OLD LYME — On Saturday, Dec. 6, the Lyme Academy of Fine Arts (LAFA) Board of Trustees and staff said farewell to long-time board of trustees chairman Stephen Tagliatela. The announcement of his retirement follows five years of service to Lyme Academy as he guided the former Lyme Academy College of Fine Arts (LACFA) through its separation from the University of New Haven. 

“Stephen has shown outstanding leadership during Lyme Academy’s most uncertain times. We are so fortunate to be able to move forward based on the solid footing he provided,” said Michael Duffy, newly-elected Lyme Academy Chairman of the Board of Trustees.  

In attendance was Connecticut State Representative Devin Carney (R-23rd), who presented Tagliatela with a General Assembly Official Citation from the State of Connecticut. The Connecticut General Assembly recognized his five years as board of trustees chairman, his leadership and his advocacy for the fine arts.  

The Lyme Academy Board of Trustees unveiled a commissioned portrait of Tagliatela by artist, instructor and alumnus Rick Lacey, who is both a LAFA instructor and a LACFA alumnus. Lacey is also a member of the Lyme-Old Lyme High School Class of 2007.

Tagliatela, who is the owner of the Saybrook Point Inn, was also presented with the Elisabeth Gordon  Chandler medal for his service as Chair from 2015 to 2020. 

The board voted in new leadership confirming Michael Duffy as board chairperson, Laura Lee Miller as  Vice Chair and Lee Bowes as Treasurer. Ian Neviaser will continue his role as Secretary of the Board of  Trustees. A complete list of Trustee members is available at this link. 

Duffy commented, “We are grateful for what the board has accomplished over that past year in establishing Lyme Academy as an independent entity and are looking forward to re-establishing the Academy as a prominent Art  School and Center for the Arts.

He added, “We are currently engaged in a search for an Artistic Director for which  we have very strong candidates. In addition, we have just approved the search for an Executive Director, who will lead the business of the Academy.”

Duffy concluded, “We are very excited about the future,” 

Editor’s Note: Lyme Academy of Fine Arts located in Old Lyme, Conn. was founded in 1976 by esteemed sculptor Elisabeth Gordon Chandler. The historic town of Old Lyme has been a vibrant, national center for the arts and artists for more than 100 years.

Lyme Academy upholds the standard of a Classic Fine Arts education offering a variety of programs under the guidance of  master artists, who share a deep respect for both traditional and innovative forms of teaching. The  Academy has been providing students with the necessary foundation and skills to develop their own unique visual expression for nearly 50 years. 

For more information about Lyme Academy’s past, present and future, visit the Academy’s website.  

Musical Masterworks Artistic Director Edward Arron will play the cello in the Beethoven works being performed live in a December concert and also recorded for release to ticket-holders in January. Photo by Hak-Soo Kim.

OLD LYME — Musical Masterworks celebrates Beethoven’s 250th birthday in December when Edward Arron, Artistic Director and cellist, along with his colleagues James Ehnes, violin;  Amy Schwartz Moretti, violin; and Che-Yen Chen, viola, will perform three string quartets by Beethoven, spanning nearly 30 years of his life and demonstrating the full arc of his remarkable compositional evolution.

This performance will be filmed in mid-December and the link to the virtual concert will be made available to ticket buyers Jan. 2, 2021.  The video can be enjoyed for three weeks and watched as many times as one wishes. 

Ticket holders will be able to experience Musical Masterworks in a whole new way. The group’s audio-video production team will create an intimate concert experience, providing a virtual front row seat featuring the performers’ artistry.

Edward Arron shared his thoughts about this concert, “We are honored to dedicate this performance to the great master. While under current circumstances, we are not able to reconstitute the full cycle of quartets that we had planned for last spring, we are delighted to provide this fascinating window into the extraordinary compositional mind of Beethoven.”

In 2021, Musical Masterworks will welcome back many favorite artists, including Rieko Aizawa, Todd Palmer, Jeewon Park, Randall Scarlata, Gilles Vonsattel, and Tessa Lark, featuring music from Bach to Corigliano.

Musical Masterworks’ season runs through May 2021.  To purchase a video mini-subscription ($100 each), individual video tickets ($40 each), or student tickets ($5 each), visit Musical Masterworks at Musical Masterworks at www.musicalmasterworks.org or call 860.434.2252.

The display stand at ‘The Bowerbird’ featuring signed copies of Old Lyme resident Ron Breault’s book, ‘Voyaging with Marionette.’

OLD LYME — Signed copies of Ron Breault’s book, Voyaging with Marionette, are now on sale at The Bowerbird in Old Lyme. Breault is a resident of Old Lyme and his book is being marketed as prt of the store’s “Local Author” series.

Visit this link to read a wonderful review of the book written when it was published by our regular book reviewer here at LymeLine.com, Felix Kloman.

Voyaging with Marionette records the 25 years of life experiences Breault shared with his boat.

Those of you who have rescued/restored or built your own boat, fully understand the special relationship that develops — how the two of you meet when the expected/hoped for experience and goals are the main menu.

The dessert is those experiences not expected — a mostly unspoken conversation, motions and sounds as you sail along — the understanding between you of what you can do and have done together. It is also the places visited and interesting people you meet, which, in turn, bring a new dimension to your life.

This book is a collection of those stories demonstrating what can be done as one gets older, which opens doors, motivating and sustaining new and stimulating opportunities. It is also a reminder that life is a continuing, expanding experience … if one just makes the effort.

‘Filtered Light’ (oil on aluminum) by Janine-Robertson is one of the featured pieces of artwork in ‘Deck the Walls.’

OLD LYME — The Lyme Art Association’s annual member show and sale, Deck the Walls, featuring more than 200 works of art in all themes, sizes and mediums, opens Friday, Nov. 27. All the artwork is appropriately priced for holiday gift giving.

The show and sale continues through Jan. 7, 2021.

‘Montmartre Memories’ in oil by Sarah Stifler Lucas is one of the featured paintings in the ‘Deck the Walls’ show on view at the Lyme Art Association.

The gallery is open Wednesday through Sunday, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and by appointment.

The Lyme Art Association is located at 90 Lyme Street in Old Lyme, at the corner of Halls Road.

For more information, call (860) 434-7802 or visit lymeartassociation.org.