Troy Savings Bank Music Hall Honors Leaders

The Troy Savings Bank Music Hall was a gift to the people of Troy in 1875. An acoustic and architectural marvel and a showcase for the city’s 19^th century glamour, it is still a community treasure nearly 150 years after it opened.

On March 21, the boards of the Troy Savings Bank Music Hall Foundation and the Troy Savings Bank Charitable Foundation, together with friends and colleagues, will gather to honor two of the people who worked tirelessly to preserve this historic venue — former Troy Savings Bank President Daniel J. Hogarty Jr. and George Arakelian, the retired president of Standard Manufacturing Company. Both are retiring after years of volunteer leadership on the Foundations’ Board of Directors.

The reception is from 5:30 to 7 p.m. in the bank lobby of Troy Savings Bank Music Hall, located at 30 2^nd Street in Troy, followed by a concert by the swing band Big Bad Voodoo Daddy.

“If acoustics were girders and harmony was plaster, the Music Hall could exist without maintenance, but a long line of supporters off stage — first bankers and then volunteers — are responsible for the preservation and upkeep of this community treasure, and we look forward to honoring and thanking two legendary business leaders and volunteers who have given so much of their time and expertise to the people of Troy,” said Jon Elbaum, Executive Director of the Troy Savings Bank Music Hall. 

Mr. Hogarty was named president and CEO of the Troy Savings Bank in 1985 and for years was president of the Troy Savings Bank Music Hall Foundation. His leadership inspired others to donate resources to the Music Hall. Mr. Arakelian served as board secretary. Both are longtime prominent boosters of Troy and its potential and their time and energy have been invaluable assets in the community.

Big Bad Voodoo Daddy is celebrating a milestone of its own — April 2023 marks the band’s 30^th anniversary on the music scene. On March 21, the enduring venue — which has hosted the likes of like Dizzy Gillespie, Ella Fitzgerald, Yo-Yo Ma, Boz Scaggs, India Arie, Lake Street Dive and Trey Anastasio — will sizzle with the classic American sounds of jazz, swing and Dixieland.