Denny and Rogoff preview SPAC’s classical program

Posted: 07/25/2008

When the Saratoga Performing Arts Center needed experts to discuss its premier offerings in music and dance, it needed only to go across town to find Skidmore faculty members Thomas Denny and Jay Rogoff. The pair is featured in SPAC’s 2008 Video Series, a new initiative designed to help SPAC’s classical audiences become more familiar with the Philadelphia Orchestra and the New York City Ballet.

Seated at the piano, Denny, professor and chair of the Department of Music, shares insight on Beethoven’s Symphony No. 5—with perhaps the “most famous, iconic” notes in music—occasionally performing for added emphasis. Holst's The Planets is the subject of another short video, and Denny shares information about the composer as well as background on the piece. The Philadelphia Orchestra will perform both pieces in August.

The videos featuring Rogoff, lecturer in the Department of English and dance critic for The Saratogian, include discussions of The Four Seasons and The Concert by Jerome Robbins, and Mozartiana by George Balanchine. All have been presented during the ballet’s July residency.

The series, funded by the Saratoga Foundation, provides a wonderful introduction to SPAC’s classical program, leaving the viewer eager to see productions on SPAC’s stage.

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