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The de Blasiis Chamber Music Concerts began in the early 1930s when
Mrs. Louis Hyde requested that Gio de Blasiis perform eight piano
programs in the home of Mrs. Mary Hoopes. With the assistance of Mrs.
Barbara Reese and Mrs. Polly Beeman, a Glens Falls institution began.
Gio de Blasiis was one of four sisters from a very musical family;
she and her sister Ginny continued to oversee the series through the
1990s. Gio received a Bachelor of Music degree from Yale, studied piano
in NYC, London and Paris. She received a Master’s degree from the
Eastman School, taught at Emma Willard in Troy, at Skidmore and
privately in Glens Falls. Gio’s younger sister, Ginny, studied at
Curtis Institute and Juilliard. She was concertmaster for the Vermont
Symphony for many years, played with the Schenectady and Glens Falls
Symphonies, and taught in the Glens Falls school system until
retirement.
George Finckel, a well-known cellist from Bennington College, joined
the two sisters early on to form a piano trio. Other musicians who
performed in the early years were Hugh Allen Wilson, organ and
harpsichord; Brooks Tillotson, French Horn; Bernard Garfield, first
bassoonist with the Philadelphia Orchestra; Bernard Kadinoff, violist
with the Boston Symphony; William Garrigus, oboist with the Vermont
Symphony; pianists Russell and JoAnn Locke from Emma Willard and Troy,
and singers Carol Randles and Jane Bucci.
Programming for the concerts has always been innovative, from the
romantic and classical repertoire to Schoenberg, Bartok, and Wuorinen,
scored for all combinations of instruments from small ensembles to
symphony orchestras. There have been a number of first performances
given in Glens Falls, and in 1982 a Divertimento for String Quartet by
Charles Wuorinen was commissioned by Gio and Ginny and given it first
performance on the concert series.
Gio and Ginny de Blasiis were instrumental in bringing well-known,
often international performers to Glens Falls and were active in the
scheduling of the performances until their deaths in 1996 and 1998. A
formal board of directors was then formed to carry on the sisters’
legacy. With the support of members of the community, faithful patrons,
the City of Glens Falls, six concerts continue to be presented each
year in the auditorium of The Hyde Collection.
In 2001, the de Blasiis Chamber Music Series was able to fundraise
and purchase a Model B Steinway Concert Grand Piano. This allowed the
organization to provide an appropriate instrument for the quality of
musician that continues to perform as part of this series. Many
internationally known artists, including the ever-popular Finckel
Family, continue to be part of this chamber music series.
The 2002-03 season marks the 70th year for this concert series,
classifying it as one of the very oldest chamber music series in the
country. The six-concert season begins in September and runs through
May. Many of the same performers return year after year because “they
like to see the same faces in the audience each year and like
performing to a sophisticated audience”. The Board also works to
introduce some new musicians to the series as well. Single tickets
and/or season subscriptions can be purchased at the door of any
performance. For tickets or more information, call 793-0531. |
