HVNY News + Notes (11/20/23)
Bradley Cooper “conducts” Bard College’s orchestra for new Netflix film – Young musicians of Bard College’s pre-professional graduate orchestra, The Orchestra Now (TŌN), were recently selected to perform Beethoven’s 8th Symphony conducted by the renowned composter Leonard Bernstein, but not the real Bernstein – it was Bradley Cooper, the actor who plays the famed conductor in the new film, Maestro. “They told us they had considered all of the major pre-professional young orchestras on the East Coast,” noted Kristin Roca, executive director of TON. Students squeezed costume fittings in between their already-busy performance schedule, and needed to be suited for the appropriate 1989-era instruments. The orchestra filmed the symphony with Cooper at the helm at Tanglewood last May. For double bassist Milad Daniari, a 2018 TŌN graduate, this was a highlight of his young career: “Like most classical musicians, I grew up surrounded by Leonard Bernstein’s iconic recordings and videos. I even have a framed print of him conducting the Boston Symphony at Tanglewood hanging above my desk,” he said. “To film this once-in-a-lifetime scene for Maestro, at Tanglewood no less, remains one of the most incredible moments of my career. The second Bradley Cooper came on set in full makeup, it truly felt as if Leonard Bernstein was in the room with us.”Maestro will be released in theaters on November 22, and begin streaming on Netflix on December 20, 2023. The original soundtrack is currently available digitally, and will be available on CD and vinyl beginning December 1, 2023.
To ease some congestion during holiday travel, Westchester County Airport is temporarily offering 60 more parking spots as a “necessary adaptation to meet the immediate needs of travelers during this peak travel period.” Officials advise travelers to continue to utilize the online parking reservation system to secure parking spots in advance, or use alternative means of transportation.
After 15 years in operation, the Peekskill Brewery will be closing as of November 22, 2023. Owners say that sales did “not return to pre-pandemic levels and we can no longer afford to operate.” A “Kick The Keg” event is scheduled for Wednesday, November 22, from noon to 8pm. 47 South Water Street, Peekskill.
The Hudson Valley Renegades will be hosting a Ops and Grounds Job Fair on Saturday, November 25, 2023 from 11am - 2pm at Heritage Financial Park. Positions open include field staff, operations staff, landscapers, porters, housekeeping and parking. More info: info@hvrenegades.com.
As part of the 2024 Bear Mountain Bridge Centennial Celebration, on Friday, staff from the NYS Bridge Authority recreated a photo from the bridge’s construction in 1924. As the oldest of NYSBA’s bridges, Bear Mountain Bridge was the first vehicular river crossing between New York City and Albany. At the time it was built, it was also the longest suspension bridge in the world and the first suspended bridge to have a concrete deck. On November 26, 1924, Mary Harriman, mother of Mr. E. Roland Harriman, President of the Bear Mountain Hudson River Bridge Company, helped preside over the formal opening day ceremonies, and the bridge being officially opened to traffic on Thanksgiving Day.
Reminder: Municipal offices, like The Town of Poughkeepsie Town Hall offices will be closed on Thursday, November 23 and Friday, November 24, 2023 due to the holiday.
Still happening:
Love talking about the weather? The National Weather Service in Albany is hosting Weather Spotting Trainer Sessions both virtually and in person. Virtual sessions continue November 28, 2023 from 7-9pm. Register here.
WANTED: Arbor Day Photo/Artwork: Submit your photo or artwork for the annual Arbor Day Poster Contest by December 31, 2023. Visit the NYS DEC website to find more details about the contest.
Artists working in all media are invited to submit proposals for the Dorsky Museum of Art’s annual exhibition of contemporary art made by artists in the Hudson Valley. Bibliography seeks to assemble an exhibition in which each artist contextualizes their work by positioning it in dialog with books.The deadline for artist submissions to Bibliography: Hudson Valley Artists 2024 is Sunday, November 19, at midnight. Submissions may be made online here. More information here.
