Music in the Mansion: Floral Show Concert in the Ten Broeck Mansion

Music, flowers, gardens & history: Join us for a delightiful spring concert in the Ten Broeck Mansion Parlor by flutist Melanie Chirignan and pianist Max Caplan featuring works by Mozart, Cecile Chaminade, Elliot Weisgarber, and Poulenc.

While enjoying the music in the parlors, stroll through the Ten Broeck Mansion to view our beautiful custom floral displays by local artisans. This "salon-style" concert allows you to stroll through the rooms of the Ten Broeck Mansion experiencing exquisite fresh floral displays, while listening to musicians performing pieces from the period and beyond. Limited seating will also be available.

Custom floral arrangements generously donated by:

• Blooms by Marie, Albany NY
• Fleurelite Floral Design Studio/Craig R. Waltz Jr., Albany NY - in memory of Suzanne M. Waltz
• Flower Scout, Troy NY
• Frank Gallo Florist, Albany NY
• The Enchanted Florist, Albany NY
• Flower Blossom Design, East Greenbush NY

• Other arrangements by Ten Broeck staff & volunteers

All proceeds go to support our Education Center at the Ten Broeck Mansion! We encourage you to add an ACHA membership or make a special Education Center gift (all donations are tax deductible to the full extent of the law. The ACHA is a 501c3 nonprofit community-centered museum).

Join us for other special events throughout the weekend (separate registration for each - see our Upcoming Events page)

• Floral tours and tea tasting, Friday May 30, Saturday May 31, and June 1 from Noon - 3 pm
• Free floral tour for families with children, Sunday June 1, 3 pm and 3:30 pm

To make your visit enjoyable and safe for all:

1) By car: please park in our Livingston Avenue lot, GPS address 136 Livingston Avenue, Albany NY. Free off-street parking. Our historic neighborhood has sidewalks for easy pedestrian access. See our website for information on public transportation.

2) Please wear comfortable shoes for walking on historic, sometimes uneven surfaces (no spike heels). Bags should be smaller than a backpack. Please no touching of historic museum collections. Water (in bottles) may be brought into historic museum spaces.

3) Due to limitations on our tour/event schedule, we are unable to offer refunds.

4) ACHA members will have active membership verified prior to event.

5) Limited seating available in the Ten Broeck Mansion for those with ADA needs. Please contact us in advance with your request.

6) This event helps raise funds for our museum programming. Your donation to our Education Center Fund is gratefully received to help us build a home for arts & culture at the Ten Broeck Mansion.

About the performing artists:

Max Caplan is a classical and jazz composer and pianist. A graduate of the Hartt School of Music in Connecticut and Union College in Schenectady, he has performed with the Musicians of Ma'alwyck, the Schenectady Symphony Orchestra, and Albany Pro Musica, and is a frequent guest on the Eddie-Award-winning “Jazz Vespers” series at First Reformed Church in Schenectady. He is an adjunct instructor of composition at SUNY Schenectady and holds accompanist positions at Union College, SUNY Schenectady, Congregation Gates of Heaven in Niskayuna, and First Reformed Church in Schenectady. As a composer, Caplan has had numerous works commissioned by the Musicians of Ma’alwyck, including a one-act chamber opera, Aleda: The Flight of the Suff Birdwomen (2018). The opera’s score was praised in the Albany Times Union as “invigorating and inspiring” and Caplan’s original libretto as “highly effective.”

Flute player Melanie Chirignan is a chamber musician at her core. As a leader in premiering new music, she has been awarded grants from the Schenectady Community Arts Council, the Saratoga Community Arts Council, and the New York Women Composer's Seed Money Grant. She has worked with a multitude of composers, including Alex Ford's "Berus in the Woods" in collaboration with Electric City Puppets and Ralph Raymond Hays’ musicalization of the story "Keller's Heart" by John Gray. Currently, she is recording an album of flute and guitar music by women composers with guitarist Scott Hill. As a member of the wind quintet Quintocracy, she premiered music for silent films and presented a program of music by women composers at SUNY PAC. She has performed with: the New York Chamber Players Orchestra, Albany Pro Musica, Octavo Chamber Orchestra, Glens Falls Symphony Orchestra, Garden State Philharmonic, the Chelsea Symphony, Gateway Classical Music Society, S.E.M. Ensemble, and Hartt Independent Chamber Orchestra. As a soloist, Melanie has been featured with the Chelsea Symphony. A teaching artist at heart, she earned her Bachelor of Arts in music performance and music education, graduating magna cum laude from SUNY Fredonia and holds a Master of Music in flute performance from the Hartt School. She was an adjunct faculty member at the College of Saint Rose and maintains a busy private teaching studio in Schenectady, NY. She is an artist in residence at Troy Savings Bank Music Hall. www.MelanieChirignan.org

Performance made possible in part by the The Music Performance Trust Fund/Local 14.

Images - header: Samuel Lovett Waldo, Portrait of Hester Van Zandt Hanford, 1826, Collections AIHA. Below: Melanie Chirignan and Max Caplan, courtesy of the artists. Ten Broeck Mansion Floral Show (2024).

Host or Publisher Albany County Historical Association | Ten Broeck Mansion