June 20, 2013

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A Wonderful Premiere Hits the Shoreline

June 1, 2013 by

Swans And Balanchine

Two of the graceful starring Swans of Ballerina Swan,  Emily Kramm of Old Lyme and Sarah Marsoobian of Guilford celebrate the success of Eastern Connecticut Ballet’s World Premiere Ballet with NYC Ballet acclaimed ballerina and author of Ballerina Swan, Allegra Kent and Gloria Govrin, choreographer and Artistic Director of Eastern Connecticut Ballet and former NYC Ballet soloist.

More than 1,000 guests laughed and cheered for Sophie the Swan throughout the Premiere, enjoyed the delicious Rita’s of New London Ices and delighted in meeting the author and cast!  Photo credit: G.Mazzola

Filed Under: Arts, News

Essex Winter Series Names Annual Jazz Concert in Honor of Stu Ingersoll

February 21, 2013 by

Stu Ingersoll Credit Peter Harron (1)

The Board of Trustees of the Essex Winter Series has announced the naming of its annual jazz concert in honor of longtime Essex resident, former ‘Essex Man of the Year’ and renowned jazz musician, Stu Ingersoll, who retired from the Board last year.

Ten years ago Stu Ingersoll, one of the three founders of the Great Connecticut Traditional Jazz Festival, spearheaded the Essex Winter Series’ expansion of its annual offerings to include a jazz concert.  Today this concert is an annual sellout and, thanks to the generosity of a local foundation, has branched out to include an outreach program in the New London public schools.

Originally from Long Island, Stu has lived in Essex for over 50 years. For 37 years he owned and operated the Essex Boat Works, where he hosted an annual Tuba Festival. He renovated ‘Flora’, his signature Oyster Boat, which was renowned for wonderful concert parties on the river – and a piano on her deck.

Stu continues to serve as Chairman of the Essex Zoning Board of Appeals.  On the local music scene Stu is a steady fixture.  Whether performing regularly on banjo, or tuba, or buying and selling musical instruments – often these days on eBay, or running the Horns for Kids program which provides musical instruments to local schools.  Stu seems to be everywhere at once.

At the end of the 2012 concert season, Stu announced his retirement from the Board of Trustees of Essex Winter Series.  It was at that time, it was decided to honor Stu by naming the Jazz Concerts in his honor.

Essex Winter Series President, Peter Amos, says, “Essex Winter Series owes so much to Stu. His annual jazz concerts are always tremendously popular, recreating the golden years of jazz of the ‘20s and ‘30s. Stu’s wide circle of friends in the world of jazz make every concert a joyful celebration of music and fellowship. Stu will be at our upcoming concert on March 3rd, to announce the program and introduce the musicians.”

Artistic Director Mihae Lee noted that “[She] will miss his leadership, his dedication to present carefully crafted programs with exciting musicians, and the way in which he has managed to bring jazz into our community to build the audience over the years.”

The first of the Essex Winter Series Stu Ingersoll Jazz Concerts will take place on Sunday, March 3, 2013 at 3:00 p.m. at Valley Regional High School, 256 Kelsey Hill Road in Deep River, CT.  featuring the Northeast Traditional Jazz Ensemble with bandleader Scott Philbrick.

More than a decade after their appearance in the Essex Winter Series inaugural jazz concert, the Northeast Traditional Jazz Ensemble with bandleader Scott Philbrick, is back to warm up a chilly winter afternoon with some smokin’ hot jazz.  Seven equally outstanding jazz musicians will come together to form the band for this one special concert event. They will take the audience on a journey through the early jazz forms of ragtime and the introduction of improvisation, to New Orleans with the blues and Dixieland, to prohibition-era Big Band, to the much loved Swing.  You’ll be dancing in the aisles!

Tickets are $30, discounted student tickets are available for $12.  All tickets may be purchased online at www.essexwinterseries.com, by calling 860-272-4572 x1, or at the door.

For more information and directions, please visit www.essexwinterseries.com.

Concert sponsored by Tower Laboratories and The Clark Group.

The Essex Winter Series’ mission is to bring the finest music, in live performance, to the Connecticut River Valley and Shoreline Region during the winter months and to cultivate its appreciation to the widest audience.

More information, including details for the 2012-2013 season, can be found at www.essexwinterseries.com or calling (860) 272-4572.

Filed Under: Arts, Essex, News, Towns

Ivoryton Playhouse Announces 2013 Season

February 8, 2013 by

ivoryton playhouseIvoryton: On March 13th, 2013 The Ivoryton Playhouse opens its doors for a year full of exciting, live theatre. There is something for everyone this season – a season that is explosive, upbeat, hilarious, original and even a little naughty! -you won’t want to miss even one of these shows.

Beginning March 13th – 30th, the Playhouse will take you back to the 50’s with some of the classic doo wop melodies you danced to at the sock hop! Life Could Be a Dream features classic oldies Tears on My Pillow, Unchained Melody, The Great Pretender and, of course, Life Could Be A Dream.

In Other People’s Money – April 17th – May 5th, a corporate raider threatens a hostile take-over of a New England “Mom & Pop” company (sound familiar!). What follows is a snowballing plot of financial manipulations, unlikely alliances and a surprising twist at the end.

The Playhouse opens the summer with a brand new play from Mike Reiss, one of the writers of The Simpsons, I’m Connecticut is a wacky, fast-paced, sweet romantic comedy about Marc, a Connecticut native who struggles with relationships and feelings of inadequacy – why? Because he comes from Connecticut – land of steady habits, sanity and politeness. A must-see comedy for anybody from the Nutmeg State! From June 5th – 23rd.

From July 3rd-28th, one of the most explosive movie musicals bursts onto the live stage with exhilarating results. Footloose is the heartfelt story of a father longing for the son he lost and of a young man aching for the father who walked out on him. The rockin’ rhythm of the Top 40 score includes Let’s Hear it for the Boy, Almost Paradise, and, of course, Footloose.

A smash Broadway musical, Dreamgirls captures the spirit and hope of Motown when a girl group from Chicago makes it big. In a business controlled by men, the female trio fights for recognition, fellowship and love as superstardom challenges their musical and cultural identity. Dreamgirls sizzles with sparkling dance and R&B soul – Featuring the hit songs Dreamgirls; And I Am Telling You I’m Not Going and One Night Only. August 7th – September 1st.

I Love You, You’re Perfect, Now Change – September 25th – October 13th – is a hilarious revue that pays tribute to those who have loved and lost and lived to try again. Smartly conceived with catchy tunes and witty lyrics, this affectionate look at love and marriage is as amusingly appropriate today as when it first opened in New York in 1996.

The season closes with a fabulously funny farce from the fifties – The Seven Year Itch – October 30th – November 17th. The play takes a humorous look at the problems of a typical married man whose wife and son have gone to the beach for the summer when he is suddenly confronted by a stunning new upstairs neighbor.
Don’t miss some of the most exciting and entertaining theatre on the shoreline!  Subscriptions are on sale now.  Single tickets go on sale February 14, 2012.  Visit www.ivorytonplayhouse.org or call (860) 767 7318 for the latest ticket information.

Filed Under: Arts, News

Greenleaf Music Award Recipient Announced – Pivate Lessons at CMS

January 31, 2013 by
Jenna Wilson of Niantic. Recipient of the Spring 2013 Carolyn R. Greenleaf Music Award

Jenna Wilson of Niantic. Recipient of the Spring 2013 Carolyn R. Greenleaf Music Award

The selection committee for the Carolyn R. Greenleaf Memorial Fund at the Community Foundation of Middlesex County has chosen violinist Jenna Wilson of Niantic as the recipient of the Spring 2013 Carolyn R. Greenleaf Music Award.

This award is given each semester to a high school junior or senior who has demonstrated exceptional musical ability and motivation, and represents a semester of private lessons at the Community Music School in Centerbrook.

This semester’s winner, Jenna Wilson, is a student of violin teacher Martha Herrle at the Community Music School, where she has served as Concertmaster of the CMS String Ensemble since 2010.  A senior at East Lyme High School, Jenna plays in the school orchestra. She also performs as a volunteer for various nursing homes and senior centers.  She has received several awards for her musical achievement, both at East Lyme High School and the Community Music School.

The Carolyn R. Greenleaf Memorial Fund was established at the Community Foundation of Middlesex County in 2008 by her friends to honor Greenleaf’s dedication to music and education. The Carolyn Greenleaf Memorial Music Award is open to students of Middlesex County and the Lymes and is awarded each semester.  It is entirely based on merit, and is the only such award at the Community Music School.  The deadline for applications for the Fall semester will be announced in July. The application may be downloaded from the websites of the Community Music School (www.community-music-school.org) and the Community Foundation of Middlesex County (www.middlesexcountycf.org).

Community Music School is an independent, nonprofit school which provides a full range of the finest possible instruction and musical opportunities to persons of all ages and abilities, increasing appreciation of music and encouraging a sense of joy in learning and performing, thus enriching the life of the community.

Community Foundation of Middlesex County is a nonprofit organization dedicated to improving the quality of life in Middlesex County. Working with charitably-minded individuals and organizations to build permanent endowments since 1997, the Community Foundation has provided 850 grants totaling more than $2.5 million to organizations for the arts, cultural and heritage programs, educational activities,  environmental improvements, and for health and human services.  For more information, contact us at 860.347.0025 or info@MiddlesexCountyCF.org.

Filed Under: Arts, News, Towns

Bag of Bones – Chester Historical Society Invitation to Artists

January 16, 2013 by
What might you create from this “bag of bones” for the Chester Historical Society’s Bone Art Challenge this winter? Dating back to the Bishop and Watrous Novelty Works in Chester in the 1930s and ‘40s, these “bones” were intended to be handles for flatware and crochet hooks (photo courtesy of Skip Hubbard)

What might you create from this “bag of bones” for the Chester Historical Society’s Bone Art Challenge this winter? Dating back to the Bishop and Watrous Novelty Works in Chester in the 1930s and ‘40s, these “bones” were intended to be handles for flatware and crochet hooks (photo courtesy of Skip Hubbard)

The Chester Historical Society has come up with another fun challenge linking Chester history and art.  This spring, those accepting the 2013 Bone Art Challenge issued by the Historical Society will be working with a “bag of bones” from the Bishop and Watrous Novelty Works. The “bones” were likely to have been handles for flatware or crochet hooks made in the 1930s and ‘40s at the Bishop and Watrous factory on Maple Street in Chester.

As with the Brooks for Hooks Challenge and the Bates Square Roots Challenge offered by the Chester Historical Society in past years, the Bishop and Watrous Bone Art Challenge is for area artists, sculptors, photographers, engineers, jewelry designers, and all others with a creative mind.

Anyone who wants to take the challenge can stop in at the Chester Gallery on Main Street in the center of Chester to fill a bag with up to 25 bones to create a piece of “Bone Art” for an entrance fee of $25, which includes a ticket to the event. The finished works will be exhibited and sold by silent auction at the Historical Society’s Bone Arts Champagne Reception on Saturday, March 23 from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. at the Chester Meetinghouse.

For more information, call Sosse Baker at Chester Gallery at 860-526-9822.

Filed Under: Arts, Chester, News

Lyme Academy Professor’s Sculpture Commemorates 9/11

September 11, 2012 by

The Memoria Project stands serene at Highlands on the New Jersey Shore, overlooking Manhattan. Almost 8,000 people were evacuated by boat to Highlands on 9/11/01 following the Twin towers tragedy.

A long-anticipated memorial to the 9/11 tragedy, known as the Memoria Project, stands on a 1.7 acre waterside park at Highlands, N.J., with a backdrop of the New York City skyline.

The oversized, striking sculptures that form the memorial are the brainchild of Lyme Academy College of Fine Arts sculpture professor Stephen Shaheen and represent an almost 10-year labor of love for the young teacher. Moreover countless members of the community have also helped to create the memorial giving it the depth of meaning and personal reconciliation that Shaheen was seeking. Shaheen notes, “People got a lot out of the opportunity to be involved in something tangible following an event where people where helpless to act.”

Shaheen was studying in Italy on Sept. 11, 2001, and was coincidentally being visited by his long-time friend Evan Urbania. Shaheen grew up in the town of Rumson, N.J., 10 minutes away from Highlands, and Urbania in the next town. This area, along with Highlands was in Shaheen’s words, “profoundly impacted by 9/11,” because he explains, “Many of the people who died had taken the ferry from Highlands to Manhattan that day. Nearly 8,000 were evacuated by boat to Highlands on 9/11, which became a major triage point for the recovery operation.”

Shaheen and Urbania, in Shaheen’s words, “went through the 9/11 experience together,” and it did not take long on their return to the US to realize that “Many of the memorials [to 9/11] that existed were, “personal effects,” or in other words, “things that were deteriorating.” Shaheen quickly conceived the idea of a lasting memorial involving the art that he both loved and taught: sculpture.

Urbania meanwhile, “figured out the nuts and bolts” and set about incorporating Shaheen’s idea as a non-profit. Thus the Memoria Project was born and, in a flurry of activity, a significant amount of fundraising was successfully achieved.

Consequently the main sculptures were carved during 2002 out of some 40 thousand dollars of white Imperial Danby marble donated by a quarry in Danby, Vt. This gift of marble – in fact, the same stone that was used for the Jefferson Memorial in Washington, D.C.– “gave great momentum to the beginning stages of the project,” recalls Shaheen. At this time, the higher than 13 foot sculptures were being created in a National Park at the end of Sandy Hook, N.J., and in association with the sculpting process, some 37 free lectures and workshops were held.

After the initial burst of activity however, progress slowed to an extended halt, while the location and installation were, “Figured out.”

Finally, with the 10-year anniversary of 9/11 approaching and, in some ways, providing the necessary impetus for completion of the memorial, everything came together. A permanent location in Veteran’s Memorial Park in Highlands N.J. was finalized, and ground broken on the new site Aug. 22, 2011. A renewed sense of purpose enabled the stones to be in place by Sept. 9 allowing a formal commemorative ceremony to be held Sept. 11 in the new location. Between that ceremony and the subsequent Oct 23 dedication the same year, final details such as the grass planting and lighting installation were completed.

Another issue that has taken a considerable amount of time and energy was the carving of granite blocks with all 2,987 names of those who lost their lives Sept. 11, 2001. Shaheen found there were, in fact, four lists of the deceased to reconcile, which proved to be a labor-intensive process. The lists were closely examined for duplications and inconsistencies in terms of titles and name suffixes. Finally, only in August of this year, was the list finalized and engraving begun.

Brian Craig-Wankiiri, Chair of the Sculpture Department at Lyme Academy College of Fine Arts, comments, “Steve’s determination to produce a lasting memorial to the 9/11 victims without official funding, while at the same time involving innumerable volunteers, is a testament to his remarkable character. The finished sculpture is equally a testament to his extraordinary talent and vision. We are all honored and privileged to have such an accomplished and ambitious artist as a member of our faculty.”

The celebrations on Oct. 23 were joyous in terms of the completion of the project but still tinged with an air of sadness as a mark of respect to the events which caused the memorial to be built. The location of the memorial, looking across the Hudson River to Manhattan, will always have what Shaheen sensitively describes as a “visual connection to New York City,” which was precisely his intent.

Examples of more of Shaheen’s works will be on display in the Chauncey Stillman Gallery at Lyme Academy College as part of the Studio Faculty Exhibition, which opens Friday, Oct. 5 with a reception from 6 to 8 p.m. and is on view through Nov. 17, 2012. Admission to the exhibition is free and the gallery is open Mondays through Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

 

 

Filed Under: Arts, News

Cappella Cantorum Men’s Chorus Concert September 29

September 6, 2012 by

Sunday, Sept. 9, 3:00 PM,  at the First Church of Christ Congregational, 499 Town St., East Haddam 06432. This is a Church Benefit Concert followed by a reception. The 32 member male chorus is conducted by Barry Asch and accompanied by Deborah Lyon. The concert features: Selections from Les Mis, (The Musical that Swept the World;) Swansea Town; Battle Hymn, Soon and Very Soon; Solos, and The Hill Top Four, (Barbershop Quartet) will also perform. Tickets $15 at the door, Advanced sales $12, Goodspeed Station Country Store-Haddam; Celebrations-Deep River,  call  860-537-2052 or  860-526-1038. (12 & under, free.)

Saturday, Sept. 15, 3 PM at the Kate, Katharine Hepburn Cultural Art Center, 300 Main St., Old Saybrook, CT 06475.Tickets $16, available through the Box Office,            877-503-1286, www.thekate.org     or day of performance.

Saturday, Sept  29, 7:30 PM, Christ Episcopal Church, Guilford 06437  on the Green. Tickets $16, Concert Series sponsored by the Church  (203) 453-2279.  11 Park St., Guilford CT

Filed Under: Arts, Towns

Artists Collaborate on Installation About Nature Opens June 8

June 1, 2012 by

Chester, CT — Artists Collaborate on Installation About Nature – “In the Blossoms’ Shade”

The Lori Warner Studio/Gallery, will feature an installation entitled “In the Blossoms’ Shade” opening June 8, 2012. “In the Blossoms’ Shade” is an art installation about nature. It is a collaboration between Katherine Anderson and Pat Smith.

Katherine Anderson is a Seattle artist with a background in landscape architecture. She will be working with natural materials. Pat Smith is a CT sculptor. She will be working in porcelain. Together they will create an intrinsic work of art reflective of Basho poetry and Wabi Sabi aesthetics. This is the first in The Lori Warner Studio/Gallery’s series of window installations by invited artists.

The Lori Warner Studio/Gallery is a unique source for artwork and objects that make a lasting impression. Artwork featured in the gallery includes monotype prints, encaustic paintings, stoneware sculpture, one-of-a-kind jewelry, and custom letterpress notes. The gallery carries many exclusive pieces and regularly features guest artists that are pioneering creativity in their chosen medium.

The gallery is located at 21 Main Street in Chester, Connecticut. (860) 322-4265.  www.loriwarner.com.

Filed Under: Arts, Old Events

Gallery One Announces Group Exhibition Opening June 19

May 30, 2012 by

Old Saybrook, CT- Gallery One, located at 665 Boston Post Road in Old Saybrook, will present a Group Exhibition, on view from June 19 through August 12, with a reception to meet the artists on Friday, June 29 from 5:30 – 7:30 pm. Featured artists include Elizabeth Boyd, Denise Gaffney Hartz, Margaret Kangley, Diana Rogers and guest artists Corina Alvarezdelugo and Hillary Seltzer.

Although Elizabeth Boyd is supremely adept in both representational and abstract work, she is exhibiting acrylic, watercolor and pastel still lifes. She finds that working literally and abstractly reinforces each discipline and benefits the viewer’s experience. She has had work in exhibitions throughout Connecticut, such as the Cooley Gallery in Old Lyme and the Wadsworth Atheneum. Boyd has received numerous awards including several Best in Show and Purchase Prizes.

Denise Gaffney Hartz, who has been an artist for 37 years, creates atmospheric mindscapes inhabited by basic and essential elements.  Her abstractions of the last 20 years have been in exhibitions around New England including group shows in college and university galleries and museums such as the New Britain Museum, Slater Memorial Museum and Lyman Allyn Museum.

Margaret Kangley’s oil paintings are symbolic still lifes on a wide range of themes, often involving a dramatic change in scale. Alongside Kangley’s dedication to her painting, she has pursued an award-winning career in art education, teaching high school art and as an adjunct professor at Wesleyan University.

Diana Rogers’ pastel landscapes arise from a deep respect for nature and concern for the rapid loss of pristine environs. The colorful bounty of nature is reflected in her choice of medium–the pure intense pigments available in pastels. She has exhibited in regional, national and international exhibitions and received awards in several of them, including Best Pastel from the Mystic Art Center. Rogers is also on the board of the Connecticut Pastel Society.

Venezuela-born Branford resident sculptor and mixed media painter, Corina Alvarezdelugo, is a Guest Artist in this exhibition. In her minimalist works, she focuses on the essence of an object, mood, feeling, person or place using the circle and the sphere. Alvarezdelugo has shown her work in Venezuela, the Caribbean, and the United States, specifically Arizona, Pennsylvania, New York City, Massachusetts and Connecticut, receiving a number of awards.

Hillary Seltzer, also a Guest Artist, paints intuitively, exploring the familiar–still life, landscape, the figure and memory–in her layered works on paper incorporating collage and photo transfer. Formal training in both graphic and textile design influence her work. As well as being a fine artist herself, with work in private collections and group exhibitions in Connecticut and Rhode Island, she has been a strong supporter of local and regional artists as the founder and former owner of Central Gallery in Old Saybrook.

Gallery One’s Group Exhibition opens Tuesday, June 19th and runs through August 12th. There will be a reception on Friday, June 29th from 5:30 to 7:30 pm. Regular gallery hours are Tuesday-Saturday, 10:00 am to 5:30 pm and Sunday, noon to 5:00 pm. Please call (860) 388-0907 or visit www.galleryonect.com for additional information.

Gallery One, Old Saybrook, Connecticut, is a co-operative gallery showing the work of mid-career artists working in a wide variety of media and styles from representational to abstract in photography, printmaking, painting, sculpture and ceramics.  Gallery One was founded in 2003 and currently shares space with the Clayhouse, Old Saybrook Shopping Center, 665 Boston Post Road at Elm Street.

Filed Under: Arts Tagged With:

Essex Art Association, New Gallery Show, Explorations, Opens June 1

May 24, 2012 by

 

Fish Market by Chipp Davis Wells

The Essex Art Association is opening a new gallery show “Explorations” featuring work by Elected Artists Members. Continuing the tradition of showing art from the traditional to cutting edge the show promises to be exciting and thought provoking.

Featured in the Exit Gallery“, “A New Englander’s Palette” works by Chipp Davis Wells, who has studios in Eastern Point, Gloucester, MA and Westerly, R.I. Chipp Davis Wells started his art training early in the studio of his maternal grandmother, marine  artist, Amee Davis. He continued his training in Rome, Italy, the Tyler School of Art, Temple University in Philadelphia. His subjects are New England coastal scenes, rivers, lighthouses, beaches, and groups of people he calls PEOPLESCAPES TM.

The reception and show are open to the public free of charge. Essex Art Association is a non profit serving the shoreline since 1946.

Reception June 1from 6-8 pm

Show open daily Wednesday through Monday 1-5 pm June 2. Through June 23.

EssexArtCt@gmail.com

www.EssexArtAssociation.com

Filed Under: Arts, Essex, Old Events

Lyme Art Association Presents Two New Exhibitions: “20th Annual Associate Artist Exhibition” and “A Contemporary Look”

January 17, 2012 by

The Anniversary, 48 x 60” oil on canvas by invited artist Jaclyn Conley

Lyme Art Association’s 20th Annual Associate Artist Exhibition of landscape, portrait and still life paintings by Associate Artist members will be on view in the Association’s Cooper/Ferry, South and Cole galleries from January 13 – February 25, 2012.  “Associate Artist members make up the core community of the Lyme Art Association, and we are proud to highlight their work in this special exhibition each winter,” states Susan Ballek, the LAA’s Executive Director.In addition, the Association is pleased to present the 3rd Annual “A Contemporary Look,” a special invitation-only exhibition of progressive representational artwork by regional artists.  This exhibition will be on view in the Goodman Gallery from January 20 – February 25.  This year’s featured artists include painters Jaclyn Conley, Karen Sorenson, and Deirdre Kline.  Equestrian sculpture fabricated in steel by Marcia Spivak will also be displayed.

The opening reception for both exhibitions is free to the public, and will be held on Friday, January 20, from 5pm to 7pm at the LAA, 90 Lyme Street, Old Lyme, Connecticut.

About the Lyme Art Association    

The Lyme Art Association was founded in 1914 by the American Impressionists and continues the tradition of exhibiting and selling representational artwork by its members and invited artists, as well as offering art instruction and lectures to the community. The Lyme Art Association is located at 90 Lyme Street, Old Lyme, CT, in a building designed by Charles Adams Platt and located within an historic district. Admission is free with contributions appreciated. Gallery hours are Tuesday through Saturday, 10am to 5pm, Sunday 1 to 5pm. For more information on exhibitions, purchase of art, art classes, or becoming a member, call 860-434-7802.

Filed Under: Arts, Lyme Old Lyme, Old Events Tagged With:

Julie Andrews Returns to Goodspeed to Direct New Musical

January 15, 2012 by

EAST HADDAM, CONN., January 14, 2012:  This afternoon at Goodspeed’s 7th Annual Festival of New Artists, the two-time Tony Award-winning theatre announced plans for the production of a new musical, The Great American Mousical,  to be directed by Julie Andrews. The musical is based on the best-selling book authored by Ms. Andrews and her daughter Emma Walton Hamilton, with illustrations by Tony Walton. This developmental production will run November 8 – December 2, 2012 at The Norma Terris Theatre in Chester, Connecticut. Season tickets will be available beginning January 16 through the Goodspeed Opera House Box Office. The Great American Mousical will be sponsored by Essex Meadows.

Below the bright lights of Broadway, in the depths of the historic Sovereign Theatre, a troupe of musical-making mice rehearse a new show.  When the theatre is threatened by demolition and their diva Adelaide disappears, it will take all paws on deck to fulfill the time-honored tradition: the show must go on! Filled with singing, dancing, and show biz lore, The Great American Mousical is a tribute to life in the theatre and celebrates the two most glorious words in the English language: musical comedy!

Under the direction of theatre icon Julie Andrews, The Great American Mousical features an enchanting new score with Music by Zina Goldrich and Lyrics by Marcy Heisler, a book by Tony nominee Hunter Bell, choreography by Tony nominee Christopher Gattelli, and sets and costumes designed by Oscar, Emmy and Tony-Award winner Tony Walton. With boundless appeal, The Great American Mousical will entertain adults with its wit and musical theatre history while kids will fall in love with the wonderful characters that inhabit the Sovereign Theatre.

“Emma, Tony and I had so much fun working on this book and are now overjoyed that it will come alive on the stage,” said Julie Andrews.  “I’m so blessed to be working with this creative team in adapting our book for the theatre.”

Michael Price, Executive Director of Goodspeed Musicals, adds “Julie Andrews and Tony Walton have been part of the Goodspeed family for several years and we are thrilled to have them back with us to work on this delightful musical.   Adding Zina, Marcy and Hunter to the creative team makes the project even more exciting.”

About the Artists:

Julie Andrews is one of the most recognized and beloved figures in the entertainment industry. Her legendary career encompasses the Broadway and London stages, blockbuster Hollywood films, award-winning television shows, multiple albums and concert tours.  She is also a best-selling author in the world of children’s and adult publishing. Ms. Andrews has directed productions for Bay Street Theatre and Goodspeed Musicals including The Boy Friend and its National Tour.

Emma Walton Hamilton is a best-selling children’s book author, professional editor and arts educator.  She co-founded the Bay Street Theatre in Sag Harbor, New York where she served in numerous capacities through 2008, and is currently a faculty member for Stony Brook Southampton’s MFA in Writing and Literature Program.

Zina Goldrich, along with longtime lyricist Marcy Heisler, is currently working on the musical adaptation of Ever After with director Kathleen Marshall. She earned a Drama Desk Nomination for Best Music for the off-Broadway show Dear Edwina. She composed the scores for Junie B. Jones (Lucille Lortel Award nomination) and Snow White, Rose Red (and Fred) ( three Helen Hayes Awards nominations)  Honors include the Fred Ebb Award, ASCAP’s Richard Rodgers New Horizons Award, Seldes-Kanin Fellowship, and a Jonathan Larson grant.

Marcy Heisler, with composer Zina Goldrich, was named the 2009 winner of the Fred Ebb Award for outstanding songwriting.   Off-Broadway credits include Dear Edwina (Drama Desk Nomination, Lyrics) and Junie B Jones, (Lucille Lortel Nomination, Best Musical).  Her many lyric projects include work for Disney Channel, Disney Toon Studios, Disney Interactive and adaptations for Disney Theatricals.  Songwriting awards include the Richard Rodgers New Horizons Theatre Award and Jamie De Roy and Friends Award (ASCAP), a Seldes-Kanin Fellowship, and others.

Hunter Bell earned an OBIE Award, Drama League nomination, and Tony nomination for Best Book of a Musical all for the original Broadway musical [title of show]. Other credits include the books for Silence! The Musical; Bellobration! (Ringling Bros. Circus); Now. Here. This; and Villains Tonight! (Disney Cruise Lines.) As an actor, he has appeared on and off Broadway and in numerous regional theatres, including the Goodspeed Opera House and The Norma Terris Theatre. He is a distinguished alumnus of Webster University and a MacDowell Fellow.

Christopher Gattelli’s Broadway credits include the current revival of Godspell and the upcoming Newsies; South Pacific (Tony, Outer Critics Circle nominations); Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown; Sunday in the Park with George; 13: The Musical; High Fidelity and off-Broadway’s Altar Boyz (Lucille Lortel Award, Callaway Award, Drama Desk nomination); Bat Boy: The Musical (Lucille Lortel Award); tick, tick . . . BOOM!; and more. As director he helmed Silence! The Musical, the world premiere of Jim Henson’s first musical, Emmet Otter’s Jug-Band Christmas, and the world premiere of Radio Girl, both with Goodspeed Musicals.

Tony Walton is an Oscar, Emmy and Tony Award-winning set and costume designer who in recent years   has added directing to his long list of credits.  He has been honored with Tony Awards for Pippin, House of Blue Leaves, and Guys and Dolls.   Walton directed and designed the triumphant Goodspeed production of Where’s Charley?, designed sets and costumes for the Goodspeed production and National Tour of The Boy Friend, and has received acclaim for his productions at the Irish Repertory Theatre, The York Theatre, Old Globe Theatre and Bay Street Theatre.

The Great American Mousical will be produced for Goodspeed Musicals by Michael P. Price.

The Norma Terris Theatre is located at 33 North Main Street in Chester which was recently voted “Best Small Town in Connecticut” by Connecticut Magazine. Season Tickets will go on sale January 16 for Goodspeed Members through the Goodspeed Opera House Box Office.  Individual tickets will go on sale to the general public on March 25, 2012. For more information call the Goodspeed Box Office at 860.873.8668 or visit  www.goodspeed.org.

Dedicated to the preservation and advancement of musical theatre, Goodspeed Musicals produces three musicals each season at the Goodspeed Opera House in East Haddam, Conn., and additional productions at The Norma Terris Theatre in Chester, Conn., which was opened in 1984 for the development of new musicals.  The first regional theatre to receive two Tony Awards (for outstanding achievement), Goodspeed also maintains the Scherer Library

Filed Under: Arts, Old Events

Monday Afternoon at the Opera Takes a Bow at the Essex Library

December 8, 2011 by

December 19 at 3 p.m.,  Essex Library’s Monday Afternoons at the Opera begin with a quintessential holiday classic, the 1955 broadcast version of Amahl and the Night Visitors. Sung in English, this Gian Carlo Menotti  piece was written for television, and is beautifully performed by a cast including Rosemary Kuhlmann, Bill McIver, and Andrew McKinley. Bring the kids – it’s the perfect family-friendly introduction to this rich art form.  Make it part of your holiday tradition. Cookies and eggnog will be served.

Superstar tenor Jonas Kaufmann lights up the screen with Caterina Antonacci in Carmen, Monday January 16 at the Essex Library

Next, we heat things up with opera’s reigning tenor heartthrob, Jonas Kaufmann, in a sizzling, sexy Carmen, co-starring Caterina Antonacci as the gypsy temptress.  Kaufmann’s more than a world-class singer, with acting skills as impressive as his smoky voice. See it Monday, January 16 at 3 p.m.  February 20 at 3 p.m., Strauss’s spine-chilling Salome takes center stage, starring Teresa Stratas at the peak of her impressive vocal powers, in one of the most highly acclaimed opera films ever made.  And we’ll be showing an encore presentation of the documentary, The Audition, March 19 at 3 p.m.  Watch as a talented group of tomorrow’s opera superstars compete in this most prestigious of vocal competitions, The Metropolitan Opera’s National Council Auditions; it’s got all of the tension, the heartbreak, and the triumphs of a great sports movie – but with singing! Even if you’re not a fan, we guarantee that this film will move and inspire you.

Call the Essex Library at 860-767-1560 to register for any or all of these free films, and we’ll see you at the opera.

Filed Under: Arts, Essex, Old Events

Mount Saint John Christmas Boutique

November 28, 2011 by

Local Crafters and artisans will display their wares at the First Annual Mount Saint John Christmas Boutique on Saturday, December 10, 2011 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at 135 Kirtland Street, Deep River, CT 06417.

Enjoy live entertainment by the Mount Saint John Christmas Choir and Visit with Santa.  Homemade soup, sandwiches and beverages available for purchase. The school’s Culinary program is featuring a bake sale.

Shop for all your gift giving this season, choosing from a variety of items including quality crafts, artisan items, wreaths, baskets and freshly cut Christmas trees.

Great fun for the whole family. Admission is free!

For more information or to reserve your table as a vendor, please contact Vicki McKenney, 860.343.1340 or mckenneyv@mtstjohn.org

 

Filed Under: Arts, Deep River, Old Events

Laura Levine Artist of the Month – Reception December 9

November 28, 2011 by

Laura Levine at work on "Saybrook Lights"

 Laura Levine has been selected as the Estuary Council of Seniors December Artist of the Month.  Old Saybrook scenes have been the inspiration for the majority of award winning Laura Levine oil paintings over the last two decades. Working on location, she has become part of the landscape as residents have observed her at work.

Originally from New York, Levine studied at SUNY Purchase and later at the New Brooklyn School for Life Drawing, Painting and Sculpture in New York City.  Her paintings have been featured in galleries and cultural center throughout New England and will be featured at ECSI Marshview Gallery, 220 Main Street in Old Saybrook from December 1 through December 30.  A reception to honor Laura and introduce her work will be held on Friday, December 9 from 5-7:00 pm.  Everyone is welcome.

Filed Under: Arts, Old Events Tagged With:

Uncommon Fundraising Show Features Hard Times & Hope – and a Chance to Shine!

November 17, 2011 by

Leslie Strauss (violin) and Trip Wyeth (guitar) of Moving Target. Photo credit: (c) 2010 John Stack

On Friday, November 18, 2011, at 8:00 p.m., the Katharine Hepburn Cultural Arts Center hosts “Songs of Hard Times & Hope: A Tribute to the Music of Woody Guthrie and Pete Seeger and The Roots of Americana Music.”

100% of the proceeds from the show go to the Shoreline Soup Kitchen & Pantries.

Tickets are $25 and will be matched. In addition, as an exciting addition to an already uncommon evening, for a $100 ($200 matched!) donation to the Shoreline Soup Kitchens & Pantries, audience members are invited to join in onstage at the Kate with the musicians as (a) Special Musical Guest(s) for the final number, “This Land Is Your Land.”

Musical guests include Amalgamated Muck, Moving Target and Ragweed (producers: Small Town Concert Series and the Shoreline Acoustic Underground; underwritten by Wyeth Architects LLC and AcousticMusic.Org)

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Filed Under: Arts, Old Events Tagged With:

Deck the Walls at the Lyme Art Association

November 17, 2011 by

K. Muller Thym - Lambing Snow 2011

The Lyme Art Association’s most festive art exhibition and sale is their annual “Deck the Walls” holiday show, on view November 18, 2011 through January 7, 2012.  More than 200 original works of art by member artists will be on display and priced to sell as holiday gifts. Artwork by newly inducted Elected Artists will be featured in their own exhibition in the Goodman Gallery.  The opening reception on Friday, December 2 from 5 – 7pm is free to the public and will feature live music.

Once again the Lyme Art Association will assist the Shoreline Soup Kitchens and Pantries by donating 10% of gallery sales from the opening night of “Deck the Walls.”  “We hope that the community will help us support the Soup Kitchen during their busy holiday season by purchasing artwork on opening night, and by bringing a canned good donation to our opening reception,” states Susan Ballek, Director of the Lyme Art Association.

In conjunction with “Deck the Walls,” the Association will host the second annual “Holiday Festival of Trees and Music,” on view in their historic galleries from November 25 – December 4.  This special display of designer trees is sponsored by the non-profit organization by Bring Our Music Back.  Please visit bringourmusicback.org  for more information on special activities planned during this holiday extravaganza, which include breakfasts with Santa and live music events by local artists.

Lyme Art Association Member Artists of all levels (Individual, Associate and Elected) are invited to enter the “Deck the Walls” juried exhibition.  Artwork will be accepted at Receiving Day on Sunday, November 13 from 2 – 5pm.  Anyone interested in submitting artwork may join the Lyme Art Association as a Member on Receiving Day in order to be eligible.

The Lyme Art Association is open Monday through Saturday from 10am – 5pm, and Sunday from 1 – 5pm and is located at 90 Lyme Street in Old Lyme, at the corner of Halls Road.  Please call (860) 434-7802 for more information, or visit www.lymeartassociation.org.

About the Lyme Art Association 

The Lyme Art Association was founded in 1914 by the American Impressionists and continues the tradition of exhibiting and selling representational artwork by its members and invited artists, as well as offering art instruction and lectures to the community. The Lyme Art Association is located at 90 Lyme Street, Old Lyme, CT, in a building designed by Charles Adams Platt and located within an historic district. Admission is free with contributions appreciated. Gallery hours are Tuesday through Saturday, 10am to 5pm, Sunday 1 to 5pm. For more information on exhibitions, purchase of art, art classes, or becoming a member, call 860-434-7802.

Filed Under: Arts, Old Events

Coast Guard Band Concert – Outstanding

November 13, 2011 by

The first band back in 1925

I’ve attended 50 Coast Guard Band concerts, I’d say. All at the band’s home base at the Academy in New London. The recent one in Clinton was not only unusual but truly outstanding, and this is why I’m telling you about it.

One reason unusual because it was my first one not in the band’s Leamy Hall at the Academy. And outstanding because the audience was so big and so appreciative of the fine program and great playing.

It turned out to be the 23rd straight year the band was playing in Clinton. The band gets around a lot, but no other community in the U.S. has enjoyed as many of its concerts as Clinton. The performance established a new record in the band’s annals.

As usual in Clinton, it was sold out. Not that anybody had to pay, so “sold out” is the wrong expression.  Admission is always free.

It’s hard for me to recall, but it may have been the most beautiful I’ve attended.

The audience there agreed. At the end they all jumped up and applauded loud and long. The players must have gone home proud.

I’ve enjoyed just about every concert. The only time I’ve been disappointed has been the occasions when it has included avant-garde  or experimental music. Connoisseurs may savor that. I don’t. None of that in this concert.

Annabelle and I were lucky to get in. For out-of-town concerts like this one, tickets are required. Not so for Leamy Hall.  I guess this is to get a better idea of how many want to attend and to have better control.

This time I was late in reading a newspaper notice of the concert. Immediately I sent in my request for two tickets along with the necessary postage-paid self-addressed return envelope. I kept my fingers crossed. The tickets popped in just two days before the concert. Wonderful.

The concert time was 7:30 p.m. at the Morgan School, its traditional venue. We decided to be in our seats by 7.  Easier parking. Better selection of seats. We got there on time. Bur surprise!

The only parking site we found still available in the huge lot was way, way out in left field.  So, a long walk up to the auditorium for us. There a  great line of people, two wide, backed up from the front door right around the corner of the building and way up the side.  Incredible. We double-timed to beat others to the tail of it.  Lucky that it was not a rainy, miserable evening.

But the line moved along smoothly. A whole team was at the front door to usher us in and make sure we got a program and move us into the auditorium. All volunteers, I think, and well practiced.

Seven hundred and fifty seats in there and already they seemed all taken. Rather than rush ahead, I stood back and scanned for seats and spotted three down front. But people were streaming down the aisle searching, searching. Would they get to them before us? We scurried down and claimed them.

The three were about 10 rows back and in the plumb center. Perfect. Of course, we had to bother folks already seated in order to squeeze through to the seats, but we managed without stepping on any toes. Our seats couldn’t have been better.

Annabelle sat behind a slight teen-age girl but I plunked down behind a big, chunky guy. I had to crane to the left  of him for a good view. We both shifted one seat over. That wound up fine for both of us, especially me behind the little gal. I expected someone to squeeze in for the empty seat next to me but it remained untaken. It must have been the only empty seat that evening. I enjoyed it.

 

The band took their seats right on time. What a smart-looking outfit. Impressive in their sparkling, sharply pressed white jackets, the men in their blue trousers and the women in their  ankle-length blue skirts.

The band was started in 1925, Much smaller back then. It now has 55 members and is coed now, of course–that big change happened back in 1973, which is when the Coast Guard Band enlisted its first female musician.  Tonight they filled the stage. I made a quick count, 31 men and 13 women, it seemed. Not sure why the disparity.

It has two officers.  The director / conductor is Commander Kenneth W. Megan. He started as an arranger in 1975. That date surprised me—so long ago–but it’s the date lsted.  He became assistant director in 1986 and took over in 2004.

Chief Warrant Officer 3rd class Richard Wyman is the assistant conductor and announcer.   He began in 1998 as a sax player and took on his new role in 2004.  I am told they had to audition for those positions.

In a concert of some dozen pieces, Megan usually conducts one or two, and Wyman becomes the announcer for them. Then they swap roles for one or two pieces.Both fill both roles beautifully, in my opinion.

Old photos in the lobby at Leamy Hall show the band marching. I have never known the band to march.  The band marches very seldom. However,it always does the Inaugural Parade for each President and occasional other short marching events.

This is why a marching band uses only wind and percussion instruments, of course.  How can you march with a bass or a piano or a harp?  But those are instruments that are usual in the band now, though few. On this night the harpist was playing and the bass player also. But no pianist.

And in my experience it has always featured a singer, always female. Soprano Megan Weikleenget performed twice on this evening. She is a Musician 1st Class. No uniform for her. She was stunning in a beautiful off-the-shoulder blue gown. I’m sure nobody missed the fact that she is approaching motherhood quite soon.  I admired her for her poise.

She was excellent.  Great applause. She earned it.

To me it seems the band is morphing toward the symphonic. No objection from me though I like it just as it is.

I also noticed two musicians in civies—the professional musician’s black and white.  A man flutist and a woman bassoonist were filling in. I found out the band is awaiting new hires to take on those positions.

This is the band’s second set of uniforms in my 15 years of attending. I liked their old one, too, which was blue tops and and white bottoms, as I remember it. Not sure why the change was made. Maybe the old one got boring to them. It turns out the band has had a number of uniforms.

I should mention that it is classified a “premier” military band.  This means it’s the service’s finest band-its name band. It is the Coast Guard’s only band.  The other services—the Army, Navy, Air Force, and Marines—have numerous bands.

By the way, I understand that all new members train at the Armed Forces School of Music. It is on the Naval Amphibouse Base in Norfolk, Va.  In fact, it used to be the Navy Music School. The training lasts about  six months.  They learn how to salute and other basic military etiquette plus rules and regulations. Plus more specific music training.

The band’s role is to promote good will by spreading the word about what a proud and efficient and effective outfit the Peace Corps is. To inspire recruiting in the corps. And reflect its culture and tradition. And of course play at ceremonies.

It is usual for the announcer to recite how busy the Coast Guard is in an average day: how many rescues and interventions carried out, and contraband snared, and illegal immigrants blocked, and oil spills contained,  and so on. Which always impresses me.  It didn’t happen on this evening.

Many up there were familiar figures to me and Annabelle. I can recognize them as easily as Red Sox fans can spot their stars at Fenway Park. I root as heartily as  they do for the Sox, I’m sure.  The band does have legions of fans. I have friends who also never miss a concert.  I saw a couple here. I see many same faces at Leamy Hall.

I mentioned the band’s PR role. For this, the United States is divided into five big chunks and the band makes a two-week swing through each every five years.

The recent one was in California, with 13 concerts up and down the state.  I learned that one of its stops would be in San Luis Obisco, a beautiful “Spanish mission” city half way between L.A. and San Francisco.  My daughter Monique and her husband live only 15 miles north, in Morro Bay.

“This is your chance!” I e-mailed her.  “Get your tickets. Right now!” They did. Finally they got to enjoy for themselves what I’ve been telling them about.

This year was remarkable for another reason. The band traveled to Taiwan to participate for two-weeks in an international get-together of military bands.

Not its first trip abroad. The band often mentions how it played in Leningrad, Russia, back in 1989. Those were still Soviet times. By invitation, of courseThat was the first time an American band played there. It was a historic event and the band makes much of it, understandably so. It was the first American premier band to play in Japan. It has played in England and other lands.

It made much of its planned tour to Taiwan.  That would be whoppingly expensive, I was sure. When I read about it, I wondered, “How can the band do that now, when our country is staggering with debt and is in recession? How will this go over with people who think of that?”

Well, the band did it with private (non-government funds), whatever they were. But it was late in making that clear. My opinion.

Band members are chosen only after strenuous auditions and background checks. This is usual in the business. A typical audition will evaluate numerous competing performers, out of view behind a screen to assure fairness, and all culled from a list of applicants from all over the country, including leading music schools. They travel to New London at their own expense.

It’s a coup to get in. The band has an outstanding reputation. There’s another reason. A professional musician can lead a precarious life financially. The security of playing in the band is considered fantastic, especially in these harsh times.

I’ve wondered about the pay and the benefits. I found it easy to dig up a bit of this info on the band’s website, www. uscg.mil/band.

The band pays the same salaries as the Coast Guard pays similar ratings.  A beginner as an E-6 gets $46,032 ($50,784 with dependents). I was interested in pay for the higher levels also but couldn’t spot that easily.

Then there are allowances of various kinds, for family, housing, continuing education, and so on. Plus nice perks.  They can use the PX and get medical care at the Navy base across the river, for instance.

The band supplies the instruments, but they must not be used for non-band purposes.

The band also has a supporting staff. I looked for its annual budget. No luck. I’m sure I’d whistle if I saw it.

 

Finally the band struck up!  Chief Warrant Officer Wyman walked to the microphone with his usual polish and charm and made us welcome. (Generous applause.)  Commander Megan strode on stage and took a bow. (Generous applause.)

We stood and faced the flag and the band launched into the National Anthem, and that opened the band’s zillionth concert–oh, you know what I mean. They were perfect. Well, to my ear. Full disclosure: I can’t carry a tune. Yet I cannot live without music.

The concert lasted close to two hours, with an intermission. No time for the details, but the first half included pieces by Henry Fillmore, Modeste Moussorgsky, Ernest S. Williams,  Samuel R. Hazo, and Benjamin Britten. I know some of those may be unfamiliar, but their pieces were delightful.

It ended with the Service Medley. It’s a part of every concert. The band plays familiar snatches from the anthems  of the Army, Navy, Air Force,  Marines, and its own Coast Guard.

I would say that 75 percent of the attendees at any concert are senior citizens. I don’t understand why more younger people don’t attend. Well, during each snatch of  the medley, veterans of that service stand. The old soldiers, the old sailors, and so on.

I never stand.  The reason is simple. I never served. But I have felt bad. I have wished I could stand proudly, too.

Five years ago, a few days after a concert, I happened to read a short Associated Press story in The Day (I think it was The Day) saying that Peace Corps was actively recruiting older Volunteers. Older men and women have served but traditionally it has been a young person’s deal. The greatest number are in their 20’s.

But the Peace Corps suddenly had an important insight. It saw that older folks could contribute wonderful things in addition to patriotism and altruism, which seem to be factors.  Experience, for one thing, and determination, and maturity, maybe even wisdom. All true, of course. But why did it get smart so late?

A thought flashed up in my mind: maybe finally I could serve, too!

Oh,  I would never get to wear a uniform. The Peace Corps doesn’t have any. All I would get would be a pin for my lapel (and would have to buy it!).  But I was eager to check out the possibility. And that’s how I wound up as a Volunteer in Ukraine for a full hitch of 27 months. And how I just published a book about all that. It’s called “27 Months in the Peace Corps. My Story, Unvarnished.”

One day Peace corps notified me I was suddenly the oldest of 8,000 Volunteers serving in 74 countries in the world. All because I happened to turn 80 while in Ukraine. No big deal to me. “I’d rather be the youngest!” I replied.

Truth is that Peace Corps was a tough but very satisfying experience for me. A true adventure. So, I blame the band and its armed services medley for all that.

 

During the intermission I found Ellen Cavanagh in the crowded lobby. She was busy chatting in a thick group crowding around her. I got to speak with her. She is the executive director of the Clinton Chamber of Commerce.

The Chamber was the sponsor of this concert. In fact, she was the one who invited the band back 23 years ago.  It has been SRO—standing room only—at nearly every concert.

She told me that tickets had been mailed out for all 750 seats. But some people don’t show up. She expects that. At 7:20, as usual, non-ticket holders were let in. And an extra 30 chairs had been set up at the back. She said, “So we managed to accommodate everybody, I believe.

“The concerts are always a great success. They are free, of course, but a big factor is that they’re always wonderful.”

But not really free, it turns out. The band’s budget doesn’t cover such trips afield. Organizations and communities interested in a performance must fill out a form to invite the band.

Decisions are based on various factors. Nobody must make any money off the concert. The concerts must be open to everybody—no discrimination. And the expenses must be covered: the bus for the band, the two trucks for the instruments, and the meals and lodging if necessary.

This concert’s program announced that funding was provided by Shore TV and Appliances of Clinton and Old Saybrook. Also that the printing was provided by Technique Printers of Clinton.

And the Clinton Board of Education and the Morgan School Administration were thanked for their cooperation,  with special thanks to Raymond Smith of the school’s music department and a crew of students he provided.

The second half was equally beautiful. First, the “Folk Song Suite” by Karl King. And then, what is not uncommon, three selections by the band’s five–piece Dixieland Jazz Band, always a great hit.

This group also had a stand-in, a fine guitarist. I noticed he had a well-trimmed beard. It occurred to me he’d undoubtedly have to shave that off if he wanted to don a uniform like the others.

The band has half a dozen ensembles…chamber, brass, jazz, swing, sax, and woodwind. They attract their own audiences. Annabelle and I have attended some of these smaller concerts. The ensembles are also an appreciated extra outlet for musicians with specific interests.

 

Next came an aria from the “Marriage of Figaro” by soprano Weikleenget, and then the rollicking “On the Mall” by Edwin Franko Goldman.

Mr. Smith, director of music at the Morgan School, picked up the baton for this piece. Very nice job. He has been the guest conductor for one piece since the beginning of the series. I was told that he had conducted it cold, although the band had rehearsed it.

Then Samuel Ward’s “America the Beautiful.”   A fitting finale.

The whole auditorium jumped up. Much, much applause. Bows by all the principals. Numerous acknowledgements of players. More applause–heavy applause. Another triumph for the band.

I’m sure it will be back in Clinton next year. For its 24th year!

This week it’s off to Washington, D.C., for a concert there. It’s a very busy outfit.

And it will be performing at Leamy Hall this Sunday. No tickets required.

Annabelle and I wouldn’t think of missing it.

Filed Under: Arts, John Guy LaPlante, News

Land Trust 7th Annual Amateur Photographer Contest

November 4, 2011 by

Winner of last year's John G. Mitchell Award by Mark Bailey

Local conservation groups are inviting amateur photographers to focus on the celebrated and scenic countryside of Lyme, Old Lyme, Essex, Salem, and East Haddam and submit their photos to the Seventh Annual Amateur Photo Contest.

The Conservation/Land Trusts from each of those towns are sponsoring the contest. All amateur photographers are welcome to enter the contest regardless of what town they reside in.

This contest is being funded with the generous support of Lorensen Toyota, Oakley/Wing Group at Smith Barney, Evan Griswold at Coldwell Banker, Ballek Garden Center, Essex Savings, Bank, Murtha Cullina LLP and ChelseaGroton  Bank.

Judges will award $100, $50 and $25 cash prizes for each of the following categories:

-       Landscapes/Waterscape
-       Plants
-       Wildlife
-       Cultural/Historic
-       Any subject for Young Photographers, below age 15

In addition to the above noted prizes, a special $100 award will be given in memory of our former judge, John G. Mitchell, for the best photograph that promotes and supports our environment and biodiversity. “As a former editor at National Geographic, John dedicated his career to writing about the environment and conservation and so the award is for the best picture reflecting that subject” explained Tony Sullivan, the conservation trusts’ spokesperson.

“We are delighted by the caliber of the judges we have been able to attract for this year’s contest,” said Sullivan.

The three independent judges are William Burt, a naturalist who has won acclaim for his books of wildlife photography: Rare and Elusive Birds of North America, Shadowbirds, and his recently released Marshes: The Disappearing Edens. Amy Kurtz Lansing, Curator at the Florence Griswold Museum and a Yale University doctoral candidate in the History of Art. She is also the author of Historical Fictions: Edward Lamson Henry’s Paintings of Past and Present. Rudy Wood-Muller, a photographic illustrator and designer. His first large exhibition was at the New York World’s Fair in 1964 and was followed by numerous other shows, including a one-man show at the Rochester Institute of Technology. A group of his photographs have been selected to be part of the Permanent Collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York.

“We’re expecting to see some wonderful photographs from our contestants,” said Sullivan.  “Lyme, Old Lyme, Essex, Salem and East Haddam are among the most beautiful places in Connecticut.  The landscapes and seascapes here turn up repeatedly in the great paintings of the American Impressionist movement.  We think photography is another way to remind ourselves of what we have, and to show how important it is to protect and preserve that heritage.”

The deadline for submitting photographs is January 31, 2012. For questions, entry forms and a copy of the contest rules, send an e-mail to landtrustphotos@yahoo.com. To see last year’s winning photos, go to http://landtrustsphotos.shutterfly.com/

1st prize in the Cultural-Historic category by Jean Callan King

Filed Under: Arts, News

Artist Nile Barrett Reception at Marshview Gallery

October 31, 2011 by

A reception will be held for the artist Nile Barrett at the Marshview Gallery on November 11 from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m.

All of Nile Barrett’s life’s upbringing and experiences are reflected in her art.  The history, nature, fabrics, texture, patterns, beach and so on. Nile often uses photos for her paintings.  When she tried water color she discovered she was hooked. She earned her Masters in Art Recreation from Southern CT University and retired about five years ago from teaching art at the CT Juvenile Training School inn Middletown. Nile is currently enjoying the water color classes with Stan Carver at the Westbrook Senior Center.

Everyone is welcome to attend the reception. Refreshments provided.

Filed Under: Arts, Old Events, vnn Tagged With:

Artists and Chairs Wanted!

October 31, 2011 by

The Estuary Council of Seniors, Inc. is planning a “Painted Chair Auction” for spring.  We are looking for artists and creative people to take a chair and paint it.  We will provide the chair or you may use your own. The chairs will be displayed in the 9 town estuary region communities for about two months, and then auctioned at an event to benefit Meals on Wheels in 10 towns along the shoreline! Artists’ name will accompany the chair and will be listed in the program and on our website! (Lot’s of exposure!)  The Painted Chair Auction will be an Spring evening event with wonderful hors d’Oeurves, wine and music!

At this time we are looking for a couple of people who would like to Co-Chair the event. It’s promised to be lot’s of fun!

Anyone wishing to donate a sturdy, wooden chair can drop it off at the Estuary, 220 Main St., Old Saybrook. Call Sandy for more information and if you would like to paint a chair 860 388-1611

Filed Under: Arts, News, vnn Tagged With:

The Woman in Black – One of the Most Terrifying Live Theater Experiences Ever!

October 24, 2011 by

From left – Ian Lowe, Steve L. Barron. (photo by Anne Hudson)

Ivoryton:  As the nights are drawing in and Halloween is in the air, who doesn’t love a good, old-fashioned ghost story? Especially a ghost story told on the stage of a 100 year old theatre. Well, you’re in luck! The Ivoryton Playhouse is presenting Stephen Mallatratt’s brilliant adaptation of Susan Hill’s classic chiller The Woman in Black from November 2 – 20.  Unanimously acclaimed by the critics and now in its 23rd year in London’s West End, The Woman In Blackis a terrifying trip through time into a tragic and ghostly world where the horrors of the supernatural combine with the power and intensity of live theatre to send shock waves through the audience with splendid thrills and chills.

The Woman In Black was first performed at the Theatre-By-The-Sea in Scarborough in 1987. The original production received rave reviews, paving the way for future productions throughout England. It reached the West End in 1989 where it celebrated its 9000th performance in June of this year.

‘The most brilliantly effective spine chiller you will ever encounter…if you haven’t seen this show yet you are missing a treat’ Daily Telegraph

Set on a lonely English moor, on an isolated causeway, the story has as its hero one Arthur Kipps, an up-and-coming young solicitor who has come north to attend the funeral and settle the estate of Mrs. Alice Drablow of Eel Marsh House. The routine formalities he anticipates give way to a tumble of events and secrets more sinister and terrifying than any nightmare: the rocking chair in the nursery of the deserted Eel Marsh House, the eerie sound of pony and trap, a child’s scream in the fog, and, most dreadfully, and for Kipps most tragically, the woman in black.

The Woman In Black is both a brilliant exercise in atmosphere and controlled horror and a delicious spine-tingler – proof positive that that neglected genre, the ghost story, isn’t dead after all. Directed by Maggie McGlone Jennings, the show features Steve L. Barron*, who was last seen in Ivoryton in Driving Miss Daisy, and Ian Lowe*, who is making his Ivoryton debut. Maggie is a veteran director has been seen on the Ivoryton stage in Moon Over Buffalo and Steel Magnolias, but this will be her directorial debut here. Set design is by Tony Andrea, lighting design by Doug Harry, sound by Tate R. Burmeister and costumes by Vicky Blake.

The Woman in Black opens on November 2 and runs November 20 for 3 weeks. Performance times are Wednesday and Sunday matinees at 2pm. Evening performances are Wednesday and Thursday at 7:30 p.m., Friday and Saturday at 8 p.m. Tickets are $40 for adults, $35 for seniors, $20 for students and $15 for children and are available by calling the Playhouse box office at 860-767-7318 or by visiting our website at www.ivorytonplayhouse.org  (Group rates are available by calling the box office for information.) The Playhouse is located at 103 Main Street in Ivoryton.

*member of Actors Equity

Filed Under: Arts, Towns

Russ Becker and Steve Roane in Concert at CMS Oct 30

October 21, 2011 by


CENTERBROOK –Community Music School presents Music on the Spot: Russ Becker & Steve Roane in Concert on Sunday, October 30 at 3:00 p.m. The concert will feature original music for woodwind and string duo and takes place in Studio 15 at CMS, 90 Main Street, Centerbrook. Each of these accomplished musicians has recorded and performed extensively nationally and internationally. This event is free and open to the public. For additional information, please call 860-767-0026.

Community Music School, located in the Centerbrook section of Essex, CT, is a not-for-profit arts education organization offering instrumental and vocal students of all ages outstanding private and group instruction. In addition to long-running programs such as Kindermusik and Jazz and String Ensembles, CMS offers special programs for homeschool students and a full menu of summer offerings. Additionally, a certified music therapist is on faculty offering individual and group Music Therapy services, using music as a tool to reach individualized therapeutic goals for people of all ages and skill levels. For additional information on programs or performances, please call 860-767-0026 or visit www.community-music-school.org.

Filed Under: Arts, Old Events

Killingworth Concert Features Ride in the Country for Beautiful Music

October 17, 2011 by

Concert performers (left to right) Hugh Ewart, Sandra Hyslop, Leslie Gaman, and David Ewart

Want to get away from the shoreline? Want to hear some beautiful music at your destination?

Then your answer is to attend the “Leaves of Autumn Concert’ at the “Little Church in the Wilderness” at the Emmanuel Episcopal Church at 50 Emmanuel Road in Killingworth on Sunday, October 23 at 4:00 p.m.

The concert is followed by delicious homemade desserts after two hours-plus of delightful classical music.

Concert organizer and dessert maker Rosemarie Prelinger

Program organizer Rosemarie Prelinger says, “Up in Killingworth we love to have visitors from out of town, especially when we can offer them a classical musical program of the very top rank.” It might be noted that Ms. Prelinger in addition to organizing the concert program also prepares all the desserts after the program.

Compositions by Vivaldi, Mozart, and Beethoven will be performed during the first half of the concert. After the intermission compositions by Kreisler, Richard Straus, Schuman, Debussy, Chopin, Rachmaninoff, and an “Autumn Leaves” selection will be played.

Performers at the concert will be David Ewart, violin; Hugh Ewart, violin; Patrick Walsh, violin; Leslie Garman, soprano soloist and piano; Sandra Hyslop, piano; and Isabelle Walsh, violin. Ms Walsh is an eleven year old prodigy.

Frankly, it takes some doing to find the “Little Church in the Wilderness,” because it really is in the middle of nowhere. Here are directions in finding the Emanuel Episcopal Church, its proper name, when driving up Route 9 from the south. .

Get off Route 9 at Exit 9 and take a left turn at the bottom of the ramp on to Route 81. Drive on Rt. 81 until it intersects with Route 148. Turn right on to Rt. 148 and go for about 4 miles. Then take a hard left on to Emmanuel Church Road (a Concert sign will be posted). The church is located in the wilderness quite a ways down the road.

The price to attend is $15 for adults, $10 for students and children are free.

Filed Under: Arts, Jerome Wilson, Old Events

Jean Horn Caron – Marshview Gallery Artist Reception

October 11, 2011 by

Marshview Gallery is pleased to announce Jean Horn Caron as their October artist.  A reception will be held at the Marshview Gallery on Friday October 14 from 5 – 7 p.m.

Jean Horn Caron retired from a successful career as a Private Banker a few years ago. She has always been an art lover and collector and it seemed only natural that she should begin to draw and paint. She began painting just four years ago, initially as a self-taught artist.

Her inspiration came from her Grandfather who was a talented portraitist. In addition, she grew up in Queens, New York City where from an early age she frequented the world renowned art museums.

Jean has studied with Jan Blencowe, Chien Fei Chiang, Jane Sibley and Bernie McTigue. She is continuing her study with Bernie McTigue. She has exhibited at Essex Art Association, Gallery One and Mystic Art Center.

She is diverse in her choice of media and paints in watercolor, pen, pastel and acrylic. Many of her pieces are multi-media. Her subjects range from landscape to architecture. In addition, she enjoys cartooning and produces unique greeting cards.

Please join us at 220 Main Street, Old Saybrook to meet Jean Horn Caron at the Marshview Gallery Artist reception. All ages are welcome to join us for this free event. Refreshments are provided.

 

Filed Under: Arts, Old Events

Riders Beware: The FRIGHT TRAIN returns in 2011!

October 11, 2011 by

The Fright Train will pull out of Essex Station: October 21, 22, 23, 28, 29, 30, and 31. Trains depart into the deep, dark night at 6:30pm and 8:00pm.

Essex, CT- – It’s a mystical, foggy evening… there’s a strange feeling in the air…….. It’s the anniversary of the horrific train wreck of 1925 on the Valley Railroad line…. and you’re traveling aboard the Fright Train! Will the restless souls and ghosts from this terrible tragedy appear?

That’s the creepy backdrop for a ghoulish Halloween journey aboard Essex Steam Train & Riverboat’s 2nd annual Fright Train. For Tweens (Ages 8+) and Adults who dare to ride, the Fright Train will pull out of Essex Station: October 21, 22, 23, 28, 29, 30, and 31. Trains depart into the deep, dark night at 6:30pm and 8:00pm.

According to Bob Bell, President of The Valley Railroad Company, “The Fright Train goes beyond just another scary Halloween event. This is a professionally created show that intertwines the fictional legend of a romantic love story and the gory train wreck of 1925.”

The Fright Train is produced in collaboration with Essex Steam Train & Riverboat’s “theater-in- the-rectangle” partner, Riverway Studio located in East Haddam, CT. Susan Dee, Marketing Manager at Essex Steam Train & Riverboat says, “Our ongoing collaborative relationship with Riverway Studio enables Essex Steam Train & Riverboat to enhance its overall entertainment
experience for special events such as the North Pole Express, The Valley Railroad Circus Train & Big Top Show and Murder Mystery trains. The Fright Train is yet again another example of quality entertainment . . . and a great way to gather with family and friends to celebrate Halloween.”

Tickets for The Fright Train are $20.00 per person and are available online at www.essexsteamtrain.com. Recommended for Tweens, Ages 8 and up, and Adults. Event is approximately 1 hour long and includes Coach Seating only.

Incorporated in 1969, The Valley Railroad Company opened the Essex Steam Train & Riverboat to the public 40 years ago, in 1971. The only steam train and riverboat connection in the United States, Essex Steam Train & Riverboat continues to flourish as a Connecticut icon and vibrant tourist destination, attracting over 140,000 visitors a year. Tour goers enjoy a 2.5 hour narrated
journey through the scenic Connecticut River Valley. Special events include: The Eagle Flyer, Day Out With Thomas, The Valley Railroad Circus Train & Big Top Show, Murder Mystery, Fright Train, Santa Special, North Pole Express and Your Hand on the Throttle.

For more information and directions contact Essex Steam Train & Riverboat at 800.377.3987 or visit www.essexsteamtrain.com.

Filed Under: Arts, Old Events, Towns

Viva Italy! At Essex Library

October 6, 2011 by

Essex Library will be holding a Columbus Day-related special program,with a musical introduction to the rich history and culture of Italy, featuring singer and story teller Professor Enzo Boscarino, Thursday October 13 at 7 p.m.  

Singing folksongs, playing the guitar, and sharing historical and cultural anecdotes, Professor Boscarino takes you on an entertaining and educational tour of the “Boot”, the cradle of so much of the wealth of western civilization.

The program is free and open to the public; a five dollar donation is requested to help us defray expenses.  Please call the Essex Library to register or for more information, at 860-767-1560.

Filed Under: Arts, Essex, Old Events

Cooley Gallery Holds Exhibition of Paintings by Artists from Old Lyme Art Colony

October 5, 2011 by

Old Lyme, CT – The Cooley Gallery is thrilled to announce “192” an exhibition and sale of paintings by artists from the Old Lyme Art colony.  The Old Lyme Art Colony boasted myriad artists and characters whose great love was painting their surroundings in the company of their peers.

Back in the early 1900s plein air painting adventures to farmer’s fields were as common as a sojourn to Europe. “Sketches” were painted on a standard size, 12” x 16”, panel or board that easily fit in their pochade box. A pochade box is a compact, portable painting studio in a small box. “pochade” is a French word meaning “quick (color) sketch”. Traditional pochade boxes were characterized by simple elements: a hinged lid which functions as an easel, the middle half as the palette in a slide out drawer and storage in the lower section.  The portability and convenience of the pochade box turned any circumstance into a subject for painting since the studio traveled with the artist. This exhibition of paintings measuring 12”x 16” show resolved works of art  big enough to capture the essences of the scene and small enough to be completed in one or two sittings.

The exhibition “192” displays paintings by a number of artists of the Old Lyme colony with subjects as close as their backyards to Venice, Italy, Maine, New Hampshire and beyond. “192” (the square inch area of a 12” x 16”) was a perfect space to capture the color, mood, spirit of place. All priced under $10,000, these paintings represent great value and great art.

“192” is on view through October 20th.

Founded in 1981 and located in the heart of historic Old Lyme, the Cooley Gallery specializes in fine American paintings from the 19th, 20th, and 21st centuries, including the Hudson River School, American Impressionism, and select contemporary artists.

Regular gallery hours are Tuesday-Saturday, 10am to 5pm. Please call (860) 434-8807 or visit www.cooleygallery.com  for additional information. The Cooley Gallery is located at 25 Lyme Street, Old Lyme, CT 06371.

Filed Under: Arts, Lyme Old Lyme, Old Events

Dalton Ghetti’s Artwork at Lori Warner Studio Gallery in Chester

September 26, 2011 by

Photo courtesy of Sloan Howard Photography

The Lori Warner Gallery will be featuring the awe inspiring sculpture of self-taught artist Dalton Ghetti from August 19, 2011 – October 10, 2011.  Dalton patiently and meticulously carves pencils into minutely detailed works of art.  When he began sculpting, he carved large objects; but as a challenge to himself and because of his interest in small living things, he decided to create the smallest carvings that he could see with his naked eyes.  One day, he picked up a working pencil and started carving it and the rest is history.

Lori Warner first saw Dalton’s linked heart pencil at the New Britain Museum of American Art while visiting the museum with her 5 year old son. They were both fascinated by this tiny object as art, but also in the conversation that it started.  “Dalton developed his own artistic expression by taking an ordinary object and finding something creative hidden within it.” said Lori Warner.  “He inspires me to think about things we use every day, how they might be used differently and the many ideas it might express.”

According to Dalton, “My idea is to bring people’s attention to small things, I feel that small is beautiful.”  Most of the pencils he uses are found on the streets and sidewalks. Dalton’s work is a recycling process whereby he turns discarded objects into art.

Photo courtesy of Sloan Howard Photography

To create his sculpture, Dalton holds the pencil in his hand under a strong light source and carves it mostly with a sewing needle and a small, very sharp, triangular metal blade. Whenever he gets inspired, he sculpts in very short intervals of one to two hours per day.  He works very slowly by removing specks of graphite a little at a time.  Therefore, it takes months or sometimes years to complete a sculpture.

On Friday, September 30, from 6 p.m. – 9 p.m., Dalton Ghetti will be at the Lori Warner Studio/Gallery to discuss his work, his inspirations, and the process behind the creation of each sculpture. This event is free and open to the public, reservations are suggested.

For Dalton, sculpting pencils is a hobby and a form of meditation, which requires a lot of patience. His pencil carvings are not for sale. “I don’t do it for money.” says Dalton. “I sculpt pencils mostly for myself; my art comes from my heart.” He plans to donate his life’s work in it’s entirety to a museum with the intention that the collection be kept together and not ever sold. Dalton believes in universal public access to art. We’re pleased to extend his vision and promote his work.

The Lori Warner Studio/Gallery is a unique source for artwork and objects that make a lasting impression.  “My goal is to not just exhibit artist’s work, but rather to foster a collaborative relationship between the gallery and each artist.” said Lori. “I see this as a platform to experiment with new ideas and to expose our featured artists’ work while teaching about the process involved with creating each piece.”  The gallery carries many exclusive pieces and regularly features guest artists that are pioneering creativity in their chosen medium.  The gallery is located at 21 Main Street in Chester, Connecticut.  (860) 322-4265.   www.loriwarner.com.

Filed Under: Arts, Chester, Old Events
September 26, 2011 by

The Old Lyme Town Band will have the first rehearsal of its 37th season this evening, Monday, Sept. 26, from 7 to 9 p.m. at Christ the King Church, 1 McCurdy Rd., Old Lyme.

Under the direction of John LaDone, this 40-member group of musicians range from junior high students to retirees of varying musical abilities, all of whom share a love of ensemble playing.

There is no audition. The group will begin in about a month to gear up for a series of holiday concerts.  All instruments are welcome, with clarinetists and percussionists particularly needed.

For more information, call Michele Dickey at 860-434-8529.

Filed Under: Arts, Lyme Old Lyme, Old Events

In the Steps of Giants in Ivoryton Sept. 25

September 23, 2011 by

 

Samatha Talmadge, soprano from Ivoryton, will perform.

Music and walking on Sunday, September 25 at 2 p.m. will celebrate the lives and gifts of recently deceased Giants whose devotion have made gigantic differences to the community, to library programs, and to the archives of the Ivory Trade which gives Ivoryton its name.

Don Malcarne, Edith DeForest, Lausanne Glasener, and Ken Kells have provided the library leadership and service. Each gift has ultimately given us better understanding of our past and shown us how important it is to give.

Brenda Milkofsky, retired Connecticut Museum curator, will lead the walk from the Ivoryton Library, past several historically important homesteads, to the Ivoryton Congregational Church where Samantha Talmadge, an opera soprano, will sing accompanied by Betty Austin at the organ. They will perform favorites of the Giants: “Greensleeves,” “Bewitched, Bothered, and Bewildered,” “Once in Love with Amy,” “Could I have this Dance,” and music from Ragtime among many other pieces. Refreshments will be at the church.

The walk will include views and discussions of the homes of S. W. Shailer,  Samuel Comstock, and James Conklin.

Long before the Industrial Revolution ivory was considered among the most beautiful and exotic of all natural materials. Originally ivory combs were produced locally. After the Revolutionary War, factories developed and made not only ivory piano keys, but also keyboards, piano actions, and sounding boards.

Malcarne was the Essex town historian who wrote books about historic houses in Essex and Ivoryton that helped raise funds for the Ivoryton Library. DeForest, a Chester resident, was the curator of the Deep River Historical Society’s Stone House Museum. Glasnew and Kells were active in the Ivoryton Library Association.

The gifts of the Giants have helped make this history come to life.

Filed Under: Arts, Old Events

Auditions for “Home for the Holidays” at the Ivoryton Playhouse

September 15, 2011 by

The Ivoryton Playhouse will be holding local auditions for the annual holiday show “Home for the Holidays” on Monday, September 26 from 4 p.m. – 8 p.m. at the Rehearsal Studio, 24 Main Street, Centerbrook, CT 06409.

Roles are available for 12 adults and 4 children under age 12. One of the children should have some ballet experience.

Auditions are by appointment and actors should bring a picture and resume and prepare a short monologue and a song.  Show runs from December 8 – 18.

For audition appointments, call 860-767-9520 Theatre’s mailing address:  Ivoryton Playhouse, PO Box 458, Ivoryton CT  06442.

Filed Under: Arts, Old Events

9/11 Photographic Memorial at The Left Bank Gallery

September 7, 2011 by

The Left Bank Gallery, 10 Main St. Essex is exhibiting an installation of photographs titled “9/11 In Memoriam”.

The photographs by Peter Harron are of the World Trade Center towers under construction from 1968 to 1976 and of lower Manhattan in September 2001 of the impromptu memorials just days after the attack.  Included are recent photographs taken in August 2011 of the almost completed tower.

The   documentary photographs are unframed, presented in an essay form and hung on wire fencing to symbolize the fences put up as barriers which became where loved ones posted messages looking for the missing.

The photographs are in the windows of the gallery until September 18.

Filed Under: Arts, Essex, Old Events

The New England Landscape Invitational Art Exhibition at LAA

September 6, 2011 by

Charles Movalli, Cows, 30" x 30", Oil

The Lyme Art Association, at 90 Lyme Street, Old Lyme Connecticut, will present the New England Landscape Invitational Exhibition, on view from September 23 through November 12, 2011, with an opening night reception on Friday, September 30 from 6 – 8 p.m. Elected, Associate and select Invited Artists will be exhibited throughout all four of the LAA Galleries.

The Guest Juror for this exhibition is Jeffrey Cooley of the Cooley Gallery in Old Lyme.  The 2011 Jury Chair is Del Bourree-Bach and the Jury Co-chair is Christopher Zhang.  Paintings by Invited Artists Thomas C. Adkins, Charles Movalli, Harley Bartlett, David Bareford, Loretta Krupinski, and Philip Frey will be exhibited along with juried work from LAA Member Artists. “This is our most popular annual exhibition, showcasing exceptional work from both invited and juried artists from all over the Northeast. Jeffrey Cooley, whose specialties are the styles of the Hudson River School and the Old Lyme Art Colony, will be lending his expertise to the jurying of this show,” stated LAA’s Executive Director Susan Ballek.

Invited Artist Harley Bartlett’s luminous New England landscapes will be on view. Bartlett will be teaching a landscape workshop at the Lyme Art Association this fall.  David Bareford will be returning as an invited artist; gallery visitors will see why his dramatic coastal landscapes have achieved international recognition.”

“We are very proud to have financial support for this exhibition from Essex Savings Bank and Essex Financial services,” said Ballek.

The exhibition will open on September 23 and run through November 12.

About the Lyme Art Association
The Lyme Art Association was founded in 1914 by the American Impressionists and continues the tradition of exhibiting and selling representational artwork by its members and invited artists, as well as offering art instruction and lectures to the community. The Lyme Art Association is located at 90 Lyme Street, Old Lyme, CT, in a building designed by Charles Adams Platt and located within an historic district. Admission is free with contributions appreciated. Gallery hours are Monday through Saturday, 10am to 5pm, Sunday 1 to 5pm. For more information on exhibitions, purchase of art, art classes, or becoming a member, call 860-434-7802 or visit www.lymeartassociation.org.

Filed Under: Arts, Old Events

The Stage Lights are ON at the Ivoryton Playhouse!​!!

September 2, 2011 by

The power has been restored and the 8 p.m. performance of Ring of Fire:  The Music of Johnny Cash scheduled for today, September 2 is ON!

The Playhouse are contacting ticket holders from the cancelled shows to re-arrange dates. If you hold a ticket for a cancelled performance and haven’t yet changed your show date, please call the box office today at 860.767.7318 or email Beverley at beverley@ivorytonplayhouse.org to let her know what alternate time you can attend Ring of Fire this weekend.

Performances are scheduled for Friday, September 2 @ 8pm; Saturday, September 3 @ 2pm & 8pm; Sunday, September 4 @ 2pm.

The Playhouse wishes to sincerely thank everyone for their understanding while we have been dealing with this crisis. They also thank you for your patience when calling the box office in the coming days. They will be  doing their very best to accommodate all of the audience members!

The show is ON!!!!!! Viva La Playhouse!!!!

Filed Under: Arts, Old Events

Senator Daily Announces $75,000 Grant for Gillette Castle Upgrades

August 26, 2011 by

Gillette Castle State Park, East Haddam, CT. (Photo courtesy of CT DEP)

Senator Eileen Daily, whose district covers Essex, Deep River, Chester and parts of Old Saybrook, has announced a $75,000 state grant to one of the area’s major tourist attractions, Gillette Castle State Park. The grant, which was approved by the State Bond Commission, will fund an  initial phase of terrace and stone wall repairs at the park.

Daily said, “The Gillette Castle State Park is one of the crown jewels of the Connecticut River valley and rightfully attracts some 300,000 visitors per year.” She continued, “The eccentricities of the building and grounds are matched only by the panoramic views from the castle itself and from throughout the 180-plus acre grounds – they are memorable for local residents and tourists alike.”

Daily also said that she played “an instrumental role in the four-year $11 million restoration of the park,” which has been on the National Register of Historic Places since 1986. “I’m grateful to Governor Malloy and the members of the bond commission for their favorable consideration of this project and this investment in our local economy,” Daily said.

Filed Under: Arts, Jerome Wilson, News

Patrick McCann Brings Jimmy Buffett Style Music to Thursdays at the Dock August 25

August 23, 2011 by

Patrick McCann will perform popular songs from the 50’s, 60’s and 70’s at Thursdays at the Dock at the Connecticut River Museum on August 25.

Essex, CT –  On Thursday, August 25 from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m., the Connecticut River Museum will be alive with popular songs from the 50’s, 60’s and 70’s when Patrick McCann performs Jimmy Buffett acoustic and other favorite tunes.

All are invited to enjoy cocktails, light snacks and a spectacular waterfront view of scenic Essex Harbor on the Museum’s North Deck and taste a bit of River Valley history in the Museum’s first floor exhibit galleries as part of the Thursdays at the Dock summer series.

Now in its fourth summer season, Thursdays at the Dock features area musicians performing a diverse mix of maritime folk, bluegrass, and folk rock each week through September 1.   Admission is $5 per person. Museum members are admitted free.  A cash bar is available.

For more information on upcoming Thursdays at the Dock performances go to www.ctrivermuseum.org or call 860-767-8269.  The Connecticut River Museum is located at 67 Main Street on the historic waterfront in Essex, CT.

Filed Under: Arts, Essex, Old Events

Local Artists “Familiar Places” Theme at The Gallery at The Mill House Starts Sept. 1

August 22, 2011 by

"Connecticut Farmlands, Moodus" by Dianne Gorrick

Dianne Gorrick, of East Hampton, and Jacqueline White, of Glastonbury, will be presenting their September show at The Gallery at The Mill House in Chester, CT.

Their show runs September 1-30 and their Reception is on Saturday, September 3: 2-5 p.m.  “Familiar Places” is the theme the artists have used previously to describe a show of places that the viewer is familiar with.  Featured landscapes are painted on location and are referred to as “plein air”.  Locations were chosen that inspired the artists to try and capture the beauty of our state.  Woodlands, rivers, lakes and the ocean are featured in these oil paintings that draw the viewer into a “feel good” place.

This is a must see show of representational paintings.  The public is always welcome anytime.

"Morning in Chester" by Jacqueline White.

Filed Under: Arts, Chester, Old Events

Connecticut River Artisans Feature Mary Anne DeLorenzo with “It’s All About Glass”

August 22, 2011 by

The Connecticut River Artisans, in Chester CT, presents the September Featured Artist Mary Anne DeLorenzo of Westbrook, Conn.

Mary Anne’s show will run September 1 – 30 and “It’s All About Glass” is a collection of new works in glass.  Come and experience the wonderful aspects of glass from sandboxes, glass panels, Tiffany reproduction lampshades to jewelry and lampwork beads.

Mary Anne has worked with glass for more than 40 years.  She will be sharing a Reception on Saturday, September 3: 2-5pm with the September artists in The Gallery at The Mill House.  The Public is always welcome anytime.

Filed Under: Arts, Old Events, Towns

Free Family Maritime Festival & Concert at Connecticut River Museum – August 13

August 8, 2011 by

The Connecticut River Museum’s Family Maritime Festival and Concert, scheduled for Saturday, August 13

Gather the entire crew and head down to Essex’s historic waterfront on Saturday, August 13 for a boat load of family fun and entertainment.

The Connecticut River Museum’s Annual Family Maritime Festival starts at 1 pm with maritime games, songs, and deck tours of special interest boats, all offered free of charge throughout the afternoon.  You can learn how to make rope, caulk a ship, sing a sea chantey or two, and stroll the docks for an up-close view of special interest sailing vessels and motor boats.

And for those who want to get out on the water, the historic schooner Mary E will set sail at 1:30 pm, 3:30 pm, and 6:00 pm for a leisurely sail along the Connecticut River.  Tickets for the 1.5 hour afternoon cruises are $26 for adults and $16 for children age 12 and under.  Tickets for the two-hour sunset cruise are $30 per person, all ages.

At 5:00 pm, the Connecticut River Museum’s Annual Picnic and Concert gets underway with all invited to bring a blanket or chair and picnic dinner to enjoy while  listening to sea chanteys performed by the Freemen of the Sea and folk rock performed by Amalgamated Muck.  Wine, beer, and soda will also be available for purchase.

Festival activities and concert are free of charge thanks to a sponsorship by Guilford Savings Bank.  For more information on the day’s events as well as schooner cruise schedules and advanced reservations, call 860-767-8269 or go to www.ctrivermuseum.org.  

Filed Under: Arts, Essex, Old Events Tagged With: ,

Equity & Non-Equity Auditions for“The Marvelous Wonderettes”At the Ivoryton Playhouse

August 8, 2011 by

The Ivoryton Playhouse will be holding local Equity and non-Equity auditions for the Fall musical production “The Marvelous Wonderettes” by Roger Bean on Tuesday, August 16 from noon – 8pm at the Rehearsal Studio, 24 Main Street, Centerbrook, CT 06409.

They will be looking for 4 actresses/singers ages 28 – 35, who should possess strong voices with a wide vocal range. They must have a great sense of comedy, be able to move well with strong sight reading and harmonizing capabilities.

Auditions are by appointment and actors should bring a picture and resume and prepare a song in the style of the show and a short comic monologue.  1st rehearsal: September 13th, 2011. Runs: September 28 – October 16, 2011.  Matinees:  Wednesday, Sunday. Evenings: Wednesday through Saturday.

For audition appointments, call 860-767-7318 Theatre’s mailing address:  Ivoryton Playhouse, PO Box 458, Ivoryton CT  06442.

Filed Under: Arts, Old Events Tagged With: , ,

Marshview Gallery Artist Reception

August 2, 2011 by

Marshview Gallery is pleased to announce Patricia Creighton as their August artist.

Patricia Creighton was inspired by art instructor Ruth Brunstetier of Dutchess County New York who showed her how to see and appreciate color, negative space, and composition. Patricia has studied under various instructors and has a minor in art. She prefers working with watercolor and acrylic with people and landscapes as her subjects. Patricia won 1st in acrylic at the IBM Art Club and has also displayed her work in a water show with the Tracy Art  Center in Old Saybrook. Patricia is currently working with Stan Carver at the Estuary Council and Leif Nilsson in Chester.

Please join us at 220 Main Street, Old Saybrook to meet Patricia Creighton at the Marshview Gallery Artist reception. All ages are welcome to join us for this free event. Refreshments are provided.

Filed Under: Arts, Old Events

Don’t Miss the Celebration – Eastern Connecticut Ballet’s 20th Anniversary and 10th Anniversary Nutcracker

July 27, 2011 by

This is a very special season for Eastern Connecticut Ballet and there is much to celebrate.  The year marks the 20th anniversary of the school and the 10th anniversary of The Nutcracker.

There has never been a better time to be an ECB student.  It will be a year packed with exciting events and innovative programming.  In October, Eastern Connecticut Ballet’s Youth Ballet Company will perform Benjamin Britten’s Young Person’s Guide to the Orchestra at the Garde with the Eastern Connecticut Symphony Orchestra.  In December, over 120 talented dancers from the school will be joined at the Garde Arts Center in New London by superb guest artists from Pennsylvania Ballet for ECB’s spectacular, beloved holiday tradition, The Nutcracker.

In March, Eastern Connecticut Ballet will host a Gala birthday celebration at the Katharine Hepburn Cultural Arts Center in Old Saybrook entitled A Taste of Ballet.  The event will feature fine food, fine wine, fine art, and of course, fine dance.  Money raised from an art auction will benefit the ECB Scholarship Fund.  An all school spring concert will be held in May, including special repertory danced by ECB’s Youth Ballet Company.  The year will conclude with ECB’s premiere summer camps and intensives, engaging and challenging dancers of all ages.

Dynamic NEW fall classes include:  Mommy and Me, Dance/Sculpt/Tone, Tap, additional Modern and Jazz offerings, additional Teen/Adult Dance classes, and interesting new works by the 2011 World Champion Street Elite Hip-Hop Teams.  These classes complement ECB’s well-established and celebrated children’s and pre-professional ballet training programs.  Artistic Director, Gloria Govrin, former soloist with New York City Ballet, leads a superb faculty, and over twenty years ECB has earned high praise and respect from dance professionals across the country.

To accommodate these growing programs and a flourishing student body, ECB has made dramatic renovations to its state of the art facility.  New and returning students will enjoy the addition of a fourth large dance studio, additional dressing rooms, handicapped accessible bathrooms, costume and scenery storage space, new offices and central air conditioning.

For full details about the upcoming season and the school, call (860) 739-7899, visit the website at www.easternctballet.com, follow us on Facebook, or visit the school at 435 Boston Post Road in East Lyme.

ECB is a 501 (c)(3) non-profit organization and offers equal employment and educational opportunities in accordance with all applicable Federal, State, and local laws against discrimination on the basis of race, sex, religion, national origin, age, or sexual orientation. Photo credit: Thomas Giroir

Filed Under: Arts, Old Events, Towns

Ring of Fire at the Ivoryton Playhouse

July 27, 2011 by

Ivoryton:  What happens when you give the gritty and rustic lyrics of Johnny Cash to highly trained, technically proficient, powerful Broadway vocalists? The result is a stunning, moving, uplifting musical that has played to sold-out houses across the country and is opening at the Ivoryton Playhouse on August 10.

The musical takes for its marquee the title of one of the hit tunes of American singer-songwriter Cash. But the show, conceived by William Meade and created by Richard Maltby Jr., drawing on a cache of Cash songs, is not a biography of The Man in Black.

In 38 musical numbers, a mosaic of American experience is pieced together in Ring of Fire, the creators say. There’s a scene about keeping the love fires burning in middle age (“While I’ve Got It On My Mind”), there’s a scene with generations of a family sharing a meal (and sharing music) in “Daddy Sang Bass,” there’s the second-act opener about life travels (“I’ve Been Everywhere”), even a section with a chain gang (“Folsom Prison Blues”).

Richard Maltby said, “It’s about home and family and getting together and loving somebody and having a backyard and generations living together, it’s about what holds you together in the face of a hard life, it’s about the really basic family values.” The show’s song list includes Cash’s “Country Boy,” “A Thing Called Love,” “Five Feet High and Rising,” “Daddy Sang Bass,” “Ring of Fire,” “I Walk the Line,” “I’ve Been Everywhere,” “The Man in Black,” and his final hit, “Hurt.”

David Lutken* , just back from London’s West End where he had a terrific run with his new show Woody Sez, about the legendary Woody Guthrie, directs and appears in this production. David was a member of the original Broadway company of Ring of Fire. Staging and choreography is by Sherry Stregack and musical direction by Eric Anthony*. Cast includes John Rochette*, who was seen last summer at the Playhouse in Buddy: The Buddy Holly Story and Finian’s Rainbow, Scott Sowers*, Helen Russell*, Deb Lyons*, Megan Loomis*, Michael Hicks*, Jon Brown* and Eric Anthony*.

Ring of Fire  opens on August 10  and runs thru September 4  for 4 weeks. Performance times are Wednesday and Sunday matinees at 2pm. Evening performances are Wednesday and Thursday at 7:30 p.m., Friday and Saturday at 8 p.m. Tickets are $40 for adults, $35 for seniors, $20 for students and $15 for children and are available by calling the Playhouse box office at 860-767-7318 or by visiting our website at www.ivorytonplayhouse.org  (Group rates are available by calling the box office for information.) The Playhouse is located at 103 Main Street in Ivoryton.

*member of Actors Equity

Filed Under: Arts, Old Events, Towns

ARTFARM announces musical lineup for Shakespeare in the Grove, July 14 -24

July 18, 2011 by

ARTFARM, Middletown’s only professional theater company, is celebrating its tenth birthday and the sixth season of Shakespeare in the Grove with the original piece Shakespeare’s Argument.  The piece will be staged July 14 – 17 and 21 – 24 at 7 pm in the beautiful grove overlooking the Connecticut River valley on the campus of Middlesex Community College.

The fast-paced piece features four characters – an Actor, a Professor, a Producer and a Groundling, or audience member — arguing about what makes Shakespeare so special. As the debate heats up they perform scenes, songs and soliloquies from over a dozen Shakespeare plays.

Each performance of Shakespeare’s Argument will be preceded by live music at 6 pm. Audience is encouraged to arrival early and enjoy a picnic in the Grove while enjoying some of the region’s top musical acts. ARTFARM Artistic Director Marcella Trowbridge, who is both directing and acting in Shakespeare’s Argument, has just announced the schedule of musical artists for this season.

“We have a great collection of new and returning musical artists,” says Trowbridge. “Everyone will find something to their taste, and some folks will want to come multiple times simply for the fabulous music. Just be sure to stay for the Shakespeare!”

The trio Sirius Coyote opens the run on July 14 with a program of original, traditional and contemporary World Music. July 15 will feature folk legend Phil Rosenthal, former member of the Seldom Scene, on mandolin, guitar and banjo. On July 16 State Troubador Chuck Costa will deliver original contemporary folk music, and the first weekend will close on July 17 with classical, Spanish and Latin American guitar by Lorena Garay.

Weekend two opens July 21 with the unique Gypsy Jazz-influenced sound of the Vermont-based father-son duo They Might Be Gypsies. July 22 Nancy Tucker returns with her arsenal of poignant and comic original music and storytelling, and The BC3 makes their first appearance in the Grove on July 23. This funky jazz trio features Bill Carbone on drums, Gabe Gordon on keys and Peter Aleksi on guitar. Closing the run on July 24 is Connecticut’s first State Troubador and iconic folk musician and environmentalist Tom Callinan.

This family-friendly Shakespearean Feast will be served at 6 pm on July 14 – 17 and 21 – 24 in the Grove at Middlesex Community College, 100 Training Hill Road, Middletown. Live music starts at 6 pm. Shakespeare’s Argument at 7 pm.

ARTFARM is a non-profit organization, founded in 2001, which cultivates high-quality theater with a commitment to simple living, environmental sustainability and social justice. In addition to its annual Shakespeare productions, ARTFARM’s Circus for a Fragile Planet, a touring environmental educational circus, reaches over 4000 students throughout the northeast every year, and ARTFARM artists teach in schools and after school programs throughout the state.

Shakespeare in the Grove is a pay if you can event. Suggested donation is $20 per person.

Shakespeare in the Grove is co-sponsored by the Humanities and Arts Division of MxCC and is supported by the Middletown Commission on the Arts, the Connecticut Commission on Culture and Tourism and Pratt & Whitney.

For information call (860) 346-4390, email info@art-farm.org or go to www.art-farm.org.

Filed Under: Arts, Old Events, Towns

One World with Chris Merwin at Deep River Library

July 18, 2011 by

Children of all ages are invited to join the fun at Deep River Public Library for a concert with popular children’s musician Chris Merwin on August 11 at 4.15 p.m.  Chris will share songs from around the world in an interactive format that is sure to be fun for all. Come down and dance, sing, laugh, and play!

One World’s program is a fun, educational, and highly interactive program. Chris Merwin has traveled the globe to study indigenous music and collect exotic instruments and experiences. Chris’ philosophy is one of cultural harmony and diversity, which always shines through in his music.

Please call the library for more information at 860-526-6039.

Filed Under: Arts, Deep River, Old Events

Author Mariana de Saint Phalle Talk at Essex Library

July 18, 2011 by

Author Mariana de Saint Phalle and illustrator Linda Low Wolcott will talk about their new book, Mariana’s Letters, at the Essex Library on Thursday, August 18 at 7 p.m. The book, a collection of recipes, reminiscences and stories, sprung from a popular newsletter that Ms. De Saint Phalle started writing for friends some years ago when she lived in Washington D.C. A New York City native, she attended Miss Porters, lived in France and Washington, and continues to cook and write. Linda Low Wolcott lives and paints in Essex, Boca Grande, Florida, and Westport Island, Maine. She too attended Miss Porters, as well as the Sorbonne, Parsons School of Design, and the Lyme Academy. Books will be available for sale and signing. Please call the Essex Library at 860-767-1560 for reservations or more information.

Filed Under: Arts, Essex, Old Events

Martha Graham at Dance @ The Library

July 18, 2011 by

Essex Library’s popular Dance @ The Library film series continues on Friday, August 5th at 3 P.M. with Martha Graham; Dance on Film. One of the great artistic forces of the last century, Martha Graham influenced dance worldwide through her work as a performer, choreographer, and teacher.  The first part of the film, a short documentary called A Dancer’s World, is narrated by Graham and shows her at work as a teacher and dance maker. Following it are two short performance films of complete Graham ballets,  Appalachian Spring, and Night Journey, the first set to a soaring score by Aaron Copland, the second a rendering of the Oedipus myth.  This program is free and open to all. Please call the Essex Library at 860-767-1560 for more information or to register.

Filed Under: Arts, Essex, Old Events

Community Music School Presents A Concert in the Park July 26

July 13, 2011 by

ESSEX – Bring your blanket or lawn chair, and picnic basket and enjoy an entertaining concert presented by the CMS Summer Band on Tuesday, July 26 at 7 p.m. at the Main Street Park Gazebo,Essex.

Under the direction of Patricia Hurley, this multi-generational band will present a concert featuring Broadway favorites, film scores, patriotic music from the American songbook, and a few surprise numbers. The rain location is the Centerbrook Meetinghouse, 51 Main Street, Centerbrook.Please call 860-767-0026 for information.

CommunityMusic School, located in the Centerbrook section of Essex,  CT, is a not-for-profit arts education organization offering instrumental and vocal students of all ages outstanding private and group instruction. In addition to long-running programs such as Kindermusik and Jazz, Flute, and String Ensembles.

CMS offers special programs for homeschool students and a full menu of summer offerings. Additionally, a certified music therapist is on faculty offering individual and group Music Therapy services, using music as a tool to reach individualized therapeutic goals for people of all ages and skill levels.

For additional information on programs or performances, please call 860-767-0026 or visit www.community-music-school.org.

 

 

Filed Under: Arts, Old Events

Old Saybrook 48th Annual Arts and Crafts Festival

July 12, 2011 by

Old Saybrook, CT— The Old Saybrook Chamber of Commerce is honored to host the 48th Annual Liberty Bank- Old Saybrook Arts and Crafts Festival, July 23 and 24, 2011.

The festival has grown over the years to include many accomplished artisans in the fields of pottery, painting, wood, glass, and jewelry making.  The two-day event, sponsored by Liberty Bank, Estuary Council of Seniors and Penny Lane Pub, will be held on the beautiful Old Saybrook Town Green on Main Street from 10am-5pm, Saturday and 10am-4pm on Sunday.  Admission is free.  A variety of food and beverages, provided by local civic organizations, will appeal to all ages and tastes.

Over 20,000 visitors attend this annual festival to peruse and partake of the wares brought by over one hundred and forty fine artisans & crafters.  As an added plus, local music organizations will be offering entertainment throughout the two days.  Healthy Communities•Healthy Youth and Youth and Family Services are sponsoring a youth art booth.  Artists ages 7 to 18 will be able to display their art, help “man” the booth, and have the opportunity to talk with the public and other artists about their work.  Young artists from Old Saybrook who are interested in participating in the Youth Booth this year should contact Linda McCall at Youth and Family Services, 860-395-3190 by Friday, July 8, 2011.

Proceeds benefit the multiple programs offered by the Old Saybrook Chamber of Commerce which include college scholarships, business educational breakfast series, after-hours business connection and networking functions, and keynote luncheons with local Connecticut personalities and state dignitaries.

Last year's 'Best in Show - Art' winner - Tung Lee, from Brooklyn, NY. Also pictured: Gina Calabro, Chairman, OS Arts & Crafts Festival and Judy Sullivan, Executive Director, OS Chamber of Commerce.

Please visit us on Facebook, LinkedIn or Twitter for festival details.
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/home.php#!/pages/Old-Saybrook-Arts-Crafts-Festival/194286070614733
LinkedIn:  https://www.linkedin.com/pub/OSCC-Arts-Crafts-Festival/36/a1/560
Twitter:  http://twitter.com/OldSaybrookACF

About the Old Saybrook Chamber of Commerce:

The Chamber is a non-profit member organization dedicated to enhancing the economic vitality and quality of life in the greater Old Saybrook area, including the towns commonly known as the Connecticut River Estuary Region – Westbrook, Essex, Clinton, Deep River, Chester, Killingworth, Lyme and Old Lyme.  Through a core of volunteers and a professional staff, the Chamber provides leadership, support, and networking within the business community.  The Chamber hosts community events and serves as a catalyst to promote tourism, to support educational outreach and to act as an information source.

For additional information, please contact:
Judy Sullivan
Executive Director
Old Saybrook Chamber of Commerce
860-388-3266
judy@oldsaybrookchamber.com
www.oldsaybrookchamberofcommerce.com

Gina Calabro
Chairman, OS Arts & Crafts Festival
203-498-3041
ginacalabro@yahoo.com

Filed Under: Arts, Old Events, Old Saybrook
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