Capital District Sights, Sounds and Attractions
The College of St. Rose has a state-of-the-art recital hall and music studios in its new Massry Center for the Arts. Participants will stay in suites in the new Centennial Hall which features air conditioned rooms and welcoming common spaces for informal evening musical gatherings.
The College is conveniently located in the heart of the Pine Hills Neighborhood and is within walking distance to restaurants and shops.
For more about the College, here is their website.The BCSW provides free transport for participants coming to the Workshop via the Albany airport, bus and train stations in Albany or Schenectady.
The area:
The Capital District of New York is rich in history, tradition, and culture. This region’s history runs long and deep, from the Iroquois Nation to French explorers, Dutch traders, English settlers and successive waves of immigrants from Europe and beyond, all of whom left their mark on this fascinating area.
Bach Cello Suites Workshop encourages you to explore the region. You will likely find that you are unable to resist the temptation of sampling just a bit of what the area has to offer. Here’s a starter list of suggestions. Enjoy!
Albany
On the Hudson River, Albany is the Capital City of New York State. Albany is the oldest continuous European settlement in the original 13 colonies. The first European settlers were Dutch merchants who established a fort around 1614. Much history was made, and continues to be made, here. Albany today is a major hub of government, healthcare, higher education and high-tech innovation. On a musical note, Albany is home to the 2014 Grammy Award-winning Albany Symphony Orchestra, which plays its concerts in the beautifully restored Palace Theater.
Downtown Albany Business Improvement District: http://www.downtownalbany.org/
Albany Symphony Orchestra: http://www.albanysymphony.com/
New York State Museum: http://www.nysm.nysed.gov/
Albany Institue of Art and History: http://www.albanyinstitute.org/
Albany Visitors and Convention Bureau: http://www.albany.org/
Shaker Heritage Society of Albany: http://shakerheritage.org/
Underground Railroad History Project: http://undergroundrailroadhistory.org/
Schenectady
Schenectady, 15 miles west of Albany on the banks of the Mohawk River, is birthplace of the General Electric Company. The “Electric City,” is home to Union College, the oldest planned college campus in the nation. The Stockade Historic District, named after the stockade fence that originally protected the settlement, features dozens of well-preserved 18th and 19th-century Dutch and English homes. The first commercial television station in the nation, WRGB, took to the air in Schenectady in 1940. On a musical note, Schenectady is home to the Schenectady Symphony which plays its concerts in the grand Proctors Theater.
Schenectady Historical Society: http://schenectadyhistorical.org/
Edison Tech Center: http://edisontechcenter.org/index.htm
Proctor’s Theater: http://www.proctors.org/
The Stockade Association: http://historicstockade.com
Iroquois Indian Museum: http://www.iroquoismuseum.org/
Union College: https://www.union.edu
Troy
Home territory of pre-Revolutionary Dutch Patroons, Troy - “The Collar City”-is eight miles up the Hudson River from Albany and is situated at the confluence of the Mohawk and Hudson Rivers. Troy was an early American industrial boom town strategically located at a key way-point in the inland waterway trade between the Great Lakes and New York City. Today Troy, the birthplace of “Uncle Sam” Wilson, is a vibrant small city that is home to colleges, a resurgent dining scene, bookstores, antiques shops, gorgeous 19th century architecture, and so much more. On a musical note, Troy boasts the acoustically stunning 1875 Troy Saving Bank Music Hall.
Russell Sage College: http://www.sage.edu/
Downtown Troy Business Improvement District: http://www.downtowntroy.org/
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute: www.rpi.edu
Rensselaer County Historical Society: https://www.hartcluett.org
Troy Savings Bank Music Hall: http://troymusichall.org/
RiverSpark Hudson-Mohawk Heritage Area: http://riverspark.org/
Saratoga Springs
The "Spa City,” Saratoga Springs, 30 minutes north of Albany is best known for its world-famous thoroughbred racing track (the oldest continuously operating sporting venue in the United States) and its charming walkable downtown. On a musical note, Saratoga Springs is renowned as the bucolic summer home of the Philadelphia Orchestra, Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center and New York City Ballet, all at the leafy Saratoga Performing Arts Center.
Saratoga Performing Arts Center (SPAC): http://www.spac.org/
Saratoga Race Course: http://www.nyra.com/saratoga/
Saratoga Convention & Tourism Bureau: http://discoversaratoga.org/
The Berkshires
Just 45 minutes east of Albany are the rolling green Berkshire Mountains of Massachusetts. Once a leafy and tranquil summer retreat for the moneyed barons of Boston and New York the region has evolved into a bucolic cornucopia of cultural offerings for all, including world-class dance, theater and music venues, located in picture-perfect New England towns. On a musical note, nothing defines music in nature quite like Tanglewood, the idyllic summer home of the revered Boston Symphony Orchestra.
Berkshire Visitors Bureau: http://berkshires.org/
Tanglewood/Boston Symphony Orchestra: https://www.bso.org/tanglewood
Berkshire Historical Society: http://berkshirehistory.org/
The Adirondacks/Lake Champlain
Just an hour due north of Albany is the Adirondack Park, a six-million acre paradise of mountains, lakes and wilderness dotted with picturesque small towns and villages including Lake Placid and Saranac Lake.
Adirondack Regional Tourism Council: http://visitadirondacks.com/
Lake Champlain Visitor Center: http://www.lakechamplainregion.com/
NY State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation: http://parks.ny.gov