley area. Now in its tenth season, the orchestra offers the best possible
live performances of classical music at family-affordable prices.
Ben Kutner is a New York-based composer, conductor and
multi-instrumentalist. His music has recently appeared at St. Mark’s Church in
NYC, Brown University’s Granoff Center, the New York
Fringe Festival, Brooklyn’s Redwood Studios, and on The Huffington Post. Since graduating from Brown University in
2014, Ben has composed for symphony orchestra, opera, dance, and film, and has
collaborated with numerous organizations including the Northern Dutchess
Symphony Orchestra, Project 44 Dance, and Tributary Dance. He is the founder
and music director of the Brooklyn-based ensemble, New Parnassus.
Fred Schaeffer has
been a practicing attorney in Dutchess County for over 30 years and is a former
president of the Dutchess County Bar Association.
After many years of community, civic, and political
activities, his hobbies of bicycling, photography, and history led to an
interest in the historic Poughkeepsie-Highland Railroad Bridge. In January of
2004 he became chairman of the Walkway Over the Hudson
organization, a nonprofit group, which owned the bridge. As chairman, he led
the organization’s efforts to convert it into the Walkway Over the Hudson State
Historic Park, which opened in October of 2009. The 38 million dollar project
has become a leading tourist attraction in the Hudson Valley, with over two
million visitors since its opening six years ago.
Kathleen Beckmann is the artistic director and conductor of the Northern Dutchess Symphony
Orchestra. She has been on the podium for the orchestra since its inception in
2006. During this time, guest conducting opportunities have led her to Eastern
European orchestras in Bucharest, Romania; Kharkiv, Ukraine;
and Ruse, Bulgaria. Locally, she has guest conducted performances with the
Delaware Valley Opera Company. For the 2015–16 season, she will also be a guest
conductor for the Broward Symphony Orchestra.
Kathleen Beckmann was selected for the Dutchess County
Executive’s Arts Awards as “Individual Artist for 2013” by Arts Mid
Hudson. Kathleen has a degree in Music Education from
the Crane School of Music and a Masters in Conducting Performance from
SUNY
Fredonia under David Rudge. She was selected for the
National Orchestra Conducting Seminar at the University of Wisconsin
with David
Becker and for the London Conducting Workshop under John Farrer and
Neil Thomson at the Royal College of Music. She also has studied The
Celibidache Technique with Florin Totan,
principal conductor of the Valcea Philharmonic.
Photo Caption and Hi-Res Image:
Northern Dutchess Symphony Orchestra in concert at The
Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park. On April 2, 2016, at the Ѹ's
Marriott Pavilion, the orchestra will debut a new symphonic work honoring the
nearby Walkway Over the Hudson. (Photo
credit: Guy Peifer)
Media Contact:
Guy Peifer
Northern Dutchess Symphony Orchestra
845-206-8178
guypeifer@ndsorchestra.org
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