The two-time Grammy Award-winning Albany Symphony will present three free outdoor concerts along the New York State Canal system this summer as part of the third and final installment of Water Music NY: More Voices Festival.
Performances take place Friday, July 10 in Waterford, Saturday, July 11 in Rome and Saturday, Aug. 15 in the Tonawandas, each featuring a newly commissioned orchestral work inspired by its host community.
The festival is presented in partnership with the New York Power Authority and the New York State Canal Corporation, with additional support from the New York State Council on the Arts. Full details are available at here.
Each concert is part of a full day of free programming including outdoor recreation, art installations, food and beverage vendors and community tabling, and each evening concludes with a drone show.
Albany Symphony Music Director David Alan Miller described the series as a forward-looking celebration of the canal’s role as a public space.
“We have engaged three extraordinary composers and are collaborating with vibrant New York State communities to celebrate with thousands of residents and visitors at day-long festivals filled with recreational activities, delicious food, historical explorations, and family-friendly arts experiences,” Miller said.
At Lock E-2 in Waterford on July 10, Los Angeles-based composer Celka Ojakangas presents a new work, tentatively titled The Ballad of Mr. Peebles, inspired by the reintroduction of bald eagles to the region around Peebles Island State Park.
The piece will incorporate haikus written by local students and may include puppetry and sculpture. Ojakangas is a violist and interdisciplinary composer whose work has been recognized by the 2025 Aspen Music Festival Jacob Druckman Prize.
In Rome at Bellamy Harbor Park on July 11, New York City-based composer Jack Frerer will collaborate with local student actors to create a work blending orchestral music and spoken word scenes drawn from Rome’s history, from the Erie Canal and Fort Stanwix to the Air Force base. The concert falls during Rome’s “Honor America Days” celebration.
The series concludes Saturday, Aug. 15 at Gateway Harbor Park in the Tonawandas, where composer Hannah Ishizaki will present a piece that incorporates an interactive digital element inviting audience members to generate musical tones through their phones.
Ishizaki drew inspiration from the Tonawandas’ post-industrial community spirit, with the region’s history in Wurlitzer organ manufacturing, carousel production and the lumber trade shaping the work’s themes. The New York Times has praised her music as “imaginative…effective and moving.”
Water Music NY: More Voices Festival 2026
July
10 – Lock E-2 – Waterford, NY Celka Ojakangas — world premiere
11 – Bellamy Harbor Park – Rome, NY Jack Frerer — world premiere
August
15 – Gateway Harbor Park – The Tonawandas, NY Hannah Ishizaki — world premiere
All concerts are free and open to the public.
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