SUNY New Paltz is in talks with the Phoenicia International Festival of the Voice (formerly known as the Hudson Valley International Festival of the Voice) to become the venue for the 2024 event.
The festival has been in Phoenicia for 13 years, but the event organizers were looking for a larger setting in the region. MarÃa Todaro, director and co-founder of the festival, affirmed that a search was underway “to explore a new place that can fulfill our mission and be able to deeply fulfill our community.” Todaro added that moving the festival within Ulster County to New Paltz “offers a smooth and accessible transition.”
The origin of the festival was a one-off 2009 fundraising event at Parish Field to help finance the purchase of playground equipment for a local park. Buoyed by the successful turnout, the first festival was held in 2010 with perfomances by soprano Elizabeth Futral and the Grammy Award winning Native American artist Joseph Firecrow plus an open air staging of Verdi”™s “Falstaff.” Over the years, the festival has attracted top-ranked talent from opera and theater.
Photo couresty Phoenicia International Festival of the Voice
