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Published: 28 January 2011

Created: 28 January 2011

Last Updated: 30 January 2011

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The 4th and 5th grade choruses under the direction of Ms. Katherine Bescherer have been hard at work since September preparing some wonderful music for their recent winter concert. Every 4th and 5th grade student is a member of his or her grade level chorus and was part of this performance on the night of January 19th.

The 4th grade chorus performed 3 songs: “Muziki Vuma,” which is an upbeat song in Swahili which included a small percussion ensemble. “America, Of Thee I Sing!” which is a lovely partnering of a melodic version of “The Pledge of Allegiance” and “America, The Beautiful.” And, their show stopper which was “Lights!” which included choreography and was "outrageously funderful."

The 5th grade chorus has also prepared 3 songs: “O Desayo” which is an Angolan folk song also with a

percussion ensemble. “Blowin’ in the Wind/America ” which is another partnering of two songs combining the power of Bob Dylan’s song with the beautiful anthem “My country ‘tis of thee...” And, the 5th grades’ show stopper was Rodgers and Hart's “Johnny One Note” from the musical Babes in Arms.

The parallels in the two chorus' repertoire allows both the singers and the audience to engage in critical thinking as they evaluate not only the performance but the musical content presented by each group.

For their finale, the students performed as a combined chorus and sang and danced to “Rockin’ Robin,” a hit song recorded by Bobby Day in 1958, and again by Michael Jackson in 1972.

It was an evening of many smiles, wonderful music, and the audience absolutely loved it!

 

 

Top Photo: Heathcote Principal Maria Stiles welcomes everyone to the concert

Photos courtesy of Jon Thaler. To see more, go to www.jonthaler.com

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Published: 23 January 2011

Created: 23 January 2011

Last Updated: 23 January 2011

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According to accomplished Westchester sculptor Barbara Segal, “Sculptures can bring individuals and communities together, as well as establish bonds among people of all ages.” Barbara, a 1970 graduate of Scarsdale High School, understood this concept at a young age. She was inspired by her great-grandfather’s ornately carved furniture, which he produced in the early 1900’s for his shop on the Lower East Side. Barbara was amazed by the craftsmanship and the incredible dedication that shone through his finished pieces. She felt a strong bond with her great-grandfather’s artistry and knew that sculpting could also be her future.

At Scarsdale High School, Barbara was fortunate to have nurturing teachers who saw her potential. One of those teachers was Mr. Beckerman, an art teacher, who gave Barbara permission to install a massive sculpture of a giraffe outside the art room by the main stairwell. Barbara cherishes this memory as the first time her work was exhibited in public. This exhibition would portend things to come, for her works have been shown in galleries and museums throughout the United States and Europe.

After graduating Scarsdale High School, Barbara attended Pratt Institute. Her pivotal moment came in thesummer following her freshman year when she participated in a study abroad program in Pietrasanta, Italy. She was captivated by European culture and decided to move to Paris and attend L’Ecole Nationale Superieure des Beaux-Arts. After spending two years in Paris, Barbara moved back to Pietrasanta and to Michelangelo’s Carrara. It was there that she met some of the world’s greatest artisans and artists and learned traditional Renaissance techniques from those individuals, who are to this day some of her closest friends.

Returning to New York in 1976, Barbara found work at the historic Roman Bronze Works in Astoria, Queens. She was the first woman ever to be hired there as an artisan and credits the refined technical skills she learned in Italy for that distinction. Leaving her Chelsea loft in 1990, Barbara moved into a Queen Anne Victorian overlooking the Hudson River in Yonkers. She has become very involved with the City of Yonkers, starting a non-profit organization called Art on Main Street (AOMSY) whose mission was to bring art and culture to downtown Yonkers. Through AOMSY Barbara led other artists to create a permanent sculpture park of limestone and Vermont marble benches along the Hudson, named Yonkers Sculpture Meadow on the Hudson, which opened in 2003. Barbara was given the honor of creating one of four outdoor stone rooms

within the park; she named that room Cloud Living Room. Barbara’s artistry can also be seen in the middle of downtown Yonkers. She competed in and won a NYC Metropolitan Transportation Authority / Arts for Transit commission. Her sculpture, entitled Muhheakantuck, River that Flows Two Ways, is made of two seventy-two foot cast aluminum sculptures of water formations that are installed on both sides of the Yonkers Metro-North viaduct.

Currently, Barbara is working on her latest series, Little Girls’ Dresses, after being inspired by a family portrait where all the little girls are dressed in 1950’s finery--puffy sleeves, lace collars and full skirts. In this collection, Barbara carves delicate layers of lace and fabric into translucent alabaster and onyx stones. Light passes through the materials, transforming simple children’s dresses into a lush, sensual memory. In recognizing the beauty and uniqueness of Barbara’s work, Dr. Judy Collischan, former Associate Director to Curatorial Affairs for the Neuberger Museum, states, “She is a master at creating complex, detailed and unusual objects from hard stone…Her remarkable technical

skill, paired with her quirky subject matter, excite fascination and incredulity.”

The Yonkers Sculpture Meadow on the Hudson is located on the southern end of downtown YonkersHudson River Promenade.

Barbara currently teaches the art of stone carving through the School of Visual Arts at her private studio in Yonkers. The course begins Saturday, February 12th from 10-1PM. To register please click here.

In addition, Barbara’s work is available by commission. See more of her scuptures at www.barbarasegal.com or contact her by email at:  [email protected] .

 

 

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Published: 17 January 2011

Created: 17 January 2011

Last Updated: 17 January 2011

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The New Choral Society, now in its seventeenth season, will present “An Evening of Chamber Music” under the direction of Dr. John T. King, on Saturday, January 22, 2011 at 8 PM. The concert will take place at Hitchcock Presbyterian Church. Tickets are available at $20 for General Admission, $25 for Preferred Seating and $15 for Seniors and Students. Please call (914) 725-1678 or order online at www.newchoralsociety.org

The all-professional orchestra made up of extraordinarily talented players who play regularly with the Metropolitan Opera orchestra, the NY Philharmonic and on Broadway, team up to present a program that will appeal to all! This year marks the 20th Anniversary of the installation of the Walker Tracker Organ at the New Choral Society’s home venue. In celebration of this anniversary year, the orchestra will highlight works that feature the organ prominently.

Highlighted works for organ and orchestra include the hauntingly beautiful "Adagio for Organ and Strings" by Tomaso Albinoni, "Toccata for trumpet and organ" by Padre Giovanni Battista Martini and "Concerto for Organ and Orchestra in C Major" by Josef Haydn, featuring guest organist David Enlow, from the organ faculty at The Juilliard School and accompanist for the New Choral Society. Mr. Enlow will play the Walker Tracker organ to celebrate the 20th Anniversary of the organ's installation at the New Choral Society's home venue.

Chamber orchestra works by Bach, Britten, Mozart and Saint-Saëns will be featured on this eclectic, but accessible program. Concertmaster Krystof Witek and principal oboist Gerard Reuter will perform 2 movements from Bach’s “Concerto in c minor for oboe and violin” (BWV 1060). Donna Elaine, flute and David Gould, clarinet, will perform Saint-Saëns’ “Tarantelle, Op 6” for Flute, Clarinet and Chamber Orchestra. The entire orchestra will join forces at the end to perform Benjamin Britten’s delightful suite “Soirees Musicales, Op 9” (A Suite of Five Movements from Rossini).

David Enlow, organist, is widely known as a concert organist of great accomplishment and distinction, both

in his native Canada and his adopted homeland the United States. He is a member of the organ faculty of The Juilliard School in New York and the founding director of Cappella New York, a semi-professional choral society now in its seventh season. He is Organist and Choir Master of the church of the Resurrection in New York City where he directs a professional choir. Mr. Enlow holds both an undergraduate and a Master's degree from The Juilliard School where he studied with John Weaver and Paul Jacobs. He also studied at the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia and with John Tuttle in Toronto.

Krystof Witek, concertmaster, has served as concertmaster of the New Choral Society orchestra since 1995. As the winner of the 1992 Artists International Auditions in New York, Mr. Witek appeared in sold-out Recital Debut and Alumni Concert Series at Carnegie's Weill Hall. Born in Poland, he began to study violin at the age of six. In 1987 he came to the U.S. to study at The Juilliard School with Joseph Fuchs, where he received his Bachelor, Master and Doctoral degrees. Mr. Witek has appeared in solo and chamber music concerts in Europe, Canada, Japan and the U.S. and has been a member of the New York Chamber Symphony since 1997. He is a founding member of the Halcyon String Quartet and has performed on Broadway in productions of Sunset Boulevard, Beauty and the Beast, Candide, Swan Lake, Sound of Music, Phantom of the Opera, Music Man and Lion King. Mr. Witek has recorded and performed with many popular artists, including Diana Krall (2001 Carnegie Hall Jazz Festival), Björk, Natalie Merchant, Michael Bolton, Smokey Robinson and Dionne Warwick. Since 1995 he has toured Japan annually as an associate concertmaster and soloist of the New York Symphonic Ensemble and he has served as concertmaster for the Greenwich Symphony since 2003. Since this season he has been performing with the MET Opera orchestra.

Gerard Reuter, a recipient of the prestigious Pro Musicis International Award, has enjoyed a distinguished solo career touring the United States, Europe, India and Africa. Much sought after as a guest at summer music festivals, including Caramoor, Marlboro, La Jolla, Round Top and the Chamber Music Festival of the Library of Congress in the United States, and the Flanders Festival, the Dartington Festival and the International Musicians Seminar at Prussia Cove in Europe, he has also appeared as soloist with orchestras throughout the United States, including the Jupiter Symphony and Philharmonia Virtuosi in New York, the National Chamber Orchestra in Washington, DC, the Soviet Emigre Orchestra and the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra, of which he was a founding member.Also active as a chamber musician, he is a member of the Dorian Wind Quintet and was a founding member of the ensemble, An die Musik. As a guest, he has performed with many ensembles, including the Colorado String Quartet, Composers String Quartet, DaVinci Quartet, Aspen Wind Quintet, American Chamber Players, New York Philomusica and I Fiamminghi in Belgium. Mr. Reuter has been heard on major radio stations throughout this country and in Europe and has been recorded in concert for worldwide broadcast on The Voice of America. He has recorded for Sony, New World, Telarc, Columbia, BMG-Catalyst, Dorian, Summit and Musical Heritage Society. Mr. Reuter studied at the Juilliard School with Lois Wann and at the Royal College of Music in London. He is on the faculties of New York University and Sarah Lawrence College.

Donna Elaine, flute , serves as principal for the New Choral Society Orchestra and manages a busy teaching schedule throughout the New York area. Ms. Elaine is a gifted recitalist who is committed to uncovering little known treasures in the repertoire, including virtuoso pieces for piccolo. A native Californian, she received Bachelor and Master of Music Degrees in Flute Performance from Chapman College in Orange, California, where she was a student of Louise DiTullio and Arthur Hoberman. She also studied with Jean Pierre Rampal, Maxence Larrieu, Alain Marion and Andras Adorjan. Since relocating to New York Miss Elaine has studied with Julius Baker, Judith Mendenhall and Robert Stallman. Miss Elaine is on the faculty at The Hackley School and at Hoff-Barthelson Music School and plays with the Hudson Valley Philharmonic, the Yonkers Philharmonic, the Yonkers Pops Band and the Pelham Memorial Band.

For tickets and more information, visit www.newchoralsociety.org or call the office at (914)725-1678.

Pictured Above: Donna Elaine

 

 

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Published: 06 January 2011

Created: 06 January 2011

Last Updated: 12 January 2011

Hits: 4603

The Jacob Burns Film Center in Pleasantville is offering 15 pairs of FREE tickets to Scarsdale10583 readers for their annual FrameWorks: Art on Film series from January 12 through February 23. The series includes seven evenings of film and conversation about art and artists. This year’s series includes Marwencol, Jean-Michel Basquiat: The Radiant Child, Rivers and Tides: Andy Goldsworthy Working with Time, Joan Mitchell: Portrait of an Abstract Painter, The Mystery of Picasso, and more. The JBFC is offering up to 15 pairs of tickets to any film in the series, which are offered on Wednesday nights from January 12 through February 23 at 7:15 pm at the Film Center.

To learn more about the series, visit: http://www.burnsfilmcenter.org/films/film-series/detail/36192.

To request your free tickets, email [email protected] by Thursday, January 13 at 2 pm. Please include your full name and the film you would like to see. All winners will be notified by email.