Stage is set for Albany Symphony’s concert in Medina

Photos by Tom Rivers

MEDINA – A stage has been set up on the north side of the Canal Basin’s parking lot for a concert today by the Albany Symphony.

The orchestra will begin its performance at 8 p.m. The group is shown during a rehearsal this afternoon.

Fireworks will follow after tonight’s concert. People are encouraged to bring their own chair for the concert and fireworks.

The Albany Symphony is in town as part of a celebration of the Erie Canal’s bicentennial. The New York Power Authority and NYS Canal Corp. have set five concerts for the symphony from July 2-6, events that will feature the debut of commissioned compositions.

At Medina, the symphony will perform a new composition by world-renowned, Brazilian American composer Clarice Assad. Her composition is on a “Sound Capture Journey,” as she began crafting a new orchestral work on the theme of the sound of nature and the environment and along the Erie Canal.

Assad visited Medina in March, and she and others recorded sound snippets from around Orleans County, collecting personal stories about local connections to nature, the environment, and individual sense of place.

Jim Hancock, chairman of Medina’s Tourism Committee, welcomes the symphony to Medina today. Hancock organized a day of events with other musicians and historical presentations.

McHenry and Baz performed from noon to about 2 p.m., playing music from the ’60s, ’70s ’80s and ’90s.