On Sunday, February 28 at 3 pm, Danbury Concert Chorus and Danbury Community Orchestra will perform a concert, “Serenade to Music.” The program features works by English composer Ralph Vaughn Williams – Toward the Unknown Region and Serenade to Music – as well as Jean Sibelius’s Symphony Number 1 and a selection of shorter choral works including movements of Frostiana by Randall Thompson and Edgar Bainton’s And I Saw a New Heaven. The concert will take place at Western Connecticut State University’s Visual and Performing Arts Center, in the Veronica Hagman Concert Hall. Thanks to generous support from the Danbury Cultural Commission and the City of Danbury, and Robert and Susan Payne, admission to the concert is free and open to the public.
Danbury Concert Chorus is directed by Christine R. Howlett; Danbury Community Orchestra is directed by Stephen Michael Smith. These accomplished conductors will lead their own ensembles and will each lead one of the works by Ralph Vaughn Williams. Four vocal soloists will be featured on the concert: Gileann Tan, soprano; Louise Carrozza, alto; Daniel Young, tenor; and Timothy Koch, bass.
Gileann Tan is a junior Music Major at Vassar College, where she recently sang the role of the Sorceress in Purcell’s Dido and Aeneas. This August, she will be attending SongFest’s Studio Artist Program in Los Angeles, where she will study languages and art song. She plans on pursuing a career in performance after graduation.
Louise Carrozza is a senior at Western Connecticut State University. She will graduate in May with a Bachelor of Science in Music Education. A Meriden native, she has been singing in choirs in church, school, and the community for most of her life. She is a Cantor at Holy Angels Roman Catholic Church in Meriden, and also serves as Alto Section Leader in the Adult Choir at Saint Joseph Catholic Church in Danbury.
Daniel Young is a third year Music Major with a Creative Writing Minor at Vassar College. He sings with the Vassar Madrigal Singers and VCC on campus, as well as the Choir of Saints and Friends in New York. Aside from singing, Daniel composes folk music and has served as a musical director in several student theater performances on campus.
Tim Koch is a choral singer with decades of church and regional choir participation, including solo and bass section leader responsibilities. Highlights include the opportunity to sing at Carnegie Hall in June 2015 for the premiere of Julian Revie’s (Yale composer in residence) Mass of the Divine Shepherd, which was also performed in part during the Pope’s visit last year while in Philadelphia. Mr. Koch currently sings as a section leader at 1st Presbyterian Church of Greenwich, CT, and previously as section leader and soloist at 1st Congregational Church and St Joseph’s, both in Danbury, CT. Tim is a resident of Danbury, CT and is currently self-employed in the construction industry after a successful 25-year career in the printing industry. He is also caretaker of 1st Congregational Church in Danbury, CT.
This year, Danbury Music Centre celebrates its 80th anniversary season of providing classical music for the greater Danbury area. The February 28th concert of Danbury Concert Chorus and Danbury Community Orchestra marks the first time that these ensembles – both part of Danbury Music Centre – have collaborated in performance. This collaboration illustrates the spirit of Danbury Music Centre’s 80th anniversary, by celebrating the organization’s long history through innovative programming and partnership.
For more information about this concert or other events during Danbury Music Centre’s vibrant 80th anniversary season, visit danburymusiccentre.org or call 203-748-1716.
Bethel Library has a brand-new Poetry Group!
Please join us this Saturday, February 6, 10:15-11:45 am, for a wonderful opportunity to meet with fellow poets to share, discuss, and write poetry! The Library’s Poetry Group is for adults (age 21 and up) who want to share their poetry and get feedback in a relaxed and supportive environment of peers. This group is meant to be participatory, so please bring your own poetry, or a poem or two by a favorite author. You may request feedback from the group on your own work if you like.
Registration is limited to 12, and there are still seats left. You may register by replying to [email protected], by going through the Library’s online event calendar or by calling the Reference Desk at 203-794-8756 x4. Again, thank you for joining us to share your talent.
Come join us at for a very important “Heart Talk” with Western CT Health Network’s Eileen Hurley, APRN, on Wednesday, February 17th, (Noon) at Laurel Ridge Health Care Center, 642 Danbury Road, Ridgefield. Please click this link for the flyer Heart Talk February 2016.
Ms. Hurley will discuss heart health and the latest technique for folks who experience shortness of breath, fainting and chest discomfort due to aortic stenosis to improve their quality of life and potentially live longer.
Ms. Hurley, who is also APRN Board Certified, received her master’s degree from New York University and has worked at Danbury Hospital since 2006, specializing in cardiology. She now runs the Heart Valve Program at Danbury Hospital where a multidisciplinary group of Physicians evaluate and recommend treatment for those patients with Heart Valve disease.
This free talk is open to the public and a light lunch will be served. R.S.V.P. to Laurel Ridge at 203-438-8226.
Reservations are required as space is limited.
On Sunday, January 23 at 3 pm, the Danbury Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Ariel Rudiakov, will perform a one-hour Young People’s Concert. The program is geared toward the young at young-at-heart; audience members of all ages will enjoy this terrific, free performance which will take place at Western Connecticut State University’s Veronica Hagan Concert Hall, a part of the Visual and Performing Arts Center on the westside campus at 43 Lake Avenue Extension in Danbury.
A guest soloist will be featured on this program. Alina Shuyun Xiao, pianist, won the Danbury Symphony Orchestra concerto competition in November, and she will play the first movement of Felix Mendelssohn’s Piano Concerto No. 2 with the Symphony. Alina is a student of Margarita Nuller at Kent School.
Danbury Symphony Orchestra will also play selections from Herbert Baumann’s ballet, “Alice in Wonderland.” This exciting music is sure to capture the imagination, as it illustrates scenes from Lewis Carroll’s famous tales.
The afternoon’s concert will begin with a brief performance by the Danbury Preparatory String Orchestra, conducted by Glen Lebetkin. The Danbury Preparatory String Orchestra, which features young and adult musicians from throughout the greater Danbury area, will perform selections from the popular Disney movie Frozen as well as a “Celtic Canon,” accompanied by Irish step dancers. Mr. Lebetkin and his orchestra invite “all princes and princesses” to come to the concert in costume, and to join the orchestra onstage to experience the music up close.
Danbury Symphony Orchestra and Danbury Preparatory String Orchestra are both part of Danbury Music Centre, a classical music organization that has been a part of Main Street, Danbury since 1935. Don’t miss this exciting Young People’s Concert, which is a part of Danbury Music Centre’s 80thanniversary season.
For more information, please contact the Danbury Music Centre: (203) 748-1716 or [email protected].
Songs and Stories for Grown-Ups at the Bethel Public Library
Join us at the Bethel Public Library on Monday February 1, 6:30-7:45 pm, for “Even More Song and Story with Lenny Levine.” Back by popular demand, this local storytelling musician returns for another evening of live music and lively stories for grown-ups! He’ll perform a brand-new show, but promises to include his musical medley of favorite jingles! Mr. Levine is a local professional musician whose songs have been recorded and performed by some of music’s greats: Diana Ross, The Pointer Sisters, and Barry Manilow. His stories have been published widely, and he was awarded a 2011 Pushcart Prize nomination for short fiction.
This program is geared toward adults and young adults; it is not for children. Seating is limited, so registration is required. Call 203-794-8756 ext. 4, register online at www.bethellibrary.org, or sign up at the Library’s Reference Desk.
All Bethel Public Library programs are open to the public and meet accessibility requirements for the disabled. Those needing special accommodations should contact the Library at least 2 weeks prior to the program to make arrangements. Bethel Public Library, 189 Greenwood Avenue, Bethel, CT.
