ZANKEL ARTHUR
ZANKEL MUSIC CENTER
ARTHUR ZANKEL
As we mark 15 years since the opening of this beautiful space, we are proud to continue our mission of bringing innovative and diverse music to our community. This season focuses on uniting people through shared experiences that transcend the traditional concert. We invite you to explore new sounds and perspectives through programs designed to foster connection and understanding.
Our lineup spans genres and traditions, from composer Evan Mack's songs and cycles performed by world-class opera singers to the boundary-pushing jazz of Melanie Charles and her Make Jazz Trill Again ethos. The SURROUND concert series returns with the improvisational brilliance of pianist Sophia Subbayya Vastek, and our free SUSTAIN film screening offers an exploration of music, spirituality, education, and Black liberation.
This season also highlights deeply personal and culturally resonant experiences. The Ukrainian Classical Voice Project leads a moving celebration of Ukrainian song and dance, while an evening of reimagined Chinese chamber music blends tradition with modernity.
In April, the Skidmore String Festival celebrates its 20th anniversary, headlined by the breathtaking Sphinx Virtuosi string orchestra in a program showcasing the rich sounds of American classical music, from jazz and bluegrass to soul and immigrant traditions.
Phone: 518-580-5321
Email: zankel@skidmore.edu
TUESDAY - FRIDAY | 1:00 - 5:00PM
815 N. Broadway Saratoga Springs, NY 12866
MUSIC CENTER
As we look to the future, we are deeply grateful for the alumni, students, faculty, staff, and patrons who have supported us. Your passion for the arts has made the Arthur Zankel Music Center a vibrant hub of creativity. It is through your support that we continue to provide a space where music, ideas, and conversations thrive.
Thank you for being part of our journey. We look forward to sharing this season with you and continuing to connect through the music, the artists, and the communities that inspire us all.
See you soon,
Zhenelle LeBel Director
Tickets available online at www.skidmore.edu/zankel
Our events are free and open to the public unless otherwise noted.
Like what you hear?
Please consider a donation in support of our programming.
JANUARY
SURROUND: Sophia Subbayya Vastek
SUNDAY, JANUARY 26 | 4:00PM
McCormack Artist-Scholar Aaron Dworkin: Lessons in Gratitude
TUESDAY, JANUARY 28 | 5:00PM
Megan Marino & José Rubio: The Songs and Cycles of Evan Mack
FRIDAY, JANUARY 31 | 7:30PM
FEBRUARY
SUSTAIN: Black Histories / Black Futures
SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 2 | 2:30PM
Ensemble Connect
FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 7 | 7:30PM
SURROUND: Niecy Blues
SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 9 | 4:00PM
Laura Cetilia
THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 27 | 7:30PM
Zankel’s Spring 2025 events are presented in collaboration with the departments of Music, Dance, and Theater; the Arts Administration, Black Studies, Gender Studies, IdeaLab, and Intergroup Relations programs; the Office of Special Programs; and the Office of the President at Skidmore College.
MARCH
Melanie Charles and Make Jazz Trill Again: Trill 101 Premiere
SATURDAY, MARCH 1 | 8:00PM
SURROUND: Cassandra Jenkins
SUNDAY, MARCH 2 | 4:00PM
A Black Woman Speaks
THURSDAY, MARCH 6 | 6:00PM
Sterne Virtuoso Series: Westhuizen Duo
FRIDAY, MARCH 21 | 7:30PM
Timeless Tones, Modern Melodies: An Evening of Chinese Music Redefined
FRIDAY, MARCH 28 | 7:30PM
Voices of Ukraine
SUNDAY, MARCH 30 | 3:00PM
APRIL
Skidmore String Festival w/ Sphinx Virtuosi
SATURDAY, APRIL 5 | 7:30PM
Skidmore String Festival w/ Sphinx Virtuosi and Skidmore Students
SUNDAY, APRIL 6 | 2:00PM
This programming is made possible by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature; the Aaron Copland Fund for Music; the Zankel Music Fund; and the generosity of Jean Sterne '32 and the family of Elisabeth Luce Moore.
SURROUND concert series + collective resonance
SUNDAYS, 4PM
SURROUND offers a rare and intimate concert experience, seating audiences onstage with the artist for an immersive performance that invites reflection and resonance, bridging deeply personal moments with expansive, universal themes.
Made possible with the generous support of Jimmy Zankel ’92 and the Zankel Music Fund.
Scan the QR code to purchase your tickets now.
$20 General Public
$5 Skidmore students, faculty, staff, retirees, and alumni
JANUARY 26
SOPHIA SUBBAYYA VASTEK
As a second-generation pianist and third-generation musician, Sophia brings a reverence for her collective history alongside a boundless, exploratory spirit. Her intuitive playing style—rooted in tenderness, improvisation, and classical training—has evolved into a dynamic, cinematic sound that shifts effortlessly across musical worlds.
FEBRUARY 9
NIECY
BLUES
This South Carolina singer and producer describes their songwriting process like an undertow: “I feel a strange pull, and let it carry me, following swirling leaves... whole days roll by, forgetting about the body.” Niecy’s full-length debut, Exit Simulation, captures this sense of deep-rooted divination, cycling between simmering ballads, ghosted R&B, downtempo gospel, and looped vocal improvisations – often within the same track.
MARCH 2
CASSANDRA JENKINS
Songwriter and musician Cassandra Jenkins is known for her immersive style, blending indie rock, jazz, and ambient textures to capture both the mystery and intimacy of everyday life. Her third album, My Light, My Destroyer, brings together poetic lyricism with field recordings and found sounds, weaving humor, vulnerability, and profound introspection into each track.
TUESDAY, JANUARY 28 | 5:00PM
MCCORMACK ARTIST-SCHOLAR AARON DWORKIN: LESSONS IN GRATITUDE
Aaron Dworkin, renowned author, performing artist, and arts leader will share his personal story of overcoming adversity in a presentation titled Lessons in Gratitude: A Poetjournalists Journey of Identity, the Arts, and Mental Health.
The evening will feature a poetic reading by Dworkin performed to an original piano composition by Eli Jean-Francois '25, Music major and Arts Administration minor. The presentation will be followed by a conversation between Aaron Dworkin and Dr. Maggie Greaves, Professor of English. A light reception in the lobby will conclude the event.
Aaron Dworkin is the 18th Annual Don and Judy McCormack Endowed Visiting Artist-Scholar in Residence, sponsored by the Skidmore College Office of Special Programs with support by the Arts Administration Program.
FRIDAY, JANUARY 31 | 7:30PM
MEGAN MARINO & JOSÉ RUBIO: THE SONGS AND CYCLES OF EVAN MACK
World-class opera singers Megan Marino (mezzo-soprano) and José Rubio (baritone) will perform a selection of songs and cycles by composer and Skidmore faculty member Evan Mack, featuring the premiere of powerful new works that explore themes of marriage, addiction, healing, grief, the impact of war, women's empowerment, and LGBTQ+ rights. Following the performance, Alicia Cook, author of Stuff I’ve Been Feeling Lately — the inspiration for one of Mack’s compositions — will be available to sign copies of her book.
SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 2 | 2:30PM
SUSTAIN
BLACK HISTORIES / BLACK FUTURES
This free afternoon-long screening features documentary-style portraits of jazz greats Jackie McLean and Alice Coltrane alongside Sun Ra’s sci-fi odyssey, exploring themes of music, spirituality, education, and Black liberation. Co-sponsored by MDOCS (John B. Moore Documentary Studies Collaborative).
JACKIE MCLEAN ON MARS (1979)
Jackie McLean on Mars explores the life and career of alto saxophonist Jackie McLean, focusing on his impactful teaching at the University of Hartford in the mid-1970s. The documentary captures McLean’s passion as an educator and the challenges faced by jazz musicians of the era. Featuring candid footage of him practicing, performing with his quintet, and teaching, the film highlights his lectures on topics like Sun Ra, JFK’s assassination, and mastering Coltrane’s Giant Steps (Runtime: 32 minutes)
BLACK JOURNAL, EPISODE 26: ALICE COLTRANE (1970)
In this intimate portrait—produced for a segment of National Education Television’s “Black Journal” television program—legendary jazz musician Alice Coltrane plays the harp and discusses her thoughts on music, spirituality, family, and the legacy of her late husband, John Coltrane. (Runtime: 17 minutes)
SPACE IS THE PLACE (1974)
Avant-jazz mystic Sun Ra brought his pioneering Afrofuturist vision to the screen with this film version of his concept album. It’s a wild, kaleidoscopic whirl of science fiction, sharp social commentary, goofy pseudo-blaxploitation stylistics, and thrilling concert performance, in which the pharaonic Ra and his Arkestra lead an intergalactic movement to resettle the Black race on their utopian space colony. (Runtime: 85 minutes)
FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 7 | 7:30PM
ENSEMBLE
CONNECT
Experience the versatility of Carnegie Hall’s Ensemble Connect. The program begins with Schubert’s unfinished Quartettsatz, which endures today as a striking single movement and one of music’s great “what-ifs.” Two New York premieres follow by Katherine Balch, an exciting contemporary composer whose works have been commissioned by the New York Philharmonic, Los Angeles Philharmonic, Ensemble Modern, and Carnegie Hall, among others. Berio’s Ricorrenze, written for the composer’s friend Pierre Boulez, is featured as part of Carnegie Hall’s ongoing Boulez centennial celebration. The concert closes with Beethoven’s Septet in E-flat Major, one of the septet format’s quintessential works during Beethoven’s lifetime and ours. Made possible by the generous support of the Anna-Maria and Stephen Kellen Foundation.
THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 27 | 7:30PM
LAURA CETILIA
As a daughter of mixed heritage, Mexican-American musician Laura Cetilia is at home with in-betweenness, straddling multiple worlds as cellist / composer / educator / artist while working within acoustic / electronic / traditional / experimental sound practices. Her compositions have been described as “unorthodox loveliness” (Boston Globe) and hailed as “alternately penetrating and atmospheric” (Sequenza 21)
During her multi-day residency at Skidmore, Laura will workshop her music with students, exploring acoustics, listening, and technology in concert music. Performing with the audience seated onstage, she will present an intimate program of experimental chamber music featuring electronics and field recordings, including 15 past, home (2018), nestled in the static (2023), and a new piece created for this event. This new work will feature sound diffused through twelve mini-speakers piloted by students, with the composer performing at the center of the sound field.
SATURDAY, MARCH 1 | 8:00PM
MELANIE CHARLES AND MAKE JAZZ TRILL AGAIN:
TRILL 101 PREMIERE
Brooklyn-based composer, vocalist, and multi-instrumentalist Melanie Charles launched Make Jazz Trill Again (MJTA) as a cultural movement to rejuvenate the independent jazz scene in the digital age. What began as a modest hashtag in the mid-2010s has since evolved into a vibrant network producing and curating performances, a podcast series, and live events that engage with contemporary issues of access, equity, education, and technology within the arts.
The premiere of Trill 101 marks the culmination of a year-long, Skidmorecommissioned, multidisciplinary project developed by Charles and the MJTA family in collaboration with Skidmore students and faculty. Through a series of class visits, podcast and video recordings, and jam sessions, the project explored the intersections of jazz, Afro-diasporic musical traditions, and contemporary artistic practice.
Trill 101 reimagines jazz as a living, dynamic art form, shaped by both its rich history and its ongoing evolution. Charles will perform alongside her band – Zacchae'us Paul (keys), Rogerst Charles (saxophone), Barry Stephenson (bass), Bendji Allonce (percussion), and Diego Ramirez (drums) – and a cast of Skidmore student singers, drummers, horn players, and dancers. Together, they will lead an unforgettable celebration of creativity and community, blending genre-defying originals with a richly layered medley of traditional Afro-diasporic rhythms and Black spirituals like Deep River.
Throughout the performance, video interludes produced by the Troy-based creative agency Collectiveffort will offer a behind-the-scenes look at the creative process, featuring student jam sessions, workshops, and mentorship moments that took place during MJTA’s Fall 2024 residency at Skidmore. This performance highlights the collaborative spirit of the project and its commitment to fostering an inclusive and dynamic artistic dialogue.
Trill 101 is presented in partnership with the department of Music and the office of Special Programs and is cosponsored by Black Studies, Gender Studies, Intergroup Relations, IdeaLab, Arts Administration, Management & Business, with collaborators in Dance, Theater, and International Affairs, among others. Funding is provided by the Zankel Music Fund and the McCormack Artist-Scholar Residency Fund.
THURSDAY, MARCH 6 | 6:00PM
A BLACK WOMAN SPEAKS
Skidmore’s Intergroup Relations and Black Studies Programs join forces to bridge Black History Month and Women’s History Month with an annual event amplifying the voices of Black women in pursuit of social justice. This year we honor the work of two iconic writers. Activist Scholar and Poet Warrior Sonia Sanchez will join us as we pay tribute to the late Nikki Giovanni.
FRIDAY, MARCH 21 | 7:30PM
STERNE VIRTUOSO SERIES: WESTHUIZEN DUO
Husband-and-wife pianists Pierre and Sophié van der Westhuizen have garnered widespread acclaim for their performances as a duo, praised for their remarkable sensitivity to one another and their brilliant, lyrical artistry. In this program, they bring together a variety of works, each rich in storytelling and musical character – from Dvořák's Legends to Grieg’s Peer Gynt Suite, Prokofiev’s whimsical Cinderella Suite, and the driving force of Kathleen Togg’s Berimbau. The program concludes with Evan Mack’s Fissures for one piano, four hands, a captivating work that showcases the power of collaborative piano performance.
FRIDAY, MARCH 28 | 7:30PM
TIMELESS TONES, MODERN MELODIES: AN EVENING OF CHINESE MUSIC REDEFINED
This evening-length concert offers a chance to experience a wide and diverse array of music performed on Chinese instruments. Featuring a group of accomplished immigrant women musicians, the program showcases the erhu, dizi, xiao, yangqin, and pipa, blending the rich traditions of Chinese chamber music with contemporary interpretations.
SUNDAY, MARCH 30 | 3:00PM
VOICES OF UKRAINE
Amid the ongoing war in Ukraine, Skidmore invites the community to join in a poignant celebration of Ukrainian culture through its rich musical and dance traditions. In collaboration with the Ukrainian Classical Voice Project, founded by Skidmore faculty member Irina Petrik, this event highlights the resilience and beauty of a nation through its artistry.
Under the musical direction of Yelena Kurdina (Metropolitan Opera), the concert features guest soprano Vedrana Kalas, Skidmore faculty artists, student soloists, and the Vocal Chamber Ensemble. A special highlight of the evening is the Zorepad Ukrainian Dance Ensemble, led by Skidmore student and artistic director Lucas Lewyckyj. Together, these artists will present a powerful program of rarely heard works from Ukrainian opera, art song, and folk traditions, offering a moving tribute to Ukraine's cultural heritage.
20TH ANNUAL SKIDMORE STRING FESTIVAL
SATURDAY, APRIL 5 | 7:30PM
SPHINX VIRTUOSI: AMERICAN FORM/S
American Form/s is a musical tapestry depicting the many sounds of American classical music. Vibrant, varied, storied, and new, the self-conducted string orchestra Sphinx Virtuosi takes audiences on a journey through classicallyframed infusions of soul, bluegrass, jazz, blues, and elements of rag. Works range from reimaginings of Joplin's joyous landscapes to the complex rhythms of Curtis Stewart and brilliant influences of immigrant composers like Teresa Carreño. Experience the intricate harmonies and world influences of Derrick Skye's writing, as well as modern interpretations of soul-stirring spirituals and more in this program carefully and collaboratively curated to celebrate the richness of the American musical landscape. This program features percussionist Josh Jones.
SUNDAY, APRIL 6 | 2:00PM
SKIDMORE STRING ENSEMBLES FEATURING SPHINX VIRTUOSI
Celebrating 20 years this spring, the Skidmore String Festival highlights the vibrant string program led by Michael Emery and Jameson Platte, providing student ensembles a weekend of coaching and performance alongside a world-class quartet.
This engagement of The Sphinx Virtuosi is made possible in part through the ArtsCONNECT program of Mid Atlantic Arts with support from the National Endowment for the Arts and is presented as part of the Elisabeth Luce Moore Chamber Music Residency.
SKIDMORE IN CONCERT
This free, public series showcases the excellence of our Music Department and celebrates the vibrancy of our shared artistic community. All events take place in Zankel’s Helen Filene Ladd Concert Hall unless otherwise noted.
TUESDAY, MARCH 4, 7:00PM ORCHESTRA
Directed by Glen Cortese
SATURDAY, APRIL 12, 3:00PM BRASS & WOODWIND ENSEMBLES
Directed by Patrice Maletestinic and Yvonne Chavez Hansbrough Wilson Chapel
SUNDAY, APRIL 13, 4:00PM
YOUNG KIM & SKIDMORE PIANISTS
TUESDAY, APRIL 15, 7:00PM VOCAL SOUL COLLECTIVE
Directed by Floydd Ricketts Filene Recital Hall
TUESDAY, APRIL 22, 7:00PM ORCHESTRA
Directed by Glen Cortese
THURSDAY, APRIL 24, 7:00PM
CHORUS
Directed by Floydd Ricketts
FRIDAY, APRIL 25, 4:00PM
STRING ENSEMBLES
Directed by Jameson Platte
FRIDAY, APRIL 25, 7:00PM GUITAR ENSEMBLE
Coached by Joel Brown and Brett Grigsby
SATURDAY, APRIL 26, 1:00PM
GLOBAL MUSIC SHOWCASE FEATURING BLUEGRASS, INDIAN, MONGOLIAN, & WEST
AFRICAN ENSEMBLES
Coached by Trish Miller and John Kirk, Veena Chandra, Charlotte D’Evelyn, and Koblavi Dogah Thomas Amphitheater
SUNDAY, APRIL 27, 1:00PM CONCERT BAND
Directed by Milton Lee
MONDAY, APRIL 28, 7:00PM BIG BAND + CUBAN MUSIC ENSEMBLE
Coached by Russell Haight and Jorge Gomez
WEDNESDAY, APRIL 30, 7:00PM SMALL JAZZ ENSEMBLES + GUITAR
Coached by Russell Haight and George Muscatello
Photo credit: Esther Guo ’25