Since the City of Kingston planning board granted a permit to Tom Krueger to pursue his passion project, the creation of a performing arts and cultural institution in a 19th-century Methodist church in the Rondout, the erstwhile filmmaker has been floating on Cloud Nine — though his legs do dangle down.
Reports Krueger, “I am knee-deep in paperwork and forms.”
A small price to pay, says Krueger, to be recognized as a member of good standing in New York State’s nonprofit industrial complex. He hopes attracting financial support won’t be nearly as difficult.
“There’s just gonna be such a magical feeling here,” predicts Krueger. “Imagine kids walking up to the church through this door. I really feel like kids are going to just feel like they’re entering Hogwarts.”
Shaped like a rocket ship in front and a hangar behind, the white-painted church with the bright red ogival doorways on Wurts Street will be headquarters for Tempo Kingston. It’s intended that a variety of music styles will be taught by a collection of instructors.
Recitals and totally new compositions will be performed there. “We want to have a program for composers’ residencies, where they can come work, compose, whatever they do, in peace, and then put on put on their work in the main part of the church,” he says.
Climbing up the grassy hill of Cornell Park with a view of the distant Hudson River behind and staring up 80 feet to the point where the two lines of the steeple meet the sky, one wonders what word is the opposite of vertigo. The steeple is topped by a small gold gilded weathervane, a replica of the legendary Kingston steamship Mary Powell.
“Calling the institution a conservatory wouldn’t be totally accurate, though. That implies classical music and a certain type of training,” explains Krueger. “It’s all sorts of genres of music instruction for all ages. We’re currently talking to people that would run toddler programs. It really will be for ages from one to one hundred. If you’re older than a hundred, it’s free.”
The church has attracted dreamers before. Previous owner Tom Joffay took it upon himself to restore the steeple. The 44-year-old dangled in the wind and learned as he went.
Kreuger’s vision is as lofty. Repaying a debt of sorts, he looks to create a beating musical heart in the neighborhood.
About 20 years ago, a music camp changed the direction of his life.“Jay Ungar and Molly Mason run these music camps,” says Krueger. “As I went to their camp at the Ashokan Center, my life took a left turn. I realized that the kind of connection and unity and dancing and just the joy in the end of sharing. That was what was most important to me, and that has completely influenced my life ever since.”
Krueger says he drank the Kool Aid. He was a board member at the Ashokan Center for eight years.
“They’re not officially involved at this point with the church,” says Krueger, “but there’ll be collaborations in the future … esteemed colleagues collaborating on projects and festivals and things like that.”
Krueger has identified talented individuals to serve with him on his own board. Radio Kingston classical program host Peter Wetzler, an accomplished composer, multi-instrumentalist and fellow owner of a deconsecrated church, is on his executive committee, as are Foster Reed, founder of the aggressively avant-garde New Albion music label, and general counsel Rosemary Nichols, who plays swing guitar, sings, and loves to play Western swing music.
Krueger himself plays the violin, but since his sensibility hails from Cajun music he calls his instrument a fiddle. His tastes are expansive: Django jazz, swing music, Choros music.
With Reed on the mandolin, Krueger has been exploring traditional Italian music. Max Fass, accordion impresario of the Mac $ Cheese Balkan Power Trio, is webmaster for the project. Swirling in the eddies of so many currents of music, Krueger sees no reason to have to choose.
“I feel like my strength is traditional music and dance,” he says. “I’m a big partner dancer. I love traditional dances. And that’s a lot of the Ashokan influence.”
For the time being, Krueger says, he’ll be focused on satisfying the requirements of the building department and the recommendations of the planning board. He anticipates opening for performances in the spring and beginning musical instruction in the fall.
“The city has been fantastic, and incredibly supportive,” says Krueger. “If I can just shepherd this into something amazing where people can connect and try to give that which I’ve experienced myself in a space full of joy and connection and community — if I can do that — then it’s going to be great.”
The wooden floors, stained-glass windows and a formidable pipe organ wait together in silence in the nave. The reverb in the high-ceilinged room is dreamy.
Avoiding the aggrandized impression of a preacher on a pulpit, Krueger leans on a mop instead and dreams of the future.
“I recognize that there’s a lot of wonderful things to support in this city, and more and more amazing things happening all the time,” he says. “Like anybody else I’m just gonna have to get in line and hope that my endeavor has a supportive audience.”
Krueger’s website went live on February 22. Go to tempokingston.org.
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