A selective, curatorial view of the cultural highlights of the upcoming weekend in the greater Hudson, N.Y., region.

 

 

THE ORCHESTRA NOW PLAYS GERSHWIN at BARD

(ANNANDALE-on-HUDSON, N.Y.) — The Orchestra Now will perform George Gershwin’s “An American in Paris” together with works by Jennifer Higdon and Schumann, in the Fisher Center at Bard College, on Sat, Feb 3, at 8pm, and Sun, Feb 4, at 2pm. Led by associate conductor James Bagwell, the program includes Jennifer Higdon’s “blue cathedral” and Robert Schumann’s Symphony No. 2.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

HUDSON DUSTERS BRING HOMEGROWN INDIE-FOLK to HELSINKI HUDSON

(HUDSON, N.Y.) – Roots-folk duo Hudson Dusters bring their rich blend of sounds to Club Helsinki Hudson on Friday, February 2, at 9pm. Local singer-songwriters Jon B. Woodin and Foggy Otis met at Club Helsinki’s weekly open mic. Mutual admiration quickly led to collaboration. Their debut album, “Dare to Dream,” will be released in spring 2018. Stylistically, the Hudson Dusters weave a rich tapestry of sound over the solid foundation of Woodin’s acoustic guitar and Otis’s ukulele. From delicately performed folk ballads to up-tempo country-rockers to soulful bursts of vocal harmony to sonic assaults of distortion served up via ukulele, the Hudson Dusters deliver their songs in a manner all their own.

 

 

 

 

 

THRILLER ABOUT FRENCH ANTI-SEMITISM DEBUTS at CAPITAL REP

(ALBANY, N.Y.) – Steven Peterson’s “Paris Time,” about how a young woman’s life and a company’s fate are challenged by an anti-Semitic terrorist incident, is being given its world premiere at Capital Repertory Theatre, from Friday, Jan 26, through Sunday, Feb 18. A gripping and sophisticated drama that looks behind the headlines at anti-Semitism in today’s France. When Deborah, the wife of a successful American executive based in Paris, becomes an activist defending a young Jewish Frenchwoman, Charles gets caught in the corporate hot seat. Company policy demands him to withdraw from the political limelight or lose his career, but if he won’t get involved, he may lose his marriage.

 

 

 

 

‘PAINTED CITIES’ EXHIBIT at CARRIE HADDAD GALLERY

(HUDSON, N.Y.) – “Painted Cities,” a new exhibition of urban images including works by Dan Rupe, Darshan Russell, Edward Avedisian, Patty Neal, Richard Britell, Robert Goldstrom, and Scott Nelson Foster, is on view at Carrie Haddad Gallery from Thu, Jan 4 to Sun, Feb 18. Featuring everything from paintings of the Empire State Building and Hudson Library to corner laundromats and takeout restaurants, the exhibition forms a compelling human portrait without calling upon the human figure. Crafted in an array of styles, from a Fauvist inspiration to hyperrealism, each cityscape captures a city’s character with an intense precision and sensitivity to the world people build for themselves.

 

 

 

COMING SOON: DARCEY STEINKE, NICK FLYNN, and REBECCA GODFREY READ in VOLUME SERIES at SPOTTY DOG

(HUDSON, N.Y.) – Authors Darcey Steinke, Nick Flynn, and Rebecca Godfrey will read from their works at Spotty Dog Books & Ale on Sat, Feb 10, at 7pm, as part of Volume, the free monthly reading and music series every second Saturday of the month. The readings will be followed by book-signing and a DJ set by Dawn Breeze. Volume is co-curated by Dani Grammerstorf French and Hallie Goodman.

Steinke is the author of the memoir Easter Everywhere and the novels Milk, Jesus Saves, Suicide Blonde, Up Through the Water, and Sister Golden Hair. She has taught at the Columbia University School of the Arts, Barnard, The American University of Paris, and Princeton. Flynn has worked as a ship’s captain, an electrician, and as a caseworker with homeless adults. He is currently a professor on the creative writing faculty at the University of Houston, where he is in residence each spring. His most recent book is My Feelings, a collection of poems. Godfrey is the author of the novel, The Torn Skirt, and Under the Bridge, an investigation into the murder of a 14-year-old girl. She teaches writing in the MFA program at Columbia University. Her new novel, The Dilettante, is forthcoming from Knopf.