Monthly Archives: August 2015

Auditions for Community Music School Jazz Ensemble, Sept. 12

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Auditions for the CMS Jazz Ensemble will be held Sept. 12.

Auditions for the CMS Jazz Ensemble will be held Sept. 12.

CENTERBROOK –- Auditions for the Community Music School (CMS) Jazz Ensemble will be held on Saturday, Sept. 12, beginning at 9:30 a.m. at the School, located at 90 Main St. in Centerbrook.

Directed by Tom Briggs, the ensemble is for students ages 13 to 18 with a strong interest in jazz performance and learning more about improvisation. Instrumental students on trumpet, trombone, flute, clarinet, saxophone, and guitar are encouraged to audition.

Call CMS at 860-767-0026 to schedule a 20-minute audition timeslot. The regular Jazz Ensemble rehearsal schedule begins on Saturday, Sept. 19, at 10 a.m.

The CMS offers innovative music programming for infants through adults, building on a 30 year tradition of providing quality music instruction to residents of shoreline communities. Community Music School programs cultivate musical ability and creativity, and provide students with a thorough understanding of music so that they can enjoy playing and listening for their entire lives.

For additional information about the Jazz Ensemble and other CMS programs, visit www.community-music-school.org

New Gift Shop — a Vista Social Enterprise — Opens In Downtown Madison

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Creations is located in the heart of downtown Madison at 712 Boston Post Road, next to Tony's Barber Shop

Creations is located in the heart of downtown Madison at 712 Boston Post Road, next to Tony’s Barber Shop

Handcrafted ceramic pottery, children’s toys, specialty jewelry and even blown glass that glows in the dark— these are among the many items one will find at Creations, a unique gift shop, which opened Thursday in the heart of downtown Madison.

Located at 712 Boston Post Rd., Creations showcases the beautiful work of more than 60 artisans from throughout the Northeast. These artists— from the mom who found inspiration in her child or the grandchildren who resurrected their grandparent’s legacy— each have stories that deserve to be shared with the world. They imagined the possibilities and followed their dream of creating gifts that can be used, loved and talked about for many years to come.

Shoppers will find products for men, women, children and the home. The store will also feature a variety of seasonal items.

Creations is a social enterprise of Vista Vocational & Life Skills Center of Westbrook.  All proceeds will benefit Vista.

For more information including opening hours, visit the store’s website.

Community Music School Receives Grant to Fund Scholarships, Pop-Up Kindermusik Days

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CMS Kindermusik teacher Nancy Thomas is joined by members of the Community Foundation of Middlesex County grants committee and participants in a Pop-Up Day. Photo courtesy of Community Music School.

CMS Kindermusik teacher Nancy Thomas (front row, kneeling, second from right) is joined by members of the Community Foundation of Middlesex County grants committee and participants in a Pop-Up Day. Photo courtesy of Community Music School.

Community Music School (CMS) has announced receipt of a $2,000 grant from the Community Foundation of Middlesex County to support the award-winning early childhood program, Kindermusik. Community Music School used the funds to present Kindermusik Pop-Up Days throughout the community during the summer and will offer Kindermusik scholarships for its fall semester.

“We are grateful for the support this year,” says Robin Andreoli, CMS Executive Director,” continuing, “More children in our community will benefit from this wonderful early childhood music program thanks to the generosity of the Community Foundation and those who support their efforts.”

The final Pop-Up Day takes place on Wednesday, Aug. 26, at 10 a.m. at CMS, 90 Main St., Centerbrook. The classes are recommended for ages 18 months to 4 years and offer a fun-filled 45 minutes of singing, dancing, and lots of giggles!

Additionally, interested families can attend a preview Kindermusik class during the School’s Open House on Tuesday, Sept. 15. Three distinct age-appropriate classes are offered that day: Village Class for 6 to 18-months-old will be at 9 a.m.; Time class for 18 months to 3-years-old will be at 10 a.m.; and Imagine That for 3- and 4-year-olds will take place at 11 a.m.

For more information about Kindermusik, the scholarship program, other Community Music School programs, visit www.community-music-school.org or call 860-767-0026.

The Community Foundation of Middlesex County is a nonprofit organization whose mission is to improve the quality of life for the people of the County, now and in the future, by developing endowments, making grants that have impact and assisting donors in meeting their philanthropic objectives.

Since its founding in 1997, the Community Foundation has awarded 907 grants totaling over $2.8 million for the arts, cultural and heritage programs, educational activities, environmental improvements and for health and human services.

Community Music School is a not-for-profit arts organization that has been serving the music education needs of students for nearly 30 years. Founded in 1983, Community Music School has grown steadily over the years and now occupies 6,000 square feet of space in two buildings with 17 studios and small group performance space. Today, CMS has nearly 500 students of all ages from Essex and 17 surrounding towns throughout Middlesex, New London and New Haven counties.

The mission of CMS is to provide a full range of the finest possible instruction and musical opportunities to persons of all ages and abilities, to increase appreciation of music and to encourage a sense of joy in learning and performing, thus enriching the life of the community.

Essex Savings Bank Donates to Non-Profits

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ESSEX — Gregory R. Shook, President & CEO of Essex Savings Bank announced the completion of distribution from the Directors’ portion of the Community Investment Fund. Total distributions for the year will amount to $100,000 and will surpass $4 million since the program’s 1996 inception of distributing 10% of after tax net income. Donations for this portion have been allocated to the following non-profit organizations.

Angel Charities, Inc. * Camp Hazen YMCA * The Chester Historical Society, Inc. * Child & Family Agency of Southeastern Connecticut, Inc. * Community Foundation of Middlesex County * Connecticut River Museum at Steamboat Dock * The Deep River Historical Society * Essex Historical Society * Florence Griswold Museum * The Ivoryton Library Association * Ivoryton Village Alliance * Katharine Hepburn Cultural Arts Center & Theatre * Lawrence & Memorial Hospital * Lyme Academy College of Fine Arts * Lyme Art Association * Lymes’ Youth Service Bureau * MacCurdy Salisbury Educational Foundation, Inc. * Madison Land Conservation Trust * Middlesex Hospital * Middlesex United Way * The Old Lyme-Phoebe Griffin Noyes Library Association, Inc. * Rotary Club of Essex Foundation * Tri-Town Youth Service Bureau, Inc. * Valley Shore YMCA * Vista (Vocational Independent Supported Transitional Alternative).

Essex Savings Bank is a FDIC insured, state chartered, mutual savings bank established in 1851. The Bank serves the Connecticut River Valley and shoreline with six offices in Essex (2), Chester, Madison, Old Lyme and Old Saybrook providing a full complement of personal and business banking. Financial, estate, insurance and retirement planning are offered throughout the state by the Bank’s Trust Department and wholly-owned subsidiary, Essex Financial Services, Inc., Member FINRA, SIPC.

See ‘The Story of My Life’ at Deep River Town Hall This Weekend

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star in 'The Story of My Life'

John Costa and Michael P. Cartwright star in “The Story of My Life”, presented by MiLo Productions. Photo by Robert Hughes.

MiLo Productions has announced that the intimate musical comedy The Story of My Life, by Drama Desk Award-nominees Neil Bartram and Brian Hill, will be their first stage production, running August 21-23, at Deep River Town Hall Auditorium.

Do you remember the day you met your best friend? The Story of My Life tells the story of two childhood friends and how their friendship profoundly defined their lives. Thomas Weaver is a best-selling, award-winning author. Alvin Kelby was his best friend for 30 years. But time can test the bonds of friendship, and when it does, Thomas calls on the only resource he has — his stories of Alvin — to learn where things went wrong.

A richly melodic musical, The Story of My Life is a soaring tribute to the power of friendship and the people who change our lives forever. BroadwayWorld said “See if you don’t find yourself moved to Google the name of some long-lost friend with whom you simply lost touch. The Story of My Life inspires us to reconnect with those who were part of the earliest chapters of our own life stories.”

Guilford resident Michael P. Cartwright will play Thomas. Cartwright is familiar to local audiences through his appearances at several area theatres. He portrayed the green-tinged title character in Warner Theatre’s Shrek. At West Hartford Community Theatre, he has appeared as Max Bialystock in The Producers and Javert in Les Misérables. He has been seen at Goodspeed Musicals in 1776, and in productions with Summer Theatre of New Canaan, River Rep, Ivoryton Playhouse, and Newington Mainstage, as well as Arden Theatre Company in Philadelphia and Delaware Theatre Company.

The mental health issues addressed in The Story of My Life resonate closely for Cartwright, a clinical social worker for over 25 years, who currently works at Yale-New Haven Hospital.

The role of Alvin will be played by John Costa of New Bedford, Mass. Costa comes to Connecticut directly from the Festival Theatre production of Mary Poppins, where he was featured as Admiral Boom. His regional credits include Goodspeed Musicals (1776), The Huntington Theatre (Pirates!), American Repertory Theatre, NewRep (Ragtime), Lyric Stage Co. of Boston (1776, Big River), and The SpeakEasy Stage Co. (Carrie the musical).

Other credits include Herr Schulz (Cabaret), Cogsworth (Disney’s Beauty and the Beast), Max Detweiller (The Sound of Music), and Amos Hart (Chicago) with New Bedford Festival Theatre; as well as performances with Salem Summer Theatre, Star Players, Little Theatre of Fall River, Sweet Apple, and Big Star Productions.

The Story of My Life features music and lyrics by Neil Bartram and book by Brian Hill. It was produced at The Norma Terris Theatre in Chester, Conn. before making the trip to Broadway in 2009, where it was nominated for four Drama Desk Awards, including Outstanding Musical, and won a Barrymore Award for Outstanding Ensemble.

Bartram and Hill were commissioned to write The Theory of Relativity by Sheridan College in Toronto as a new show specifically for college-age students. It had its London, UK premiere in May of 2014 and its regional theatre premiere at The Norma Terris Theatre in 2015. Bartram and Hill’s musical Not Wanted On The Voyage received a developmental production at Northwestern University’s Barber Theatre as part of the American Music Theatre Project. The pair are currently developing musical adaptations of Disney’s famous Bedknobs and Broomsticks and Ray Bradbury’s cult classic Something Wicked This Way Comes for the stage.

Performances are Friday, Aug. 21 and Saturday, Aug. 22, at 8 p.m., and Sunday, Aug. 23, at 2 p.m. at the Deep River Town Hall Auditorium, located at 174 Main Street. Tickets are $25 for general admission seating and are available at www.milo-productions.com.

The Story of My Life is produced by the Guilford-based MiLo Productions, which also produces the popular local Victorian holiday singing group Connecticut Yuletide Carolers and the Shoreline Cabaret Series.