The Oyster Bay Music Festival has become a summer classic in the hamlet. Now in its third year, the festival, which ran from June 28 to July 6, had concert-goers reveling in the sounds of beautiful classical tunes from 34 talented young musicians from across Long Island and New York State. The week was filled with 14 public concerts, two open master classes, a concert just for children and two interactive musical workshops. In addition, the performers also held daily concerts for seniors at Day Break Adult Day Care and the Life Enrichment Center.
“We put on these concerts for two different reasons,” said Sarah Hoover, one of the directors of the music festival along with Pippa Borisy and Lauren Ausubel. “To create performance opportunities for talented young musicians who don’t spend a lot of time performing at public venues and to create a concert experience for people that is fun and less formal than your typical classical music concert.”
Some of the concert venues included Raynham Hall, the Waterfront Center, Cruise Night, Gulden’s Cafe, Not Just Art and Beekman Beach. Christ Church and First Presbyterian Church were also regular stops for the performers. A dockside concert was also held aboard the Tomahawk Lobster Boat at the Oyster Bay Marine Center.
“All week long from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m., our group of students are performing non-stop,” said Borisy. “They are doing three to four concerts a day and daily performances at the Senior Center and Day Break, places where people wouldn’t normally get out.”
Borisy added that there are mix of different performers at this year’s concert series including two Oyster Bay residents.
Christopher Paolucci is a 15-year-old pianist from Oyster Bay who attends Holy Trinity High School and is very active in his school’s Music Department. Nathalie Mejia is a soprano singer and a 12th-grade honors student at Oyster Bay High School. She is a member of the Oyster Bay Community Band and is an annual participant at the NYSSMA Festival.
The festival hosted two neighboring arts organizations this year. The North Shore High School Madrigal Singers and members of the Eglevsky Ballet Company put on performances throughout the week.
