Celebrating Jay Hoggard

Saturday April 30, which happens to be International Jazz Day, the Center for The Arts at Wesleyan presents the Jay Hoggard Harlem Hieroglyphs Ensemble. The 8 p.m. concert celebrates the music of the vibraphonist and composer, serving as a "CD Release Party" for his new double-album, "Harlem Hieroglyphs".  Joining him on the stage of Crowell Concert Hall will be pianist James Weidman, drummer Pheroan akLaff, bassist Belden Bullock, and saxophonist René McLean. 

The album , funded in part by Wesleyan GISOS (Grant in Support of Scholarship), brings together the many influences on Hoggard's life, from the gospel music he heard in church (including the sacred music of Duke Ellington) to the sounds of African percussion to mentors like the afore-mentioned Lionel Hampton and Milt Jackson to the popular music on the radio and so much more. Messrs. Weidman and Bullock both play on the album along with Yoron Israel (drums), Gary Bartz (alto and soprano saxophones), and, on 6 of the 18 tracks, Nat Adderley, Jr.(piano, organ). Mr. Bartz, who first came to critical notice in the mid-1960s playing  in the Max Roach/Abbey Lincoln group and then moving on to Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers, is a welcome addition to this music. It's not just because he's such an inspired musician;  the album marks the first time the vibraphonist has recorded with a reed player since the early 90s.

courant.com

The first disk opens with "If I Were a Bell", the Frank Loesser classic from "Guys and Dolls", which Miles Davis first recorded in 1956.  The group gives the tune a gentle swing, the clear tones of the vibes meshing well with the soft tones of the alto sax.  Moving on to the blues of Hoggard's "Harlem Jazzbirds Swingin' and Swayin'"; the piece bounces sweetly atop Bullock's bass, Weidman's piano chords and Israel's masterly brush work.  Gospel chords from the piano leads the group into "I Am Free", a funky original that also reflects the influence of South African pianist Abdullah Ibrahim. For this listener, the highlight on disk 1 is the emotionally strong performance of Bernard Ingher's "Everything Must Change", an oft-recorded ballad, most notably by Nina Simone and Quincy Jones with James Ingram. Here, it's the expressive alto saxophone that shares the lead with ringing tones of the vibraphone. Nothing is rushed, the musicians pouring their souls into the song creating a beautiful experience.

Wesleyan CFA

CD 2 opens with the fiery "Sonic Hieroglyphs" with great solos by the leader, Bartz (on alto), and pianist Weidman, all powered by Bullock's walking bass and Israel's high-flying cymbals.  There's a rollicking version of Sonny Rollins' "Airegin" - it's one of the shorter tracks (3:33) but the musicians give their all.  "I Live Because I Breathe" is a lovely ballad with a handsome melody, a splendid vibes solo, and fine soprano sax counterpoint.  An African feel permeates "Mystical Cycles of Skin, Wood, and Metal", the hypnotic rhythms and circular melody, the pulsating vibraphone, Adderley, Jr.'s piano working in tandem with the organ work of Weidman, all creating a musical wonderland.  Hoggard and Weidman (on piano) paint a sublime portrait of Duke Ellington's "My Love", a piece the Maestro wrote for his Third Sacred Concert.  Following that track is a impressionistic solo work "Pleasant Memories." It's one of the two pieces on the album that is over 9 minutes long yet the music moves forward easily and melodically, going through several different moods and sonic variations (there are moments where the vibraphone sound like steel drums and marimbas).

Anyone acquainted with Jay Hoggard knows he's one of the most positive persons you'll ever meet. The music on "Harlem Hieroglyphs" is imbued with joy, hope, and wonder.  His story is not only filled with his history but also his accomplishments and dreams.  This is music that breathes, that swings with ease, soothes the soul, and makes one smile.

For more information about the album, go to www.jayhoggard.com.  To get tickets to Saturday's 8 p.m. concert, go to www.wesleyan.edu/cfa or call 860-685-3355.

Here's "Mystical Cycles of Skin, Wood, and Metal" to whet your appetite and the show:



(A edited version of this review also appears at steptempest.blogspot.com/2016/04/take-jay-train.html.)

Wesleyan Thinks Big!

"Wesleyan Thinks Big" is an event that will take place on Thursday, March 29th at 8pm at Wesleyans' Memorial Chapel and will feature nine-minute lectures from six of Wesleyan's most exciting professors. Inspired by TED talks, the event is open to the public

No slides. No handouts. No Moodle. Just the most exciting professors at Wesleyan, talking about the ideas they can’t stop thinking about. Last semester, hundreds of students nominated their favorite professors. Now, six of those professors have been brought together to deliver nine-minute lectures on a topic that excites and inspires them—even if it’s not something they talk about in class. Especially if it’s not something they talk about in class.

Inspired by TED Talks, Wesleyan Thinks Big will show you the professors you love like you’ve never seen them before. Bring your open mind, and prepare to have it blown.

Wesleyan Thinks Big features:

“Asceticosmologies: Modern Science as Religious Practice” by Mary-Jane Rubenstein

“Nature vs. Nurture: the Example of Psychosis” by Matthew Kurtz

“States Without Romance” by Richard Adelstein

“The Death of Affirmative Action: Rethinking the Debate” by Leah Wright

“Poor Joshua: Private Space & the Constitution” by John Finn

“Can You Teach Creativity?” by Jeanine Basinger

Arts This Month at CFA Wesleyan- 3 events!

Wesleyan University’s Center for the Arts presents SPILL, a collaboration between writer Leigh Fondakowski (The Laramie Project) and visual artist Reeva Wortel (American Portrait Project), on Saturday, February 25 at 7pm & 10pm; and Sunday, February 26 at 2pm & 7pm; in Fayerweather Beckham Hall, located on Wyllys Avenue on the Wesleyan campus in Middletown.

SPILL is a new play and installation that explores the true human and environmental cost of oil. SPILL is based in part on interviews with people from the Gulf Coast of southern Louisiana in the wake of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill of April 2010, the largest environmental disaster in United States history. The performances at Wesleyan are the first public showing of the art installation, featuring life-sized painted portraits of the interviewees, along with a choral reading of the play. SPILL will tour New Orleans next spring.

In 2011, Leigh Fondakowski co-taught a Wesleyan University summer session course in Louisiana with the Chair of the College of the Environment, Professor of Earth & Environmental Sciences Barry Chernoff, entitled "The Deepwater Horizon Tragedy: A Scientific and Artistic Inquiry". You can watch a YouTube video about the course here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W-Uv1x5d7Qw&feature=youtu.be

Among the people that Leigh Fondakowski has interviewed for SPILL since March 2011 are Nick and Wilbert Collins, Collins Oysters; Ben Dubansky, grad student in biology at Louisiana State University; Byron Encalade, oyster fisherman; Fernando Galvez, biologist, Louisiana State University; Keith Jones, who lost his son Gordon Jones in the explosion on the Deepwater Horizon; Wayne Keller, executive director of the port commission, Grand Isle, Louisiana; Albertine Kimble, project manager, Plaquemines Parish; Ryan Lambert, Cajun Fishing Excursions; Billy Nungesser, Plaquemines Parish President; Kerry St. Pe, biologist and head of the Louisiana estuary program; and Chuckie Verdin, tribal leader of the Point-au-Chien Indians.

SPILL was commissioned by the Center for the Arts with support from the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation and The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.

Tickets for the performances are $12 for the general public; $10 for senior citizens, Wesleyan faculty/staff, and non-Wesleyan students; and $5 for Wesleyan students. Tickets are available online at http://www.wesleyan.edu/cfa, by phone at (860) 685-3355, or in person at the Wesleyan University Box Office, located in the Usdan University Center, 45 Wyllys Avenue, Middletown. Tickets may also be purchased at the door beginning one hour prior to the performance, subject to availability. The Center for the Arts accepts cash, checks written to “Wesleyan University”, and all major credit cards. Groups of ten or more may receive a discount – please call (860) 685-3355 for details. No refunds, cancellations, or exchanges.

About Leigh Fondakowski

Leigh Fondakowski has been a member of Tectonic Theatre Project since 1995. She is an Emmy nominated co-screenwriter for the adaptation of The Laramie Project for HBO. Time magazine had described The Laramie Project as "a pioneering work and a powerful stage event." The People’s Temple has been performed under her direction at Berkeley Repertory Theatre, Perseverance Theater, and The Guthrie Theater, and received the Glickman Award for best new play in 2005. Another original play, I Think I Like Girls, premiered at Encore Theater in San Francisco under her direction and was voted one of the top 10 plays of 2002 by The Advocate. Leigh is a 2007 recipient of the NEA/TCG Theatre Residency Program for Playwrights and a 2009 Macdowell Colony Fellow. She is a visiting artist and an Imagine Fund fellow at the University of Minnesota, and has recently written a new play about 19th century American actress Charlotte Cushman.

About Reeva Wortel

Reeva Wortel is an interdisciplinary artist who creates narrative portrait-based projects that combine interview, social commentary, performance and large-scale installation. Driven by a commitment to develop the technique of portraiture beyond its traditional limits, Ms. Wortel has worked in communities as a social justice advocate and artist honing a technique to narrate the individual stories of our time through her portraiture work, a process that involves in-depth interviewing, photography, painting and installation. Ms. Wortel has been the recipient of several grants as a muralist, choreographer and installation artist. She has exhibited her work in Oregon, Colorado, California, New York, New Zealand and Amsterdam.

About Feet to the Fire

In September 2011, Wesleyan University presented Professor of Theater Ronald Jenkins' work Recycling Pain, commissioned by the Center for the Arts based on his work in connection with the annual environmental awareness program Feet to the Fire, and this year's theme of Fueling the Future.

Launched in 2008, Feet to the Fire is a major undertaking on Wesleyan’s campus to examine critical environmental issues through multiple lenses, from science to art. The program is dedicated to the proposition that a multidisciplinary examination that includes art will provide a more comprehensive and deeper understanding of these global issues. Feet to the Fire includes lectures, performances, co-taught teaching modules, and courses by the faculty, visiting artists and lecturers, student run fora, community eco-arts festivals, afterschool programs for children, and the First Year Matters program. Each year, the campus adopts an environmental theme for its First Year Matters program, such as global climate change (2008), water (2009), or hunger (2010). The theme for 2011, Fueling the Future, has been focused on issues related to energy.

Other Feet to the Fire works have included exhibitions and performances by visiting artists including Asphalt Orchestra's Trading Futures, Marion Belanger's Landfill, Ann Carlson's Green Movement, Barbara Croall's Messages (Mijidwewinan), Cassie Meador's Drift, and Stan's Cafe's Of All the People in All the World, USA (The Rice Show); as well as works by faculty including Hari Krishnan's Liquid Shakti, Ronald Kuivila's The Weather, at Six, Alvin Lucier's Glacier, and Nicole Stanton and Gina Ulysse's Threshold Sites: Skin to Skin.

The Feet to the Fire initiative was launched with a leadership grant from Arts Presenters Creative Campus Innovations Program, a component of the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation, which was one of only eight grants given to challenge campus-based performing arts presenters to integrate their programs more organically within the academic environment. Feet to the Fire is made possible in part by The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.

For more information about Feet to the Fire, please visit http://www.wesleyan.edu/creativecampus/crossingdisciplines/feettothefire/

For more information about First Year Matters, please visit http://www.wesleyan.edu/fym/

About the Performing Arts Series

The Performing Arts Series at the Center for the Arts brings a wide array of world-class musicians, cutting-edge choreography, and groundbreaking theater performances and discussions to Wesleyan University.

This season's performances include the Lionel Loueke Trio (February 25), SPILL (February 25 & 26), the 13th annual DanceMasters Weekend Showcase Performance (March 10), the Connecticut premiere of Chunky Move: Connected (March 30 & 31), the Fernando Otero Quartet (April 14), and the 11th annual Wesleyan Jazz Orchestra Weekend featuring the Jay Hoggard Quartet (April 28). For more information, please visit http://www.wesleyan.edu/cfa.

Save 10% when you buy tickets to four or more Performing Arts Series events. Save 15% when you buy tickets to six or more Performing Arts Series events. Call or visit the Wesleyan University Box Office at (860) 685-3355 to take advantage of these discounts.

About the Center for the Arts

Wesleyan University’s Center for the Arts is an eleven-building complex on the Wesleyan campus that houses the departments of Art and Art History, Dance, Film Studies, Music, and Theater. Opened in 1973, the CFA serves as a cultural center for the region, the state and New England. The Center includes the 400-seat Theater, the 260-seat Hall, the World Music Hall (a non-Western performance space), the 414-seat Crowell Concert Hall and the Ezra and Cecile Zilkha Gallery.

The Center for the Arts gratefully acknowledges the support of its many generous funders and collaborators, including the Center for Creative Research, the Connecticut Commission on Culture and Tourism, the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation, The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, the Middletown Commission on the Arts, the National Endowment for the Arts, and the New England Foundation for the Arts, as well as media sponsors the Hartford and New Haven Advocates, WESU 88.1FM, and WNPR.

For more information about Center for the Arts, please call (860) 685-3355, or visit http://www.wesleyan.edu/cfa.

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Type: Spoken Word
Title of Event: An Evening of Spoken Word with Javon Johnson
Location: Crowell Concert Hall, 50 Wyllys Avenue, Middletown, Connecticut
Date: Thursday, February 23, 2012 at 8pm
Fee: $15 general public, $12 senior citizens, Wesleyan faculy/staff, non-Wesleyan students, $6 Wesleyan students
Phone: 860-685-3355
Website: www.wesleyan.edu/cfa

Description: Spoken word/slam poet Javon Johnson merges the sharp criticism of critical race and gender theory with comedy, lyricism and hip-hop rhyme schemes to discuss the power of words, communication and performance. Mr. Johnson has appeared on HBO's Def Poetry Jam and BET's Lyric Cafe, and he co-wrote the poetic narration for Showtime's basketball documentary Crossover.

Click here to see a video of Javon Johnson performing on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hTmHFhBXvAU

"An Evening of Spoken Word with Javon Johnson" is an Outside the Box Theater Series event presented by the Theater Department and the Center for the Arts, co-sponsored by the Center for African American Studies.

"Javon Johnson's spoken-word performance of soul-baring lyrics and rapid-fire delivery brought the audience to its feet."
-University of Southern California News

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Image of Lionel Loueke: http://www.wesleyan.edu/cfa/press/images/lionel-loueke.jpg

Please include with listing below if possible. Thank you!

Type: Music
Title of Event: Lionel Loueke Trio
Location: Crowell Concert Hall, 50 Wyllys Avenue, Middletown, Connecticut
Date: Saturday, February 25, 2012 at 8pm
Fee: $23 general public; $19 senior citizens, Wesleyan faculty/staff, non-Wesleyan students; $6 Wesleyan students
Phone: 860-685-3355
Website: www.wesleyan.edu/cfa

Description: Benin-born jazz guitarist and vocalist Lionel Loueke combines harmonic sophistication, soaring melodies and grounding in West African music to create a warm, intimate sound with his trio, which features Swedish-born bassist Massimo Biolcati and Hungarian drummer Ferenc Nemeth. Praised by mentor Herbie Hancock as "a musical painter," Loueke was featured on Hancock's album River: The Joni Letters (2007), which won Album of the Year and Best Contemporary Jazz Grammy Awards. A Crowell Concert Series event presented by the Music Department and the Center for the Arts. Co-sponsored by the Center for African American Studies and the Office of Diversity and Institutional Partnerships.

There will be a lecture/demonstration by Mr. Loueke at 2pm in the Daltry Room (Music Rehearsal Hall 003).

There will be a pre-concert talk by Sarah Politz at 7:15pm.

Click here to listen to a clip of Lionel Loueke on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zYa8IYtX1-g

"His music rolls along with a feel-good sense of joy...a new Afro-jazz star."
-DownBeat magazine

CFA February Schedule

Center for the Arts, Wesleyan University • Middletown, CT 06459 •www.wesleyan.edu/cfa • boxoffice@wesleyan.edu 860-685-3355 • CFA Blog • Facebook • Twitter

APOTHECARY (storehouse): new paintings by David Schorr Opening Reception: Friday, February 3, 5pm to 7pm Davison Art Center FREE! With more than 75 paintings on paper, this exhibition reveals the recent work of David Schorr, Wesleyan Professor of Art. Meticulously executed in gouache and silverpoint, the works in this series depict antique apothecary bottles, complete with mysterious labels such as Deep Dark Secrets, Sleepless Nights and Love Remembered. In the accompanying catalog, Phyllis Rose, Wesleyan Professor of English, Emerita, identifies the Shakespearean sources for labels such asRough Magic and Present Mirth. Other labels remain obscure, tantalizing the viewer, for whom the bottles dance just out of reach. APOTHECARY (storehouse): new paintings by David Schorr will be on view from Friday, February 3 through Thursday, March 8, 2012.

This Weekend: Great Small Works in CFA Hall Friday, February 3 & Saturday, February 4, 8pm CFA Hall Each performance will be followed by a post-show discussion. Tickets: $15 general public; $12 senior citizens, Wesleyan faculty/staff, non-Wesleyan studetns; $6 Wesleyan students "[Great Small Works has] breathed new, pointed life into the form of toy theater." -The Village Voice Co-founded in 1995 by Wesleyan alum Mark Sussman '85, the New York-based collective of Great Small Works met through their associations with Vermont's Bread and Puppet Theater. The group draws on folk, avant-garde and popular theater traditions to address contemporary social issues. The company's shows at Wesleyan this weekend will feature performances by Cassandra Burrows, John Bell, Trudi Cohen, Jenny Romaine and Xavier of the works Short, Entertaining History of Toy Theater; Toy Theater of Terror As Usual, Episode 12: Desert and Ocean, a surreal serial drama using excerpted texts and images quickly cut from daily newspapers; and Three Graces, acantastoria (picture-based storytelling work) in which three mythical graces - Harmony, Strategy and Splendor - float down to earth for an op-art romp inspired by Grace Paley, Grace Kelly, Grace Jones and Grace Lee Boggs.

Upcoming Events at the Center for the Arts Tickets are on sale now. Click here to buy your tickets online. Buy tickets to four or more Performing Arts Series events and save 10%! Buy tickets to six or more Performing Arts Series events and save 15%! Call or visit the Wesleyan University Box Office at 860-685-3355 to receive a discount on your purchase of four or more Performing Arts Series events. This special offer also applies to theOutside the Box Theater Series and the Wesleyan Jazz Orchestra Weekend. MUSIC 1. Karas String Quartet: Afternoon with Chamber Music - Sunday, February 5, 3pm, The Russell House 2. February Organ Fête- Friday, February 10, 8pm; Saturday, February 11, 4pm; Memorial Chapel 3. Music of Bresnick and Bruce - Sunday, February 12, 3pm, Crowell Concert Hall THEATER 4. Great Small Works - Friday, February 3 & Saturday, February 4, 8pm, CFA Hall 5. Theater after Wesleyan: Class of '06 - Monday, February 6, 5pm, CFA Hall SPECIAL EVENTS 6. RISK!- Friday, February February 10, 7pm & 10pm, Crowell Concert Hall IN THE GALLERIES 7. Passing Time - Through Sunday, March 4 in the Ezra and Cecile Zilkha Gallery 8. A Late Christmas Gift: Contemporary Prints from Japan - Wednesday, February 1 through Friday, March 9 at the Mansfield Freeman Center for East Asian Studies Gallery (Gallery Talk: Wednesday, February 1, Noon) 9. Pojagi Workshop with Jinyoung Kim - Sunday, February 5, 2pm, Mansfield Freeman Center for East Asian Studies Gallery 10. APOTHECARY (storehouse): new paintings by David Schorr - Friday, February 3 through Thursday, March 8 at the Davison Art Center (Opening Reception: Friday, February 3, 5pm)

Dante and Shakespeare Reimagined by Incarcerated Men and Women

Seachanges" and "A Night at the Purgatory Pub":

Dante and Shakespeare Reimagined by Incarcerated Men & Women


Thursday, Dec. 1

7:00 p.m. to 9:30 p.m.

CFA Hall

Wesleyan University Center for the Arts

Free and open to the public



Students in "Activism and Outreach," taught by Wesleyan professor of
Theater Ron Jenkins, will perform short pieces written by incarcerated men
who collaborated with them in an investigation of Shakespeare’s “Tempest”
and Dante’s “Inferno.” Also performing works inspired by Dante and
Shakespeare will be three women who have recently been released from the
York Correctional Institute where they worked with Jenkins and his
students in past years.



A post-performance panel discussion will feature Erika Tindill, chair of
the State Pardon and Parole Board, as well as the three former residents
of York CI, who now work as teaching assistants in the Wesleyan Theater
department’s prison outreach courses.

Hot Times in the Old Town (Part 2)

Thursday, ARTFARM begins the 2nd week of its Summer 2011 "Shakespeare in the Grove" presentation of "Shakespeare's Argument."  This being ARTFARM's 10th anniversary, they decided to revisit and update the first production founding artistic directors Marcella Trowbridge and Dic Wheeler put in the backyard of the Middlesex County Historical Society (in the summer of 2001.)  Local playwright Jean-Ann Wertz greatly helped to reshape the piece and the 4 actors (Ms. Trowbridge, Annie DiMartino, Ken O'Brien and Jesse Gabbard) play a slew of roles to illustrate, among other ideas, how the Bard's plays remain relevant 500 years since their conception. 

Performances are 7 p.m. through Sunday and take place in the Grove at Middlesex Community College, Training Hill Road - in case of rain, the whole shebang moves indoors to the 2nd floor of Chapman Hall.  A $20 donation is suggested but feel free to give what you can.  For more information, go to www.art-farm.org.

Each show is preceded at 6 p.m. with a live concert. Performers this week include They Might Be Gypsies (Thursday), Nancy Tucker (Friday), the Bill Carbone Three (Saturday) and Middletown-native Tom Callinan (Sunday). 

The Center for the Arts at Wesleyan has a great reputation for bringing the best in modern dance to Middletown every semester and that includes the Summer. Thursday and Friday evenings, revel in the brilliance of Trey McIntyre Project, a troupe based in Boise, Idaho, as they bring 2 pieces, both based in the sounds and sights of New Orleans,  to the CFA Theater. Both "Ma Maison" and "The Sweeter End" feature the music of the Preservation Hall Jazz Band, the former presenting a unique view of the traditional New Orleans funeral procession and the latter looking at how the city continues to recover from Hurricane Katrina.  Performances are 8 p.m. both nights - tickets are available online at www.wesleyan.edu/cfa or by calling 860-685-3355.

The Luis Lopez Herb Garden Concert Series continues Thursday evening at 6:30 p.m with the Jocelyn Pleasant Trio.  The Garden, located at the corner of Main & Green Streets, is a lovely place to listen to and watch live music.  Ms. Pleasant, a native of Hartford, is an active musician as well as an educator (she's on the staff of the Green Street Arts Center) - her music blends many different styles of jazz and is also influenced by the blues (and more.)  The event is free and open to the public. 

Thursday was also supposed to feature a 6:30 p.m. performance by the Middletown Symphonic Band, Marco Gaylord, music director, at The Village at South Farms, Saybrook Road.  Due to the (expected) excess heat and the fact this was an outdoors performance, the concert has rescheduled to next Thursday (7/28), same time and same location. 

So, instead, head over to the Performing Arts Center at Middletown High School, LaRosa Lane, for the Middletown Teen Theater production of "Chicago."  Performances are 7 p.m. Thursday through Saturday and tickets are available on-line at www.middletownteentheater.com. 

Busy Nights in July (part 1)

Neely Bruce is a fine pianist, intrepid interpreter of the music of Charles Ives and quite a composer. He's been friends with fellow composer William Duckworth for over 4 decades; in fact, he debuted Duckworth's "The Time Curve Preludes"  in a solo piano recital at Wesleyan in 1979.  The "Preludes" have been called one of the most impressive works of "Post-Minimalism."

This Tuesday evening at 7:30 p.m.,  Professor Bruce revisits the program once more, a concert that will also include a performance of the "Thoreau" movement of Ives' "Concord Sonata" (in honor of Henry David Thoreau's birthday on 7/12) and "Duckworth's "Walden Variations."  The concert is free and takes place in Crowell Concert Hall. 

Perhaps, you'd rather take in a classic flick - head over to the Goldsmith Family Cinema at Wesleyan (Washington Terrace) for week #2 of "Bogie & Bacall."  This week, it's the 1944 Howard Hawks' adaptation of Ernest Hemingway's "To Have and Have Not."  The screen writers include William Faulkner and Jules Furthman who work hard to tell the story of an American expatriate Humphrey Bogart) hired to bring a Free France Resistance Fighter and his wife to Martinique (Cuba in the book.)  He is also friends with the beautiful singer (Lauren Bacall) and her piano player (Hoagy Carmichael) and does his best to avoid a slew of bad guys.  Lots of adventure, cigarette smoke and the occasional kiss plus the snappy dialogue make this a great piece of "escapist cinema."  This was the first time the couple met; they married a year later and stayed together until Bogart's death in 1957.

The screening is free and open to the public.

Short Sweet Concert Review

'Twas a full house at Crowell Concert Hall last night (7/07) for the Kenny Barron Trio.  Messrs. Barron (piano), Kiyoshi Kitagawa (bass) and Lee Pearson (drums) did not disappoint.  Barron, introduced by former student Noah Baerman (a fine pianist in his own right) seemed to be having so much fun, spurred on by his fine rhythm section.  Pearson, subbing for regular drummer Johnathan Blake, fit right in and really did a splendid job of both supporting and driving the music.  Long-time associate Kitagawa is quite a musical bassist with a big, thick, tone and great facility.  Barron pushed them quite hard on the first 2 songs and they responded marvelously. Among the highlights was the pianist's solo medley of 4 songs from the Duke Ellington-Billy Strayhorn catalog and Pearson's creative drum work on the pianist's "Calypso."

The audience, filled with a good portion of young folks from CCY, the high school-age Summer arts program, cheered throughout the evening.  And, it sure looked from the smiles on the faces of the Trio, the band had plenty of fun.
  
Next Tuesday (July 12), Professor Neely Bruce (another fairly impressive pianist) comes to Crowell to "Play the Music of William Duckworth" at 7:30 p.m. To find out more, go to www.wesleyan.edu/cfa.

Master Pianist Comes to Town

There are times when the world seems filled with jazz pianists, many of whom can charm audiences with their facility.  But technical prowess is not everything. You have to appeal to audience member's need for melody while others love the rhythmic possibilities inherent in a situation where a pianist is joined by a bass player and drummer.

This Thursday at 8 p.m. in Crowell Concert Hall, Kenny Barron (pictured) will perform with his Trio. Philadelphia-born and raised, Barron started playing professionally while still in his teens.  He followed his older brother, Bill, who played saxophone, into Mel Melvin's Orchestra.  Bill (1927-1989) later joined the faculty at Wesleyan and became a Professor of music and Director of Jazz Program.  Meanwhile, Kenny worked with most of the "big names" in jazz, from Roy Haynes to Dizzy Gillespie to Buddy Rich to a long and fruitful relationship with saxophonist Stan Getz.  He, also, became a teacher, spending nearly 3 decades on the faculty of Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey.  


Over the past 5 decades, Barron has appeared on hundreds of recordings as a sideman.  He recorded as a leader for Muse Records in the 1970s, Verve in the 1990s and, recently, CDs have been released on both SunnySide Records and the Japanese label, Venus Records.  His music is powerful, subtle, rhythmical (and not just swing), melodic and quite enjoyable.  


Joining Mr. Barron will be bassist Kiyoshi Kitagawa and drummer Lee Pearson.  For ticket information, go to www.wesleyan.edu/cfa or call the Box Office at 860-685-3355. 

Dancing Folks

The spotlight tonight goes to Ms. Antonia Velez, ninety-something years old, of Meriden and formerly of Cartagena Columbia who danced for two hours non-stop, keeping pace with all the Center for Creative Youth kids at Pablo Mayor's Folklore Urbano free public concert on Wesleyan's campus. Lots of local people were out to enjoy the music and the beautiful summer evening.

Flute Master

While the focus this week is on Sunday's graduation (and the Commencement Address by Dr. Paul Farmer), there are a slew of events taking place this weekend.

The Benefit Concert for the After-School Programs at the Green Street Arts Center features Wes grad (1986) Tierney Sutton, one of the finer contemporary jazz vocalists. The show takes place Friday at 8:30 p.m. in Crowell Concert Hall.  Tickets are available online at www.wesleyan.edu/cfa or by call the Box Office at 860-685-3355.

Joining Ms. Sutton is the fine flutist Hubert Laws (pictured left) and guitarist Larry Koonse.  Laws, recently honored as one of the NEA's 2011 Jazz Masters, has been active on the contemporary music scene for 5 decades, ever since moving to New York City to study at Juilliard School of Music. He would study classical technique during the day and play jazz gigs at night.  Within a decade, Laws was one of the most in-demand musicians for studio dates and live performances.  The recordings he made for CTI in the early 1970s combined jazz and classical music ("The Rite of Spring", Satie's "Gymnopedie No. 1", JS Bach's "Brandenburg Concerto") with works by Sonny Rollins, John Coltrane and Chick Corea.  His tone is just gorgeous, his creative choices intelligent and he is a consummate professional. 

So, it makes sense for Wesleyan to tout Ms. Sutton's appearance - after all, she is an accomplished graduate and a very involved alumna.  Having musicians such as Mr. Laws and the very accomplished Mr. Koonse (his CV is stellar) only makes this concert even more attractive.

Thunderous Exhilaration

While some EYE writers were watching Indiana Jones outdoors on a giant inflatable screen, a few other EYE writers were just across the quad watching the WesTaiko Japanese Drumming concert at the World Music Hall. This hall is one of the smaller venues in the Center For the Arts complex, and as such, the event, with its popularity and limited seating, was a sellout. We were turned away, but were determined to see the “thunderous and exhilarating” show (as described in Wesleyan's website). We didn't go far, just around to the side of the building where we perched on a wall with a bunch of other onlookers, and got a glimpse through the plate glass. This perspective visually turned out to be rather interesting as we got a good side view of the drummers' arms pumping up and down like machinery. We couldn't get anyone inside to acknowledge our pleas to raise the horizontal slat blinds up, and the sound was muted compared to inside the theater, but it was still plenty visible and audible, even thunderous as promised. The show was quite an impressive spectacle, and the student performers appeared to be having a lot of fun while executing some serious rhythms. One piece had the drummers seated on the floor in front of the drums in a rowing-like position, seemingly demonstrating one possible way to achieve six-pack abs (the second video below). The weather was very pleasant so it was actually nice to enjoy the show from outside, but next year I will be sure to get my tickets in advance. I am always awed by the vast quantity and quality of talent and entertainment that Wesleyan brings to Middletown and makes available to the public at reasonable prices. Find something you like on the CFA Website.

Science, Dance and the Universe

Liz Lerman Dance Exhchange
Time Has Set the Table for Tea: A Matter of Origins Project
Thursday, February 24,

7 & 9:30 p.m.
Fayerweather Beckham Hall

Through conversations with scientists across the globe, from NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope to the Large Hadron Collider at the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN) in Geneva, Switzerland, company founder, choreographer, and Visiting Assistant Professor of Dance Liz Lerman learned about satellites probing the farthest reaches of the cosmos, and experiments designed to recreate the conditions in the sub-seconds after the Big Bang. Through her lens as an artist, Lerman will share the fascinating results of her research.

This unique experience, specifically designed for Wesleyan, will contemplate our relationship to the essence of matter during a 360-degree performance happening and interactive conversation with Wesleyan faculty, aided by the use of iPads, plus chocolate cake and tea for audience members. By taking the performance work out of the theater and placing in a ballroom space in the heart of the campus, the lines between performance and post-performance conversation/interaction are blurred. 

Click here to read today's Center for the Arts blog entry from Director Pamela Tatge, which talks about the CFA's deeply creative relationship with the Liz Lerman Dance Exchange, and the origins of the special event this Thursday night.

Tickets are $5 for the general public; $4 for Wesleyan students. Click here to purchase tickets online.

Looking Into Mirror

By now, the Charles Lloyd Quartet concert at Wesleyan's Crowell Concert Hall this coming Friday night (1/28/11) should be sold out. The ensemble's new ECM CD, "Mirror", is a masterful blend of spirituals, jazz, popular song and world music.

However, there is an opportunity (and a rare one at that) to hear Mr. Lloyd in conversation with Adjunct Associate Professor of Music (and director of the Wesleyan Big Band) Jay Hoggard on Thursday at 4:15 p.m. in the CFA Hall (formerly the CFA Cinema.)  The event, titled "A Conversation About Music and Spirituality", is free and open to the public.  One hopes that the weather isn't so bad that the musician and composer Lloyd is waylaid. 

For more information, call the Box Office at 860-685-3355.

Taylor Ho Hits the Road

Taylor Ho Bynum, composer/cornetist/bandleader, is my guest today (8/27) on WMRD- AM 1150's "Best of the Valley-Shore" at 12:30 p.m. Taylor, who earned both his undergraduate and Master's Degree at Wesleyan, is one of the busier musicians I know and is about to embark on a unique tour of New England.  In this picture (snapped by his wife, dancer and teacher Rachel Bernsen), you can identify his mode of transportation (bicycle) and catch a glimpse of his brand new pocket cornet.  After Taylor and his new sextet open the Fall 2010 season at Firehouse 12 in New Haven on September 10, he brings his Trio (including fellow Wes alum Mary Halvorson on guitar) up to Middletown on September 11 to open the Fall 2010 season at Wesleyan's CFA.

The following day, he hits the road for Hartford and a 2 p.m. gig at Real Art Ways with trumpeter Stephen Haynes and it's off for a 6-state/14 day tour.  He'll play in Springfield, Mass, then Brattleboro, VT, off to Portsmith, NH, Portland, ME, Newburyport, MA, Boston, MA, Rhode Island (no gig scheduled there yet), Amherst, MA, and finishing in his hometown of New Haven.

We talk about this, and more, on the show.  He promises his website (www.taylorhobynum.com) will have all the tour information up soon but, if you want tickets to the New Haven show (which also features former Wesleyan Professor Bill Lowe) go to www.firehouse12.com.  For more information about the exciting new season at the Center for the Arts at Wesleyan, do go to www.wesleyan.edu/cfa. 

Running, Jumping or Standing Still

Another week in July with plenty to do, outside and in.

Today July 20:

"Why Theater Today?" is the provocative title of a talk to be delivered at 12:10 p.m. by Eric Ting as the final program in the Summer 2010 "CFA Days" series. Ting, Associate Artistic Director at the Long Wharf Theatre in New Haven, has directed several of the LWT's most successful productions including "Underneath the Lintel", "The Old Man and the Sea" and "Sylvia."  He's also directed works at Hartford Stage, in Boston and and on the West Coast. Recently named as one of American Theater Magazine's "25 to Watch" (along with HartBeat Ensemble's Steven Ginsburg and Hartford-area native Anika Noni Rose), Ting will discuss the future of live theater in the 21st Century.  The talk takes place in CFA Hall and is free and open to the public.

The Summer Sounds Series continues this evening on Middletown's South Green with the music of the John Valerio Band.  Valerio's ensemble plays music that spans the decades from Duke Ellington to the Rolling Stones to Willie Nelson. The free performance begins at 7 p.m.  In case of rain, the show moves indoors to South Church, on the corner of Main & Pleasant Streets.  

Wednesday July 21:

Scroll down the page a bit and you'll read about the 6th Annual Citizens Band 5K Summer Fun Run.  If you would rather pack a picnic and hear some funky rock music, the "Music at the Mansion" Series (on the expansive back lawn of the Wadsworth Mansion on the Long Hill Estate) presents the Michael Cleary Band at 6:30 p.m.  The MCB, led by vocalist/guitarist Cleary (pictured left, courtesy of Seeing Spots Photography), is a dynamic sextet also featuring Lee Sylvestre (guitar), Vince Delaria (keyboards), Jedd Chlebowski (bass), Edmund Peart (drums) and Frank Bauer (percussion). Cleary assembled the band nearly 20 years ago and they are one of the busiest and most popular ensembles in the state. Check out the MCB and its music at www.michaelclearyband.com. 
The grounds open at 5:30 p.m. for those wishing to enjoy an early supper and stake out a shady spot. To learn more, go to www.wadsworthmansion.com. 

Thursday July 22:

The Luis Lopez Herb Garden Series continues with the New Haven-based Downshift Blues Band.  The quintet plays a saucy blend of Chicago blues, Southern Rock and classic Soul Music.  Composed of Steve Plaziak (guitar), Tom Knapp (saxophone, flute, harmonica), Dan Rausch (keyboards, vocals), Ed DuBose (bass, vocals) and Russell Tolson (drums), Downshift is fun to listen to.  The event takes place at 6:30 p.m. in the Herb Garden, located on the corner of Main & Green Streets, and is free.  The rain date is July 29.


Don't forget about the numerous events at the Green Street Arts Center (go to www.greenstreetartscenter.org to see the list) and the Oddfellows Playhouse Summer Shakespeare production of "Twelfth Night" (read it about here) running Thursday through Saturday.


Friday July 23:

The duo of Eiko & Koma present "Raven" at 8 p.m. in the World Music Hall of Wesleyan University, Wyllys Avenue. The work, part of the duo's 3-year retrospective, is described on their website thusly: "The earth is precious in part because it can be unyielding. The landscape does not squander its riches on us; we have to negotiate our survival. Thinking this way, and remembering the pungent street smells from their childhood in post-war Japan, Eiko & Koma add this dimension by scorching the set. The odor of burnt material becomes an aspect of the work and reminds us that it is not only we humans who are hungry; the animals and spirits and the earth itself are hungry for nourishment and for intimacy." The front page of the website - eikoandkoma.org - features an excerpt from the work.  For ticket information, go to www.wesleyan.edu/cfa or call the Box Office at 860-685-3355. 

Mid-July Goings-On (Part 1)

Tuesday July 13:

The Wesleyan Center for the Arts "CFA Days" series presents Bill Sherman (class of '02) at 12:10 p.m. in the CFA Hall (formerly the CFA Cinema.)  Sherman, a composer who created the orchestrations for classmate Lin Miranda's award-winning "In The Heights", also serves as music director for "Sesame Street."  His latest work, "Barrio Grrrl", was commissioned by the Kennedy Center and has been nominated for a Helen Hayes Award. The title of his talk is "From Vine Street to Sesame Street - A Musical Journey."  The event is free and open to the public. 

The Summer Sounds series, sponsored by the Middletown Commission on the Arts, continues this week on the South Green with Bange's Jazz Jents, a local musical ensemble that plays music from the classic "Big Band" era. The small yet powerful aggregation commences playing at 7 p.m.  In case of rain, the free event moves into South Church. 

The "Cary Grant & His Leading Ladies" film series continues at the Goldsmith Family Cinema inside the Center for Film Studies, Washington Terrace, with the 1938 screwball comedy classic "Bringing Up Baby."  Grant's co-star is Katharine Hepburn and they share the screen with "Baby", a leopard.  The movie, free and open to the public, is free and open to the public.  If you're one of the few people who have never seen this Howard Hawks production (or you have only seen it once), this is a very comfortable atmosphere to watch a movie.




Wednesday July 14:

The Music at The Mansion Concerts Series presents Ed Fast & Conga-Bop at 6:30 p.m.  The event, free and open to the public, takes place on the back lawn of the Wadsworth Mansion at the Long Hill Estate, Wadsworth Street.  Ed Fast (pictured left), based in Hartford, is a very busy musician.  A list of his gigs include that he was the drummer on the national tour of "Chicago", working with Chita Rivera on the national tour of "A Dancer's Life, in New York City, on Broadway as drummer for  "Chitty Chitty Bang Bang", Radio City Music Hall and a sub for "Chicago". He also performed with Broadway touring shows in Moscow, China, Korea, Japan and Taiwan and was Music Director of the Hartford-based youth group, Latin Flavor, at the Havana International Festival of Jazz (Cuba).  Conga-Bop, an ensemble with as many as 8 musicians, lives up to its name with an infectious blend of many different Latin rhythms, not to forget different genres of jazz. 
The grounds open at 5:30 p.m. for those who wish to picnic. In case of rain (we need it but not this week with all the different outdoor arts events), the concert is canceled.  For more information, go to www.wadsworthmansion.com.

Not Quite Quiet Week

Tuesday July 6:

The EYE-ditor has already hipped you to the Cary Grant Film Series at Wesleyan's Center for Film Studies (see here) which open on this evening with "To Catch a Thief" (Alfred Hitchcock and Grace Kelly - need I say more.)

But, there's other stuff to be seen and heard.

Earlier in the day, you can venture out to the CFA Hall at 12:10 p.m. where Wesleyan Assistant Professor of Art Julia Randall will deliver a talk titled "Drawing Obsessions."  Best known for her drawings (that's her "Decoy # 5" on the left and you can check out a collection of her fascinating "Tongue Drawings" by clicking here), Ms. Randall's work has been displayed at the Jeff Bailey Gallery in New York City, in Sydney, Australia and at Skidmore College.  The event is free and open to the public.

The Summer Sounds Series on the South Green/Union Park, Main Street, continues at 7 p.m. with Five In Time.  The ensemble specializes in woodwind music.  The event is free and open to all.  Bring your beach chairs and legal libations.  In the case of rain, the show moves indoors to South Church. This concert series is sponsored by the Middletown Commission on the Arts.

The Connecticut Songwriters Association holds its monthly meeting at 7:15 p.m. in Room B2B3, South College on the Wesleyan campus. This month, the CSA welcomes Vicki Blankenship, the President of Indiegrrl, one of the largest support organizations for "Indie" artists. Though the organization is geared towards working with women, they welcome all interested parties.  For more information about this event and the CSA, go to www.ctsongs.com.

Wednesday July 7:

The Wadsworth Mansion at the Long Hill Estate begins its annual July Concert Series on this day with the sweet and soulful sounds of Souled Out.  The Hartford-area based band appeared several years ago and knocked out the crowd with its fine vocals and great musicianship.  The band specializes in the rhythm 'n' blues music of the 60s and 70s, songs that came from Detroit (Motown), Philadelphia  (the great music created by the team of Gamble & Huff), Memphis/Muscle Shoals (Atlantic Records plus others) and much more.  The grounds open at 5:30 p.m. and the concerts begin at 6:30 p.m. The event is free and you can find free parking at the Mansion, at the Wilbert Snow School, 299 Wadsworth Street, and at Mercy High School, 1740 Randolph Road. For more information, go to www.wadsworthmansion.com.  Subsequent concerts include Ed Fast & Conga-Bop (July 14), the Michael Cleary Band (July 21) and the United States Coast Guard Band (July 28).

Thursday July 8:

To paraphrase Neil Diamond, "Pack up the babies and grab the old ladies/Everyone's going to "As You Like It."  The annual ARTFARM Shakespeare production in the Grove at Middlesex Community College, Training Hill Road, runs from July 8 - 18. "As You Like It" is a delightful "pastoral" comedy, another one of the Bard's comedy of errors and mistaken identities.  The plot summary, courtesy of www.globe-theatreuk.org, reads as such: "Rosalind, the daughter of a banished duke falls in love with Orlando the disinherited son of one of the duke's friends. When she is banished from the court by her usurping uncle, Duke Frederick, Rosalind takes on the appearance of a boy calling herself Ganymede. She travels with her cousin Celia and the jester Touchstone to the Forest of Arden, where her father and his friends live in exile. Themes about life and love, including aging, the natural world, and death are included in the play. New friends are made and families are reunited. By the end of the play Ganymede, once again Rosalind, marries Orlando. Orlando and Rosalind, Oliver and Celia, Silvius and Phebe, and Touchstone and Audrey all are married in the final scene. Oliver becomes a gentler, kinder young man so the Duke  changes his ways and turns to religion and so that the exiled Duke, father of Rosalind, can rule once again."  Got that - well, even if you don't, it's a fun play and, having performed with the troupe last year, I know how much hard work and sweat goes into the production of these shows.  

The play begins at 7 p.m. and each show is preceded at 6 p.m. by a musical act.  Opening night will feature singer/songwriter Nancy Tucker (pictured left) with songs for the entire family.  Other performers include Banning Eyre & Dirck Westervelt (Friday July 9), Noah Baerman & Friends (Saturday July 10),  Tom Callinan (Sunday July 11),  Sirius Coyote (Thursday July 15), Eric Kuhn (Friday July 16), Nzinga's Daughters (Saturday July 17) and Phil Rosenthal (Sunday July 18.)  In case of rain, the production moves indoors to the second floor of Chapman Hall. For more information, go to www.art-farm.org or call 860-346-4390.  

The Luis Lopez Herb Garden Series continues at  6:30 p.m. with Toussaint the Liberator and Buru Style.  The reggae/funk/soul-jazz band, featuring Middletown resident Bill Carbone on drums, is an exciting ensemble and have been playing shows throughout New England.  In case of rain, the show will take place on July 29.  

The Center for the Arts at Wesleyan presents the Joel Frahm Quartet in concert at 8 p.m. in the CFA Theater.  Frahm, who plays both tenor and soprano saxophones, spent his teenage years attending Hall High School in West Hartford (moving from Wisconsin when his Dad got a job at The Hartford Courant) where he played with the award-winning jazz band.  He's had a busy career since graduating from the Manhattan School of Music, working with vocalist Jane Monheit, pianist Brad Mehldau, drummer Matt Wilson's Quartet, bassist Ben Allison, vocalist/pianist Dena DeRose and a slew of others.  He's issued CDs as a leader on Palmetto Records and, more recently, the Anzic label. Frahm has also become a "first-call" session player, appearing on dozens of CDs. Just in the past few months, he's appeared on new releases by vocalists Dana Lauren, Linda Ciofalo and Beat Kaestli, the Ernesto Cervini Quartet, the Roland Vasquez Big Band, and percussionist Samuel Torres. 
For his Wesleyan gig, he's premiering a new group, this one featuring the fine pianist Orrin Evans, drummer Mark Ferber and bassist Johannes Weidenmuller (subbing for Omer Avital.) For ticket information, go to www.wesleyan.edu/cfa or call the Box Office at 860-685-3355. 

Those Lazy, Hazy, Crazy Days & Nights of Summer

After last weekend's busy schedule of events in the area, Wesleyan throws its artistic hat in the ring with CFA Days and Nights, a series of talks, concerts and a film series.  As you will read, there's other things to do as well.

The fun on campus starts today (Tuesday June 29) with an "Arabic Music Lecture-Demonstration" at 12:10 p.m. in the CFA Hall (sorry for the short notice.) Violinist/vocalist/composer Sami Abu Shumays (pictured left), a member of the Arabic-American ensemble Zikrayat, will perform and discuss different musical styles (including maqam) and get the audience involved.  Zikrayat just issued its 2nd CD, "Cinematic", a mix of new music and re-arrangements of popular songs and dance instrumentals from Egyptian movie musicals of the 1950s & 60s.  The event is free and open to the public.  The CFA Hall is the old CFA Cinema, located next to the Zilkha Gallery.

 Also tonight, the Summer Sounds on the South Green begins its annual Tuesday concert series (running through September 7) with the first of 2 appearances by the Middletown Symphonic Band. Music Director Marco Gaylord will conduct his charges through a program that wil feature musi from the classic "South Pacific."  The concert, free and open to the public, begins at 7 p.m.  In the instance of rain, the program moves indoors to South Congregational Church.

Thursday July 1:
The Luis Lopez Herb Garden Series begins its Summer 2010 run at 6 p.m. with the Hartford-based Shaded Soul. A hip-shaking and smooth blend of Motown, Stax, rock and roll and more is on the group's musical agenda.  The vocalists are sharp and the musicians know how to stoke the rhythmic fire so be prepared to dance.  The Garden is located at the corner of Main & Green Streets. The event is free and open to the public - in case of rain, the show will take place on August 5. 

The Annual CFA Courtyard Concert takes place on this evening and 7 p.m. and it's a good one.  Burkina Electric, a sextet that blends traditional West African music with contemporary electronica, will fill the Courtyard (off High Street next to the Davison Art Center) will many fascinating sounds. The band is comprised of Maï Lingani, a star in Burkina Faso because of her unique voice and charismatic stage presence, sings in Moré, Dioula, Bissa, and French. Wende K. Blass, one of Burkina's premier guitarists, contributes soulful guitar melodies. Electronicist/VJ Pyrolator has been one of Germany's most inventive pop musicians and a top producer ever since the days of the "Neue Deutsche Welle" some 25 years ago as a founding member of bands D.A.F. and Der Plan, while New York-based drummer/electronicist Lukas Ligeti is one of the most up-and-coming concert music composers internationally. Known for his nonconformity, diverse interests, and imagination, he has received commissions from prominent groups such as the Kronos Quartet and the Bang on a Can All Stars. Vicky and Zoko Zoko are skilled dancers/choreographers who bring high energy and sharp moves, and also contribute powerful vocals. The music swirls, the costumes are colorful, the sound exciting and the event is free!!  In case of rain, the concert moves indoors to the CFA Theater.

Here's a taste of the group's sound (courtesy of IODA Promonet:
Sankar Yaaré (mp3)

Also, the annual Naturalization Ceremony takes place at 1 p.m. in the Council Chambers of the Middletown City Hall. Presided over (this year) by the Honorable Warren W. Eginton, Senior District Judge, United States District Court, District of Connecticut, the event is a wonderful affirmation of the freedom and liberties people seek by coming to the United States (and that many of us take for granted.) The new citizens come from around the world, including Albania, Brazil, Canada, Colombia, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Germany, India, People’s Republic of China, Philippines, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, South Korea, Ukraine, and the United Kingdom.