Temperatures dipped below zero on New Year's Eve 2017. For most locals, it was just another blast of winter easily forgotten. But that particular spell of frigid temps remains frozen in the memories of Sophia Subbayya Vastek and Sam Torres, who were visiting from Baltimore for a few days. By the time the calendar turned to 2018, they'd decided to move to Troy.

"It was dead cold, negative whatever. And there's no one around at all on the streets," recalls Vastek with a laugh. "But we just had a good feeling about it. People we know in the area had only good things to say about Troy."

The couple moved into a downtown apartment in April and brought with them talents aplenty. Vastek, 31, is a pianist and concert producer while Torres, 25, is a composer, saxophonist and audio engineer. They met at the Manhattan School of Music; Vastek was working on her master's degree and Torres was an undergrad. He subsequently completed his master's at the Peabody Institute in Baltimore.

"We liked the idea of moving north and thought this was a good comfortable place in terms of cost of living," says Torres. "Troy's an up and coming city with a lot of interesting music and arts, but not so much that there wasn't room for us to do more. New York City is so saturated now."

Music projects brought them here initially. Torres came to work on audio with the group Yarn/Wire at EMPAC. Vastek made several visits for concerts and workshops at Arts Letters & Numbers, an arts incubator space in Averill Park.

Once the pair settled in and the mercury started rising, they ventured out to various springtime arts happenings and were struck by how friendly and approachable folks were, including prominent institutional leaders. Vastek found Jon Elbaum, executive director of the Troy Savings Bank Music Hall to be "a warm open person, and that says a lot about the culture of the region." At the ASO's American Music Festival, they met conductor David Alan Miller. "He seemed genuinely interested in meeting us and I'd never met a conductor of a major orchestra," says Torres. "Things like that have happened a lot."

Beyond the spontaneous networking, Torres and Vastek have taken deliberate steps to find opportunities. Vastek made a connection at the College of Saint Rose in Albany, where she's now teaching classes in music fundamentals. She also has about a dozen private piano students.

She emailed St. Paul's Church in Troy asking if she could perform at its Music at Noon series. The monthly free concerts in the Tiffany-designed sanctuary launched in 2000 and was most recently run by parishioners Sharon Roy and Eugene Tobey. But after many years of service, the two volunteers had grown weary and decided it was time to wrap things up.

"I replied that there were no plans for a series this year since the organizers had retired and no one had stepped up to take their place," recalls Roy. Rather than shrugging and moving on, Vastek offered that she had some experience with producing. In particular, she told them about Music of Reality, an interdisciplinary series in Boston that she co-founded and still co-directs. Soon the parties had a meeting and the St. Paul's series was back in business under new leadership.

"We were immediately impressed with Sophia's enthusiasm, her resume and talent," says Roy. "She saw it as an opportunity to make connections and at the same time using her talents in a way that would benefit the community at large."

"It seemed like such a shame to not have any more concerts," says Vastek. "So I jumped in. I love giving opportunities to other artists."

The 2018-19 season at St. Paul's launched in the fall with the Musicians of Ma'alwyck, followed by solo recitals from guitarist Peter Griggs and percussionist Colleen Bernstein. On Tuesday, Vastek and Torres will perform as part of a mixed septet, billed as Organ Colossal, made up mostly of new friends from the region.

"I've always been interested in establishing a musical community or collective and in Troy we have the time and the space," says Torres. "I'm excited to meet and work with composers and performers and create something that's not strictly classical or strictly jazz."

"I'd love for it to grow and incorporate all kinds of people – folk, rock, classical," continues Vastek, "and to go beyond just performing together and producing concerts but also be a means of supporting musicians in their lives."

Organ Colossal made its debut at Troy Night Out on Jan. 25 at the Arts Center of the Capital Region where the band drew a sizable crowd. "It was one of the busiest January Troy Night Outs I've seen," recalls Joseph Mastroianni, director of programming at the Arts Center. He's had extensive conversations with Vastek and Torres who came ready to help give music a stronger presence at the institution. "When I first met them, we clicked," says Mastroianni. "They were real, passionate and honest about what they want to achieve."

Vastek and Torres also recently started a seven-week workshop in ensemble music at the Arts Center, welcoming all comers to join in learning and performing compositions for open instrumentation. As with the new collective, the emphasis is on collaboration and inclusion.

"We're going to do a lot of listening exercises and practice creating a group sound," explains Vastek. "Musical technique doesn't have to be too high. It's for as many people as possible."

On top of all this, on Feb. 8 Vastek performed at The Linda in Albany. The concert, with Boston composer David Ibbett on live electronics, inaugurated the venue's new surround-sound system.

But it's not just at arts venues that Vastek and Torres are tuning in with the local vibe. They're regulars at the Troy Waterfront Farmers Market and have dined at most of the eateries in the downtown restaurant scene. A favorite is Nighthawks Restaurant and Bar, located just a couple of blocks from their place. "It's brilliant," says Vastek.

More Information If you go Organ Colossal Contemporary works performed by Sophia Subbayya Vastek, piano, Sam Torres, saxophone/bass clarinet, Max Caplan, piano, Zan Strumfeld, voice, Aaron Moore, narration, Louna Dekker-Vargas, flute, and Ledah Finck, viola/violin When: 12 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 19 Where: St. Paul's Church, 58 3rd St., Troy Admission: Free. See More Collapse

"I love food and one of my first impressions of Troy was the good food," says Torres, who cites a fondness for the Troy Kitchen, DeFazio's and Ali Baba. "Troy's been more welcoming than I could have imagined," he adds.

"Troy's feeling really good," says Vastek. "It's such an interesting scene."

Joseph Dalton is a freelance writer based in Troy.