2019 was an incredible year for The Stissing Center. We took a break from fundraising and renovations to celebrate our progress and share our joy with our local and Hudson Valley area community. We opened the doors and hosted our very first Construction Concert Series — to show off a sampling of just some of the events we’ll feature when our renovations are complete.

More than 1,000 guests joined us.

First up was our Grand Opening Surprise Party and Community Ribbon Cutting on Auguest 31. There was celebrating, music, dancing, and refreshments.

Wynton Marsalis headlined an unbelievable Benefit Concert event, An Evening with Wynton Marsalis, the following week, on September 7. The sold-out show featured Wynton stepping off the stage to play his music for, and to talk to, the students from Stissing Senior High School who were in attendance. Earlier in the day, they were given a Jazz Master class by Wynton on our stage.

In the next few weeks, TSC had several other special events, too.

Molsky’s Mountatin Drifters played to a full house. The band features Bruce Molsky, (Grammy nominated, revered Old-Time music ambassador and Berklee College of Music Visiting Scholar) along with guitar genre bender Stash Wyslouch (of the Deadly Gentlemen) on guitar and vocals and master of the clawhammer banjo, Allison de Groot (of The Goodbye Girls).

Spirit Family Reunion played, along with opening act Mail The Horse. Inspired by the social nature of old American music, SFR packed a 1988 Chevy van with some old-time instruments and a DIY approach and drove south out of Brooklyn. A decade later, their ragged dedication remains with the release of their third full-length album Ride Free.

Bard Conservatory of Music’s Percussion Ensemble joined us for a very unique afternoon of music. It was a non-stop unique and surprising performance. We are eager to bring them back for another show!

We held a free movie and music event, too. We screened The Phantom of the Opera, the classic silent movie from 1925 along with a live performance on a touring Allen Organ. The organist, John Baratta of the New York Theatre Organ Society played his original score along with the movie. It was a pleasure to welcome him to our venue.

And finally, we were delighted to be able to offer our stage and facilities to the Stissing Theatre Guild for 2 nights as they performed a series of short plays by David Ives. We’re looking forward to more collaborations like this.

2020 EVENTS ARE IN THE WORKS!

We’re planning ahead for a number of performances for Spring and Fall 2020. (Remember—we don’t currently have heating and air conditioning to take us through a hot summer or frigid winter.) We’ll be looking to bring in more music, film, dancing, and theatre.

Be sure to sign up for our e-newsletter to hear all the news first. And, please join us for all or some of the new shows!