It’s time to strike up the band or, better yet, just bring a lawn chair or a blanket to sit on as you get ready to hear some top music at the Town Hall Gazebo in Niskayuna when the annual summer concert series kicks off this week.
Leading the musical numbers will be a performance Friday, July 6, by the Niskayuna Concert Band, a group that combines local professional and experienced amateur players. Performers will take to the stage at 7 p.m. under the direction of Norm Frederick.
This is a unique opportunity for some of our local musicians to play with some really good professional musicians and it will get our concert series started on the right foot, said Kathleen Gansfuss, head of the town’s Recreation Department. `We think it should make for a really wonderful evening of music for everyone to enjoy.`
The monthlong season will then go forward with musical groups hitting the stage for an hour a piece on almost every Tuesday and Friday evening in July.
`We try to have a whole range of offerings that will suit a lot of tastes and draw the broadest possible audience so everyone can enjoy it,` Gansfuss said.
`We get a lot of senior citizens who come to hear everyone play, so we also try to take account their interests as well when we are making decisions about who will be playing.`
The Burnt Hills Big Band will bring back some nostalgia with sounds from an earlier era when they perform their top numbers on Wednesday, July 13.
A long-running favorite of concert series attendees, the Electric City Chorus will bring back their barbershop-style harmonies to the gazebo stage on Tuesday, July 17, and the Riverview Ramblers will provide an evening of acoustic bluegrass music to Niskayuna when they perform on Friday, July 20.
The season then switches gears as local favorites the Nisky Dixie Cats bring their Dixieland-style music to the stage on Tuesday, July 24. The concert series closes out for the summer on Friday, July 27, when the group Dyer Switch brings what is billed as `high energy acoustic folk/bluegrass` to the stage.
`Our whole summer program is based on giving people a lot of options and choices, whether its recreation and physical activity, some of the more structured programs like our sports camps, or things like our concert series,` said Liz Orzel Kasper, chairwoman of the town board’s Parks and Recreation Committee. `We really believe in diversity and encouraging everyone to participate.`
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