Opera and Love Story to Debut at Shaarei Tikvah on Sunday
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Steal a Pencil for Me, a new opera with music by Gerald Cohen and libretto by Deborah Brevoort, will premiere on Sunday April 28 at 2 pm at Shaarei Tikvah in Scarsdale. The opera is a love story set in two concentration camps during World War II based on the true story of Jaap and Ina Polak, whom the composer has known for the last 25 years, and who just celebrated their 100th and 90th birthdays.
The Polaks, who live in Eastchester, will attend the performance. They have dedicated their lives to teaching about the Holocaust and fighting prejudice. Jaap was one of the founders of the Anne Frank Center USA, and now serves as Chairman Emeritus.
The action of the opera takes place in Amsterdam, at Westerbork Transit camp, and at Bergen-Belsen Concentration Camp between the years of 1943-1945. Thirty-year old Jaap Polak is unhappily married to Manja, a social butterfly with a sharp tongue. He falls in love with twenty-year old Ina Soep, whose boyfriend, Rudi Acohen, has been seized and deported to Poland by the Nazis. When the husband, his wife, and his new girlfriend are deported to Westerbork, they actually find themselves living in the same barracks. Jaap's wife objects to the relationship and Jaap and Ina resort to writing secret love letters, which sustain them throughout the horrible circumstances of the war.
As Jaap says: "I'm a very special Holocaust survivor. I was in the camps with my wife and my girlfriend; and believe me, it wasn't easy."
Although friends and relatives of theirs, including Rudi, perished in the camps, Jaap and Ina survived the Holocaust. They have been married for over 65 years and now live in Eastchester. A distinguishing feature of their book of letters is how they allowed the story to unfold; unedited; their shortcomings and faults are just as easy to see as their nobility, and their honesty makes the story compelling and real. The Village Voice wrote that their story "offers a corrective to the sentimental prevailing notion that the Shoah only happened to saints."
The cast and a small instrumental ensemble will be conducted by Ari Pelto and with stage direction by Beth Greenberg. This production will star Ilana Davidson and Robert Balonek as Ina and Jaap, and the cast will also include vocal soloists Toby Newman, Nils Neubert, Cherry Duke. Ricardo Rivera, Matthew Singer, Miloslav Antonov, and Enrico Lagasca. Cori Ellison serves as dramaturg and artistic consultant.
New York-based composer Gerald Cohen has composed of chamber music, choral music, opera, and liturgical music, and won awards and praise for all. Gramophone Magazine noted his "linguistic fluidity and melodic gift". His operas Sarah and Hagar, a two-act opera based on the story from the book of Genesis, and Seed, a one-act opera about love and choices for a post-apocalyptic Adam and Eve, have been performed in concert form. Cohen received a B.A in music from Yale University and a D.M.A in composition from Columbia University.
New York-based librettist Deborah Brevoort is formerly from Alaska. An award-winning playwright and librettist, she moves easily between the worlds of theatre, musical theatre and opera. Her plays and musicals are produced regularly to enthusiastic reviews, including Time Out London who noted her "gift for high poetry." Deborah holds a B.A. from Kent State University and MFA's from Brown University and NYU's Tisch School of the Arts.
A semi-staged concert opera performance will take place on Sunday at Shaarei Tikvah Congregation at 46 Fox Meadow Road in Scarsdale. Individual tickets are $30 at the door; $25 in advance; $15 for seniors and $10 for students. Please contact (914) 472-2013 or [email protected].
Poetry Celebration at Scarsdale Library
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The Scarsdale Public Library will host a reading in celebration of National Poetry Month, on Wednesday April 24, 2013, 7:30 to 9:00 P.M. The event will feature readings of recently published work by five Poetry Caravan members followed by a Q & A session, opportunity to meet and chat with the poets, and a book signing.
All of the poets are residents of Westchester. Their work reflects historical and cultural events as well as personal reflections. Titles and authors are:
-The I in India and US by Llyn Clague (Hastings) addressing cultural connections
-A Sea Change by Lisa Fleck Dondiego ( Ossining) about waking up to a new life
-Tugboat Warrior by Ruth D. Handel (Scarsdale) a little-known episode in U.S. history
-Traveling Between Storms by Charlotte Walsh (North White Plains) a meditative journey
-Waking at Night by Amelia Winkler (Mamaroneck) personal reflections on life, love and art.
The Poetry Caravan, now in its tenth year, is a volunteer organization of 35 Westchester poets who take the written word into local venues such as hospitals, senior centers, assisted living facilities, shelters, jails and similar sites. The poets read from their original work as well as standard masters. "The Caravan's mission is to bring poetry to the community and foster the creativity of all participants," said Scarsdale resident Ruth D. Handel, manager of the Poetry Caravan.
"We are excited to work with such a talented group of local artists who do such important work in our community and beyond," commented Scarsdale Public Library Executive Director, Elizabeth Bermel. "The library is proud to co-sponsor these local writers. We hope that this will be the first of many events we will have the pleasure of working on together."
To join the Poetry Caravan, or for more information, contact [email protected]. The Scarsdale Public Library is located at 54 Olmsted Road, Scarsdale, NY, 10583. Phone: (914) 722- 1300.
SHS Art Students Explore the Dark and the Light Side
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The annual AT art class installation is now on view at the Scarsdale High School Gallery. Inspired by the Queen song "The Show Must Go On," the installation was created to emphasize the natural progression of emotions, portraying happy, fairy-tale like sentiments to depression and hopelessness. In their interpretation of the lyrics, the AT art students split the gallery into two extreme spaces: one "light" and one "dark." The juxtaposition of these two contrasting emotional and visual groups sheds light on the way that people choose to view the world. Installation art, for those who aren't familiar, is a genre of three-dimensional works that are site-specific and are used to transform the space they occupy. The opportunity the AT art students have to put up an installation is one unique to Scarsdale High.
During the early stages of the installation, AT art students brainstormed ideas on how to break psychological and 
emotional spaces. The dark side chose to cover the walls with spikes, and created a dungeon-like setting with a black, draping ceiling. The dark side really "engulfs you in darkness" said AT student Aaron Cheng. The light side filled the room with bubbles and bright butterflies to evoke a fairy-tale like feeling. The light side was meant to evoke "nostalgia of the lightness and playfulness of childhood," explained another art student Miwa Sakulrat.
Over 160 students from all grades came to walk through the installation on its opening day. At the entrance to the exhibit, viewers choose to first go through the light, bubbly pathway to their right or the dark abyss to their left. Depending on their choice, they will either go from the pastel, bright, happy side to the spike-filled, low ceilinged, dark side or vice-versa. While students from the light side guided students through the space, the artists from the dark side became a part of the art themselves by wearing all black and putting themselves into the darkness, even playfully scaring the students who walked through the dark side!
Text by Sunny Feinstein, Photos by Lindsay Leboyer
A Cappella for All
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Mark these two upcoming events on your calendar and hear some talented A Cappella groups from Scarsdale and Yale: For Good Measure, Scarsdale High School's co-ed a cappella group group will host an A Cappella Extravaganza on Sunday, April 14th from 2 PM - 4 PM in the Scarsdale High School auditorium. The concert is sponsored by Gilda's Club Westchester (a cancer support organization) and all proceeds go to that organization. Scarsdale will be joined by a cappella groups from Bronxville, The Masters School, John Jay, Rye Country Day, and Horace Greeley. Tickets are $5 per student and $10 per adult.
On Saturday April 27, the Yale Westchester Alumni Association (YWAA) will host A Cappella Song Fest at The Center @ 862, 862 
Scarsdale Avenue, Scarsdale, New York. The concert which begins at 2:30 p.m. will feature For Good Measure, Scarsdale High School's group and the Spizzwinks(?) of Yale University. Following the concert, there will be an opportunity to meet the singers and purchase their CDs.
Tickets for the performance are $20 for adults and $10 for students/seniors and can be purchased online at www.yalewestchester.org. Tickets purchased at the door will be $25/$15. For further information, please contact Regina Possavino at 914-977-3532 or [email protected].
For Good Measure
As the only co-ed a cappella troupe in Scarsdale High School, For Good Measure fills all of Scarsdale with music! The group was started by Jessica Chayes during the 2001-2002 school year, and has existed in either co-ed or all-girl incarnations since then. Currently comprised of both male and female voices, the troupe has left its mark on the Scarsdale community through performances at sports games, a cappella competitions, shows, Valentine's Day Sing-a-Grams, and during the holidays. In addition, For Good Measure has performed in concerts with groups from Yale University, Binghamton University, and Kenyan College. For Good Measure's repertoire includes a variety of song types, including oldies as well as contemporary pop songs. The group is not only talented, but always makes their performances fun to watch for all types of audiences.
The Spizzwinks(?)
The Yale Spizzwinks(?) are America's first underclassman a cappella group. Since 1914, they have been entertaining audiences around the world with their unique blend of sweet harmony and tongue-in-cheek humor. Since their historic beginning at Mory's, the Spizzwinks(?) have proudly carried on a tradition of musical excellence and camaraderie as one of America's oldest male choirs. With one eye towards their ninety-nine year history and the other towards the future, they seamlessly fuse tradition and innovation to bring audiences a unique and unforgettable concert experience.
Three times each year, the Spizzwinks(?) pack their bags and head off to explore the world. When traveling internationally, the Spizzwinks(?) act as cultural ambassadors for the United States, often performing on television and radio, and at large public events. They also promote cultural exchange, singing joint concerts with choirs from universities and other organizations. This year, the Spizzwinks(?) will travel to the Pacific Northwest in the winter, Florida and South America in the spring, and China and Singapore in the summer.
Designer Showhouse Coming to Cooper Road in Scarsdale
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Residents will now have a chance to go inside one of Scarsdale's premiere homes when the third annual Designer Showhouse benefiting Cerebral Palsy of Westchester takes place from Thursday, May 2nd to Sunday, June 9th at 2 Cooper Road in Scarsdale.
The Designer Showhouse of Westchester will feature over 25 of America's top designers and decorative artists who will transform the magnificent 1915 mansion into a decorating masterpiece.
The Showhouse will open with a Gala Preview Cocktail Party on Wednesday, May 1st, 2013 at 6:00 p.m. All proceeds will benefit Cerebral Palsy of Westchester, Rye Brook, New York. New York Cottages & Gardens is the Media Sponsor and Houlihan Lawrence is the Real Estate Sponsor.
The Designer Showhouse will run from Wednesday, May 1st, 2013 through Sunday, June 9th, 2013. Admission to the Showhouse is $30 and includes a Showhouse Journal. Gala tickets are $125 each. Showhouse hours will be: Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., Saturdays 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Sundays 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., closed on Mondays. Children under six, infants, strollers, and pets will not be admitted. For more information contact Kristen Harris at (914) 937-3800 ext. 353 or ext. 209 or visit their website here.
About Cerebral Palsy of Westchester
Since 1949, Cerebral Palsy of Westchester has been a leading nonprofit organization in Westchester and Fairfield County. The organization's mission is to advance the independence, productivity, and full citizenship of people with Cerebral Palsy and other developmental disabilities. They are a non-profit organization that provides essential educational services, vocational training, recreation, rehabilitation and advocacy to thousands of children and adults.
