Saratoga Performing Arts Center Presents Joshua Bell and Time For Three in September

Saratoga Performing Arts Center has announced "SPAC @ Home: Concert Series," featuring performances by violinist Joshua Bell alongside pianist Peter Dugan (SEP 12) and genre crossing ensemble Time For Three (SEP 19). Shot on the grounds of SPAC and at Skidmore College's Arthur Zankel Music Center, each presentation will feature an exclusive program and will include greetings and commentary by the artists as well as interviews about the challenges and creative opportunities in the time of COVID-19.

The "SPAC @ Home: Concert Series" is the latest addition to SPAC REIMAGINED, following the recent Beethoven 2020 Festival that featured exclusive concerts, lectures and a new online platform throughout the month of August.

"When we first began to dream about artists we could bring to our grounds to create a unique concert experience without our amphitheater stage, Joshua Bell and Time For Three immediately came to mind. I have been privileged to work with all of them in my pre-SPAC lives at IMG and Universal. Both Joshua and Time for Three possess fresh, creative approaches to music-making -- and both have close and special connections to SPAC," says Elizabeth Sobol, President & CEO of Saratoga Performing Arts Center. "We are incredibly excited to be able to share these projects - all of which were filmed in Saratoga -- with our community."

On Saturday, September 12th, SPAC presents violinist Joshua Bell and pianist Peter Dugan in a recital filmed at Arthur Zankel Music Center at Skidmore College followed by a Q&A at SPAC with President and CEO Elizabeth Sobol, and Dayton Director of The Frances Young Tang Teaching Museum and Art Gallery at Skidmore College Ian Berry. Bell, who was originally scheduled to appear at SPAC with The Philadelphia Orchestra this summer, will perform a program that includes Beethoven's Violin Sonata No. 5, Fritz Kreisler's arrangement of Dvořák's Slavonic Fantasy, Pablo Sarasate's arrangement of a Chopin Nocturne and Wieniawski's Polonaise de Concert.

Tickets for this premiere event are $10 and can be purchased at spac.org. Ticket buyers will be directed to the exclusive stream, available to view on September 12 at 8 p.m. through September19 at midnight.

On Saturday, September 19th, SPAC and Caffè Lena present Time For Three in a concert that was filmed throughout the SPAC grounds earlier in August. This trio of classically trained musicians - Nicolas "Nick" Kendall (violin, vocals); Charles Yang (violin, vocals) and Ranaan Meyer (double bass, vocals) - got together for the first time post-quarantine to create a program that intersects Americana, modern pop and classical music, bringing their uncommon mix of virtuosity and showmanship to performances of their signature arrangements of classical works, originals and covers. This concert is presented in lieu of Time For Three's scheduled return to SPAC this season, following the trio's sold-out appearance at SPAC for the inaugural season of "SPAC on Stage" in 2017.

"To be asked to bring art back to life at SPAC, a venue Time For Three knows so well, was such an unbelievable gift to us," say musicians Charles Yang, Ranaan Meyer, and Nick Kendall of Time for Three. "Collaborating with the film and audio crew who were so great, we spent one full day filming our music in a few locations across SPAC's campus, including setting up in the middle of the amphitheater amongst the thousands of open seats. That was pretty stunning. The empty seats around us obviously were a reminder of the times, but creatively, the cavernous space had an incredible vibe. We were grateful to be a small part of this moment - to keep the spirit alive, and offer hope and love to a place that gives so much to so many. We will never forget the experience."

The concert will be available to stream for free on September 19 at 8 p.m. on Caffè Lena's YouTube and accessible through spac.org and SPAC's facebook page until October 19.

SPAC @ Home: Concert Series:

Joshua Bell with pianist Peter Dugan |SEP 12 @ 8 p.m.

Featuring an exclusive Q & A with Joshua Bell, SPAC President and CEO Elizabeth Sobol, and Dayton Director of The Frances Young Tang Teaching Museum and Art Gallery at Skidmore College Ian Berry
Date: Saturday, September 12 at 8 p.m. -- Saturday, September 19 at midnight
Tickets: $10, visit spac.org
Repertoire:
Beethoven: Violin Sonata No. 5 in F Major, Op. 24
Dvorak arr. Fritz Kreisler: Slavonic Fantasy in B minor
Chopin arr. Pablo de Sarasate: Nocturne in E-flat Major, Op. 9, No. 2
Wieniawski: Polonaise de Concert in D Major, Op. 4

Time For Three | SEP 19 @ 8p.m.

Time for Three will perform their most recent singles including "Vertigo" and "Joy" along with their unique twists on classical pieces and pop hits.
The concert will be free and available on Caffè Lena's YouTube page and accessible through spac.org and SPAC's Facebook page until October 19.

About Joshua Bell:

With a career spanning more than thirty years as a soloist, chamber musician, recording artist, conductor and director, Joshua Bell is one of the most celebrated violinists of his era. Having performed with virtually every major orchestra in the world, Bell continues to maintain engagements as soloist, recitalist and chamber musician. A Sony Classical artist, Bell has recorded more than 40 albums garnering GRAMMY®, Mercury, Gramophone, and OPUS KLASSIK awards. Named the Music Director of the Academy of St Martin in the Fields in 2011, he is the only person to hold this post since Sir Neville Marriner formed the orchestra in 1958. A native of Bloomington, Indiana, Bell performs on the 1713 Huberman Stradivarius violin.

About Time for Three:

Defying convention and boundaries, Time For Three stands at the busy intersection of Americana, modern pop, and classical music. To experience Time For Three (TF3) live is to hear the various eras, styles, and traditions of Western music fold in on themselves and emerge anew. Bonded by an uncommon blend of their instruments fused together with their voices, Charles Yang (violin, vocals), Nicolas "Nick" Kendall (violin, vocals), and Ranaan Meyer (double bass, vocals), have found a unique voice of expression to share with the world.