Join Conductor and Music Director Kathleen Beckmann as she leads Northern Dutchess Symphony Orchestra (NDSO) in a tribute to George Gershwin and “Rhapsody in Blue,” the compositional master class in jazz-infused classical music that astonished the audience and outraged the critics at its debut 100 years ago in New York City. The performance at Stissing Center for Arts and Culture in Pine Plains takes place Friday, Aug. 30 at 7 p.m.
Legend has it that Gershwin improvised the last section of his first and most enduring orchestral composition onstage, as the 24-year-old sat down with only part of “Rhapsody in Blue” transcribed on sheet music. Come celebrate the iconic composer with NDSO and Paul Bisaccia, the internationally acclaimed piano soloist and first musician to record the complete solo piano music of Gershwin, as seen on PBS, “Gershwin by Bisaccia.”
Since 2006, Beckmann has helmed NDSO, which she co-founded with her brother David Baxter. For nearly two decades, Beckmann has served as conductor and music director of NDSO, which is committed to making orchestral music as widely accessible as possible in northern Dutchess County and the Hudson Valley, collaborating with the Poughkeepsie Ballet, the Mendelssohn Club, the Hudson Valley Saxophone Orchestra, Ars Choralis, and many local student performers.
Ranging in size from 40 to 50 instrumentalists, NDSO employs local professionals, many of whom have also performed with the Albany Symphony, the USMA Band at West Point, and the New York Philharmonic.
Stissing Center is located at 2950 Church St. in Pine Plains. Musical performance begins at 7 pm. Tickets start at $40. A Roaring ‘20s meet-the-artist reception begins at 8:15 pm. For tickets and more information, visit ndsorchestra.org/gershwin100.
