World-renown composer working on piece to debut in Medina for canal bicentennial
Photos by Tom Rivers
MEDINA – Clarice Assad collects sound near the Medina Waterfalls on Saturday afternoon. Assad, a Grammy-nominated composer, is working on a piece for the Albany Symphony to debut during a July 2 concert in Medina, celebrating the 200th anniversary of the Erie Canal.
Several community members joined Assad in a walk along the towpath and around the Canal Basin. She wanted to hear their insights about the community.
Clarice Assad walks along the towpath with Daniel Rosentreter on the north side of the Canal Basin. Rosentreter, co-owner of the Coffee Pot Café, also developed a bluebird trail in Medina including several bird boxes along the canal.
Assad walked with the group on Saturday and also was out on her own earlier in the morning. She was collecting sounds of nature, wildlife and other environmental noise, including church bells in the distance.
Assad has been a professional performer since she was 7. She was nominated for a Latin Grammy in 2009 and a Grammy in 2022. She has more than 90 compositions to her credit, including many commissions for Carnegie Hall, the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, Orquestra Sinfônica de São Paulo, ROCO, LA Philharmonic, Grand Teton Music Festival, Santa Rosa Symphony, Metropolis ensemble, the Bravo! Vail Music Festival and the La Jolla Music Festival.
The group stops by the Big Apple along the canal. Assad also ventured over to the first quarry site for Medina Sandstone, John Ryan’s first commercial quarry in 1837. The quarry industry would bring thousands of immigrants to the community in the following century from Italy, Ireland, Poland and Britain.
Assad said she will take in what she heard and experienced in Medina as she works on the new piece.
People are also welcome to record their favorite sounds from Medina – a spot in the woods, birds singing outside their window, or other places that bring them comfort. Those sound files can be emailed to MedinaSoundArchive@gmail.com. Files can be in any format and should be under 5 minutes.
Clarice Assad welcomes a group of about a dozen people on the sound-gathering expedition. Stephen Shewan, a composer from Shelby, is next to Assad.
The Albany Symphony will be doing a concert with 35 musicians for the debut of Assad’s piece on July 2. The project is funded by the New York Power Authority and NYS Canal Corp. The Albany Symphony is planning five concerts which will all debut new compositions as part of the bicentennial.
The group walks along the towpath. While on their expedition, a bald eagle flew by.
