American Recorder Society
Hudson Mohawk Chapter
Schedule | Newsletter | Workshop | Recitals | Pictures | Links | Directions | Contact Info

Who We Are

The Hudson Mohawk Chapter of the American Recorder Society is a diverse group of recorder players at all skill levels. The Recorder Society has been active for many years. Presently, we meet twice a month at the historic Pruyn House in Colonie. The House at 207 Old Niskayuna Road is centrally located in the Capital District and is easily accessible from major highways.

The meetings are casual and are always enjoyable. The music is generally Medieval or Renaissance with enough folk and modern music to make for an interesting mix of periods and styles. Harp, cornetto, crumhorn and viols are included at times. Percussion is generally added for rhythm and interest. The music chosen is suited to the skills and interests of the members and is presented by excellent coaches and directors. We have played music from Medieval chants to Paul Hindemith.

During the business portion of each meeting, local concerts, recitals and programs of interest to Early Music enthusiasts are noted with times and locations. Details of our own recital, and the workshop we sponsor are also updated on a timely basis.

We are always looking for new members and encourage people of all abilities to attend. Come, join in, bring your recorder and enjoy a pleasant evening of music making. Light refreshments are served after each Thursday meeting.


What's New

9/16/2009
  • It's another new season for HMRS, whee! See the latest schedule here.
5/19/2009
  • Added a link to the new Adirondack Baroque Consort web site.
2/14/2009
  • Save the date! Our spring workshop will be 4/18. Our instructors will be Tricia Van Oers and Gwyn Roberts. More details soon...
12/6/2008 8/31/2008 6/11/2008
  • We had a great turnout for the June recital. Thanks again to Nancy for recording the proceedings. You can hear the results here.
4/29/2008
  • Thanks to Sheila Beardslee for a fun and challenging workshop!
3/29/2008 3/4/2008
  • The recital was varied and fun, as usual. You can see the program and listen to the performances here. Thanks to Nancy for her recording efforts.
2/8/2008
  • We've got lots of upcoming recorder events. The newest items are listed below.
  • Recital: After some debate, we decided that YES, we will hold a recital at our next meeting, 2/20. Those interested in performing should tell Darleen so she can organize the program. As always, the public is welcome to attend free of charge.
  • State Museum: In honor of March's designation as "Play the Recorder Month", we'll have groups playing at noon on Tuesdays on the fourth floor of the State Museum. Contact John S. for more information or if you'd like to play. As of right now, the 4th is still available.
  • Colonie Center Mall: "Play the Recorder Month" has inspired us to try a new venue and format. From 11:30 to 3:00 on Friday March 7th, Saturday March 15th and Wednesday March 19th, President Ole will be at the Colonie Center mall playing his recorders. He invites anybody else to come, bring music if you like, and play along. If you'd like to prepare pieces to play as a group, that's fine. You can also just show up and play with whoever else is there at the same time.
  • The Spring Workshop date is April 26th. Sheila Beardslee will be our instructor. Details are available here.
11/27/2007 10/5/2007
  • It's a new season for HMRS! There have been a few changes to the schedule, which you can peruse here.
  • Congratulations and thank you to the folks who agreed (and were elected) to fill the positions that help keep the Society running smoothly.
9/2/2007
  • The Adirondack Baroque Consort would like to announce two upcoming concerts in the area:
    1. Thursday September 6, 2007 at 7 pm at East Greenbush Community Library, 10 Community Way, East Greenbush, NY 12061. Ph 518-477-7476
    2. ADIRONDACK BAROQUE CONSORT “FAMILY REUNION” CONCERT, Sunday, September 9, 2007 4:30 PM, The New Baltimore Reformed Church, Rt. 144, New Baltimore, NY. Music by Bach, Anders, Schickhardt, Wagner & from the Dutch Psalter
8/29/2007
  • We had lots of fun in our unofficial summer sessions and are eager to once again begin official, non-summer sessions. Accordingly, the schedule has been updated for the 2007-2008 season. The latest newsletter is also available. Enjoy!
6/22/2007
  • We're official! That is, we have a new constitution. It was reviewed and ratified at the last meeting, and should be available online in its final version soon. Officer elections will be held in the fall.
  • Our picnic and meeting concluded another fun season of music for HMRS. Last year we had "unofficial" summer sessions (still first Thursday, third Wednesday) at various members' houses. That was fun, so we're going to try it again. The first meeting is July 5th at Will's house.
  • There's a new page: recitals. The program from the most recent recital is there, as well as the actual performances(!). Thanks to Nancy for her role as surreptitious sound engineer.
  • Marie-Luise would like to extend her thanks to those who came and provided music for her garden tour, which was by all accounts a success.
6/5/2007
  • Darleen is coordinating the summer picnic on 6/20. (Thanks, Darleen!) She's in charge of the main course, hamburgers and hot dogs, but it's up to us to bring everything else. Please contact her and let her know what you plan to bring.
  • John is coordinating the June 7th recital program. (Thanks, John!) Please contact him and let him know what you plan to play. If you choose email, don't consider your message received until he replies -- he apparently has an overzealous spam filter.
  • We need goodies for after the recital. I don't think anybody's coordinating that. Just bring something yummy.
  • Marie-Luise has a beautiful garden. "Why is this a recorder topic?" you may well ask. Well, her garden is so beautiful that it is going to be included in the Soroptimist garden tour on June 16th, and she has invited HMRS members to come and provide garden-touring music. Her garden will be available for viewing from 10:00 to 4:00. If you or your group would like to play for some of that time, contact Marie-Louise.
  • The Constitutional Committee has unveiled the new proposed constitution. Members can access the document here. Ole, Allen and Lee welcome any comments.
  • At the conclusion of a Renaissance Faire at Oakwood Avenue Cemetery in Troy on Saturday, June 16, the Adirondack Baroque Consort will be performing a concert of medieval and Renaissance music, with commentary, at 4:00 PM in the Earl Chapel. Admission is $10 for adults and $6 for children 8-18. Proceeds will be used for Earl Chapel restoration and for music scholarships offered by the consort. For further information about the Faire, contact Terry Page at 237-2188. For further information about the concert, contact Karen Williams at 377-6188. Directions to Earl Chapel: Route 787 N to Rt. 7. Take Rt. 7 across the bridge into Troy. Turn left at the second traffic light (10th St., Rt. 40). There will be a sign to St. Mary's Hospital. Follow 10th St. (which becomes Oakwood Ave.) for about a mile. The entrance to the cemetery (near the gatekeeper's house at 186 Oakwood) will be on the left. The chapel can be easily seen from there.
4/6/2007
  • Thanks to Tricia van Oers for another great workshop!
  • The spring newsletter has sprung.
  • There is an Adirondack Baroque Consort performance on April 22nd at 3 PM at the Clarksville Community Church (Delaware Ave., Rt. 443, 7 1/2 miles west of Delmar Four Corners).
2/22/2007
  • Here is the info on this year's workshop. There is also an order form you can print out and mail in with your check.
2/1/2007
  • March is Play the Recorder Month! In honor of that, we're putting on lunch-hour performances at the New York State Museum every Friday in March. Come to the fourth floor at noon if you'd like to listen. If you're interested in playing, there are still spots available.
  • We have an official date for our spring workshop with Tricia van Oers: March 31st. Details to follow.
  • The Memorial Day Workshop at Amherst Early Music is May 25-28th. (Follow link for details.)
11/17/2006
  • The fall recital had a fun and varied program. Thanks to everybody for performing and listening, and special thanks to Darleen for organizing.
  • The latest newsletter is now available.
  • Everybody's invited to Will's house for Christmas tunes on December 7th.
    • Come socialize and play!
  • Ensemble Caprice, including Matthias Maute is performing in Troy on Saturday, November 18th. More info here.
  • Don't forget about the Adirondack Baroque Consort performance on December 3rd at St. Thomas of Canterbury in Halfmoon.
11/4/2006
  • Lee, our sheet music librarian, has come up with a great idea (with a catchy name) to encourage members to take advantage of our extensive music collection. We're officially introducing the Browse-a-Box program. Members can check out a box of music at a time and keep it for a month. The boxes are generally arranged by number of players, and there's a lot of great stuff in there. As always, an online card catalog of our library is available to members on the Hudson Mohawk Recorder Society Yahoo! Group.
  • The fall recital is coming up fast -- please tell Darleen what you plan to play so she can make up the program.
9/3/2006
  • Our experiment with summer sessions has been a success! We had fewer attendees than during the regular season, as you'd expect, but that plus meeting at members' homes made for a nice intimate atmosphere. Traditions we may carry over to next year include bring-your-own-music format and a "theme song" for the summer. This time we chose Bach's G Major Organ Fugue. The piece was challenging, but we assigned parts, practiced at home, and worked on it each session. By the end of the summer it sounded pretty good.
  • The schedule for this year and the latest newsletter are now available.
6/22/2006
  • The picnic was a success, with delicious food followed by delicious music (led by Joseph Loux).
  • Our official season is over, but we're experimenting this year with informal meetings over the summer. If you're interested in attending, drop us a line for the latest info on places and times.
  • The Adirondack Baroque Consort has two upcoming performances to benefit the scholarship fund. On October 22nd, you can hear them at the Clarksville Reformed Church and on December 3rd they will perform at St. Thomas of Canterbury in Halfmoon.
  • You'll recall our recent Shaker music session led by Ann Githler, where she had us up and dancing. If you'd like to experience more, there is an evening of Shaker Song and Dance at the Spencertown Academy on July 21st. See the Mount Lebanon Shaker Village site for more info.
4/28/2006
  • Added the latest newsletter . Thanks to Darleen for another great job with that!
  • Don't forget that our next meeting is "bring your own music."
4/17/2006
  • Added a local groups page. At the moment, the only entry on the page is for the Adirondack Baroque Consort.
  • And speaking of ABC:
    The Adirondack Baroque Consort will be giving a Spring Concert at St. Paul's Church on Sunday, May 14, 2006, at 4 pm. Light refreshments will follow the concert. Round out your Mother's Day activities by bringing her to the concert!

    Music performed will include many styles, from Bach to Joplin. Two pieces by the founder of the ABC, Maurice Whitney, are planned. Dr. Whitney was director of music for the Glens Falls School system. Also included are some Rags, some Folk Songs and popular tunes. The second half will feature a short cantata written by two composers at about the same time in two different European countries! Is it German or Italian? The experts couldn't decide so credit is given to both. Come and see what you think!

    Suggested donation $10, seniors and students $8. Proceeds will be used toward new kitchen counters in the McNary Center, and for the ABC's William and Jane Coffey Scholarship.
4/6/2006
  • The schedule has been updated: the programs for 4/19 and 5/4 have been swapped.
  • Added a link to Amherst Early Music.
  • Again, don't forget to send in your entry form for the upcoming workshop! The sooner you send that in, the easier it is for us to organize the day.
3/16/2006
  • Thanks to Richie and Elaine Henzler for a great session. They can be heard in concert this Tuesday, 3/21, at noon at St. Paul's Episcopal Church in Troy. Click here for details.
  • There is new entry on the links page for Courtly Music Unlimited, the Henzlers' web site, and the list of links is now a little more organized.
  • Don't forget to send in your entry form for the upcoming workshop!
3/3/2006
  • Even more workshop information, including a form suitable for printing. Click here for details.
  • There's a new entry on the links page, for easy access to the HMRS Yahoo! group.
2/20/2006
  • Updated workshop information is now available. Click here for details.

2/3/2006
  • We are pleased to announce that the long-awaited web site is up and running (hello!). It's a work in progress, and we encourage feedback. What would you like to see here? Drop us a line and let us know.
  • A date has been selected for our annual workshop. Mark your calendars for Saturday, April 29th. More info coming soon.
  • Important schedule change: We're switching the programs for 2/15 and 4/19. This means that our upcoming meeting is "Bring Your Own Music". Please come with something for the group to play. We have had great attendance lately, so the more copies you bring the better (I suggest 15).
  • The Worcester Hills Recorder Society in central Massachusetts is hosting a workshop on March 4th that may be of interest to our members. Click here for details, including a registration form.