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Press Room

Tuesday, Apr 7, 2009

Hyde partners with 40+ organizations for Season of Degas

To enhance the visitor and regional impact of Degas & Music, The Hyde Collection’s major 2009 exhibition of the music-inspired paintings and other works by French Impressionist Edgar Degas, the Museum has partnered with more than forty regional arts and community organizations to present the Season of Degas.

“The concept of the Season of Degas,” said David F. Setford, the Hyde’s executive director, “was to engage audiences interested in a range of arts, as befits the theme of the exhibition…painting and music. In addition to our Degas & Music exhibition and the many related events being held at the Museum, cultural and community organizations from the Capital District to Saratoga and north beyond Lake George to Schroon Lake will be hosting more than seventy events with a Degas theme. As far as collaborative programming goes, this is unprecedented artistic synergy.”

As part of the largest collaborative arts venture ever undertaken by The Hyde, local Season partners include such organizations as the Chapman Historical Museum and World Awareness Children Museums, as well as LARAC (Lower Adirondack Regional Arts Council), the Glens Falls Symphony Orchestra, and the de Blasiis Chamber Music Series. Organizations hosting Degas-related events outside Glens Falls include the Philadelphia Orchestra at Saratoga Performing Arts Center, along with such venues as Seagle Music Colony in Schroon Lake, multiple arts groups at Hubbard Hall in Cambridge, and Union College in Schenectady.

Degas & Music, at The Hyde from July 12 through October 18, 2009, marks the first time that any exhibition has focused on the artist’s interest in music. Degas is internationally renowned for his paintings, sketches, and drawings, as well as his pastels and sculptures, depicting the ballet and horses. However, according to exhibition curators and Degas scholars Richard Kendall and Jill DeVonyar, Degas’ many music-themed works were a result of the artist’s regular attendance at and fascination with musical performances.

“The Season of Degas brings arts organizations and communities together in a truly unique way. In these difficult economic times, The Hyde and its Season partners can share audiences, promotional opportunities, and love of the arts through a very diverse series of concerts, theatrical performances, exhibitions, and events.” said Setford. “In all, the Season is as groundbreaking as the exhibition. We are looking at more than seventy performances and events involving forty different organizations, in five upstate New York counties, from May through October,” said Setford.