For several years now, the opera and musical theater program located in Schroon Lake has struggled to reconcile part of its brand, namely the word ‘colony’, with what it does and how it functions in the greater field of classical music. To better reflect the nature of its business model, the former Seagle Music Colony will now be known as Seagle festival.
History and context:
In 1915, internationally famous concert singer and vocal teacher Oscar Seagle created a summer retreat in the Adirondacks for the express purpose of teaching vocal students. As was typical of the times, artist retreats were often called colonies – hence Seagle Colony began. In the early years it truly was an artist colony, where students worked on their singing but performed little for the public, barring an occasional recital or concert. Limited public performances of operas and scenes started in the 1930s at the Peabody Estate on Diamond Point Road in Lake George.
After Oscar died in 1946, his son John, a well-known singer and teacher himself, took over the program. He added a theater to the campus and increasingly frequent public performances happened in Schroon Lake. In 1995, operation of the program was transitioned to a non-profit organization governed by a Board of Directors. The company’s mission statement has changed over time to not only embrace vocal teaching, but include public performances to bolster this training. Recently, fall workshops and summer performances of new works of musical theater have further broadened the program’s offerings.
Our new logo!
Due to the evolution of the Seagle program and its mission, our definition as a colony, along with its insular connotation, is no longer true to what we do. On the contrary, Seagle is a place where talent is not only nurtured, but shared with the public.
With all this in mind, the board and staff of Seagle have spent the last year-and-a-half developing a new brand identity to better reflect our current work, while recognizing our rich history.
Beginning in January 2021 we will be known as Seagle festival. This change will be reflected in all communications and in our print and online presence. Our website will be: www.seaglefestival.org.
While what we do will not change, we are excited to make this adjustment to better reflect our mission in our name. We will continue to serve as the premiere opera and musical theater company in our region, providing world-class training for emerging vocal artists, and cultivating new works of music theater.
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The 2021 Seagle Festival of performances and concerts will be announced soon. Please continue to check our 2021 Season page for updates.
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