Historian begins another appointment

Local historian and musician Alex Prizgintas officially began his appointment as Town of Tuxedo Historian on Jan. 1, 2026. He was also appointed as a board member and co-regional representative for the Association of Public Historians of New York State (APHNYS) in late 2025.

“I think it was eight years ago when I first received an award for my work from the APHNYS as a high school senior. Eight years later, I am truly honored to have been selected as member of their board and hope to continue developing new programs through my association with other innovative and knowledgeable historians. Likewise, it was an honor to be considered and now appointed as the Town of Tuxedo Historian,” Prizgintas said. “The rich history within all of Orange County’s hamlets is deeply connected, and I look forward to applying what I have learned in other towns into Tuxedo while working alongside other individuals and organizations in continuing their legacy of historic preservation.”

Prizgintas also serves as the president of the Woodbury Historical Society and is the Town Historian of Woodbury. According to a press release, he may be the youngest from Orange County (and possibly New York State) to serve as town historian for two separate municipalities, although exact ages of other county or state historians was not readily available.

In his roles, he has organized community programs in conjunction with other historical societies throughout Orange County and spends more than 200 days of the year traveling with his lectures and cello shows.

“I prefer to call my performances as a cellist ‘shows’ rather than ‘concerts’ since they are constructed more like a conversation. I use an off-stage narrator and we share some of the stories behind the music and their composers,” he added. “It’s more of a laid-back conversation instead of a serious concert. That said, there’s a lot of serious work behind each selection and there are currently 14 different shows showcasing jazz, rock, pop, classical, Broadway, opera, and more that I take on the road with my cello.”

As a lecturer, he has more than a dozen different programs on regional Hudson Valley history. To learn more about Prizgintas and his work, log onto at alexprizgintas.com.