This Month’s Featured Article

For anyone interested in exploring art and design in the Hudson Valley, Hudson Hall on Warren Street in Hudson, NY, is a must. Extra-special for October is the Hudson Jazz Festival, happening October 4 through 6, both in and around the Hall, with a special Community Day kick-off on September 28. 

About the space

Hudson Hall is a place with a rich history. In fact, it is New York State’s oldest theater! It was originally Hudson’s City Hall, built in 1855 based on the designs of the Hudson architect Peter Avery. The Hall housed civic offices, including the post office and the police station. A unique feature of the building was its upstairs performance space, where people gathered to enjoy everything from plays to concerts to boxing matches to agricultural shows. 

It was visited by the painter Frederic Church (who lived downriver at Olana); by the early women’s rights advocate Susan B. Anthony; and even by President Theodore Roosevelt, who, in 1914, visited to speak about his travels in Africa. The building at 327 Warren Street was a mecca for people and performances of all kinds.

City Hall was relocated in the early 1960s, and the Hudson Opera House, as it was then called, was sold to an out-of-town developer. It languished during the years when Hudson itself was sometimes considered a lost cause, as many northeastern cities were when the industries that drove them moved away. Many of Hudson’s historic buildings were shuttered, and Hudson Hall was one of them. 

The town started to redefine itself in the mid to late 1970s. According to the HudsonNY.gov website, “first came the antique dealers, who made Hudson a destination for collectors and decorators. Next came the artists and writers and others not dependent for a living on showing up at an office. (A demographic fact: Hudson has the highest percentage of self-employed people – entrepreneurs – of any city in all of New York State.) Finally the word was out. Hudson was cool. Hudson was hot. Hudson was happening.”

How it became – and is – the Hall

Starting in 1992, attention was turned on restoring the Hudson Opera House to a space that would again serve the town’s diverse population through the arts. Twenty-five years and nearly $10 million later, in 2017, the space had its grand reopening as Hudson Hall. Its mission: “to inspire and promote the arts and to play a pivotal role in the cultural and economic advancement of the city and the region.” 

How does it do this? 

By “offering a year-round schedule of visual arts, performing arts, and cultural and educational programs to serve the community; serving as an important civic partner in the continued revitalization of downtown Hudson; and preserving and maintaining its historic building while adapting it to modern needs.”

Inspired and inspiring

Just like raising a family, it takes a village to fulfill such a far-reaching mission. Hudson Hall’s focus isn’t simply on staging great shows in its beautiful theater space or on hanging exhibitions of art in its grand downstairs galleries, both of which take plenty of careful planning and hard work; it’s also very much on being a dynamic and intentional civic partner to the community of Hudson in an historic building. Anyone who has lived in an old house can appreciate what that takes! 

Judging from the multiple Google reviews that round up to a score of 4.7 out of 5 stars, Hudson Hall is a hit. While Hudson Hall’s “village” is extensive, there are three people at its center without whom things might be very different. They are Tambra (Tammy) Dillon, the executive director; Sage Carter, the general manager; and Caroline Lee, the director of marketing and communications. All have been with the Hall for nearly a decade. 

When I met with Caroline Lee to talk about all things Hudson Hall, we met in a room where the works of an artist who painted for years in obscurity were being shown for the first time. The artist, Hans Frank, lived in Rhinebeck, just south of Hudson, with his sister. He passed away in 1997 at the age of 62. The collection was eventually discovered and brought to the attention of Hudson Hall. Exhibiting the works not only brought them to people’s attention, but sales went to support their continued preservation.  

This is the kind of thing Hudson Hall does. “We serve artists,” Caroline says, “and we serve the community.” Programs conducted through the Hall aim to serve as wide a variety of people as possible. Programs include hosting a free, three-week summer camp for music mentoring to Hudson City School District students; theater improv workshops; art projects; a chess club; African drumming and dance classes for all ages that welcome the whole family; a workforce development program that provides Hudson’s youth with real skills for finding jobs in arts and hospitality; and, more recently, a community choir where people of all ages come together to sing.

“The kids that participate in the workforce development program, which was started in 2018,” Caroline says, “are learning how to put on musical and theatrical productions from top to bottom. And not just learning. At the end of the program, they put on a full show.”

The community choir is a more recent offering, and its success has surprised even these seasoned programming veterans. It was started by Hudson Hall’s former community program coordinator, Jessica Laddin, and Anneice Cousin of Beautiful Racket (based in Hudson). Weekly rehearsals and seasonal recitals take place at the Hall, which also provides a basic stipend to cover the cost of the pianist and conductor. “There are some 40 people of all ages in it,” Caroline says, “and it’s such a source of joy for them – and for us.”

“Hudson Hall strives to serve all segments of our community – from longtime residents to newer populations, visitors, and the flourishing arts community,” said Tammy Dillon. “Over 70% of our programs are free,” she continued, “and all are greatly subsidized as part of our commitment to keeping the arts accessible to all.”

In its beautifully renovated theater, Hudson Hall puts on shows. 

Big shows. 

They range from theatrical productions to concerts, from avant-garde offerings to classic works. The classical music critic for The New York Times, Joshua Barone, attended a performance of Handel’s Rodelinda staged at Hudson Hall in 2023. He wrote it up as a “critic’s pick,” noting that, “for the next several years, Hudson, NY, has the potential to become a baroque opera destination, even for those accustomed to the rich offerings of New York City.” Next up (April 2025) is a production of Handel’s Giulio Cesare, which, like Rodelinda, will be directed by Hudson resident R.B. Schlather, featuring the early music band Ruckus, and a cast of locals and rising young stars in the opera world.

All that jazz

But at the moment, attention is on the Hudson Jazz Festival. (For all the details, including tickets, go to hudsonhall.org/event/2024-hudson-jazz-festival.) While the jazz festival has been taking place at Hudson Hall since 2018, it’s the first time it’s being held in the fall. This is to take advantage of the influx of people to Hudson and Columbia County for the beauty of the season, which extends the festival’s community presence. 

The festival includes some other firsts, as well. In addition to the performances at Hudson Hall, an opening night party will be held at Return Brewing; the Half Moon will host a quartet on October 5; and Kitty’s Backyard will help close the festival with a performance there on October 6. There’s a special kick-off community day on September 28, featuring an outdoor block party and a free concert and jam session in the Hall’s theater. “We’re excited about who will participate in the jam session,” Caroline says. “We know it’ll include jazz students from Hudson as well as nearby Bard College.”  

All that art

Another exciting contribution to the jazz festival? A visual arts exhibition. Curated by Reginald (Reggie) Madison, who lives and works in Hudson and is a jazz music lover, it’s a show titled “Between the Cracks” that will feature the works of several local artists, including his. 

Reggie curated a show at the Hall in 2020 called “Art and Soul,” and he’s intimately familiar with the space and its potential to showcase art. “Between the Cracks” will be on exhibition September 28 – November 17, and the artists’ reception is on September 28 at 4:30pm.

When I spoke with Reggie about the show, his eyes gleamed with pride. He’s a huge jazz fan – “the music has been a big influence on my art” – he said, and he’s a huge fan of Hudson. “It’s a seminal place,” he said of the town he’s called home for over 20 years. “Really great things happen here. I was drawn to it for its diversity and artistic opportunities, and I see that around me every day.” 

Why the title, “Between the Cracks” for this show? “Because it can be about anything,” he said, “and the process of making visual art is related to the improvisational nature of making jazz music.” Another aspect of his involvement with Hudson Hall and the town and the area is that, as he said, “getting to know people here gets things happening.” Every community needs that!

What would happen?

“When we had to shutter for COVID,” general manager Sage Carter reflected, “we asked ourselves often, ‘Should we continue?’ ‘Are we relevant?’ We reached out to the community to find answers,” she said, “And the response was a resounding ‘Yes!’”

“We have an extremely supportive board,” Caroline said. Tammy added, “We’re so grateful to the community that has sustained us so far,” acknowledging that continued support is critical for the future. 

“We’re seeing the third and sometimes fourth generation of people coming to Hudson Hall,” Sage noted.  

It’s fun to think about the generations of Hudsonites and others who have come to City Hall at 327 Warren Street to do business, make amends, or enjoy shows. When you visit, reflect on Hudson Hall’s history and marvel at how alive it is for so many today. If you get to the Jazz Fest concert by the oh-so-talented Ekep Nkwelle on October 4 – she’s one of 15 students inducted into the highly selective 2023 Juilliard Career Advancement Fellowship, among many distinctions in her still young career – know that her name in Cameroon translates to “gift.” What an appropriate presence at the gift of Hudson Hall. •

Hudson Hall’s programs offer a wide range of opportunities for education, entertainment, and space for conversation and debate that are essential for a healthy society and functioning democracy. The arts are also economic engines, outpacing every other sector as a catalyst for growth, employment, and equitable opportunity. Hudson Hall is located at 327 Warren Street in the heart of Hudson, NY. Learn more at hudsonhall.org.