History
St. Paul's Festival of the Arts: 1982 - 2007The series was established in 1982 by Bill Hargrove, a pianist and graduate of the Juilliard School. Known as the St. Paul's Festival of the Arts, the series presented weekly concerts in the historic St. Paul's Church in Nyack, New York for over twenty-five years. During this time, the series was managed with great dedication and resilience by Bill, and featured hundreds of performances by brilliant musicians. In 2007, Bill invited Yashar Yaslowitz to help manage the concerts as co-director. Retiring shortly thereafter, Bill turned the reigns of the series over to Yashar. |
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South Nyack Recital Series: 2007 - 2009
Under Yashar's leadership, the series was renamed the South Nyack Recital Series and began to focus on solo piano performances, showcasing the Wisner grand piano given to the series by Bill Hargrove. In January 2008, the series moved a few blocks north to its current location at The Nyack Library, where it began presenting concerts in the Library's historic Carnegie Room.
With a new home and renewed sense of purpose, the series received another source of support from the Soiree Society of the Arts, which lent much needed administrative and financial resources. Under the management of the Soiree Society, the series flourished, and word spread quickly about the extraordinary performances taking place each week in the Carnegie Room.
In September 2008, the series received another major vote of confidence when Yamaha Artist Services, Inc. (YASI) donated the use of a CFIIIS Yamaha concert grand piano, a premiere handcrafted instrument. The series began featuring numerous world class musicians, including many national and international prize winners and several Yamaha Artists.
Carnegie Room Concerts: A New Chapter
The series was renamed Carnegie Room Concerts at its inaugural gala concert on June 6, 2009. Under the artistic direction of Yashar Yaslowitz, the series continues to grow and to look for new ways to expand. In January 2010, the series began presenting Sunday concerts - in addition to its weekly Saturday concerts - increasing its total number of concerts per year to seventy-five.
Carnegie Room Concerts has become a champion of solo piano music in the United States. Musicians and the public alike have been able to enjoy piano recitals in the intimate setting for which it was originally intended. Carnegie Room Concerts presents piano concerts every week, Saturdays at 7:30 pm, all year long. With this extensive schedule, Carnegie Room Concerts is believed to be the largest solo piano recital presenter in the world.