POTSDAM – It’s not often that regional audience members are treated to a virtual feast for the ears and eyes as classic novels and classic music are brought together on the stage. 

The Orchestra of Northern New York (ONNY) is presenting an unusually rewarding musical experience - American Lit. 101 - at 7:30pm on October 17 at Hosmer Hall in Potsdam, and at 3:00pm on October 18 at Trinity Episcopal Church in Watertown. 

The concert kicks off ONNY’s 39th season and is also the third and final musical celebration of America’s 250th anniversary. These full orchestra performances will feature music inspired by great American literature by such composers as Leonard Bernstein and John Williams, and will be conducted by Music Director Colonel Michael Colburn USMC (Ret.). 

In some cases, the works are traditional novels, like Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird, Thomas Pynchon’s Gravity’s Rainbow, and William Faulkner’s The Reivers. In addition, ONNY has also included music inspired by other types of writing, such as the series of Pulitzer Prize winning articles by Malcolm Johnson that were the catalyst for the 1954 film On the Waterfront, and the collected writings of the Suffragette movement that led to 19th Amendment. The music resulting from all these works is as varied and stirring as the texts themselves and serves as a reminder of how music can augment and even elevate the power of the written word. 

Two of the works on the program, Stacy Garrop’s “Battle for the Ballot” and John Williams’ “Suite from The Reivers,” feature the texts of the authors as part of the concert experience. To share these words, ONNY is thrilled to be joined by guest narrators Dr. Colleen Skull, Crane School of Music Voice faculty member, and Guy C. “Chip” Lamson, retired Massena Central music teacher. 

To purchase tickets for the Potsdam or Watertown performance of American Lit. 101 and for a list of all upcoming 2026-2027 ONNY concerts, visit onny.org/event.