Join the library for a lovely afternoon of classical music. Pianist Melanie Hardage and flutist Melanie Chirignan have a unique process of taking classical and modern pieces and reimagining them into partially improvised compositions. Join them for an afternoon of works inspired by their studies in music as well as their broader life journeys including trips to India and France. This performance has been made possible thanks to the Albany Musician's Union and MPTF. Registration is encouraged.

Melanie Hardage and flutist Melanie Chirignan began a musical partnership in January 2023 after crossing each other’s practice rooms. Both avid chamber musicians, they’ve performed in the Capital Region and in NYC as a piano flute duo. Not your average classical musician, Melanie Hardage has performed with esteemed Indian guitarist Susmit Sen and specializes in improvisation culminating in a Indo-western fusion style of playing. Melanie Chirignan, though classically trained, had the opportunity to take free improvisation with David Rudge at SUNY Fredonia and with Robert Black from Bang on a Can at the Hartt School. The Hardage/Chirignan Duo has a unique process of taking classical and modern pieces and reimagining them into improvised compositions. 

Both Melanie and Melanie have advanced degrees in performance and teaching and maintain private teaching studios while performing regularly. Additionally, they have fulfilled an arts education grant awarded by the New York Council on the Arts locally supported by the Arts Center of the Capital Region. Not surprisingly, their workshops are focused on improvisation/digital song creation with high school students at Big Picture Learning in tandem with Arts, Letters, and Numbers, a non-profit arts, education, residency program.