Organization and Musician Union support local talent
ALBANY – The Albany Musicians Association (AMA) and Local 14, a musicians’ union representing musicians from Albany and Rensselaer counties and some nearby towns in Columbia County and Greene County, are well underway into their Black History Month concerts.
The organization currently has three remaining concerts left for February. The events are held to celebrate the contributions of black musicians through the ages.
The concerts, free to the public, will be held at the NYS Museum February 22 with music from African American jazz musicians Project H. (1-2 p.m.) and blues legends Lucia and Levi (2-3 p.m.), and on February 26 at the Arbor Hill Library, Project H. will perform again from 6-7 p.m.
The mission of putting on the free concerts, according to Diane Geddes, the MPTF Coordinator of AMA, is to expose as many people as possible to many different genres of music that they might not usually get to hear in live performances.
Geddes, who lives in Albany, has been a member of Local 14 for 20 years said she was interested in joining the AMA to participate in the networking and camaraderie of a musician’s union.
Geddes has been playing the keyboard and organ professionally for over 50 years and began playing the organ at the age of 9-years-old. For three years, she appeared on a local TV show, “Teenage Barn”, as a regular member for three years.
She performs with the group, “Standard Time” as a duo with Cathy Olsen, and she is one of a six-piece-all-female band “Songs of Sisterhood” and the also in the Irish trio, “The Poppin Corks”.
In the past, Geddes has also performed in the bands, “2 Broads with Alotta Sound” with Quency Rene, “Mixed Company”, “Uptown”, “Good Times Band”, “Band of Gold”, “Double Take”, “The Lighter Side”, and “Mother Goose Jazz Band”.
10-year president of AMA John Van Voris of Bethlehem, joined Local 14 in 1992 and plays the clarinet, flute, and saxophone.
Van Voris is currently a member of The Capital Region Wind Ensemble, The Schenectady Symphony Orchestra, Brass-O-Mania, The Nisky Dixie Cats, The Old Time Dance Band, The Yankee Doodle Band (American Legion), the Zephyr Winds, and a family classical trio.
The program of events is a major thrust of the AMA. It is a local Labor Union of professional musicians and its labor union, Local 14, is a part of the American Federation of Musicians of the United States and Canada.
Local 14 was formed to organize musicians to work for better working conditions, pay, and respect in the workplace. As of December 31, it has a membership of 350 in the local chapter.
Many of its members, including members of the Albany Symphony Orchestra and Albany Pro Musica perform locally at venues such as Park Playhouse. the Palace Theatre, Troy Savings Bank Music Hall and Capital Repertory Theatre.
AMA also formed a charitable organization called the Jim Clark Community Performance Fund Inc., established in 2019, to enhance public recognition of the art of live musical performance, increase public awareness and appreciation of many musical styles and to co-sponsor concerts for underserved communities.
The fund allows Local 14 to co-sponsor community performances with eligible venues to present their union professional musicians in concerts that are free and open to the public.
The AMA announced it lineup for March to celebrate Women’s History Month: on March 3 – Deb Cavanaugh – William Sanford Library 2 p.m., March 8 – Wingspan – Albany Women’s Club 7 p.m., March 8 – Carmen and Life’s Guilty Pleasures Beltrone Center 3 p.m., March 9 – Melanie & Melanie – William Sanford Library 2 p.m., March 10 – Kaitlyn Fay Quartet – Greenbush Reformed Church 3 p.m., March 10 – Hot Vox Trio – Albany JCC 2 p.m., March 16 – Melanie & Melanie – Troy Library 1 p.m., March 16 – Linda Brown Jazz Project- Bethlehem Library 2:30 p.m., March 21 – Liz Silver & Erica Pickard – Albany Public Library (Bach Branch) 6 p.m. and March 24- Songs of Sisterhood – Bethlehem Library 2 p.m.
This story was featured on page 5 of the February 14, 2024 edition of The Spot518
