Jessie Montgomery, composer/violinist and former member of the Providence String Quartet, in a recital of her most recent works including live music for film. PUBLIQuartet spearheads the performance and will be joined by a dazzling cast of NYC new music natives!
Program to include Standing/Forward for String Quartet (2011), 3 Scenes for String Quartet (2008), and Strum for String Quartet (2006)
February 25, 2012 at 8:00 pm
University Settlement, Speyer Hall 184 Eldridge Street (Lower East Side) New York, NY
A conference for artists and activists, presented by Lesley University (Cambridge, MA)
This is the second annual conference focused on how the arts are used as social action and as acts of courage and vision. This year’s conference will look at the concept of public, private and community space and how the arts can be used to transform public, private and community space into thought provoking catalysts to address a wide range of social, political, and psychological issues.
This conference will feature local, national and international artists, activists, educators, and mental health care professionals presenting the important work they are doing to bring about change and awareness. Speakers will address issues such as violence, healthcare disparities, and other social inequities, to promote civic engagement, advance the health of whole persons and whole communities, address the healing of trauma, and utilize the arts to educate, to examine our world, and to envision future possibilities.
Close to 1,500 artists will be employed and over 117,000 individuals will benefit from the latest round of grants awarded by the Rhode Island State Council on the Arts, according to information released by the state arts agency in December. The Arts Council announced its second round of grant awards for the current season, supporting projects by individual artists, arts organizations, schools and educational organizations in communities throughout the state.
In announcing the awards, Arts Council director Randall Rosenbaum said that it was important to remember, particularly in challenging times, that the arts employ people and help communities. "The arts are an important part of the Rhode Island economy", he said. "Each grant we award helps to employ an artist, even for a short period of time, and those artists – our neighbors – help support local businesses by paying rent, buying groceries, and by providing cultural programs in our communities."
CMW was awarded $6,950 for its spring semester programming. Thank you RISCA!
The January edition of Tricia Tunstall and Eric Booth's monthly publication about the growing El Sistema-inspired movement in the United States can be downloaded here.
The book tells the story of El Sistema in Venezuela and in the U.S., in an inspiring, readable way that will engage a wide audience. This book presents a unique opportunity for expanding awareness and support for the El Sistema movement. Please help get the word out, and get the book into the hands of people we might turn on to the remarkable story that has impacted so many lives.
On Day 2 in Nazareth, the young people from Nazareth and Tel Aviv and elsewhere–representing both Arab and Jewish communities–rehearsed a chamber music arrangement of the Magic Flute with Nabeel conducting. The arrangement was made by a Brown University senior who is on this trip. Then we toured old Nazareth and had a youth discussion about music and society. Video highlights here:
Perhaps you were with us in November at our Providence symposium, or perhaps you read about it. I have the privilege this week [January 4-10] of continuing that dialogue in the Israeli town of Nazareth, with some of our friends from November, including Michael Steinberg from Brown University, Pamela Rosenberg from the American Academy in Berlin, and especially Nabeel Abboud Ashkar who is hosting us in Nazareth. Nabeel is the director of the Baremboim-Said Conservatories in Nazareth and Ramallah, and also of the ensemble Polyphony.
I got off the plane this morning at Ben Gurion airport in Tel Aviv, and headed for the bus station to take a scenic two-hour bus ride to Nazareth, and then dived into a day of discussions. The conversation feels like the one we have at CMW, but transferred to the populations here. At CMW we talk about creating transformative opportunities for young people for whom this experience gives voice and access.
Whereas we talk about creating cohesive urban community, here the conversation is about giving access and voice to the Arab Israeli young people, who are a minority in this country. The issues and challenges are similar. One of the members of the discussion today put it well, that programs like CMW and Nabeel's create interventions on multiple fronts–addressing racism, revitalizing classical music, developing or uplifting a particular region or city.
Then this evening, we watched Act 1 of Mozart's Magic Flute with 15-20 of Nabeel's students, and had a discussion afterward about how the characters in the opera were really learning to become independent thinkers, breaking away from falsehoods they were taught. Tomorrow we continue, and see where we wind up!
The historic Poirier's Diner (a 1947 Kullman, the second diner in the state to be individually listed on the National Register of Historic Places) has found a new home on our block of Westminster Street.
For more than fifty years, and under many different names, such as Armand's, Krystal's, the Top Hat, Arnold's and most recently, the El Faro, the Diner was located on Atwells Avenue at Eagle Square. On Tuesday, January 13, the Diner was placed on a truck and rolled down the block to its new home at 1380 Westminster Street.
The Diner will be open for breakfast, lunch and dinner, seven days a week. And it will feature classic American Diner fare, along with a bar and outdoor seating. It is expected to open in Summer 2012.
A group of Sara's cellists performed at the Institute for the Study and Practice of Nonviolence during a holiday celebration for families of homicide victims.
