Carnegie Hall quality on the Cold Spring riverfront
Barbara DeSilva finds it hard to believe that it’s been 25 years since she created the Sunday Music Series at the Chapel Restoration in Cold Spring.
DeSilva and her husband, Ronald, served on the board of the riverfront venue when the nonprofit in 1996 acquired a George Bozeman custom pipe organ. DeSilva says someone suggested that, because the chapel’s acoustics were amazing, it would be nice to have concerts.
“I said I’d do it,” she recalls, “not realizing what I got myself into.”
While not a musician, she had worked with musicians and composers as a dancer and choreographer. “I had a few piano and classical guitar lessons — good enough to play for kindergarten classes,” she says with a laugh.
That first year, in 2001, she scheduled three performances. Over the next 23 years, she estimates there have been about 180 more. “I used to just call everybody I knew,” she says. “We got good audiences.”
Classical music has been the mainstay, but the series has included baroque, jazz, opera and traditional Chinese music.
The chapel added a piano in 2003. The venue’s board had authorized her to bid up to $20,000 on a Steinway being auctioned in New Hampshire. “We got it for $10,000,” she says. “It was in fabulous condition.” The auctioneer was a friend and donated his $1,500 buyer’s fee.
The Sunday Music Series has hosted musicians who have played all over the world. “When they see the chapel, they say, ‘Oh, my God, this is my favorite place,’ ” DeSilva says. “The musicians are always so happy to play there.”
She says she is especially proud that the series has endured. “We have not charged an admission fee, but ask for donations,” DeSilva says. “It was important to me that everyone be able to attend.”
Last year DeSilva turned over the series to fellow board members Yalin Chi and James McCain, who serve as co-artistic directors. “It’s great to have two people doing the series,” DeSilva says. “It’s too much for one.”
Chi studied at The Juilliard School, where she earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees in music before continuing her studies at the Yale School of Music. She joined the West Point Band in 2008 and has worked with musicians and played in venues around the globe, including at the Chapel Restoration.
McCain managed the research program at the League of American Orchestras and now works at New York Public Radio. He has an MBA from Marist University and degrees in music from the Peabody Conservatory and the University of Michigan. He started his career as a saxophonist with the West Point Band.
The former Philipstown residents, who now live in Fort Lee, New Jersey, say they are not concerned about putting their mark on the series. “We’re doing this purely for the love of great music and the love of bringing it to the community,” Chi says.
“Barbara set up a great series — there’s a great audience, and we want to continue that,” adds McCain. “We hope to introduce some new performers, but we’re bringing back a lot of favorites to help celebrate the 25th year.
“The chapel offers the audience a chance to be up close to the performer,” he says. “In return it’s also a chance for the performer to have an intimate conversation with the audience.”
“It’s not like sitting up high in the nosebleed section of Carnegie Hall,” Chi says. “We’re bringing in Carnegie-level musicians to Cold Spring.”
The Chapel Restoration is located at 45 Market St. in Cold Spring, adjacent to the Metro-North station. The 2025 Sunday Music Series will include eight performances, kicking off with Eric Cha-Beach with the Bard Percussion Studio on April 13 and ending with pianist Steven Beck on Nov. 16. See chapelrestoration.org.
