In partnership with area libraries, Stories with Music promotes literacy among young children and students through the powerful connection of music and literature. OSFL musicians present a featured storybook set to music, along with other musical selections. Fun for all ages, Stories with Music offers a chance to get up close with the musicians of the OSFL, learn about their instruments, ask questions, and enjoy a free concert.
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In 2026, three groups of OSFL musicians will perform over 20 concerts at 14 libraries throughout Chemung, Steuben, Schuyler, and Tioga, NY counties.  

2026 Stories with Music

Frog & Toad are Friends by Arnold Lobel
Can Cat & Bird Be Friends? by Coll Muir

Storied Winds

Lesley McClelland, oboe
David Resig, bassoon
Claire Tuxill McKenney, horn

Wednesday, July 15 at 10:00 AM
Dormann Library

Wednesday, July 22 at 10:00 AM
Horseheads Free Library

Tuesday, August 11 at 10:30 AM
Candor Free Library

Tuesday, August 11 at 1:00 PM
West Elmira Library

Tuesday, August 11 at 3:00 PM
Elizabeth B. Pert Library

Tuesday, August 11at 5:30 PM
Coburn Free Library

Thursday, August 13 at 10:30 AM
Cady Library

Friday, August 14 at 10:00 AM
Southeast Steuben County Library

Wednesday, August 26 at 10:00 AM
Watkins Glen Public Library

Bats in the Band by Brian Lies

Brass Quintet

Lindsey Burroughs, trumpet
Larry Burroughs, trumpet
Claire McKenney, horn
Shara, trombone
Keith Alcius, tuba

Wednesday, July 8 at 10:00 AM
Dormann Library

Wednesday, July 8 at 1:00 PM
Southeast Steuben County Library

Wednesday, July 8 at 3:00 PM
Horseheads Free Library

Thursday, July 16 at 10:30 AM
Cady Library

Thursday, July 16 at 1:30 PM
Fred & Harriett Taylor Memorial Library

Thursday, July 16 at 4:00 PM
Addison Public Library

Friday, July 17 at 10:00 AM
Coburn Free Library

Friday, July 17 at 12:30 PM
West Elmira Library

Wednesday, August 12 at 10:45 AM
Berkshire Free Library

Wednesday, August 12 at 2:00 PM
Big Flats Library

Wednesday, August 19 at 2:00 PM
Waverly Free Library

The Little Prince

OSFL Strings

Rosanna Moore, harp
S. Shade Zajac, cello

Dates TBD!

Some library concerts will be outdoors or at a larger facility. Programs and schedules subject to change. Follow us on Facebook for up-to-the-minute information.

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Thank you to our Stories with Music sponsors!

A special thanks to the participating libraries who make Stories with Music possible.

New York State Council on the Arts’s Decentralization Program, administered regionally by The ARTS Council of the Southern Finger Lakes, in partnership with the Tioga County Library System

Floyd "Vic" Hooker Fund at the Community Foundation for the Twin Tiers

Upstate Theater Coalition for a Fairgame 

Bobbie and John G. Ullman Family Foundation

​​Schuyler County Fund of the Community Foundation of Elmira-Corning and the Finger Lakes

Douglas G Anderson - Leigh R Evans Foundation

Johnson-Schmidt & Associates, Architects

​The kind generosity of individual donors​

Photos from Stories with Music in summer 2024

Photos from Stories with Music in summer 2023

Photos from Stories with Music in summer 2022

Previous Years’ Programs

  • The Frog Prince
    Presented Summer 2019 by the Edgewood Piano Trio

    Peter and the Wolf
    Presented Summer 2019 by the OSFL Woodwind Quintet

  • Tubby the Tuba
    Presented 2020 by the OSFL Woodwind Quintet

  • Ferdinand the Bull
    Presented 2021 by the OSFL String Quartet, narrated by OSFL cellist Gilbert Antoine

  • In the Hall of the Mountain King composed by Edvard Grieg (1843-1907) performed by the Edgewood Piano Trio in summer 2022

    ​Hansel and Gretel composed by Engelbert Humperdinck (1854-1921) performed by the OSFL Woodwind Quintet in summer 2022

    Tales of the Deep from The Sunken Forest (premiered in 2021) composed by Eira Lynn Jones, performed by Rosanna Moore in summer 2022

  • Bremen Town Musicians composed by Stanley Freidman (b. 1951) performed by the OSFL Woodwind Quintet in summer 2023

    The Race (The Tortoise & the Hare) composed by Gwyneth Walker (b. 1947) performed by the OSFL Brass Quintet in summer 2023

    The Wonderland Suite (Alice in Wonderland) composed by Esther Swift (b. 1988) performed by the OSFL Harp & Cello Duo in summer 2023

  • Neverland performed by the OSFL Brass Quintet in summer 2024

    Scottish Fairy Tales, Myths and Legends performed by the OSFL String Duo in summer 2024

    The Three Billy Goats Gruff performed by Storied Winds in summer 2024