Chris Silva Receives Special Citation and Award at Art Mid-Hudson’s 13th Annual Ulster County Executive’s Arts Awards
On Wednesday, June 11th, 2025, former Executive Director of Bardavon Presents, Chris Silva, received a Special Citation and an award from Arts Mid-Hudson during their 13th Annual Ulster County Executive’s Arts Awards event. The award Chris Silva received was specially created to honor the tremendous impact his 30 years of arts and community leadership had on Ulster County and the region.
Before his retirement in December 2024, Chris Silva served as the Executive Director for the Bardavon 1869 Opera House in Poughkeepsie, New York. Silva joined the Hudson Valley organization in 1994. In 2006, Bardavon began operating Kingston’s historic venue, Ulster Performing Arts Center. Under Silva’s leadership, both theaters received $25 million of capital improvement projects and successfully hosted nearly 2,000 performances, bringing in over two million patrons to the venues over the last three decades.
During Chris Silva’s time as Executive Director, both venues have also welcomed more than 600,000 students through the educational programs he introduced and expanded, which continues to reach approximately 20,000 students each year.
Upon retiring from his role as Executive Director, Chris Silva now serves as a booking consultant for Bardavon Presents; alongside former Managing Director of Theatre Production, Stephen LaMarca, who worked for the nonprofit for over three decades, as well.
Chris Silva’s lasting influence on the theaters will be seen for generations to come. Mark Dennis, Trustee of the Evelyn Davies Trust, has pledged a $100,000 matching grant to honor the extraordinary three-decades-long leadership Bardavon Presents experienced. Every dollar donated toward this effort is tax deductible and will be matched, dollar for dollar, up to $100,000. Generous supporters looking to honor the Bardavon’s retiring leaders can do so by calling the Bardavon box office with a credit card at (845) 473-2072; mailing a check to the Bardavon 1869 Opera House at 35 Market Street, Poughkeepsie, NY 12601; or through a PayPal link, which can be found at www.Bardavon.org and by clicking “Donate Now” at the top of the page.
Bardavon Presents extends their gratitude to Arts Mid-Hudson and Ulster County Executive Jen Metzger for honoring Chris Silva. To learn more about Arts Mid-Hudson, visit: https://www.artsmidhudson.org/about.