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...who was Walter Elwood
The Historians Archive dates to October 14, 2014
402 Interviews with People You Know
Sunday, December 26, 2021-From the Archives- August 21. 2020-Episode 332-Colbert Nepaulsingh discusses his book “Walter Elwood: ‘Glitter’ and Other Unpublished Plays.” Amsterdam, N.Y.’s community museum is named for Elwood. Sunday Small Talk "38 Minutes"
Debuting on Historians Podcast this Friday, December 31, 2021 Highlights Episode #5-The Lincoln assassination; reviving Broadway theaters; an Adirondack lumber baron; a woman bandit from the Wild West; whatever happened to Judge Crater and Transcendentalism in Concord Massachusetts.
The Olden Days continue in 2022
...sounds like a western movie
Coming soon on Historians Podcast-January 7, 2022-Episode 404-Jim Kaplan discusses the history of Evacuation Day, when British troops finally left New York City following the American Revolution; Episode 405-Jerry Snyder of Historic Amsterdam League has stories from the new booklet on Amsterdam’s arts, focusing on visual artists, actors, singers and more with ties to Amsterdam.
Opera singer Albert Sochin Dacosta By Bob Cudmore, Focus on History
Tomorrow, Monday, December 27, 2021- Story Behind the Story podcast is an audio version of Saturday’s column on opera singer Albert Sochin DaCosta. Monday narrative "7 Minutes"
Amsterdam native Albert Sochin became a highly regarded opera singer in America and Europe. He performed as Albert Dacosta, using his mother’s maiden name.
Albert’s father was Joseph Sochin, member of a prominent Jewish family who operated Sochin’s men’s clothing store first on Guy Park Avenue then on Market Street. Albert’s mother, Violet Dacosta, was an Episcopalian, a member of St. Ann’s Church, where Albert was a boy soprano.
When Albert’s voice changed he sang baritone. He was in great demand. Reader Ken Garrick said his aunt recalled that Albert occasionally was a soloist at the then Second Presbyterian Church in Amsterdam with “a tremendous voice.” Albert performed at weddings, funerals, high school productions and concerts of Mohawk Mills Chorus, now Mohawk Valley Chorus.
In World War II Albert joined the Navy. He met H. Jean Rower from Toledo, Ohio at a Navy concert in Corpus Christi, Texas, where they were both performing. Albert and Jean married at the Corpus Christi Naval Base chapel in July 1945 and went on to have six children.
After the war Albert moved to New York City to study for three years at Juilliard music school. He auditioned for the Metropolitan Opera in 1952 on a live program on ABC television.
The judges were not impressed with Albert’s baritone voice and told him he should sing as a tenor! Albert set to work training. A year later impresario Charles L. Wagner said Albert was “one of the finest tenor voices” he had discovered.
In 1954 the Met held another live television audition and tenor Albert Sochin Dacosta was one of the winners. He was signed to a contract for the 1955-56 Metropolitan Opera season.
An imposing man, Albert’s first role at the Met was as the sailor in “Tristan und Isolde.” At the end of 1955 he returned to Amsterdam to sing and raise money for the Rotary Club’s student loan program. Hugh Donlon of the Recorder wrote, “A remarkable voice notwithstanding, the nicest thing about him is his friendly way.”
By 1962 Albert concluded he was not getting enough work in America. He moved his family to Europe where, as he said, most cities with more than seventy-five thousand people have opera houses.
They lived in Switzerland where he sang in Zurich and then moved to Horrem, Germany, a suburb of Cologne where Albert was leading tenor of the Cologne Opera Company.
Historic Amsterdam League’s booklet “Amsterdam’s Arts” mentions Albert in connection with another Amsterdam-born opera singer, Genevieve Warner. Albert and his wife Jean were attendants at Warner’s wedding to Count Andrew Puslowski of Scarsdale, N.Y., in 1959.
Albert’s last trip to America was in 1966 when he visited his father in Amsterdam and his mother at a hospital in Tarrytown, New York. His mother returned with him to Europe to convalesce.
Albert Sochin Dacosta, died at age 39 in a 1967 automobile accident while driving to sing in a production of “Carmen” at the Jutland Opera in Denmark.
Albert’s car skidded on a sharp curve that was slippery from rain, leaving the highway, crashing through trees and overturning. Albert died instantly. The man with him, Dutch singer Jan Gerksen, was slightly injured.
Albert’s mother Violet died the next year in Briarcliff Manor, New York, where Albert’s widow Jean and her family may have moved. Jean Sochin soon relocated to Jamaica, Vermont and worked at a school district in Townshend.
Albert’s father, Joseph Sochin, died in 1969 while visiting his daughter-in-law in Vermont. Jean Sochin, pianist and vocalist in her own right, died in 2007 at age 87. She was survived by five of their six children, fifteen grandchildren and nine great-grandchildren.
Mohawk Valley Weather, Sunday, December 26, 2021
...PATCHY FREEZING DRIZZLE POSSIBLE EARLY THIS MORNING...
While widespread precipitation has ended across the region,
residual moisture combined with surface temperatures below
freezing may result in patchy freezing drizzle early this morning.
This will be possible for areas mainly north of Interstate 90 in
eastern New York and in southern Vermont. The threat for freezing
drizzle should end by around 8 AM. Untreated roads and walking
surfaces could become slippery in some spots.
A slight chance of freezing drizzle before 7am, then a slight chance of snow showers after 4pm. Partly sunny, with a high near 38. West wind 10 to 13 mph. Chance of precipitation is 20%.
Tonight
Partly cloudy, with a low around 19. Northwest wind 6 to 11 mph.
Monday
A slight chance of snow after 4pm. Partly sunny, with a high near 31. Calm wind becoming east 5 to 7 mph in the afternoon. Chance of precipitation is 20%.
It is December 26, we could spout on about The Civil War or Babe Ruth but..
1963
Beatlemania hit World Wide
"I Want to Hold Your Hand" and "I Saw Her Standing There" are released in the U.S.
Next year Paul McCartney is 80
Mohawk Valley News Headlines, Sunday, December 26, 2021
Daily Gazette
Voices of WWII soldiers live on in letters collected, preserved by Schenectady woman
They called themselves “Em’s gang.” Or sometimes simply “The gang.” They were a group of young men hailing from Schenectady…
Gloversville set to hire assistant DPW director during department transition
The Gloversville Common Council is set to vote Tuesday on the resolution to appoint of Donald Schwartz as Temporary Assistant Director of Public…
https://dailygazette.com/
Amsterdam Recorder
Focus on History: ‘One of the finest tenor voices’ was from Amsterdam
Amsterdam native Albert Sochin became a highly regarded opera singer in America and Europe. He performed as Albert DaCosta, using his mother’s maiden name.Albert’s father was Joseph Sochin, a member of a prominent Jewish family...
https://www.recordernews.com/
Leader Herald
Make Us Part of Your Day
https://www.leaderherald.com/
View all episodes
By Bob Cudmore...who was Walter Elwood
The Historians Archive dates to October 14, 2014
402 Interviews with People You Know
Sunday, December 26, 2021-From the Archives- August 21. 2020-Episode 332-Colbert Nepaulsingh discusses his book “Walter Elwood: ‘Glitter’ and Other Unpublished Plays.” Amsterdam, N.Y.’s community museum is named for Elwood. Sunday Small Talk "38 Minutes"
Debuting on Historians Podcast this Friday, December 31, 2021 Highlights Episode #5-The Lincoln assassination; reviving Broadway theaters; an Adirondack lumber baron; a woman bandit from the Wild West; whatever happened to Judge Crater and Transcendentalism in Concord Massachusetts.
The Olden Days continue in 2022
...sounds like a western movie
Coming soon on Historians Podcast-January 7, 2022-Episode 404-Jim Kaplan discusses the history of Evacuation Day, when British troops finally left New York City following the American Revolution; Episode 405-Jerry Snyder of Historic Amsterdam League has stories from the new booklet on Amsterdam’s arts, focusing on visual artists, actors, singers and more with ties to Amsterdam.
Opera singer Albert Sochin Dacosta By Bob Cudmore, Focus on History
Tomorrow, Monday, December 27, 2021- Story Behind the Story podcast is an audio version of Saturday’s column on opera singer Albert Sochin DaCosta. Monday narrative "7 Minutes"
Amsterdam native Albert Sochin became a highly regarded opera singer in America and Europe. He performed as Albert Dacosta, using his mother’s maiden name.
Albert’s father was Joseph Sochin, member of a prominent Jewish family who operated Sochin’s men’s clothing store first on Guy Park Avenue then on Market Street. Albert’s mother, Violet Dacosta, was an Episcopalian, a member of St. Ann’s Church, where Albert was a boy soprano.
When Albert’s voice changed he sang baritone. He was in great demand. Reader Ken Garrick said his aunt recalled that Albert occasionally was a soloist at the then Second Presbyterian Church in Amsterdam with “a tremendous voice.” Albert performed at weddings, funerals, high school productions and concerts of Mohawk Mills Chorus, now Mohawk Valley Chorus.
In World War II Albert joined the Navy. He met H. Jean Rower from Toledo, Ohio at a Navy concert in Corpus Christi, Texas, where they were both performing. Albert and Jean married at the Corpus Christi Naval Base chapel in July 1945 and went on to have six children.
After the war Albert moved to New York City to study for three years at Juilliard music school. He auditioned for the Metropolitan Opera in 1952 on a live program on ABC television.
The judges were not impressed with Albert’s baritone voice and told him he should sing as a tenor! Albert set to work training. A year later impresario Charles L. Wagner said Albert was “one of the finest tenor voices” he had discovered.
In 1954 the Met held another live television audition and tenor Albert Sochin Dacosta was one of the winners. He was signed to a contract for the 1955-56 Metropolitan Opera season.
An imposing man, Albert’s first role at the Met was as the sailor in “Tristan und Isolde.” At the end of 1955 he returned to Amsterdam to sing and raise money for the Rotary Club’s student loan program. Hugh Donlon of the Recorder wrote, “A remarkable voice notwithstanding, the nicest thing about him is his friendly way.”
By 1962 Albert concluded he was not getting enough work in America. He moved his family to Europe where, as he said, most cities with more than seventy-five thousand people have opera houses.
They lived in Switzerland where he sang in Zurich and then moved to Horrem, Germany, a suburb of Cologne where Albert was leading tenor of the Cologne Opera Company.
Historic Amsterdam League’s booklet “Amsterdam’s Arts” mentions Albert in connection with another Amsterdam-born opera singer, Genevieve Warner. Albert and his wife Jean were attendants at Warner’s wedding to Count Andrew Puslowski of Scarsdale, N.Y., in 1959.
Albert’s last trip to America was in 1966 when he visited his father in Amsterdam and his mother at a hospital in Tarrytown, New York. His mother returned with him to Europe to convalesce.
Albert Sochin Dacosta, died at age 39 in a 1967 automobile accident while driving to sing in a production of “Carmen” at the Jutland Opera in Denmark.
Albert’s car skidded on a sharp curve that was slippery from rain, leaving the highway, crashing through trees and overturning. Albert died instantly. The man with him, Dutch singer Jan Gerksen, was slightly injured.
Albert’s mother Violet died the next year in Briarcliff Manor, New York, where Albert’s widow Jean and her family may have moved. Jean Sochin soon relocated to Jamaica, Vermont and worked at a school district in Townshend.
Albert’s father, Joseph Sochin, died in 1969 while visiting his daughter-in-law in Vermont. Jean Sochin, pianist and vocalist in her own right, died in 2007 at age 87. She was survived by five of their six children, fifteen grandchildren and nine great-grandchildren.
Mohawk Valley Weather, Sunday, December 26, 2021
...PATCHY FREEZING DRIZZLE POSSIBLE EARLY THIS MORNING...
While widespread precipitation has ended across the region,
residual moisture combined with surface temperatures below
freezing may result in patchy freezing drizzle early this morning.
This will be possible for areas mainly north of Interstate 90 in
eastern New York and in southern Vermont. The threat for freezing
drizzle should end by around 8 AM. Untreated roads and walking
surfaces could become slippery in some spots.
A slight chance of freezing drizzle before 7am, then a slight chance of snow showers after 4pm. Partly sunny, with a high near 38. West wind 10 to 13 mph. Chance of precipitation is 20%.
Tonight
Partly cloudy, with a low around 19. Northwest wind 6 to 11 mph.
Monday
A slight chance of snow after 4pm. Partly sunny, with a high near 31. Calm wind becoming east 5 to 7 mph in the afternoon. Chance of precipitation is 20%.
It is December 26, we could spout on about The Civil War or Babe Ruth but..
1963
Beatlemania hit World Wide
"I Want to Hold Your Hand" and "I Saw Her Standing There" are released in the U.S.
Next year Paul McCartney is 80
Mohawk Valley News Headlines, Sunday, December 26, 2021
Daily Gazette
Voices of WWII soldiers live on in letters collected, preserved by Schenectady woman
They called themselves “Em’s gang.” Or sometimes simply “The gang.” They were a group of young men hailing from Schenectady…
Gloversville set to hire assistant DPW director during department transition
The Gloversville Common Council is set to vote Tuesday on the resolution to appoint of Donald Schwartz as Temporary Assistant Director of Public…
https://dailygazette.com/
Amsterdam Recorder
Focus on History: ‘One of the finest tenor voices’ was from Amsterdam
Amsterdam native Albert Sochin became a highly regarded opera singer in America and Europe. He performed as Albert DaCosta, using his mother’s maiden name.Albert’s father was Joseph Sochin, a member of a prominent Jewish family...
https://www.recordernews.com/
Leader Herald
Make Us Part of Your Day
https://www.leaderherald.com/