NEWSLETTER
Featuring Handel Sets Sail on the Hudson River, Pride Month events, and new exhibitions
Hudson, NY — Hudson Hall at the historic Hudson Opera House announces its Summer 2026 season, a lively lineup of performances, exhibitions, film screenings, and community events running June through August. This season brings audiences from the performance hall to the Hudson River, with highlights including the continuation of Hudson Hall’s Handel on the Hudson series with a trio of intimate concerts aboard a historic schooner, Pride Month programs with a new work by composer Matthew Aucoin and bass-baritone William Socolof, and the launch of Hudson-based writer Rich Volo’s debut novel; plus partnerships with WMHT and The Olana Partnership, and Got2Lindy Dance Studios. Visual arts highlights include Ghost Dance for America, 1890, an immersive installation by filmmaker Karl Nussbaum, and an exhibition by Hudson-based artist Reginald Madison.
SEASON HIGHLIGHTS
Hudson Sets Sail: Handel on the Hudson
Hudson Hall’s ongoing Handel on the Hudson series continues this summer with Handel Sets Sail, a trio of intimate performances aboard the Schooner Apollonia. Each 75–90 minute sunset sail pairs leading vocalists with musicians from early music ensemble Ruckus, offering a close-up experience of Handel’s music and drawing on the spirit of seafaring and adventure at the heart of Hudson Hall’s upcoming production of Deidamia (2027), directed by R.B. Schlather.
Performances feature soprano Meredith Wohlgemuth (June 6), bass-baritone Douglas Ray Williams (July 11), both with keyboardist Elliot Figg (Ruckus), and singer Fiona Gillespie with guitarist Paul Morton (Ruckus) (August 8).
Pride Month at Hudson Hall
Hudson Hall marks Pride Month with two programs launching new literary and musical works.
On Thursday, June 18, Hudson-based writer Rich Volo launches his debut novel The Gay Boat: Italy, a hilariously filthy yet tender story set aboard an all-gay cruise through the Mediterranean.
On Saturday, June 20, composer and MacArthur Fellow Matthew Aucoin joins bass-baritone William Socolof for the regional premiere of The Inner Core, an intimate, album-length song cycle for voice and piano. Performed by the composer at the keyboard, the work traces a queer relationship from adolescence through early adulthood, moving between tenderness, volatility, and loss. This Hudson presentation includes two newly added songs heard for the first time.
Film and Conversation: Frederic Church at 200
In partnership with The Olana Partnership and WMHT, Hudson Hall presents the premiere of Language in Landscape: The Art of Frederic Church (June 4), a new short documentary marking the artist’s 200th birthday. The screening will be followed by a conversation with Sean Sawyer, President of The Olana Partnership; Elizabeth Kornhauser, Senior Curator for the Frederic Church Bicentennial Committee and Curator Emerita at the Metropolitan Museum of Art; and Victoria Johnson, author of the new Frederic Church biography, Glorious Country: How Frederic Church Brought the World to America and America to the World (2026), moderated by director Catherine Rafferty.
A Night of Dancing: Midsummer Swing!
On Saturday, July 25, Hudson Hall partners with Got2Lindy Dance Studios for Midsummer Swing!, an evening of live music, a beginner-friendly Lindy Hop lesson, and social dancing with swing band Eight to the Bar.
The event nods to Hudson Hall’s early history as a gathering place for 19th-century social dances, bringing that tradition into the present with a night of dance open to all.
Visual Art
This summer’s exhibitions include an immersive installation exploring early American history alongside a major presentation of work by Hudson-based artist Reginald Madison, curated by September Gallery.
Ghost Dance for America, 1890 (June 25–July 5) is a large-scale immersive installation by filmmaker Karl Nussbaum. Installed in Hudson Hall’s grand performance hall, the work surrounds visitors with moving image and light, drawing on early cinematic techniques to confront the violent foundations of the United States in this 250th year of the nation’s founding. Coinciding with Upstate Art Weekend, Nussbaum invites visitors behind the scenes with a talk about the creation and inspiration behind the work on Sunday, June 28 at 3pm.
Also over Upstate Art Weekend, curator Richard Saja is joined by art critic Matt Moment (Times Union, BOMB Magazine), Stella Yoon (Executive Director, CREATE Council on the Arts), and exhibition artists to discuss Saja’s group show Surface, Structure, String: Hudson Valley Textile Art Now on Saturday, June 27 at 11am. The exhibition is on view from May 8 to July 12, 2026.
Opening July 18, Caravan presents new and recent work by artist and central figure in Hudson’s creative community, Reginald Madison. Built from salvaged materials and shaped through an intuitive process, the exhibition reflects Madison’s long relationship to jazz and improvisation. On view through October 11, the exhibition coincides with the 2026 Hudson Jazz Festival, October 2-4.
Hudson Jazz Workshop: 20th Anniversary
On Sunday, August 9, the Hudson Jazz Workshop celebrates its 20th anniversary with a free culminating concert led by pianist Armen Donelian and saxophonist Marc Mommaas, with special guest guitarist Steve Cardenas. The performance brings together an international cohort of musicians following a week-long workshop in Hudson.
SEASON LISTINGS
Language in Landscape: The Art of Frederic Church
Film screening and conversation
Thursday, June 4, 2026 at 6:30 PM
Hudson Hall
Free, reservations recommended
Handel Sets Sail: Meredith Wohlgemuth
Concert aboard Schooner Apollonia
Saturday, June 6, 2026 at 7:30 PM
Departs Henry Hudson Riverfront Park
$60
The Gay Boat: Italy
Book launch and conversation with Rich Volo
Thursday, June 18, 2026 at 6:00 PM
Hudson Hall
Free, reservations recommended
The Inner Core
Concert with Matthew Aucoin & William Socolof
Regional Premiere
Saturday, June 20, 2026 at 7:00 PM
Hudson Hall
$30–$55
Ghost Dance for America, 1890
Video installation by Karl Nussbaum
June 25–July 5, 2026
Hudson Hall
Free, reservations recommended
Surface, Structure, String: Hudson Valley Textile Art Now
May 8 - July 12, 2026
Artist Talk:
Saturday, June 27, 2026 at 11:00 AM
With Richard Saja, art critic Matt Moment, Stella Yoon, Executive Director of CREATE Council on the Arts, and exhibition artists.
Free, reservations recommended
Ghost Dance for America, 1890: Artist Talk
Sunday, June 28, 2026 at 3:00 PM
With artist Karl Nussbaum
Hudson Hall
Free, reservations recommended
Handel Sets Sail: Douglas Ray Williams
Concert aboard Schooner Apollonia
Saturday, July 11, 2026 at 6:00 PM
Departs Henry Hudson Riverfront Park
$60
Reginald Madison: Caravan
Exhibition
July 18–October 11, 2026
Hudson Hall
Free
Midsummer Swing!
Dance party with Got2Lindy Dance Studios and live music by Eight to the Bar
Saturday, July 25, 2026 at 6:30 PM
Hudson Hall
$37
Handel Sets Sail: Fiona Gillespie
Concert aboard Schooner Apollonia
Saturday, August 8, 2026 at 7:30 PM
Departs Henry Hudson Riverfront Park
$60
Hudson Jazz Workshop Concert (20th Anniversary)
Sunday, August 9, 2026 at 3:00 PM
Hudson Hall
Free, reservations recommended
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Photo: Still from Ghost Dance for America, 1890 by Karl Nussbaum
PRESS KIT
Press images, artist bios, and additional information are available at:
hudsonhall.org/press-kit-