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The Hoag Music Series is a free concert series at Hoag Library aimed at bringing musical artists to Orleans County who have never before performed here.
Violinist Shannon Reilly and guitarist Tom Torrisi formed Duo Purla in 2019 to present and commission current works exemplifying today’s musical environment alongside original arrangements of the pillars from the classical repertoire. Purla is the Old Norse word for the sound of rushing or murmuring water. The name represents Shannon’s Norwegian heritage while recalling the simultaneously timeless and ever-changing character of music. The legacy of the past flows into the sounds of today, and new musical creations illuminate the past with a fresh light
Duo Purla’s eclectic portfolio has earned them a reputation for diverse programming and masterful performance. They feature world premiers from emerging composers including Edgar Girtain, Anna Heflin, Alexa Letourneau, and Zack Pentecost, as well as Tom’s original compositions, alongside imaginative original arrangements of works by the great composers of history such as Vivaldi, Beethoven, and Satie. Duo Purla was ensemble-in-residence for both zFestival 2021, premiering 5 student composers’ works, and 21st Century Guitar Conference 2022, where Tom was also a featured composer. Performing together initially while pursuing their Eastman School of Music degrees and now based in Buffalo NY, Duo Purla continually attracts audiences with performances for the Kleinhans Center Stage Series, Liminal Space Ensemble, the Jewish Cultural Center, the Hispanic Heritage Society of WNY, the University at Buffalo (SUNY), and Rochester Classical Guitar. Their work as contemporary musicians has brought them performances and world premieres for London’s Royal Music Academy Research Students Conference, the Keybank Rochester Fringe Festival, NYC Electroacoustic Music Festival, the Bang on a Can Festival, LA’s Black House Collective New Music Workshop, and the Mostly Modern Festival.
This project is made possible with funds from the Statewide Community Regrant Program, a regrant program of the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature and administered by GO ART!