Justin Kolb Demystifies Classical Music at the Glen Conservancy Hall 2023 Concert Series

When you consider that classical music was the country music of its day, what makes it seem so forbidding now? Easy: The snobs got hold of it. Pianist Justin Kolb is no snob. In fact, he’s the opposite: a warm, generous performer who celebrates music as the accessible form of enjoyment it’s supposed to be. He’s a virtuoso performer – that’s why he’ll be here – but he’s also put in years as a motivational speaker, and combines the two talents in the concert you’ll see in Glen. Traditional classical favorites combine with charming music by American composers in a delightful program.
Borrowing a page from Glenn Miller’s Chesterfield Broadcasts, Kolb will present “Something Old, Something New, Something Borrowed, and Something Blue: Fantasies, Tangos, and Blues”
at 7:30 PM Saturday, June 10, at Glen Conservancy Hall, 1538 State Highway 161, in Glen, NY.

The program includes works by Chopin, Copland, Barber, and others, all introduced by Kolb in his informative, entertaining manner. Kolb is a pianist, lecturer, and motivational speaker who has premiered compositions by Robert Starer, John Downey, Peter Schickele, and William Ferris, among others. He has performed with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Northwest Indiana Symphony, Hamburg Philharmonic, Amernet String Quartet, and many other noted ensembles. His solo recitals, conservatory power talks and motivational kids’ clinics have also been part of a successful 21st-century career. Both the New York Times and Chicago Tribune have praised his American music performances and Albany Records retains Kolb on its artist’s roster.  

The venue is Conservancy Hall, a former branch of the Dutch Reformed Church, built in 1830. The structure, which seats over 100 and is ADA accessible, is located at 1538 State Route 161 in the hamlet of Glen, Montgomery County. It is a major element of the Glen National Register Historic District, which was created in 2001. The Hall was acquired by the Glen Conservancy in 2014 and is continuing to undergo restoration.

Tickets for each event are $20 ($15 for students and seniors), and may be purchased at the door or online at brownpapertickets.com. Updates and late-breaking news will be posted to our website, glenconservancy.com, so be sure to check that page before you travel.

The program:

Ballade No. 1, Op. 23 Frederic Chopin (1810-1849)
Impromptu No. 1 in C minor, D. 899 No. 1 Franz Schubert (1797-1828)
Excursions, No. 2 Samuel Barber (1910-1981)
Troubled Water Margaret Bonds (1913-1972)
Tango quasi una Fantasia Robert Cucinotta (b. 1949)
The Cat and the Mouse Aaron Copland (1900-1990)
El Salon Mexico Copland / Bernstein (1918-1990)

Glen Conservancy Hall, 1538 Mill Point Road (State Hwy 161), Fultonville, NY 12072

Saratoga Arts made this program possible through the Community Arts Regrant Program, funded by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature.