Hoag Library announces new music series that brings different styles to Orleans County
Performers will show talents in fingerstyle guitar, harp, African dance and drumming, Chinese Zither and “Pipa”
Provided photos: Hoag Library starts a new music series on April 1, with Kinloch Nelson (right) the leadoff performer. Leah Ou is scheduled for a July 1 concert at the Hoag.
ALBION – Hoag Library is starting a new music series with most of the concerts set for noon on the first Saturday of the month. Hoag has musicians booked through late September and expects to add more.
The new series is the brainchild of Jim Doyle, an adult reference librarian at the library. He joined Hoag in October. He also has been running Jim’s Guitar Studio for 23 years in Albion, and is a founding member of the Rochester Guitar Club.
He knows many of the performers in the series. He is a regular at The Little Theater in Rochester where several have performed in the café.
Many of the performers in the Hoag Music Series are graduates of the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, which Doyle said is a world-level conservatory drawing top students from around the globe.
Duo Purla will be at the library on June 3 for a concert.
Doyle wanted to help organize a concert series at Hoag, but wanted something different for the community.
“We wanted to bring in people who haven’t performed in Orleans County before,” Doyle said. “I think the community is hungry for music and the arts.”
Photo by Tom Rivers: Hoag Library staff members Michael Magnuson and Jim Doyle have put together a new music series at the library. Doyle, owner of Jim’s Guitar Studio in Albion, knows many of the musicians in the new series.
The Hoag Music Series kicks off on April 1 with a noon concert in the meeting rooms by KinLoch Nelson, a professional musician who plays the fingerstyle guitar.
The lineup of performers also includes:
- Ricardo Saeb: Saturday, May 6, at noon
- Womba Africa Dancing & Drumming: Monday, May 15, at 6 p.m.
- Duo Purla: Saturday, June 3, at noon
- Leah Ou: Saturday, July 1, at noon
- Trio Ghidorah: Saturday, August 19, at noon
- Sunshine Quan: Saturday, September 23, at noon
The concerts are free to the public with support from the Genesee-Orleans Regional Arts Council and Friends of Hoag Library.
Michael Magnuson, an adult services librarian at Hoag, also helped organize the events. He said Hoag was careful not to compete with other concert series in the community.
The events will be in the meeting room space at the library which seats well over 100 people.
Magnuson said the noon time on Saturdays may work better for people to attend concerts. Most of those concerts tend to be weekdays in the evenings.
Ricardo Saeb will perform May 6, and Sunshine Quan is scheduled for Sept. 23.
Doyle has connected with musicians in a range of styles, from guitarists, a harpist, the Chinese Zither, the Chinese lute or “Pipa.”
Doyle drives 45 minutes to see them perform, and he said it’s well worth the trip. He is happy the Albion and Orleans County community can have such high-caliber musicians come to the Hoag Library. More musicians are expected to be added to the performance schedule.
Womba Africa Dancing & Drumming performs at the Hoag on May 15, which is a Monday evening. This is the only performance that won’t be at noon on a Saturday.
