Seagle Festival Presents: Life is Happiness Indeed
The Music of Leonard Bernstein
EVENT DETAILS:
Sunday, September 6, 4:00 pm
Keene Valley Congregational Church
East Branch Friends of the Arts continues with our annual presentation of the Seagle Festival in Keene Valley. This year the wonderful singers of Seagle are presenting Life is Happiness Indeed-the music of Leonard Bernstein. Please join us for a celebration of one of America’s most iconic composers; Bernstein’s music seamlessly crosses boundaries between concert and popular music and explores themes that are central to 20th century culture in the United States.
The oldest summer singer training program in the country, the Seagle Colony was founded in 1915 by world renowned baritone, Oscar Seagle. Oscar made several concert tours in the United States and Europe, and recorded albums for Columbia, including the popular World War I hit “Dear Old Pal of Mine.” For decades, the colony was led by the Seagle family. In 1996, Darren K. Woods was hired as General Director. Under his leadership, and with a core staff consisting of Richard Kagey and Tony Kostecki, Seagle Festival has grown to become the “Best Summer Vocal Training Program in the United States” (Classical Singer Magazine, 2000).
Today hundreds of applicants vie for the opportunity to attend Seagle Festival. In the past twenty-five years, Seagle Festival has grown from two productions and eight performances per summer to six full productions and over thirty-five performances. In 2008 Tony Kostecki became the full time General Director. To properly reflect its mission, Seagle Colony became Seagle Festival in January 2021.
