However, they will not be the only ones celebrating a milestone year of performance, as their peers with the NYC Ballet Musicians & Friends will celebrate 10 years of chamber music concerts at the Saratoga Performing Arts Council.

The NYC Ballet Musicians & Friends have been presenting chamber music concerts at the Saratoga County Arts Council on three Thursdays in July for the past nine years. Nonetheless, before performers can take the stage for their tenth season there must be funds raised to ensure the continuation of the concert series.

Funds will be raised from what NYC Ballet Musicians & Friends Artistic Director Luellen Abdoo calls “an exciting chamber music concert” on Tuesday, April 8, from 6-9 p.m. at the Gideon Putnam in the Saratoga Spa State Park.

The event will feature the Saratoga String Quartet with performances by Abdoo on violin, Laura Hamilton on violin, Jill Jaffe on viola and Daven Jenkins on cello.

The program will include Bach Brandenburg Concerto III, Mozart’s “Eline Kleine Nacht Musik,” Mendelssohn’s String Quartet in D Major and “Waltz” from Tchaikovsky’s Serenade for Strings. Abdoo said that she tried to keep the music interesting by presenting some more traditional works that people would recognize.

The evening features a great set of performances by some of New York City’s top classical performers. Aside from being the Artistic Director of the NYC Ballet Musicians & Friends, Abdoo is also the founding member of the Synergy String Quartet and is active as a solo and chamber music recitalist.

Laura Hamilton is Associate Principal Concertmaster of the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra and she has been a guest artist of NYC Ballet Musicians & Friends nearly every summer for the last eight years.

Jill Jaffe performs with the Orchestra of St. Lukes, NYC Ballet Orchestra and various chamber groups, including the Synergy String Quartet.

Daven Jenkins is a member of the NYC Ballet Orchestra and has been a guest soloist with several symphony orchestras, including the Baltimore Symphony.

The projected programs for July 2008 will feature NYC Ballet concert master Kurt Nikkanen, principal flutist Paul Dunkel and principal oboist Randy Wolfgang, as well as other wonderful musicians.

“It really gives people the ability to see the musicians in the NYC Ballet Orchestra perform in a way that expresses themselves to listeners who usually only get to see them perform music for the ballet,” Abdoo said.

Doors open at 6 p.m. and the concert will begin at 6:30 p.m. Tickets are $30 or $50 for a couple. Following the concert, guests are invited to a “Meet and Greet” with the artists. Light Crudités and Dessert will be served, along with a cash bar.

Tickets can be purchased at the door or by calling Sharon Meyer at 258-1511.