Aldridge To Lead Orchestra Season Finale Tonight at Hartwick College

ONEONTA—The Oneonta College-Community Chamber Orchestra, under the direction of Ben Aldridge, will present the final concert of its 2024-25 season tonight, Monday, May 5, at 7:30 p.m. in the theater of the Anderson Center for the Arts at Hartwick College.

Aldridge will conduct a program consisting of works by Mozart and Mendelssohn, in addition to the premiere of three new compositions for orchestra and soloists by Grammy-nominated pianist and composer Jeremy Wall. In addition to Wall, who will be featured on piano, guest performers will include flutist Ana Laura Gonzalez, clarinetist Dan Butterman, trumpeter Carleton Clay, cellist Janet Nepkie and percussionist Brian Reynolds. 

According to a press release, Wall—whose career spans more than five decades—is best known as the co-founder of Spyro Gyra, the internationally renowned jazz fusion band, for which he served as pianist, producer and composer for many years. He and his high-school classmate, saxophonist and composer Jay Beckenstein, founded the group in Buffalo in 1974, and, after graduating with a degree in composition from the California Institute of the Arts, Wall returned to Buffalo and resumed his work with the band. In 1977, the group burst onto the musical scene with the release of the first of its 29 albums to date, aptly titled “Spyro Gyra.”

Though he retains close connections to the band, Wall made an abrupt career change in 2002, when he joined the faculty of SUNY Oneonta. In the years since, he has made significant contributions to both the university and the community, highlighted by frequent performances with his highly regarded funk band, both on campus and at numerous community venues. A major highlight of Wall’s career locally was his large-scale composition, “Songs of Peace,” based on texts from the Muslim, Hebrew and Christian traditions. Commissioned by the Catskill Symphony Orchestra, it was premiered in 2017 under the baton of the late maestro Charles Schneider, featuring the orchestra, along with the choruses from both Oneonta colleges and members of the Catskill Choral Society.

Ben Aldridge moved to Oneonta in 1975, after receiving both undergraduate and graduate degrees from Yale University. Best known as a trumpet player, he has performed with the Catskill Brass Quintet and with virtually all the professional orchestras and many other ensembles in Central New York and northeastern Pennsylvania. He has also served as a faculty member at both SUNY Oneonta and Hartwick College, as well as at SUNY Binghamton and Colgate University, according to the press release.

Aldridge took over the Oneonta College-Community Chamber Orchestra in the fall of 2014 following the sudden, untimely death of its founder, Dr. Orlando Legname. The orchestra, which is composed equally of students from SUNY Oneonta, Hartwick College and community members, presents two concerts a year, both performed at each college. Marie Tucker, SUNY Oneonta, and Uli Speth, Hartwick College serve as assistant conductors. Monday’s performance is free and open to all, and neither tickets nor reservations are necessary.  Prospective new members of the orchestra are urged to reach out to Aldridge at Benjamin.Aldridge@oneonta.edu to learn more.