Rehearsing for Baroque Concert: Dorit Gaedtke and Muriel Kerr
As the 116th Winter Carnival in Saranac Lake begins to wind down on this sunny winter afternoon, I get a peek at a final rehearsal for the Baroque Concert that is one of the finale highlights.

The rehearsal begins at St. Luke's Church and concludes at The First United Methodist Church where the concert will take place. Dorit Gaedtke (who practices medicine as well as the viola in Lake Placid) is the orchestra organizer and manager as well as a multi-talented performer. She shares the responsibility of the afternoon with Keith Kogut, Phill Greenland and L.J. Swanson who are the coordinators of the concert for the Saranac Lake Young Arts Association.

As musicians start to assemble, I see quite a few familiar faces—including cellist Muriel Kerr who lives in Elizabethtown and teaches students at the North Country Cultural Center for the Arts. Of course, I know one of the trumpet players very well--son Sam Balzac, and trumpeter/teacher Keith Kogut is a well-known talent in the music world of the North Country. There are other faces from various local ensembles and orchestras and the concert mistress/conductor Elaine Dewar comes in wearing a hat appropriate with the "Under the Sea" Carnival theme.

Notice the hat on the Concert Mistress
The concert begins with some solo-featured pieces including an amazing E-flat alto sax performance by Zachary Moser and a Mozart concerto performed on flute by Julia Murray.

The end of the first half also features countertenor Daniel Swick who continues to awe me with his superb vocal quality. I'll never forget his performance in the Community Theatre Player's production of "Chicago" onstage at The Lake Placid Center for the Arts two springs ago.

Julia Murray on flute
In the second half of the program we are treated to a recorder trio that includes Dorit Gaedtke on tenor recorder, Kelly Hass on soprano recorder, and Ginny West on alto recorder. Dorit tells me afterward that she started playing the recorder when she was five years old in Germany. Most of the concert finds her on the viola. She switched from violin to viola about five years ago to help the Tri Lakes Community Orchestra transition. The orchestra finishes off with "A Dive into Bach's Orchestral Suites" with Baroque Dances from Orchestral Suites 2, 3, and 4.

The concert is sponsored by the Saranac Lake Young Arts Association whose purpose is to support performance and creative arts through program support and scholarships for community youth who are focussed on the arts.

It is an inspiring afternoon of incredible music and a tremendous talent pool and a great way to say goodbye to this year's Winter Carnival and "Under the Sea" Ice Castle.

This winter the North Country is brimming with outdoor and indoor entertainment. For more information on cultural events in the greater Lake Placid region click through to Lake Placid Events.

Kathleen Recchia has been enjoying the arts in the Adirondacks for about 20 years—both as observer and participant (acting, directing, and producing). She also enjoys cross-country skiing, swimming, juggling, and hosting visitors to the area at her bed & breakfast in Jay.