News

POTSDAM - Seven talented high school students from northern and central New York will converge on Snell Music Theatre, SUNY Potsdam at 10:00 a.m.,  Saturday, February 13th to compete in the 10th Annual James and Katherine Andrews Young Artist Competition, sponsored by the Orchestra of Northern New York.

The public is invited to watch in amazement as these young musicians play from memory pieces from an approved classical repertoire that range in length from seven to fifteen minutes. The students vie for first prize of $500 and the opportunity to perform with Northern New York's professional symphony orchestra at its March concert.

This year's applicants will compete on piano, harp, flute, violin and viola. They hail from Potsdam, Brownville, Syracuse, Clifton Park and Colonie.

The competition was established in 2007 to honor James and Katherine Andrews, great supporters of various activities for young people, especially those involving music.  The mission of the competition is to inspire young musicians from northern and central New York to reach their highest level of artistry. It is one of the few competitions of its kind to offer both a cash prize and the opportunity to solo with a professional orchestra. Cash prizes are also awarded to the second and third place winners.

For more information about the Orchestra of Northern New York, call 315-267-3251 or visit www.onny.org

Announcing our Winter Fundraising Dinner

An Italian Affair

Sunday, January 31, 2016
5:00 p.m.
Sergi's Banquet Hall
10 Market Street, Potsdam

Join Maestro Kenneth Andrews and ONNY musicians for a delicious supper fit for a king immediately following the Baroque concert, Music for the Royal Fireworks!

$25/person, which includes a $10 tax-deductible donation to ONNY.

Reservations and payments required by Noon, Friday, Jan. 29th. Call 315-267-3251 or click here for tickets.

POTSDAM - The Orchestra of Northern New York, the North Country's professional symphony orchestra, is accepting applications for the James and Katherine Andrews 10th Annual Young Artist Instrumental Competition that will take place Saturday, February 13 at SUNY Potsdam's Crane School of Music.  The deadline to apply is February 1st.

Talented high school students from northern and central New York are invited to participate.  First place prize is $500 and the opportunity to perform with the Orchestra at its March 2016 concert.  Cash prizes are also awarded to second and third place winners.

The competition was established in 2007 to honor James and Katherine Andrews, who were great supporters of various activities for young people, especially those involving music.  The mission of the competition is to inspire the young musicians of northern and central New York to reach their highest level of artistry. It is one of the few competitions of its kind to offer both a cash prize and the opportunity to solo with a professional orchestra.

The rules, approved repertoire and application for this competition can be found here.  All applications must be postmarked no later than February 1st to be eligible. For questions, contact email onnybusiness@gmail.com or call 315-267-3251.

POTSDAM - The Orchestra of Northern New York, the region's only professional symphony orchestra, invites the public to come "Home for the Holidays," when it presents its popular holiday concerts December 11 - 13.

Celebrate this joyful season with a wonderful collection of new and old holiday favorites, including O Holy Night, Ave Maria, Greensleeves, White Christmas, The Night before Christmas, and more.

North Country Public Radio personality and renowned guitarist Barb Heller will narrate "The Night Before Christmas," the classic Clement Moore poem with an arrangement by Philip Lane. Best known for her role as on-air host for North Country Public Radio in Canton, Heller has been on the air since 1989 in the North Country, and a host for Folk Alley.com, an online music service, since 2005.  She’s also a guitarist/songwriter with five albums to her credit, and has taught hundreds of teens and adults how to play finger-style guitar.

Soprano Colleen Skull, newcomer to the Crane School of Music Artist Faculty this year, will be the featured soloist performing "O Holy Night" and Schubert's "Ave Maria." A Visiting Professor of Voice at the Crane School of Music, Skull completed her Doctorate in Musical Arts, specializing in voice performance at the University of Toronto. She has won many awards and prizes including the Metropolitan Opera District Competition, a Chalmers Award and a Professional Artist Grant from the Canada Council for the Arts.

Performances are 7:30 p.m., Friday, December 11 at Hosmer Hall, SUNY Potsdam, and 7:30 p.m., Saturday, December 12 at First Presbyterian Church, Watertown, the latter sponsored by Watertown Savings Bank. Tickets are $22 adults, $18 for seniors (62+) and military, and $5 for students, 6-17. They can be obtained by calling 267-2277 or visiting www.onny.org

The final performance on Sunday, December 13 at 3 p.m. benefits Massena Music Friends, a booster club supporting musical endeavors in the Massena School District. Tickets are $15 adults, and $12 for seniors and students. They are available at Season's Specialty Gifts, 27 West Orvis, 764-7671 or Phil and Jackie's, 69 Main St., 764-7844.          

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The Orchestra of Northern New York has launched a new fundraiser for the 2015-2016 Season—a 50/50 Raffle. The first winner, Esther McKnight of Parishville, took home $82 following the gala season opening concert on October 24th. She said she was going to buy herself a new pocketbook! The raffle will take place at all Potsdam concerts throughout the season except the Baroque concert taking place in St. Mary's Church, Potsdam.

POTSDAM - Offering discounts to military personnel has earned The Orchestra of Northern New York the designation of Yellow Ribbon Event.

Operation Yellow Ribbon is a volunteer-based committee, with representatives from many areas that soldiers support and from community organizations. Its charge is to promote visible signs of support for soldiers and their families and serve to promote area events that honor our military and provide discounts to service members and their families.

The Orchestra of Northern New York offers tickets to military personnel at $18 - a $4 discount off regular adult tickets.

At its summer pops concert each year, the Orchestra takes time to publicly recognize and thank audience members from each branch of the armed services.  A color guard opens the pops concert in Potsdam, this year with representatives of Canton VFW Post #1231 participating.

The Orchestra will open its 28th Season on Saturday, October 24, at 7:30 p.m. in Hosmer Hall, SUNY Potsdam with "Russian Passion." The concert features Sibelius' stirring masterpiece that celebrates freedom, strength and heroism. David Heuser's electrifying work is taken from the poem, "Music," dedicated to Dmitry Shostakovich and written by Soviet poet, Anna Akhmatova. The second half of the concert is the breathtaking and majestic Tchaikovsky's Symphony No. 4.

For tickets or more information, call 315-267-2277 or visit www.onny.org.

We're very excited to announce our 2015-2016 season!

"Kenneth B. Andrews has traded in his conductor’s baton for a magician’s wand for the 28th season of the Orchestra of Northern New York. The theme of the six-concert 2015-16 season is 'Celebrating the Magic of Live Music.'"

Read more from the Watertown Daily Times here.

Music Director Kenneth Andrews conducts the Orchestra of Northern New York during July's Summer Pops concert in Thompson Park, Watertown.  Photo credit: Justin Sorensen

Dear Patrons,

Welcome to The Orchestra of Northern New York’s 28th Season — The Magic of LIVE Music!

Join us for a wide array of soul-stirring orchestral works, from the great classics to lighter, familiar and celebrated pops. We have something for everyone that will satisfy the wide variety of our listeners’ eclectic tastes. Enjoy great music performed by brilliant soloists and inspired professional musicians from Northern New York and beyond!

I look forward to seeing you at our concerts in the coming year.

Kenneth Andrews, Music Director 

Chip Lamson will be guest conducting the orchestra this week for John Philip Sousa's Semper Fidelis March. Join us on Wednesday at 7 PM in Hosmer Hall, SUNY Potsdam and Thursday at 8 PM in Thompson Park, Watertown.

Guy (Chip) Lamson is a music educator with thirty years of high school experience in the Massena Central School District.  During his tenure, he taught courses and classes in voice, music theory, composition, music history and literature, guitar, class piano, and music theater, as well as directing mixed choir, women’s chorus and three vocal ensembles.  He also directed and conducted both fall and spring musical productions annually.  Additionally, he coached both basketball and track. For ten years he was a music director and conductor for Music Theatre North, a regional summer stock theater located in SUNY Potsdam’s Snell Hall. He has served in the New York State School Music Association as sectional festival general chair, choral chair, accompanist, and conductor.  Lamson has been a NYSSMA Conference All-State clinician, and a session accompanist for Alfred, Shawnee Press, Hal Leonard, Theodore Presser and other publishers.  He has served as both conductor or accompanist for numerous high school jazz festivals in New York.  He is a past president of the St. Lawrence County Music Educator’s Association, and has served the SLCMEA All-County Festival as general chair, choral chair, accompanist and conductor.  Since retiring from Massena, he has worked at SUNY Potsdam’s Crane School of Music as an adjunct professor, teaching functional piano to instrumental music majors, and assisting Carol (Kickie) Britt in both fall and summer course offerings in vocal jazz. For the past two fall semesters, Lamson has directed the Crane Men’s Ensemble. In addition, he serves as a piano accompanist for several dozen Crane instrumental and voice majors.  Lamson performs regularly as a keyboard player and vocalist in several blues and rock bands.  He has recorded seven CDs, most recently in November of 2014.