MoCA Westport Brings The Holiday Cheer With Evening Of Holiday And Classical Music
Thursday evening Kristen Young and Joe Bush wowed the audience with their dynamic collaboration for the second year running at MoCA Westport.
Photos By J.C. Martin For WestportLocalPress.com Click on an image to enlarge and open gallery.
Kristen Young graduated from the University of Oklahoma with a Master of Music in Violin Performance and a Graduate Certificate in Arts Management and Entrepreneurship, and from the University of Delaware with a Bachelor of Music in Music Management. Kristen is the Director of Performing Arts at MoCA where she heads the Music at MoCA Concert Series and the Heida Hermanns International Music Competition. She also teaches violin at the Westport School of Music and plays in the American Chamber Orchestra.
Photos By J.C. Martin For WestportLocalPress.com Click on an image to enlarge and open gallery.
Joseph Bush is a graduate of the University of Connecticut (UCONN) with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in music under the tutelage of Irma Vallecillo. He received his masters in piano performance from Indiana University studying under Alexander Toradze. Joe has played in numerous venues over many diverse genres. After graduating he has been the artist in residence at Calvary Presbyterian Church in Newburgh New York. Since being there, he has revived and developed their choral program to include 20+ members.Joe makes his living teaching privately, maintaining a studio of over 50+ students. He also accompanies all over Fairfield County and the greater New York area.
Concert Guests Also Enjoyed The New Exhibit Of Artist Purvis Young
While waiting for Kristen Young and Joseph Bush to take the stage, visitors on Saturday night viewed the current exhibition, “This Is The Life I See” by acclaimed artist Purvis Young whose work appears in these photographs.
Purvis Young (1943 – 2010) was an entirely self-taught artist who dealt with the plight of the underprivileged and the consequences of racism and daily violence through a highly distinctive visual style. Young lived his entire life in the Miami, FL neighborhood of Overtown, once an entertainment destination as well as a designated black neighborhood in the segregated South.
Photos By J.C. Martin For WestportLocalPress.com Click on an image to enlarge and open gallery.
Young created thousands of works that featured a mixture of painting and drawing with collaged elements, utilizing everyday discarded found objects such as scrap lumber and plywood. Some are large and some are small. Some are landscapes. Some are portraits. Some have figures, people. Some of these people have bodies. Some of these people have eyes. Some have both, some have neither.
Young’s work radiates rawness. His paintings indulge in color and shape. They are riddled with unrest and animation. They are intensely prolific. Ultimately, Young’s work is a dialogue of binaries. Freedom versus struggle. White versus black. Country versus city. Movement versus confinement. History versus contemporary. Truth versus deceit. Rich versus poor.
Visit Soon! The exhibit runs through December 29th. For more information visit: mocawestport.org/exhibitions
Photos By J.C. Martin For WestportLocalPress.com Click on an image to enlarge and open gallery.
Pequot Library Hosts Annual Menorah Lighting For Westport & Fairfield Communities
On Tuesday the Jewish communities of Westport and Fairfield joined for a Menorah lighting at the Pequot Library in Southport. The site has been chosen in the last few years as it is the midway point for the two communities. The event on the sixth night of Chanukah was organized by the Westport Chabad, Rabbi Yehudi Kantor and Rabbi Shame Landa of Fairfield Chabad. While waiting for the lighting ceremony to begin lighting the six candles, guests enjoyed treats such as delicious donuts.
Photos and Story By J.C. Martin For WestportLocalPress.com Click on an image to enlarge and open gallery.
The memorable event began with a multiple car parade which had lighted menorahs mounted on the roofs and which was facilitated by the Westport and Fairfield police departments.
The exciting festivities were quite the Chanukah celebration, the sonic background for which was provided by DJ Marv exciting the close to 100 guests by spinning a curated soundtrack that resonated with the spirit of Chanukah. The playlist featured electrifying remixes, including hits like "Candlelight" by the Maccabeats, a parody which told the story of Chanukah in a unique and clever way to the tune of the Taio Cruz hit, “Dynamite” The track included lyrics like “I flip my latkes in the air sometimes, sayin' ay oh spin the dreidel.” He presented a soulful "Hanukkah Song Mashup" by Elliot Dvorin and the Key Tov Orchestra and other crowd favorites.
Photos and Story By J.C. Martin For WestportLocalPress.com Click on an image to enlarge and open gallery.
The finale after the lighting was provided by Lady Blaze, a fire spinner and fire dancer for more than 20 years, who put on an amazing show with a dazzling display of skill and precision with multiple flaming props including a burning hula hoop.
Rabbi Kantor included in his remarks that “Chanukah is the Holiday of Lights with a strong message of hope over despair, triumph of good over evil and the empowerment of everyone to make a difference in this world.”
Photos and Story By J.C. Martin For WestportLocalPress.com Click on an image to enlarge and open gallery.
John Brandt, Y’s Men’s Classical Music Aficionado Presented “The Soundtrack Of Our Lives” At Westport Library
Y’s Man John Brandt told an audience of attentive Westporters that “Music is everywhere in our lives”, the theme of his multi-media presentation last night at the Westport Library. The program tracked the impact of music on a variety of art forms in a range of venues. Brandt, a lifelong Westporter, highlighted how music has become the soundtrack of our lives.
Photos By J.C. Martin For WestportLocalPress.com. Click on an image to enlarge and open gallery.
“Music has become a driving force in making our lives more vibrant, music is everywhere,” Brandt said, extolling names as diverse as Leonard Bernstein, Michael Tilson Thomas, Martha Graham, George Balanchine, Staples High School and Aaron Copeland as contributors to his love of music and dance.
“From the concert hall, to iconic stage productions, to films of every description, music has become the underscore that carries us along.” His presentation included various video clips of the “The Nutcracker,” Fred Astaire, Jimmy Cagney, Gene Kelly and the cast of “A Chorus Line”, and Walt Disney’s 1940 feature film Fantasia, which brought classical masterpieces to a wide audience in an animated film which cost 50 million dollars in today’s money.
To see this special presentation click here: https://vimeo.com/894659816
For further information, contact Dick Kalt at dkalt@optonline.net or by phone at 203.216.5196.
Photos By J.C. Martin For WestportLocalPress.com. Click on an image to enlarge and open gallery.
Artist Collective Hosts Annual 12”x12” Show At Westport Playhouse
On a frosty Tuesday evening, hundreds of people gathered in the warm and cozy barn at the Westport Playhouse to experience the annual 12”x12” art show put on by the Artists Collective of Westport.
Photos By J.C. Martin For WestportLocalPress.com Click on an image to enlarge and open gallery.
In addition to the 100 pieces of original and affordable art by Collective members in an amazing variety of media, styles and content, there was an 18 foot long table full of food and flowers for guests to enjoy, talented local pianist Caren Cole provided the evening’s beautiful musical accompaniment which included many songs of the season.
The exhibit will be open from 2 PM to 6 PM from Wednesday, December 13 to Sunday, December 17.
Photos By J.C. Martin For WestportLocalPress.com. Click on an image to enlarge and open gallery.
