albanyrecords.com

# Albany Records

> Presenting interesting, imaginative releases and copious world premieres, the music on Albany Records is uncommonly classical\.

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## Pages
- [About](https://www.albanyrecords.com/about/)
- [Contact](https://www.albanyrecords.com/contact/)
- [Home](https://www.albanyrecords.com/)
- [News](https://www.albanyrecords.com/news/)

## Posts
- [The Inside Story: Jill Haley and PASTORAL REFLECTIONS](https://www.albanyrecords.com/inside-story-jill-haley-pastoral-reflections/)
- [The Inside Story: Linda Strommen and LIFE'S JOURNEYS](https://www.albanyrecords.com/inside-story-linda-strommen-lifes-journeys/)
- [The Inside Story: Arneis Quartet and MOVING SHAPES](https://www.albanyrecords.com/inside-story-arneis-quartet-moving-shapes/)
- [The Inside Story: di\.vi\.sion and FIVE FOR THE PLANET](https://www.albanyrecords.com/inside-story-division-five-for-the-planet/)
- [The Inside Story: Roger Zahab, Gilda Lyons, and MAGIC \& DESIRE](https://www.albanyrecords.com/inside-story-magic-and-desire/)

## Albums
- [True Stories](https://www.albanyrecords.com/catalog/troy2034/)
- [The Drum \& The Dream](https://www.albanyrecords.com/catalog/troy2029/): On THE DRUM AND THE DREAM, composers Benjamin Shorstein and Stephen Michael Newby pair the thrill of spontaneous creation with the formal beauty of Western classical music\. The album features Shorstein’s Concerto for Drums and Orchestra, written for three\-time GRAMMY® Award\-winning drummer Ulysses Owens Jr\. The score invites the soloist to interact freely with the ensemble, allowing Owens’ virtuosic improvisational skills to shine\. Also featured is Newby’s Symphony No\. 2, Ode to Andrae, a secular liturgical piece dedicated to gospel composer Andrae Crouch\. By merging the musical language of Black lining hymns and gospel idioms with a classical orchestral sound, Newby's symphony creates an ecumenical expression that celebrates African American experiences\.
- [Her Symphonic Voice](https://www.albanyrecords.com/catalog/troy2033/)
- [Vers La Flamme](https://www.albanyrecords.com/catalog/troy2031/)
- [Mizansen](https://www.albanyrecords.com/catalog/troy2026/): Rémy Taghavi expands the bassoon repertoire with several deft arrangements, a familiar favorite, and a new commission for the instrument on MIZANSEN\. The album is intended to be a musical self\-portrait, and at this it succeeds abundantly\. Taghavi plays with extraordinary zest, vigor, and savoir\-faire; so much so that, without knowing the pieces, it would be impossible to tell that they weren't originally conceived for the bassoon and the bassoon alone\.

## Artists
- [Jessica Krash](https://www.albanyrecords.com/artists/jessica-krash/): Jessica Krash creates music that conjures an extraordinary range of emotional depth and contrasting perspectives, often within the span of just a few minutes\. Her compositions bring together Romantic lyricism and post\-tonal sensibilities in a distinctive, compelling voice that balances wit, warmth, and the dramatic intensity of both personal experiences and broader social concerns\. Critics have praised her ability to compose music with "an abiding aura of disquiet with haunting purity of vision" \(Joseph Newsome\), while noting that she "combines politics and music in a manner that does justice to both" \(Tim Page\)\.
- [Ching\-Chun Lai](https://www.albanyrecords.com/artists/ching-chun-lai/): Conductor Ching\-Chun Lai enjoys an international career in both professional and academic settings\. As a professional conductor, in various capacities, she has worked with ensembles such as the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra, Buffalo Chamber Players, Gstaad Festival Orchestra \(Switzerland\), Madison Bach Musicians, New Jersey Symphony Orchestra, New Symphony Orchestra \(Bulgaria\), Richmond Symphony Orchestra, Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra, Schenectady Symphony Orchestra, and the Syracuse Orchestra\. She has served as assistant conductor for renowned conductors, such as Gunther Schuller, Larry Rachleff, JoAnn Falletta, Duain Wolfe, and Christof Perick\.  Equally comfortable with opera, she has conducted many standard productions as well as premieres\.
- [Karen Walwyn](https://www.albanyrecords.com/artists/karen-walwyn/): International Steinway artist, concert pianist, composer, and Albany Records artist Karen Walwyn is the first female African American pianist/composer to receive the Steinway Artist Award\.
- [Stephen Michael Newby](https://www.albanyrecords.com/artists/stephen-michael-newby/): Stephen Michael Newby currently serves as The Lev H\. Prichard III Endowed Chair in the Study of Black Worship, Professor of Music and as Ambassador for The Black Gospel Music Preservation Program at Baylor University\. He formerly served as Minister of Worship at Peachtree Presbyterian Church in Atlanta GA, and as Director for the Center for African American Worship Studies at Trevecca Nazarene University in Nashville TN\. He held a tenured Professor of Music post at Seattle Pacific University, where he also served as Director of University Ministries, Director for the Center for Worship, and Senior Advisor to the University President for Missional Excellence\.
- [Heidi Louise Williams](https://www.albanyrecords.com/artists/heidi-louise-williams/): Praised by New York critic Harris Goldsmith for her “impeccable soloistic authority” and “dazzling performances,” American pianist Heidi Louise Williams has appeared in solo and collaborative performances across North America and internationally, having won numerous prizes\. Her engagements have included recitals at Lincoln Center’s Alice Tully Hall, Weill Hall at Carnegie Hall, the Taiwan National Recital Hall in Taipei, the Chicago Cultural Center, the French Embassy in Washington DC, and festivals across the United States, in France, and in Italy\. Her playing has been heard on WFMT Chicago, Classic 99 St\. Louis, WQLN Pennsylvania, and KUAT Tucson, and on classical stations throughout Canada and Taiwan\.

## Optional
- [Sitemap index](https://www.albanyrecords.com/sitemap_index.xml)