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Daily Update
...a conversation with Jerry Snyder on The Historians schedule in January
Monday, December 27, 2021- Story Behind the Story is an audio rendering of Saturday’s column on opera singer Albert Sochin DaCosta. "7 Minutes"
Historical Tenors
http://www.historicaltenors.net/english/dacosta.html
Amsterdam News and Weather "Scroll Down"
Amsterdam glides into winter with new ice skating rink
The Gloversville Public Library is recognized for Excellence in Historic Rehabilitation
More weather in the weather..NWS advisory at the bottom of this page
Jerry Snyder
Tomorrow, Tuesday, December 28, 2021- From the Archives of Focus on History in the Daily Gazette-Fonda’s Queen Libby
Elizabeth Luciano was born in Pietremalara near Naples, Italy in 1872. She came to America alone when she was 15
Wednesday from the Historians digital storage room
December 29, 2021-Historians Podcast Episode 238- Sue Ingalls Finan discusses her historical novel “The Cards Don’t Lie.” The book is based on real-life accounts of women during the Battle of New Orleans in 1815. The victory of General Andrew Jackson’s American forces over the British at New Orleans effectively ended the War of 1812.
Thursday, December 30, 2021- From the Archives of Focus on History in the Daily Gazette-Amsterdam police officer Andy Nelson
An Amsterdam police officer is well-remembered by relatives and former Guy Park Avenue elementary school students. Andrew C. Nelson was born in Amsterdam in 1893
Friday, December 31, 2021-Episode 403-2021 Highlights Episode #5-The Lincoln assassination; reviving New York City’s Broadway theaters; an Adirondack lumber baron; a woman bandit from the Wild West; whatever happened to Judge Crater and Trancendentalism in Concord Massachusetts in the 1800s.
Opera singer Albert Sochin Dacosta
By Bob Cudmore, Focus on History
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, Monday, December 27, 2021
...WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY IN EFFECT FROM 7 PM THIS EVENING TO
7 AM EST TUESDAY...
* WHAT...Mixed precipitation expected. Total snow accumulations of
a coating up to one inch and ice accumulations of a light
glaze.
* WHERE...Litchfield County in Northwestern Connecticut, The
Mohawk and Schoharie Valleys, Greater Capital Region including
the Helderbergs, Eastern Catskills, Mid Hudson Valley, and the
Taconics of eastern New York and the Berkshires of western
Massachusetts.
* WHEN...From 7 PM this evening to 7 AM EST Tuesday.
* IMPACTS...Plan on slippery road conditions due to a light
accumulation of snow and ice.
PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...
Slow down and use caution while traveling.
Today
Mostly cloudy, with a high near 29. Calm wind becoming east around 6 mph in the afternoon.
Tonight
A chance of snow, freezing rain, and sleet before 2am, then a chance of sleet between 2am and 5am, then a chance of snow and sleet after 5am. Cloudy, with a low around 26. Southeast wind around 6 mph becoming calm after midnight. Chance of precipitation is 50%. New snow and sleet accumulation of less than a half inch possible.
Tuesday
Mostly cloudy, with a high near 39. West wind 5 to 11 mph, with gusts as high as 21 mph.
The New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation (State Parks) have announced that nine projects and one individual are being recognized with a 2021 New York State Preservation Award for their efforts to preserve the state’s history.
On the List
Gloversville Public Library, City of Gloversville, Fulton County
Excellence in Historic Rehabilitation
The Gloversville Public Library is recognized for Excellence in Historic Rehabilitation for the recently completed work that transformed the 1904 Carnegie Library. Funded by a NYS Environmental Protection Fund Historic Preservation grant, the work included interior and exterior restoration and upgrades to the building’s original mechanical systems.
The year was 1900
US Population was 70,000,000
Mohawk Valley News, Monday, December 27, 2021
Daily Gazette
https://dailygazette.com/
Amsterdam Recorder
Amsterdam glides into winter with new ice skating rink
AMSTERDAM — Cold weather aficionados and bemoaners alike will have something to look forward to as...
https://www.recordernews.com/
Leader Herald
Salvation Army toy drive helps families in Fulton, Montgomery counties
by Jason Subik
https://www.leaderherald.com/
View all episodes
By Bob Cudmore
...a conversation with Jerry Snyder on The Historians schedule in January
Monday, December 27, 2021- Story Behind the Story is an audio rendering of Saturday’s column on opera singer Albert Sochin DaCosta. "7 Minutes"
Historical Tenors
http://www.historicaltenors.net/english/dacosta.html
Amsterdam News and Weather "Scroll Down"
Amsterdam glides into winter with new ice skating rink
The Gloversville Public Library is recognized for Excellence in Historic Rehabilitation
More weather in the weather..NWS advisory at the bottom of this page
Jerry Snyder
Tomorrow, Tuesday, December 28, 2021- From the Archives of Focus on History in the Daily Gazette-Fonda’s Queen Libby
Elizabeth Luciano was born in Pietremalara near Naples, Italy in 1872. She came to America alone when she was 15
Wednesday from the Historians digital storage room
December 29, 2021-Historians Podcast Episode 238- Sue Ingalls Finan discusses her historical novel “The Cards Don’t Lie.” The book is based on real-life accounts of women during the Battle of New Orleans in 1815. The victory of General Andrew Jackson’s American forces over the British at New Orleans effectively ended the War of 1812.
Thursday, December 30, 2021- From the Archives of Focus on History in the Daily Gazette-Amsterdam police officer Andy Nelson
An Amsterdam police officer is well-remembered by relatives and former Guy Park Avenue elementary school students. Andrew C. Nelson was born in Amsterdam in 1893
Friday, December 31, 2021-Episode 403-2021 Highlights Episode #5-The Lincoln assassination; reviving New York City’s Broadway theaters; an Adirondack lumber baron; a woman bandit from the Wild West; whatever happened to Judge Crater and Trancendentalism in Concord Massachusetts in the 1800s.
Opera singer Albert Sochin Dacosta
By Bob Cudmore, Focus on History
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, Monday, December 27, 2021
...WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY IN EFFECT FROM 7 PM THIS EVENING TO
7 AM EST TUESDAY...
* WHAT...Mixed precipitation expected. Total snow accumulations of
a coating up to one inch and ice accumulations of a light
glaze.
* WHERE...Litchfield County in Northwestern Connecticut, The
Mohawk and Schoharie Valleys, Greater Capital Region including
the Helderbergs, Eastern Catskills, Mid Hudson Valley, and the
Taconics of eastern New York and the Berkshires of western
Massachusetts.
* WHEN...From 7 PM this evening to 7 AM EST Tuesday.
* IMPACTS...Plan on slippery road conditions due to a light
accumulation of snow and ice.
PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...
Slow down and use caution while traveling.
Today
Mostly cloudy, with a high near 29. Calm wind becoming east around 6 mph in the afternoon.
Tonight
A chance of snow, freezing rain, and sleet before 2am, then a chance of sleet between 2am and 5am, then a chance of snow and sleet after 5am. Cloudy, with a low around 26. Southeast wind around 6 mph becoming calm after midnight. Chance of precipitation is 50%. New snow and sleet accumulation of less than a half inch possible.
Tuesday
Mostly cloudy, with a high near 39. West wind 5 to 11 mph, with gusts as high as 21 mph.
The New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation (State Parks) have announced that nine projects and one individual are being recognized with a 2021 New York State Preservation Award for their efforts to preserve the state’s history.
On the List
Gloversville Public Library, City of Gloversville, Fulton County
Excellence in Historic Rehabilitation
The Gloversville Public Library is recognized for Excellence in Historic Rehabilitation for the recently completed work that transformed the 1904 Carnegie Library. Funded by a NYS Environmental Protection Fund Historic Preservation grant, the work included interior and exterior restoration and upgrades to the building’s original mechanical systems.
The year was 1900
US Population was 70,000,000
Mohawk Valley News, Monday, December 27, 2021
Daily Gazette
https://dailygazette.com/
Amsterdam Recorder
Amsterdam glides into winter with new ice skating rink
AMSTERDAM — Cold weather aficionados and bemoaners alike will have something to look forward to as...
https://www.recordernews.com/
Leader Herald
Salvation Army toy drive helps families in Fulton, Montgomery counties
by Jason Subik
https://www.leaderherald.com/