The Essex Winter Series has announced this family-friendly favorite as a humorous musical suite that mimics a variety of animals through 14 short movements.
ESSEX – The Essex Winter Series welcomes Orchestra New England on Sunday, April 27, for a performance of “The Carnival of Animals.”
The 2 p.m. performance will be held in the Valley Regional High School auditorium, 256 Kelsey Hill Road, Deep River. Outer doors open at 1:30 pm; Auditorium doors open at 1:45 pm.
The organization in a press release described the family-friendly favorite as a humorous musical suite by Camille Saint-Saëns, which – through 14 short movements – mimics a variety of animals.
Jacqueline Hubbard, executive director of the Ivoryton Playhouse, will narrate witty verses by Ogden Nash.
Tickets for this free concert are available at essexwinterseries.com or by calling 860.272.4572.
Families are asked to reserve tickets for young children even if it is anticipated that they will sit on an adult’s lap. Advanced reservations are highly recommended due to limited seating.
Accessible parking, entry and seating is available.
Dr. Stephen Bruce of Groton will retire in July as the founding music director of the Con Brio Choral Society. All photos courtesy of Con Brio.
OLD LYME – The Con Brio Choral Society will honor the retirement of its music director and associate music director with a pair of concerts this month.
The farewell concerts will bring together the Con Brio Festival Orchestra and Con Brio Chorus at 8 p.m. on Saturday, April 12, and at 4 p.m. on Sunday, April 13, at Christ the King Church, 1 McCurdy Rd., Old Lyme.
Con Brio’s associate music director Susan Saltus is also retiring.
Music Director Stephen Bruce of Groton retires in July after 28 years as the society’s founding music director, according to the organization. He will remain with Con Brio, where he will hold the title of music director emeritus, in the bass section.
Chris Shepard of Clinton will replace Bruce as music director in August. Shepard is described by the Con Brio Board of Directors as a renowned choral conductor, voice coach, arts ambassador, pianist, organist, and distinguished Bach scholar.
Associate Music Director Susan Saltus of Essex will also retire in July. She has served in the role since 2009.
Soloist Ransom Bruce, pictured here, will perform with fellow soloist Bill Sorensen along with 75 chorus members and the 30-piece Con Brio Festival Orchestra.
Con Brio will revisit some of Bruce’s favorites including pieces from Giacomo Puccini’s “Messa di Gloria,” Johann Sebastian Bach’s Mass in B Minor, George Frideric Handel’s “Messiah,” as well as several rousing spirituals.
Con Brio’s 75 singers will perform with the 30-piece Con Brio Festival Orchestra and soloists Ransom Bruce and Bill Sorensen. The group will also introduce Shepard, who will conduct the chorus in Movement 5 of Benjamin Britten’s “Saint Nicholas.”
Tickets are $40, or $15 for students. To purchase tickets, visit the Con Brio website or call the box office at 860.526.5399.
Speaker to be Mark Mitchell, Curator of American Paintings & Sculpture at Yale University Art Gallery, Reception to follow
Mark D. Mitchell, Holcombe T. Green Curator of American Paintings and Sculpture, Yale University Art Gallery. Photo credit: Yale University
OLD LYME – On Saturday, April 12, at 4 p.m., the Lyme Academy of Fine Arts presents, “In the Studios of Paris: American Art Students at the French Academies, 1876–1900,” a guest lecture by Mark D. Mitchell, Holcombe T. Green Curator of American Paintings and Sculpture at Yale University Art Gallery.
A wine and beer reception will follow in the Academy’s on-campus art gallery, with an opportunity to view the Academy’s newest exhibition, True to Form: Academic Figure Studies from the Late 19th to Early 20th Centuries.
During the late 19th century, nearly every young American artist’s professional ambitions led straight to Paris. In the wake of the Franco-Prussian War and America’s Centennial, Paris emerged as the primary artistic training ground of Europe and a generation of American students came of age there.
Focused on the careers of leading artists of the era, including Kenyon Cox, Frederick MacMonnies, John Singer Sargent, and Julian Alden Weir, this talk will explore what budding American artists found when they arrived in Paris, what being an American art student abroad meant at the time, and how the experience shaped their ideas of art.
“The subject of artists’ training is one that has particular relevance for Lyme Academy,” comments Co-Artistic Director Jordan Sokol, “and we are delighted to have Yale curator Mark Mitchell share his unique perspective and knowledge.”
The mission of the Lyme Academy of Fine Arts is to teach the foundational skills of drawing, painting, and sculpture in the figurative tradition. By its commitment to training students in these skills and an engagement with contemporary discourse, the Academy will empower a new generation of artists. Through its programs, the Academy is committed to enriching the cultural life of the community.
Editor’s Note: The mission of the Lyme Academy of Fine Arts is to teach the foundational skills of drawing, painting, and sculpture in the figurative tradition. By its commitment to training students in these skills and an engagement with contemporary discourse, the Academy will empower a new generation of artists. Through its programs, the Academy is committed to enriching the cultural life of the community.
The Eastern Connecticut Symphony Orchestra (ECSO) and its chorus previously performed Mozart’s Requiem at the Cathedral of St. Patrick in Norwich. Photo courtesy of ECSO.
NORWICH – On Sunday, April 13, at 7:30 p.m., the Eastern Connecticut Symphony Orchestra and Eastern Connecticut Symphony Chorus will perform Gabriel Fauré’s Requiem and other works at a free concert in the Cathedral of St. Patrick.
The orchestra will be conducted by music director Toshiyuki Shimada and the chorus by director Daniel McDavitt, according to a press release.
The ensemble describes Fauré’s late 19th century Requiem as a “truly special piece that will sound stunning in the Cathedral’s acoustics.” It will be sung by soprano Sarah Yanovitch Vitale and baritone Gregory Flower.
The evening includes a piece by McDavitt titled “The Prayer of St. Francis” as well as Mendelssohn’s “Hear My Prayer” featuring Yanovitch Vitale.
The concert is sponsored by the Edward and Mary Lord Foundation.
The grant allows the organization to promote free access to music across the region, according to Eastern Connecticut Symphony Orchestra executive director Caleb Bailey
Free tickets may be reserved by visiting the symphony’s website. Donations collected at the event will benefit the symphony and St. Vincent de Paul Place in Norwich.
I graduated from the Lyme-Old Lyme Class of 2021 and am now a Senior set to graduate from the Bryant University Honors Program in May of this year with a Marketing Major. I strongly urge the Lyme-Old Lyme Board of Education to reconsider the decisions that have been made about the music program. There are numerous ways that this change will negatively impact students, the teacher, and the program itself.
Music isn’t just a class—it’s a place where students gain confidence, find their voice, and feel supported. While the program isn’t being cut, stretching one teacher between two schools will make it impossible to provide the same level of mentorship and musical excellence that students rely on.
I know this firsthand because I was in Chorus from third grade through my senior year of high school. Now, as a member of an accomplished a cappella group at Bryant University, I would not be where I am today without Mrs. Pekar. She was the one who encouraged me to audition, who helped me develop the skills to succeed in music, and who inspired me every day to be the best I can be. Without her support, I would never have considered pursuing music at this level.
For me, the music program was more than a class, and Mrs. Pekar was more than a teacher—she was my mentor and biggest supporter. During my senior year, I spent over 2000 hours with her. To put that into perspective, an average student spends just 216 hours a year with a teacher if they have them 4 times a week, since Lyme-Old Lyme recognizes the drop-period curriculum. Whether it was show choir, concert chorus, practicing piano for my senior project, or starring in the musical, which she has been brilliantly directing for 4 years now, she was and still is there for me and all students.
But her impact on my life goes far beyond music. If not for her helping me build my confidence from the ground up, I wouldn’t have had the courage to compete in sales competitions in Chicago—where I advanced further than many of my peers.
After dedicating so much time and energy to students, she now won’t even have a moment to catch her breath between classes. This change doesn’t just affect students—it affects the teacher, the program, and the heart of the school community. Please ensure that each school has the dedicated support it deserves. The impact of a great teacher lasts far beyond the classroom—I am living proof of that.
