Monthly Archives: December 2013

Musical Masterworks Hosts Chamber Music Concert Today

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Musical Masterworks will continue its series of chamber music concerts at the First Congregational Church of Old Lyme on Saturday, Dec. 7, at 5 p.m. and Sunday, Dec. 8, at 3 p.m.

Todd Palmer

Todd Palmer

The concerts will feature clarinetist Todd Palmer, violinists Aaron Boyd and Amy Schwartz Moretti, and violist Dimitri Murrath.  Musical Masterworks Artistic Director Edward Arron will perform on cello and serve as host for the concerts. The program will feature works of Dvorak, Mozart, Gershwin, and contemporary composer David Bruce.

Clarinetist Todd Palmer has won worldwide acclaim for his solo, concerto, and chamber music performances in the great concert halls of Europe and the U.S.   He frequently performs with well-known artists including Renee Fleming, Dawn Upshaw, and the St. Lawrence, Borromeo, and Brentano Quartets. Violinist Aaron Boyd performs regularly at the major music festivals of the U.S. including Tanglewood and Marlboro, and is a frequent guest soloist at New York’s Bargemusic.

Violinist Amy Schwartz Moretti made her Carnegie Hall debut a few months before graduating valedictorian from the prestigious Cleveland Insititute of Music.  Mentored by Isaac Stern at Carnegie Hall’s chamber music program, she tours regularly with the acclaimed Ehnes Quartet.  Belgian violist Dimitri Murrath has won numerous awards including First Prize in the Primrose International Viola Competition.  He performs regularly in venues ranging from Washington’s Kennedy Center, to Royal Festival Hall in London, to Tokyo’s Kioi Hall.

Musical Masterworks Artistic Director Edward Arron is known as one of the world’s foremost cellists.  He made his recital debut in 2000 at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.  Earlier that year, he performed Vivaldi’s Concerto for Two Cellos with Yo-Yo Ma at the opening night concert of the Caramoor International Festival.  Since then, he has appeared as soloist, recitalist, and chamber music throughout the United States, Europe, and Asia.

Tickets for the concerts on December 7 and 8 are $35 with student tickets available at $5.  Please call 860-434-2252 or visit www.musicalmasterworks.org for tickets and information.      The First Congregational Church of Old Lyme is located at 2 Ferry Road in historic Old Lyme, CT.

Celebrate the Season at Community Music School Holiday Concert Today

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‘Tis the season of celebration, traditions and the Community Music School’s Holiday Concert scheduled to take place on Sunday, Dec. 8, at 2 p.m. at Valley Regional High School auditorium.  Free and open to the public, this community-wide annual event brings together faculty and students to perform vocal and instrumental, holiday favorites.
Highlights include performances by the Community Music School Suzuki violin, clarinet, jazz and string ensembles and will be capped off by a grand finale medley with 60+ musicians on stage and an audience participation sing-along.

The Community Music School's Glee For Grownups Vocal Ensemble performing at the 2012 Holiday Concert.

The Community Music School’s Glee For Grownups Vocal Ensemble performing at the 2012 Holiday Concert.

Guests can look forward to a jazz ensemble performance of Vince Guaraldi’s “Christmas Time Is Here” (also known as the featured music in A Charlie Brown Christmas), “O Christmas Tree” performed by The Three Tenors, tenor saxophone members of the jazz ensemble, with percussion students from Tom Brigg’s studio, and a medley of popular songs performed by the Solstice Singers, a new youth vocal group formed specifically for the Holiday Concert and directed by Joni Gage.

In lieu of an admission fee, concert goers are encouraged to bring a non-perishable food item or pet supply for donation to Shoreline Soup Kitchens.

Valley Regional High School is located at 256 Kelsey Hill Road in Deep River. Now celebrating 30 years of building community through music, Community Music School is a private, non-profit organization.

For more information on the Holiday Concert or other Community Music School programs or events, call 860.767.0026 or go to www.community-music-school.org.

Tribal Crafts Hosts Holiday Sale Over First Two Weekends of December

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Tribal Crafts President Stephanie Kenny holds a dream catcher and stands among the Lakota and Haitian crafts, artwork and jewelry that will be showcased for sale the first two weekends of December for the Tribal Crafts Annual Holiday Sale, in the Old Lyme Marketplace (90 Halls Rd.) next to Jessie's Restaurant.

Tribal Crafts President Stephanie Kenny holds a dream catcher and stands among the Lakota and Haitian crafts, artwork and jewelry that will be showcased for sale the first two weekends of December for the Tribal Crafts Annual Holiday Sale, in the Old Lyme Marketplace (90 Halls Rd.) next to Jessie’s Restaurant.

Old Lyme-based non-profit Tribal Crafts Inc., will hold its annual holiday sale during the weekends of Dec. 7 – 8, and Dec. 14 – 15 in donated storefront space at 90 Halls Road in the Old Lyme Marketplace (next to Jessie’s restaurant).

Special guest Roger Herron – Lakota artisan jeweler – will be on hand showcasing his beautiful silver pieces from 1 to 4 p.m., during the first weekend of the sale.

Silver jewelry by Lakota artisans Mitchel Zephier and Roger Herron. Herron will be on hand the first weekend (Dec. 7-8) of the Tribal Crafts Annual Holiday Sale.

Silver jewelry by Lakota artisans Mitchel Zephier and Roger Herron. Herron will be on hand the first weekend (Dec. 7-8) of the Tribal Crafts Annual Holiday Sale.

For the past 27 years, the First Congregational Church of Old Lyme (FCCOL) has fostered a mutually beneficial partnership with the Green Grass Community located on the Cheyenne River Reservation in South Dakota.  Through this partnership, Tribal Crafts was incorporated in an effort to expand and market the arts and crafts made by the Lakota people.  In recent years, the organization has also supported the work of Haitian artists through an education program managed by one of FCCOL’s ministers.

The Lakota people face immense challenges on the reservation.  According to 2010 census data, Ziebach County, which makes up the majority of the Cheyenne River Reservation, is America’s poorest county with unemployment estimates of above 75 percent.  While the income offered by Tribal Crafts to Cheyenne River’s artisans is small in relation to the great need, members of Tribal Crafts’ Board of Directors know that the work is important.

Examples of the beaded jewelry and other items that will be available at the Tribal Crafts Holiday Sale.

Examples of the beaded jewelry and other items that will be available at the Tribal Crafts Holiday Sale.

“Buying a pair of earrings or a necklace may seem small to you and I, but on the reservation that money could help someone fix their car, pay their heating bill or buy groceries for their family,” says Tribal Crafts president Stephanie Kenny.  Kenny has been visiting Cheyenne River since she was 10 years old.  She and her mother, Karin Kiem, traveled to the Cheyenne River Reservation in 2013, purchasing additional items and returning Tribal Crafts proceeds to the Lakota crafters and artists.

Items for sale include handmade quilts, silver and beaded jewelry, paintings, dream catchers, tribal drums, wood sculptures and more.  Tribal Crafts encourages you to stop in and make a difference in someone’s life with your purchase.

To learn more, visit www.tribalcrafts.org or ‘Like’ the organization on Facebook for up to date information on sales and events.

So Much Happening in Old Lyme Today With ‘Light Up Old Lyme’

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We felt it might be helpful to summarize all the events of which we are aware that are happening in Old Lyme today as part of the ‘Light Up Old Lyme’ celebrations:

  • Child & Family Services Annual Cookie Walk, 10am-12pm 
  • LYSB’s Pictures with Santa 
  • Strolling Musicians & Carolers 
  • Woman’s Exchange – Tax Free Day, 10am-4pm 
  • Friends of the Old Lyme PGN Library’s Annual Holiday Book Sale,  10am-3pm 
  • Musical Masterworks Young People’s Concert at First Congregational Church of Old Lyme, 10:30am 
  • Horse Drawn Carriage Rides down Historic Lyme Street from Lyme Academy College, 1 to 4pm, Free 
  • Lyme Academy College Student Holiday Art Show & Sale:
    Sill House Gallery – Excellent opportunity for holiday purchases at competitive prices from today’s emerging artists, 10am-4pm, Free 
    Chauncey Stillman Gallery – Tim O’Brien: Portraits and Illustrations from the covers and pages of America’s top magazines 10 a.m. – 4 p.m.  Free
  • Elephants in Winter Sale at the First Congregational Church of Old Lyme, 9am-12pm 
  • Walking Tours of Historic Lyme Street.  Meet your guide in front of the Sill House at the Lyme Academy College of Fine Arts and begin your free tour at 1pm, 2pm, or 3pm.  Enjoy a glimpse into the lives of the people who walked this historic street a century ago with members of the Old Lyme Historical Society. Costumed guides will transport you to the turn of the century.  After a recounting of the romantic Sill House story, the tour will proceed to the Florence Griswold Museum, then down to the First Congregational Church with tales from yesteryear about the Church, the Village Shops and Boxwood.  The tour route also includes Old Lyme Ice Cream Shoppe and the Old Lyme Phoebe Griffin Noyes Library.  A horse drawn carriage from Foxglove Farms will add to the charm of Light Up Old Lyme’s stroll through Old Lyme’s history, as will the harmonizing voices of carollers from two community groups: The Nightingales and The Village Voices.  Each walking tour will last approximately 1 ½ hours, and you are welcome to join the tour at any time.
  • All Paintings Great and Small at The Cooley Gallery’s 26th annual holiday exhibition featuring historic and contemporary works of art 12″ in size or smaller.
  • Musical Masterworks will present festive chamber music at the historic First Congregational Church of Old Lyme. Tickets are $35 with $5 student tickets available at the door. 5 pm.  Visit www.musicalmasterwork.org or call 860-434-2252 for more information.
  • Lyme-Old Lyme Chamber of Commerce members along Halls Road will welcome you with one-of-a-kind gifts, artistic treasures, and seasonal specials.

Buy Your Holiday Cookies at Child & Family’s ‘Cookie Walk,’ Today

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Cookie_walkCookies, cookies, cookies!  Gingerbread men … sugar cutouts … biscotti … pfefferneuse … snowballs: You want to have beautiful homemade cookies to serve your guests this holiday season, but when will you have time to bake?

Purchase your holiday cookies at the Child & Family Agency’s Cookie Walk, taking place this year on Saturday, Dec. 7, from 10 a.m. to 12 noon during the holiday festival at the Old Lyme Marketplace.

The Cookie Walk offers a delectable array of beautiful, homemade holiday cookies for purchase.  Visitors browse the display and choose which cookies they want to buy; volunteers then weigh the cookies and package them for purchase.
Also available for sale will be sets of note cards depicting local scenes of Lyme and Old Lyme, and the Agency’s popular holiday ornaments.
Proceeds from the Cookie Walk benefit the many programs and capital projects of the Child & Family Agency of Southeastern Connecticut.
Child & Family Agency is a private, nonprofit organization dedicated to the well-being and development of all children and their families, with emphasis on the unmet needs of children lacking physical, emotional, and intellectual care and nurturing.  With offices in New London, Essex, and Groton, and programs dealing with children’s health care, child abuse, family violence, teen pregnancy, parent education, and child guidance, Child & Family Agency is the largest nonprofit children’s service provider in Southeastern Connecticut.
For more information, see www.childandfamilyagency.org.