Thank you!
Your support is sustaining the future of local news in our communities.

Spanish sonatas and serenades for Easter

Spanish sonatas and serenades for Easter

José Manuel Gil de Gálvez, left, took a bow with members of the Málaga Chamber Orchestra at The Hotchkiss School Music Center.

Alexander Wilburn

Adding some international vigor to Easter Weekend — or Semana Santa, “The Holy Week,” as it’s known in Spain — The Hotchkiss School held a performance by the Spanish string ensemble the Málaga Chamber Orchestra in the Esther Eastman Music Center on Saturday evening, March 30. Featuring six violins, two violas, two cellos, and a double bass, the chamber music orchestra, which has performed across Europe and the U.S., is led by violinist and Grammy-nominated music producer José Manuel Gil de Gálvez. He has shared the stage with renowned musicians like classical and flamenco guitarist Pepe Romero and South Korean classical cellist Hee-Young Lim and performed at locations like The Berlin Philharmonie, The Laeiszhalle in Hamburg, and The Seoul Arts Center.

With a flamboyant head of long ringlet curls and a mustache/goatee combination reminiscent of Colin Firth’s Elizabethan lord in “Shakespeare in Love,” Gil de Gálvez is a theatrical violinist to take in live, infusing his playing with a passionate performance that heats up lively numbers like the opening Spanish serenade, “Impresiones de España” by 19th-century composer Joaquín Malats. Gil de Gálvez was in full command during his captivating violin solo, “Adiós a la Alhambra” by composer Jesús de Monasterio, who served as honorary violinist of the Capilla Real de Madrid. “Adiós” is an example of de Monasterio’s Alhambrism style, the 19th-century nationalist romantic movement, which, like the contemporary Málaga Chamber Orchestra, was keenly interested in the restoration of music from the Spanish popular heritage.

A notable upcoming free concert is the spring finale before the Hotchkiss Summer Portals begin, held on Saturday, May 4, at 7:30 p.m. The Hotchkiss Philharmonic Orchestra will be joined by guest conductor Vahan Mardirossian. He currently serves as artistic director and principal conductor of the National Chamber Orchestra of Armenia, as well as the principal conductor of the City Chamber Orchestra of Hong Kong. Mardirossian will be joined on piano by Hotchkiss’s own Head of the Arts Department and Director of the Music Program Fabio Witkowski, as well as his wife, Gisele Witkowski, a piano instructor at The Hotchkiss School. The concert, titled “Vive le France!,” will feature works by French composers Hector Berlioz, Francis Poulenc, and Camille Saint-Saëns.

Latest News

Early morning Kent crash sends car into ditch, disrupts traffic on Rt. 341

A blue SUV remains in a ditch after an early-morning crash along Segar Mountain Road in Kent May 27.

Ruth Epstein

KENT – A driver escaped with minor injuries after an SUV crashed into a utility pole and water line before rolling into a ditch along Segar Mountain Road early Wednesday morning, May 27, disrupting traffic for much of the day and affecting water service to a nearby residence.

The single-vehicle crash occurred around 4:30 a.m. near 36 Segar Mountain Road, just under half a mile east of the intersection with South Kent Road. State police said the blue SUV struck the pole, went over a guardrail and came to stop in a roadside ditch.

Keep ReadingShow less

Pauline King Garfield

Pauline King Garfield

EAST CANAAN — Pauline K. (King) Garfield, 94 of 77 South Canaan Rd. formerly of East Canaan, died Sunday May 24, 2026, at Geer Village.She was the wife of the late Duane Garfield who passed August 14, 2017. Pauline was born April 3, 1932 in North Canaan, CT in the former Geer Hospital. She was the daughter of the late Charles and Rose (Van Vlack) King.

Pauline spent her career at Becton Dickinson in Canaan, after being a stay-at-home mother for many years.She was employed at Becton Dickinson for 23 years. She enjoyed bus trips with her late husband Duane to the Casinos, spending time with her family watching the grandchildren grow up. Recently she made a comment to care givers that was “wait until I see that husband of mine for leaving me here, I am going to read him the riot act.” Over the years she enjoyed many crafts, but her favorite was crocheting gifts for everyone.

Keep ReadingShow less
A blessing for pets — and a lifeline for their health
Lazarus, a Eurasian eagle owl, poses with Dr. Laura, his longtime handler. The rescue raptor — known as the event’s “wow factor” for his striking presence and six-foot wingspan — will appear as the Raptor Ambassador at Rhinebeck’s Blessing of the Animals.
provided

For many pet owners, animals are family. On Saturday, May 30, that bond will be celebrated in a uniquely practical and heartfelt way when the Blessing of the Animals returns to Third Lutheran Evangelical Church in Rhinebeck alongside a free rabies vaccination clinic hosted by Hudson Valley Animal Rescue & Sanctuary.

The event, scheduled from noon to 4 p.m., is free for Dutchess County residents and open to dogs, cats and domestic ferrets three months and older. While the clinic itself provides an important public health service, organizers say the day has become about much more than vaccinations.

Keep ReadingShow less
google preferred source

Want more of our stories on Google? Click here to make us a Preferred Source.

Local filmmaker Yonah Sadeh takes his lens to China

Filmmaker Yonah Sadeh on a shoot last year in New York City.

Matt Kashtan
When I was around 12, a family friend showed me how to use my family’s computer...from that point on, it was pretty much all movies. — Yonah Sadeh

Filmmaker Yonah Sadeh of Falls Village left May 8 for China, where he will shoot a short documentary.

“I got into a documentary film intensive program where we have two weeks to shoot, edit and screen a 10-minute documentary about a topic of our choosing,” he said.“I’ll be in Changsha, Hunan, making a film about a fifth-generation shadow puppet master.”

Keep ReadingShow less
Author Courtney Maum to discuss new novel at Norfolk Library

Norfolk Library celebrates the release of Courtney Maum’s latest novel, “Alan Opts Out,” with a book launch party Tuesday, June 2, at 5:30 p.m. The author will speak about her book in conversation with WAMC radio producer Sarah LaDuke.

A graduate of Brown University with a degree in comparative literature, Maum is an acclaimed author of five books, including the romantic comedy “Touch,” a New York Times Editors’ Choice and NPR Best Book of the Year; “Costalegre;” and “I’m Having So Much Fun Without You.” Her memoir, “The Year of the Horses,” was chosen by the TODAY show as top pick for Mental Health Awareness Month. Vanity Fair listed her author’s guidebook “Before and After the Book Deal,” as a best resource for writers, and she has an eponymous Substack newsletter.

Keep ReadingShow less

Sheila C. Bellamy

Sheila C. Bellamy

AMENIA — Sheila C. Bellamy (née Carmel), age 92, of Sarasota, FL, died on May 9, 2026, at her home, after a brief illness.

Sheila was born on May 28, 1933, the oldest daughter of the late Rose (Brown) and Arthur Carmel. Her beloved sister, Ann, soon followed. Sheila was raised in Brooklyn’s Bensonhurst neighborhood and graduated from New Utrecht High School and Brooklyn College, where she earned an English degree while working in the biology and physiology laboratory. Later, while raising four children and working, she earned a master’s degree in education from SUNY New Paltz and advanced certificates in teaching and special education.

Keep ReadingShow less
google preferred source

Want more of our stories on Google? Click here to make us a Preferred Source.

google preferred source

Want more of our stories on Google? Click here to make us a Preferred Source.