Oneonta Town Blogger

Spring has arrived and it’s time for the violins to be ringing, like lovely singing, so the song goes. Yes, it’s time for the Little Delaware Youth Ensemble Workshop & Concert. Each year Little Delaware Youth Ensemble hosts world class string musicians and this year is no exception.

Oneonta, New York has the privilege of welcoming Canadian Fiddle Champion Ivonne Hernandez (www.ivonnehernandez.com) and internationally acclaimed British jazz violinist Ben Powell (www.ben-powell.com). The workshop and concerts are free and open to the public. Free and open to the public; sounds so amazing that I had to restate it.

On Tuesday, March 30, at 10:00 a.m., the duo will perform a public concert in the Hunt Union Ballroom on the campus of SUNY Oneonta.    Following the performance, at 12:30 p.m., the duo will teach an improvisation workshop to any interested musicians from the community.  Be sure to bring your instruments to the afternoon session.

A second concert will be performed at 7:30 p.m. in IRC 3 (Instructional Resource Center) on the SUNY campus. The evening concert is part of the Hewitt Pantaleoni Memorial Concert Series and is partially funded by the Catskill Conservatory.

Julie Signitzer, music director of LDYE, invited Hernandez back to Oneonta after hearing her play last year with the Folk Arts Quartet who accompanied Eugene Friesen in the annual workshop.   “Ivonne is a young, hard hitting fiddler who has five times been declared the Grand North American Fiddle Champion.   She is also an amazing step dancer. (I was there last year and she was awesome!)

In addition, LDYE invited her friend, 23 year old Ben Powell, to join her.  He is a stellar jazz violinist who has already performed throughout much of the world.  The contrasting styles should inspire the students to explore their instruments in many different ways.  I am sure it will be an exciting event for all who participate”.  The two young fiddlers are recent graduates of the Berklee College of Music in Boston and have successfully launched extensive performance careers.

This residency is sponsored in part by the Foothills performing Arts Center, The SUNY Oneonta Music Department, the A. Lindsay and Olive B. O’Connor Foundation, the Future of Oneonta Foundation, the New York State Council on the Arts Decentralization Program administered in Otsego County by the Upper Catskill Community Council of the Arts and the Catskill Conservatory.

Thank you to these wonderful organizations (and Julie Signitzer) for making these concerts/classes possible to enrich our children and our community.  My daughter is a former member of LDYE so this thanks is heartfelt, and why I especially call attention to Little Delaware Youth Ensemble events.

I do have to warn you, however, if my daughter can’t attend, I may borrow her violin this year, and I’m a little rusty …

Hope to see you there.

Mary Robinson
www.OneontaOnTheMap.com