Events
Our Summer Series takes place at the historical Cragsmoor Stone Church. The Hilltop Experience, a new locally-based organization looking to curate a diversity of experiences around the Hudson Valley, is presenting a season’s worth of innovative music programming in this altogether unique setting.
Stuart Bogie
Acclaimed composer and performer will preview his upcoming solo clarinet-with-drones LP, Morningside, in a concert also featuring live drawing from local artist Michael Arthur
Born in Evanston, Illinois, composer and performer Stuart Bogie has performed with Arcade Fire, Iron and Wine, Bonny Light Horseman and many others. A longtime member of Antibalas, he also led the band Superhuman Happiness for 10 years and in 2022 released The Prophets in the City, an album of music composed for Brass and Percussion between 2019 and 2021, featuring the drumming of friend and collaborator Joe Russo. He is the recipient of a Meet the Composer grant and he composed the score for the Oscar nominated documentary How To Survive a Plague, featuring performances by the Kronos Quartet. He has written for film, television, commercials, and the stage. He has released 12 albums as leader.
During the pandemic lock-down, Bogie performed a daily series of improvised solo clarinet pieces using the accompaniment drone tracks sent to him by over 50 different collaborators including Arcade Fire, Richard Reed Parry, Colin Stetson, Sam Cohen, Josh Kaufman, Peter Murray, E Dan, Craig Finn, Ryan Sawyer, Yuka Honda, and James Murphy. Began in the second week of lock-down, the series ran for over 150 days consecutively and has been collected into four volumes, with more volumes in the works. A forthcoming LP, Morningside, presenting 2 of the pieces made with James Murphy will be released in the coming months. This music is featured in a worldwide exhibition of photographs by Gregory Crewsden, and can be heard in the documentary accompanying the exhibit.
Artist Michael Arthur specializes in both drawing the intimate moments of theater, dance and music as well as performing "live drawings", visually accompanying music and performers with projected, real time illustrations. He draws mostly in ink without any pencils or rough drafts: each drawing is a live reaction to the moment. Michael's drawings have appeared at Vanity Fair, The New York Times, The New Yorker, Departures Magazine, NPR, The Huffington Post and many other places.
The Cragsmoor Stone Church (“Chapel of the Holy Name”) was built in 1897, on the edge of the mountain with breathtaking views of the Catskill Mountains. Famous for its stunning stone architecture and luminous stained glass, the Church also boasts exquisite, cathedral-like acoustics, and has hosted numerous classical, church music and other events through the years. The Hilltop Experience, a new locally-based organization that curates a diversity of experiences around the Hudson Valley, is excited about presenting a season’s worth of innovative music programming in this altogether unique setting.
Tickets $20, available at the door or in advance
The Stone Church (Chapel of the Holy Name), 280 Henry Rd, Cragsmoor, NY, 12420
For more information, contact Ezra Gale (646) 460-2098, ezragale@gmail.com
Lucia Stavros & Band
Lucia Stavros, an acclaimed harpist and vocalist based in Brooklyn, NY, will bring her gorgeous blend of chamber music and indie pop to the historic and stunning Cragsmoor Stone Church on Saturday, August 26.
Brent Arnold at the Cragsmoor Stone Church
A new concert series presented by The Hilltop Experience at the historic and breathtaking Stone Church in Cragsmoor, NY will kick off on Saturday June 17 with a concert by the acclaimed and innovative cellist Brent Arnold. Arnold’s spellbinding solo performances take the cello in new directions, mixing in electronics and improvisation. An internationally renowned artist who has toured North America, Europe and Japan, Arnold’s recordings, collaborations and performances have long bridged the worlds of classical music, musical theater and indie rock.
His long and eclectic list of collaborators includes The Antlers, Filastine, Eyvind Kang, Reggie Watts, Wayne Horvitz, Ashwini Ramaswami, Jessica Pavone, DJ/Rupture and many others. His solo album Night, Exquisite was praised by Vice Magazine as a “beautiful record’ and by Time Out New York as “cinematic and lushly coherent,” and he has a new solo album planned for release later this year. While a member of the ensemble for the raved-about Broadway show Natasha, Pierre, and the Great Comet of 1812, Arnold co-formed Ghost Quartet with that show’s composer and stars, Dave Malloy, Gelsey Bell and Brittain Ashford. He is currently composing Ali, a new opera with Grey Filastine and Walid Ben Salim, that will debut in Brussels in 2024.
The Cragsmoor Stone Church (“Chapel of the Holy Name”) was built in 1897, on the edge of the mountain with breathtaking views of the Catskill Mountains. Locally renowned for its stunning stone architecture and luminous stained glass, the Church also boasts exquisite, cathedral-like acoustics, and has hosted numerous classical, church music and other events through the years. The Hilltop Experience, a new locally-based organization looking to curate a diversity of experiences around the Hudson Valley, is excited about presenting a season’s worth of innovative music programming in this altogether unique setting.