About Classical Music in Classic Films

'Classical Music in Classic Films'

A Benefit Concert for the Woodstock Film Festival and Woodstock Symphony Orchestra

Featuring the Piano Duo Anna and Dmitri Shelest

Saturday, September 27th at 7:30 pm

Join us for a captivating evening where the magic of cinema meets the power of classical music. Acclaimed pianists Anna and Dmitri Shelest will perform timeless pieces featured in iconic films – from Bach and Beethoven to Rachmaninoff, Debussy, Chopin and Gershwin – against the background of clips from the unforgettable films that have moved audiences for generations.

The special benefit concert supports two cultural cornerstones of the Hudson Valley: the Woodstock Film Festival, a champion of independent Film and the Woodstock Symphony Orchestra, a beloved ensemble that has kept orchestra music vibrant and alive in our community for over four decades.

Proceeds will help fund year-round programming, community outreach, and education initiatives for both organizations.

Experience the emotional depth of classical music in the context of the stories it has helped tell on screen. Whether you’re a cinephile, a music lover, or a supporter of the arts, this is an evening you won’t want to miss.

Length: 2 hours

TICKET PRICING:

Platinum $100.00 - Rows A & B

Gold $65.00 - Rows C to F

Blue $55.00 - Rows G to N

Green $45.00 - Rows P to Q

Each ticket includes a platform/handling fee; all sales are final; no refunds nor exchanges.

At The Iconic Woodstock Playhouse

Larry Hagman; Woodstock Playhouse 1950, costumed as a valet; member of Margaret Webster's Shakespeare Company; Courtesy of George Dupont

The Woodstock Playhouse, established in 1938 as a rural extension of Broadway and Summer Theater by a member of one of Woodstock's Oldest Families, became a central hub for the launching of major careers on Broadway and in film and television - including Robert Hutton, Larry Hagman, Lee Marvin, Diane Keaton, Chevy Chase, Andrea Martin, Karl Malden, Kitty Kelly, Elissa Landi, Judd Hirsch, Anne Meara, Dick Van Patten and Estelle Parsons to name just a few - as it continues to do today.

During the late 1950s and into the 60s, the Woodstock Playhouse directors instituted Saturday morning children's productions & concerts as well as midnight concerts featuring such artists as Tom Paxton, Peter Yarrow, Tim Hardin, Pete Seeger, Happy and Artie Traum, Billy Faire, and Jack Elliot. The Band, including Levon Helm, Rick Danko, Garth Hudson, Richard Manuel and Jaime Robbie Robertson, would record their album Stage Fright at the Woodstock Playhouse with Todd Rundgren serving as sound engineer. As the 1960s evolved and Woodstock found itself at the center of a cultural revolution, the Playhouse was host to the final concert in a series of performances known as the Sound-Outs in 1968. Produced by John “Jocko” Moffitt and generally perceived as a precursor concert to the Woodstock Festival held in Bethel a year later, the Playhouse concert featured Richie Havens, with additional performances by Jerry Moore, Don Preston, Major Wiley and Bunky and Jake.

Throughout the 60s and 70s, legendary musicians and bands played at the Woodstock Playhouse, including Arlo Guthrie, Van Morrison, Orleans, Full Moon, Sonia Malkine, John Hammond, Holy Moses, Dave Van Ronk, Levon and The Band, The Montgomeries, Geoff and Maria Muldaur, Jim Rooney and Bill Keith, and after the burning and rebuilding of the Woodstock Playhouse: Leon Russell, Cindy Cashdollar, Jacke DeJohnette, Sonny Rollins, Peter Yarrow, Bethany and Rufus Cappadocia, John Sebastian, Natalie Merchant, Larry Campbell, David Bromberg, Richie Havens, Noel Paul Stookey, The Indigo Girls, Leon Russell, Well Strung, all of the amazing Headliners at the annual String Sampler Concert, and so many more.