Sounds in Winter Concert: Lark Strings
December 30, 2023 @ 3:00PM — 4:30PM Eastern Time (US & Canada)
Brookside Museum: 21 Fairground Avenue Ballston Spa, NY 12020 Get Directions
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As part of the Sounds in Winter concert series, the Lark Strings will be performing in the Long Room of Brookside Museum on Saturday, December 30 at 3pm. The concert is free and open to the public.
Saratoga Arts made this program possible through the Community Arts Regrant Program, funded by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature. The series is co-sponsored by the Village of Ballston Spa and the American Federation of Musicians Performance Trust Fund.Jessica Belflower is an orchestral violinist, chamber musician, and educator. She is the Assistant Concertmaster of Fenimore Chamber Orchestra, Principal Second Violin for Kinderhook's Concerts In the Village, and a member of Glens Falls Symphony. Jessica performs as a pit orchestra musician for both national touring Broadway shows at Proctors and with Playhouse Stage Company. She frequently performs with the Albany Symphony, Albany Promusica, and Vermont Symphony. Jessica also concertizes in New York City, including symphony concerts at Carnegie Hall, Jazz at Lincoln Center, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, and Symphony Space. Equally at home in the pop music sphere, Jessica toured the West Coast with Andrea Bocelli, was featured nationally in John Tesh's PBS television special Piano • Gospel • Dance, and has played with Josh Groban, Rocktopia, and Il Divo, among others. Jessica is a member of the Upper Catskill String Quartet as well as the Listeso String Quartet, the latter of which presents both classical and pop concerts in a series named Candlelight Concerts by Fever. As an educator, Jessica is the violin faculty at Bard Simon’s Rock, works with Empire State Youth Orchestra, does side-by-side rehearsals and concerts with Skidmore College students, and maintains a private violin studio. She holds a Master's degree in violin performance from the University of Colorado at Boulder, under the tutelage of the Takács Quartet, and a Bachelor's degree from Arizona State University, where she studied with Dr. Katie McLin. Jessica lives in North Greenbush, NY with her son, Walden, and husband, James.
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Heather Chan is an active performer and multi-instrumentalist based in the Capital Region, as well as a research and development scientist at the GE Healthcare Technology & Innovation Center. She holds an M.M. in Violin Performance and Literature from the Eastman School of Music, where she studied with Zvi Zeitlin, and an M.S. in Computer Science and B.S. with double-major in Violin Performance and Computer Science from Brigham Young University, where she studied with Monte Belknap. Heather is a member of the Glens Falls Symphony and the Schenectady-Saratoga Symphony Orchestra, is currently serving as interim principal 2nd violin of the Catskill Symphony Orchestra, and frequently performs with the Broad Street Orchestra of Kinderhook’s Concerts in the Village, Albany Pro Musica, Saratoga Voices, and Park Playhouse. An avid chamber musician, Heather is the 1st violinist and administrator of the Upper Catskill String Quartet and frequently performs with the Musicians of Ma’alwyck as well as the Listeso Music Group in Candlelight Concerts by Fever on both violin and viola. Also active in community groups, Heather serves as Concertmaster of the Union College & Community Orchestra and the Music Company Orchestra, both of which she has performed with as a featured soloist, and she has also performed with the Gloversville Civic Band on flute and piccolo and the Capital Region Wind Ensemble on harp. She currently serves as choir director, pianist & organist at her local church.
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Brian Axford grew up in the Capital Region, and began banging on pianos around the age of 2 or 3. Lessons began age five, first with Jolanta Szewczyk, then Adelina Krivosheina, and later jazz with Lee Shaw. He graduated from Bethlehem High School, and went on to receive a Bachelor of Music in piano and jazz studies from McGill University, in Montreal, and later a Masters of Music in piano and jazz studies from the Mason Gross School of the Arts at Rutgers University.
Currently, Brian is the organist and music director at the Delmar Reformed Church, and the music director at Park Playhouse, as well as working as an accompanist and a private music instructor. Brian lives in Voorheesville with his wife and three kids. Along with piano and organ, he also plays guitar, mandolin, and the occasional hammered dulcimer.