The Schenectady-Saratoga Symphony Orchestra closes its 2025–26 season on Saturday, April 18 with “Poetic Echoes” at Universal Preservation Hall in Saratoga Springs — and the program they’ve assembled is one worth paying attention to. Florence Price, Ralph Vaughan Williams, Mendelssohn’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream. There’s a lot in that lineup. Showtime is 7:00 PM.
About the Program
The Florence Price inclusion alone makes this concert worth the conversation. Price was the first Black woman to have a major work performed by a major American symphony orchestra — the Chicago Symphony premiered her Symphony No. 1 in 1933 — and her music remained largely overlooked for decades before a sustained rediscovery brought her into the canon she always deserved. Programming her on a season-closer in 2026 isn’t a gesture. It’s a statement about what a regional orchestra thinks its audience is ready for.
Alongside Price is Ralph Vaughan Williams, whose orchestral writing has a way of feeling both ancient and urgent — pastoral without being sleepy. And closing it all out: Mendelssohn’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream, the incidental music that’s been delighting audiences for nearly two centuries. If you’ve never heard “The Wedding March” in the context it was actually written for, this is your chance. The SSSO will be joined by Saratoga Voices (chorus) and two soloists — Brittany Palmer, soprano, and Ann Marie Adamick, mezzo-soprano — for a program that earns its title.
About the SSSO
The Schenectady-Saratoga Symphony Orchestra has been part of the Capital Region’s cultural fabric since 1935 — one of New York State’s most storied regional orchestras, and the only ensemble that moves between Schenectady and Saratoga as a matter of course. Under Artistic Director and Conductor Glen Cortese, the SSSO presents four main-stage concerts per season at Proctors and across the Capital District. This is Concert IV. The finale.
Venue Info
Universal Preservation Hall is one of the most quietly special rooms in the Capital Region. The former Methodist church in downtown Saratoga Springs was meticulously restored and opened as a performing arts venue in 2019 — and the acoustics are exactly what you’d hope from a 19th-century sanctuary. Sound fills the room the way it was meant to. For classical music specifically, it’s hard to imagine a better fit in this city. The venue is a short walk from Broadway, which puts you steps away from dinner before the show.
Pre-Show Talk & Under-18 Policy
Conductor Glen Cortese leads a pre-show talk at 6:00 PM — a full hour before downbeat. If you’ve never heard a conductor walk through a program before the performance, it’s worth getting there early. The SSSO also offers free admission for patrons under 18 with a ticketed adult — a smart policy for any family that wants to introduce younger listeners to the orchestral experience in a room this beautiful.
Tickets
Tickets are on sale now through the Proctors Collaborative box office. Get tickets for SSSO: Poetic Echoes at Universal Preservation Hall →
This is the season closer. The SSSO doesn’t play Universal Preservation Hall every week. If there’s a concert on your radar for April, this is it.
See all upcoming shows at Universal Preservation Hall and explore more Capital Region concerts.