Saturday, September 27th at 4:30 pm

 Paul H.  Gaston and Ryan C.  McNally present Banners and Broken Hearts, premiering two, all-original concert music pieces. McNally will present American Dream, a vocal and instrumental re-telling of the American Revolutionary War based on the writings of George Washington and other historical sources.  Gaston presents Rolling the Dice, a multi-movement musical series outlining the ebbs and flows of an imperfect relationship.  Both works feature a 19-person ensemble with McNally on organ and Gaston conducting.

The vision for this event is to capture the virtuosity, vigor and passionate potential of chamber music, along with celebrating the incredible communities that support independent composition and new music.  The September Series II – Banners and Broken Hearts is made possible by the talents and hard work of many New York based performers, technicians and production staff members.

In addition to the concert at Geneseo UMC, concerts will take place on September 20th at Nunda United Methodist Church; September 21st at St.  Mark’s Episcopal Church in Penn Yan; and September 28th at Warsaw United Methodist Church.

All concerts will start promptly at 4:30 pm with doors opening at 4:00 pm.  The concert runs approximately 90 minutes and runs without intermission.  These performances are free and open to the public – with donations greatly appreciated.  Each concert will have a small reception to follow, along with a meet-and-greet with the composers and performers.

If you cannot attend the concert in-person, a free-to-view, professional livestream will be made available on YouTube.  To access the livestream, go to YouTube.com and search Paul H.  Gaston – Composer.  Next, click on the top profile and browse to the ‘Live’ section on the channel.  From there, a live feed will be provided for all four concerts.

Composer Biographies

Paul H.  Gaston (b.  2001) is a graduate of Penn Yan Academy and Nazareth College, where he completed his degree in Music Composition.  He also achieved two minors in Music History and Music Theory, with an instrument specialization in euphonium.  Paul has composed for film, docuseries, theatre, and concert music.  Recently, he founded PHG Productions – a professional AV, live sound, photography and music production business.  He provides his services across upstate New York.

Ryan C.  McNally (b.  1998) is a composer and instrumentalist based in Rochester, NY.  His catalog encompasses music of varying styles, including classical, jazz, rock, and musical theater.  Outside of composition, McNally is a music educator and church organist.  He is also a gigging musician, playing keyboard for ‘The Bad Husband’s Club’ and ‘The Dawgs,’ in addition to performing both as a solo artist and as the leader of his musical group, ‘The BandRoom Band.’  He holds degrees in composition and music education from Nazareth University.