2008 Thelonious Monk Saxophone Competition winner and 2012 New York City Jazz Record’s Musician of the Year, Jon Irabagon combines honoring jazz music’s history with a bold, unique vision for its future direction. Nate Chinen of The New York Times calls him “a musician of intense concentration who wants nothing more than to indulge a spirit of play, emphatic and unreserved,” and Paul Acquaro of the Free Jazz Blog raves, “Saxophonist Jon Irabagon’s playing is a treat. His sax work is restrained and searching at times and scorching and scathing at others throughout this focused program. 5 stars.”

Visit Jon’s website: www.jonirabagon.com

Sponsored by New York Central Mutual Insurance

Pegasus: the Orchestra is a nonprofit professional orchestra with a mission to empower rising musicians with artistic freedom and promote innovative repertoire in an environment of creative thought and expression. Founded by Karén Hakobyan in late 2017, the orchestra brings together musicians and audiences of diverse backgrounds and cultural heritages by harnessing the power of music. Their program for us will be “Eight Seasons”: a delightful contrast of Vivaldi’s Four Seasons and Piazzolla’s The Four Seasons of Buenos Aires.

More information is available at www.karenhakobyan.com/pegasus.html

Sponsored by Rotary International

Guitarist/mandolinist Sten Isachsen and guitarist/composer Maria Zemantauski have delighted audiences around the globe as soloists and in various ensembles for decades. Together, this dynamic string duo celebrate their eclectic musical tastes — fiery flamenco, classical, Latin, roots and bluegrass — to create a vibrant, rich and refreshing sound. Their rhythmically driven repertoire takes the listener on a journey of traditional classics, innovative arrangements, and stunning original compositions. Spanish and flamenco dancer La Nina and percussionist Brian Melick round out the ensemble for an exciting evening of music and dance.

Visit Maria’s website at www.mariazguitar.com

Sponsored by SUNY Oneonta and New York Skin & Vein Center

Arjun has spent his entire life steeped in the tradition of North Indian Classical Music. The son of internationally performing but Oneonta-based sitarist Roop Verma, who was a disciple of Ali Akbar Khan and Ravi Shankar, Arjun began learning sitar from his father at age five. Having studied the Maihar Gharana style of Hindustani classical music, and influenced by innovative sitar techniques inspired by the Maestro as well as by sitarist Nikhil Banerjee, Arjun performs in a style encompassing the deeply contemplative as well as the exhilarating elements of Indian music.

Arjun will be accompanied by Naren Budhakar on tabla.

Visit Arjun’s website at www.arjun-verma.com

Sponsored by Community Bank and Endwell Rug & Floor

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Plus FREE!  SPECIAL PRESENTATION:  On Wednesday, November 2,  7:00 to 8:30 pm, Arjun Verma and Naren Budhakar will give a free public lecture/demonstration on “North Indian Classical Music: The Spontaneity of Creation” at SUNY Oneonta Music Department, Fine Arts Bldg., Room 212 (chorus room).  This experiential workshop, in preparation for the concert, will offer an inside look at one of the great classical music traditions of the world, delving into the building blocks of the music as well as its traditional teaching methods — an opportunity to understand and experience this powerful approach to music.  Sponsored by The Catskill Conservatory, the SUNY Oneonta Music Department, and the Oneonta Concert Association.  For more information contact Carleton Clay, carleton.clay@oneonta.edu, or call the SUNY Music Department at (607) 436-3415.

Naren Budhakar

From marimba to drumset, this concert of solo and chamber ensemble music will feature driving rhythms, lyrical melodies and organ-like chorales, quiet contemplative minimalism, extended playing techniques, fixed instruments, and audience-directed improvisations… What more could you ask for!?

Visit Julie’s website at www.julielicata.com

Sponsored by Future for Oneonta Foundation and other local foundations and donors.

Hailed by The New York Times at its Carnegie Hall debut as “invariably energetic and finely burnished… playing with earthy vigor,” the Grammy Award-winning Catalyst Quartet was founded by the internationally acclaimed Sphinx Organization in 2010. The ensemble (Karla Donehew Perez, violin; Abi Fayette, violin; Paul Laraia, viola; and Karlos Rodriguez, cello) believes in the unity that can be achieved through music and imagine their programs and projects with this in mind, redefining and reimagining the classical music experience, and bringing the OCA’s 94th season to a forward-looking close.

Visit their website at www.catalystquartet.com

Sponsored by New York Central Mutual Insurance