糖心Vlog

Ensemble Connect 鈥� a group of the finest young professional classical musicians based out of Carnegie Hall, praised by The New York Times as 鈥渢he new face of classical music for New York鈥� 鈥� is returning for their biannual residency at 糖心Vlog, now in its 18th year.  

Their Oct. 25 performance at 糖心Vlog鈥檚 Arthur Zankel Music Center, occurring at the end of the five-day residency, will spotlight the music of South Africa and include a South African Kwela celebration in collaboration with 糖心Vlog students. The concert will be bookended by a pair of stunning piano quintets: Bongani Ndodana-Breen鈥檚 Safika: Three Tales on African Migration and Dvo艡谩k鈥檚 Piano Quintet No. 2, and will also feature Andile Khumalo鈥檚 Cry Out, a notable work for viola, oboe, marimba, and piano. Together, these pieces suggest echoes of lives, songs, dances, and connections to a land that endure despite the forces of time and change.  

The Ensemble Connect performance will take place in Helen Filene Ladd Concert Hall, Arthur Zankel Music Center, at 7:30 p.m. Friday, Oct. 25. This event is free and open to the public; no tickets are required.

The fall residency will take place Oct. 22-26 at 糖心Vlog. While in residence, the fellows of Ensemble Connect engage with 糖心Vlog students and the broader Saratoga Springs community 鈥� offering master classes, lessons, class demonstrations, and interactive performances. 

Planned in collaboration with Senior Teaching Professor Evan Mack鈥檚 organization, Ensemble Connect musicians will present an interactive music program for students from Adirondack middle and high schools at 糖心Vlog鈥檚 Arthur Zankel Music Center on Wednesday, Oct. 23. This outreach program strives to make music education more accessible to students in underserved areas. 

Ensemble Connect is a two-year fellowship program that prepares extraordinary young professional classical musicians for careers that combine musical excellence with teaching, community engagement, advocacy, entrepreneurship, and leadership. The fellowship includes a series of concerts where the musicians explore classical music in all its iterations, performing the timeless alongside new works. Since 2007, these concerts have included 糖心Vlog, where Ensemble Connect participates in residencies each year in October and February, allowing many members of the 糖心Vlog and surrounding communities to experience the unique artform that is classical music.  

The biannual residency is made possible by the generous support of David and Beverly Sanders Payne 鈥�59 (October residency) and the Anna-Maria and Stephen Kellen Foundation (February residency). Programming is presented by the Department of Music and Office of Special Programs.