UTICA, NY — Alt-rock group 10,000 Maniacs headlines the 2022-2023 performing arts season at Munson-Williams with an intimate concert at the Museum on Saturday, Mar. 11. The season features 16 live performances, 10 live-streamed operas, and weekly showings of independent and foreign films.
Live events at Munson-Williams include perennial favorite Keyboard Conversations ® with pianist Jeffrey Siegel, who plays the works of prominent composers with accompanying commentary; monthly independent and foreign films shown every Wednesday and Friday; monthly First Friday Happy Hours with live music by local bands and art activities; The Met: Live in HD opera performances; and the Concerts in the Court series in the Root Sculpture Court in the Museum.
“For the first time in three years, we have a full season of in-person events planned at Munson-Williams,” Director of Performing Arts Bob Mortis says. “In addition to well-loved programming like Keyboard Conversations and the Film Series, we’re really excited to have 10,000 Maniacs perform in our Sculpture Court surrounded by art from our collection.”
This year’s Concerts in the Court series includes a range of national touring acts. On Oct. 1 is electric violin duo Sons of Mystro. A holiday show is Dec. 10 with TAKE3: Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree. Midwest jamgrass band Chicken Wire Empire performs Feb. 4. Next is 10,000 Maniacs on Mar. 11.
Concerts in the Court begin at 7:30 p.m. with general admission seating. The Museum opens at 6:30 p.m. to allow patrons to socialize, visit the galleries and the Museum Shop, and enjoy a cash bar. Museum curators present brief gallery talks during intermission when guests may tour the permanent collection and special exhibitions on display. The Concerts in the Court Series is sponsored by Elizabeth R. Lemieux, PhD.
“Makin’ Cake,” a one-woman theatrical show by Wisconsin Poet Laureate Dasha Kelly Hamilton, is a special event on Mar. 25 in the Sinnott Family-Bank of Utica Auditorium.
General admission tickets for events range from $5 to $50, with free kids and family concerts and programming to be announced soon. For tickets, visit mwpai.org or call 315-797-0055 or 1-800-754-0797. Munson-Williams is at 310 Genesee St., Utica, NY 13502.
2022-2023 Performing Arts Season
Film Series
Wednesday and Friday, 2 and 7:30 p.m. weekly, $5-9
Keyboard Conversations® with Jeffrey Siegel–An American Salute!
Saturday, September 10, 7:30 p.m.
Gershwin’s “Rhapsody in Blue,” Scott Joplin’s ragtime favorite “The Maple Leaf Rag,” Leonard Bernstein’s “Meditation on a Wedding,” and more are featured.
$33 Members; $38 General Public; $15 Students
Sons of Mystro
Saturday, October 1, 7:30 p.m.
This Concert in the Court features duo Malcolm McNeish, 23, and his brother, Umoja, 20, who use violins to interpret pop music, reggae, and other genres with DJ Venimis and a drummer.
$33 Members; $38 General Public; $15 Students
First Friday Happy Hour with Live Music
Friday, October 8, 5 to 8 p.m.
See live music by regional bands and enjoy art activities and late-night at the Museum with a cash bar the first Friday of every month. Tickets range from free to $5.
Keyboard Conversations® with Jeffrey Siegel–Immortal Impromptus
Saturday, October 29, 2022, 2 p.m.
Beloved melodious masterpieces of Chopin and Schubert, which capture the freshness of an improvisation, and rustic, tuneful gems of the great Finnish composer Jean Sibelius are featured
$33 Members; $38 General Public; $15 Students
First Friday Happy Hour with Live Music
Friday, November 4, 5 to 8 p.m., free-$5
First Friday Happy Hour with Live Music
Friday, December 2, 5 to 8 p.m., free-$5
December’s event features Munson-Williams’ annual pottery sale.
TAKE3: Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree
Saturday, December 10, 7:30 p.m.
With a flair for the wild and unexpected, December’s Concert in the Court has the genre-defying TAKE3 (Lindsay Deutsch on violin, Jason Stoll on piano, and Mikala Schmitz on cello) bringing the refinement of a rigorous classical music background and infuses it with rock-star charisma. The trio’s holiday program includes rousing interpretations of favorites including “I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus” and “White Christmas,” along with traditional titles “Amazing Grace” and “Silent Night.”
$33 Members; $38 General Public; $15 Students
First Friday Happy Hour with Live Music
Friday, February 3, 5 to 8 p.m., free-$5
Chicken Wire Empire
Saturday, February 4, 7:30 p.m.
Chicken Wire Empire, our third Concert in the Court, mixes genres with half of the group rooted in bluegrass and the other half steeped in jamband music. The Wisconsin group is one of the most in-demand “jamgrass” bands.
$33 Members; $38 General Public; $15 Students
First Friday Happy Hour with Live Music
Friday, March 3, 5 to 8 p.m., free-$5
10,000 Maniacs
Saturday, March 11, 7:30 p.m.
Our fourth Concert in the Court goes mainstream! The earthy and soulful rock of 10,000 Maniacs has been a cornerstone of the alternative music scene for more than 40 years. The group’s live shows feature four of the six original members.
$45 Members; $50 General Public; $20 Students
Makin’ Cake
Saturday, March 25, 7:30 p.m.
Wisconsin Poet Laureate Dasha Kelly Hamilton uses baking as an analogy in a multi-layered 50-minute performance exploring American exceptionalism, class, and race. The show features vignettes, digital media, live bakers, stories, and, of course, cake.
$20 Members; $25 General Public; $10 Students
Keyboard Conversations® with Jeffrey Siegel–Chopin and Grieg
Saturday, April 1, 7:30 p.m.
Engaging short pieces with memorable melodies, and buoyant rhythms – heroic Polonaises and zesty Norwegian Dances are featured.
$33 Members; $38 General Public; $15 Students
First Friday Happy Hour with Live Music
Friday, April 7, 5 to 8 p.m., free-$5
First Friday Happy Hour with Live Music
Friday, May 5, 5 to 8 p.m., free-$5
Keyboard Conversations® with Jeffrey Siegel–Mozart and Friends Haydn and Beethoven
Saturday, May 13, 2023, 7:30 p.m.
Haydn’s humorous “Gypsy Rondo” and deeply affecting “F Minor Variations,” Beethoven’s stormy “F Minor Sonata,” and Mozart’s final sonata, the ebullient and virtuoso “The Trumpeter” are featured.
$33 Members; $38 General Public; $15 Students
The Metropolitan Opera Live in HD
The Met: Live in HD is the Metropolitan Opera’s Peabody Award- and Emmy Award-winning series of opera performances transmitted live from the stage of the Met into movie theaters worldwide. The season runs Oct. 22 through June 3.
$22 Members; $26 General Public; $15 Students
Medea
By Luigi Cherubini
Saturday, October 22
La Traviata
By Giuseppe Verdi
Saturday, November 5
The Hours (World-Premiere)
By Kevin Puts
Saturday, December 10
Fedora
By Umberto Giordano
Saturday, January 14
Lohengrin
By Richard Wagner
Saturday, March 18
Falstaff
By Giuseppe Verdi
Saturday, April 1
Der Rosenkavalier
By Richard Strauss
Saturday, April 15
Champion
By Terence Blanchard
Saturday, April 29
Don Giovanni
By Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Saturday, May 20
Die Zauberflöte
By Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Saturday, June 3
The Met: Live in HD series is made possible by a generous grant form its funding sponsor, the Neubauer Family Foundation. Digital support of The Met: Live in HD is provided by Bloomberg Philanthropies. The Met: Live in HD series is supported by Rolex. The HSD broadcasts are supported by Toll Brothers, America’s luxury home builders. Local sponsor is Elizabeth R. Lemieux, PhD.
About Munson-Williams-Proctor Arts Institute
Munson-Williams-Proctor Arts Institute (Munson-Williams) is an internationally prominent fine arts center serving diverse audiences through three program divisions– Museum of Art, School of Art, and Performing Arts. The Institute was founded in 1919 and annually hosts some 600 events for patrons to enjoy exhibitions, performances, art classes, and family-oriented activities.
The Museum of Art is renowned for its art collection and iconic building designed by Phillip Johnson. It is among the nation’s most significant mid-sized art museums. Its renowned permanent collection is focused on 300 years of fine and decorative arts, with strengths in 19th-century American painting and decorative arts, 20th-century through contemporary painting and sculpture, and European Modernism paintings.
The School of Art offers a robust community arts education program featuring a wide range of art classes for the community at large. It also offers a college art program affiliated with Pratt Institute of Art and Design (Pratt MWP) where 200 students spend the first two years of their bachelor of fine arts degree program at the Munson-Williams campus in Utica before completing their studies at Pratt’s main campus in Brooklyn.
The Performing Arts division presents world-famous soloists and ensembles, rising stars, recitals with commentary, cinema, family programs, outdoor festivals and concerts, and a wide array of art-related events in the museum’s 270-seat auditorium or sculpture court, which seats 500 patrons. Regular attractions include a weekly film series, Concerts in the Court, Keyboard Conversations, the For Kids and Families programs, and an annual summer arts festival.
Munson-Williams is located in the heart of New York State with easy travel to the Adirondack region, Cooperstown, Syracuse, and Albany, and just a few hours from Boston, New York, and Montreal. More information can be found at www.mwpai.org.
