Chestnut Hill Concerts Season Opener Brings Brahms’s Great Piano Quintet to The Kate

Chestnut Hill Concerts will welcome five extraordinary artists to the stage of the Katharine Hepburn Cultural Arts Center for its 2014 season opener on Friday, August 1 at 8 p.m. The program includes chamber music by Mozart and Shostakovich, and concludes with the monumental Piano Quintet in F minor by Johannes Brahms. Three of the five performers –– violinists Jessica Lee and Jesse Mills along with violist Mark Holloway –– will make their Chestnut Hill Concerts (CHC) debut. Returning artists are the renowned Japanese pianist Rieko Aizawa and CHC Artistic Director and cellist, Ronald Thomas.

The F minor Piano Quintet, the entire second half of the August 1 program, is considered by many to be Brahms’s crowning chamber music achievement. It is a work of powerful lyricism, in which small motivic ideas play key roles in carrying out a grandly conceived formal design. As it was with many of Brahms’s creations, the work had a difficult birth. First conceived as a string quintet and later re-written as a sonata for two pianos, the piece, with its exceptional richness and complexity of his musical ideas, found its ultimate form in its scoring for piano and strings.



In the first half of the program, Jesse Mills will perform Mozart’s delightful Violin Sonata in G major, K. 379, with pianist Rieko Aizawa.  Violinist Jessica Lee will join Aizawa and Ronald Thomas in Shostakovich’s highly emotional Piano Trio in E minor, Op. 67, written in 1944.

Chestnut Hill Concerts, celebrating its forty-fifth season in 2014, has expanded its roster of artists to enable performances of larger works such as the Brahms Piano Quintet. The second program on August 8, “Three Beethoven Masterpieces,” will include the “Moonlight” Piano Sonata, the “Kreutzer” Violin Sonata, and the “Archduke” Piano Trio; the third concert on August 15 will focus on the instrumental and vocal music of Franz Schubert and Robert Schumann; and the fourth and concluding program on August 22 is themed “Hungarian Flair,” with music by Bartók, Dohnanyi, and Brahms.

The corporate sponsor of the August 1 concert is Guilford Savings Bank, and Essex Savings Bank sponsors CHC’s Kids and Teens Come Free program.

All concerts are Friday nights at 8:00 pm at the Katharine Hepburn Cultural Arts Center (The Kate), 300 Main Street in Old Saybrook, Connecticut. Subscriptions to the four concerts are $120 (orchestra) and $100 (balcony). Single tickets are $35 for orchestra seats and $30 for the balcony. Contact The Kate box office at 860-510-0453, or visit www.thekate.org.

About the artists

RONALD THOMAS has been Artistic Director of Chestnut Hill Concerts since 1989. He sustains one of the most active and varied careers in today's music world as performer, teacher and artistic administrator. His solo appearances include performing with the Philadelphia Orchestra, the St. Louis, Baltimore and Seattle Symphony Orchestras, the Hong Kong Philharmonic, the Handel and Haydn Society and Pro Arte Chamber Orchestras of Boston and the Blossom Festival Orchestra, among many others. Mr. Thomas has played recitals in virtually every state in the United States as well as New York City, Washington, D.C., Boston and Los Angeles, and numerous concerts in Europe and Asia. In great demand as a chamber music collaborator, Mr. Thomas is also co-founder and artistic director emeritus of the Boston Chamber Music Society with which he appears regularly and which has produced a number of highly acclaimed recordings. He has also appeared with the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center both at Alice Tully Hall and on tour. Other chamber music appearances include the Seattle, Bravo! Colorado and Portland Chamber Music Festivals, and the Spoleto, Blossom and Yale at Norfolk Festivals, as well as the festivals of Dubrovnik, Edinburgh and Amsterdam. Mr. Thomas was a member of the Players in Residence committee and the Board of Overseers at Bargemusic in New York. While he was member of the Boston Musica Viva and the Aeolian Chamber Players he premiered countless new works, including compositions by Gunther Schuller, Michael Colgrass, Ellen Zwillich, Donald Erb, William Bolcom and William Thomas McKinley. Mr. Thomas is former principal cellist with the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra in St. Paul, Minnesota was recently appointed as artistic partner of San Diego's Mainly Mozart Festival. Before winning the Young Concert Artists auditions at 19, Mr. Thomas attended the New England Conservatory and the Curtis Institute. His principal teachers were Lorne Munroe, David Soyer and Mary Canberg.

Japanese pianist RIEKO AIZAWA, discovered at age 13 by the late Alexander Schneider has since established her own unique musical voice. Praised by the NY Times for her "impressive musicality, a crisp touch and expressive phrasing," Ms. Aizawa has performed in solo and orchestral engagements throughout the U.S., Canada and Europe, including Lincoln Center's Avery Fisher Hall, Boston's Symphony Hall and Chicago's Orchestra Hall. Highlights of recent seasons have included acclaimed performances with the New Japan Philharmonic under Seiji Ozawa, the English Chamber Orchestra under Heinz Holliger, the Festival Strings Lucerne in Switzerland under Rudolf Baumgartner, the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra under Hugh Wolff, among many others.

 As a recitalist, Ms. Aizawa has been heard in many North American cities, including New York, Philadelphia, Washington DC, St. Louis, Seattle, Boulder, Los Angeles, Houston, and Toronto; at the Caramoor International Festival; at Lincoln Center's Mostly Mozart Festival; Ravinia Festival, Gilmore Keyboard Festival. An avid chamber musician, Ms. Aizawa has performed with the Guarneri Quartet, the Orion Quartet, the Shanghai Quartet and the Amelia Piano Trio, and she has appeared in numerous festivals, such as the Marlboro Music Festival, U.S.A.; the Kammermusik Festival Moritzburg, Germany; and the Evian Festival, France. Ms. Aizawa is a founding member of Horszowski Trio as well as the prize-winning ensemble Duo Prism. Ms. Aizawa became the artistic director of the Alpenglow Chamber Music Festival in Colorado in 2010.

Ms. Aizawa received her Masters Degree from the Juilliard School, where she worked with Peter Serkin. She is also a graduate of the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia, where she was awarded the prestigious Rachmaninoff Prize.

 Violist MARK HOLLOWAY is a chamber musician sought after in the United States and abroad. He has appeared at prestigious festivals such as Marlboro, Music@Menlo, Ravinia, Caramoor, Banff, Cartagena, Taos, Music from Angel Fire, Mainly Mozart, Music at Plush, and the Boston Chamber Music Society. Performances have taken him to far-flung places such as Chile and Greenland, and he plays regularly at chamber music festivals in France and Switzerland, and at the International Musicians Seminar in Prussia Cove, England. Around New York City, he frequently appears as a guest with the New York Philharmonic and Orpheus. Mr. Holloway has been principal violist at Tanglewood and of the New York String Orchestra, and has played as guest principal of the American Symphony, the Chamber Orchestra of Philadelphia, Camerata Bern, and the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra. He has performed at Bargemusic, the 92nd Street Y, the Casals Festival in Puerto Rico, and on radio and television throughout North and South America, and Europe, most recently a Live From Lincoln Center broadcast. Hailed as an "outstanding violist" by American Record Guide, and praised by Zürich's Neue Zürcher Zeitung for his "warmth and intimacy," he has recorded for the Marlboro Recording Society, CMS Live, Music@Menlo LIVE, Naxos, and Albany labels. A former member of Chamber Music Society Two and a current artist of the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, Mr. Holloway was a student of Michael Tree at The Curtis Institute of Music and received his bachelor's degree from Boston University.

 A native of Virginia, JESSICA LEE began playing the violin at age three and quickly captured national attention with a feature article in LIFE magazine. She was accepted to the Curtis Institute of Music at age fourteen and graduated with a bachelor's degree under the tutelage of Robert Mann and Ida Kavafian. In 2005, she was the First Prize Winner of the 2005 Concert Artists Guild International Competition.

Ms. Lee recently made her European solo debut, in a concerto performance with the Plzen Philharmonic and in recital at the prestigious Rudolfinum in Prague, Czech Republic. Back in the U.S., she performed the Tchaikovsky Concerto on one-week notice with the Minot Symphony Orchestra after a whirlwind autumn season of performances with the Long Bay, Pine Bluff, and Stamford Symphonies. She has also appeared with the Modesto Symphony, Fort Smith Symphony, and made her debut recital at Carnegie Hall's Stern Auditorium, as well as making festival appearances at the Bridgehampton Chamber Music Festival and Santa Fe Music Festival. Her 2006 concerto debut at Alice Tully Hall, performing Beethoven's Violin Concerto with the Park Avenue Chamber Symphony, was broadcast twice on WQXR-FM.

Recent recital highlights include Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall on the CAG/Winners Series, as well as recitals at the Phillips Collection in Washington, DC, Caramoor Festival in New York, Asociacion National de Conciertos in Panama and Purdue University. Her recital for the Chamber Music Society of Little Rock was selected by the Arkansas Democrat Gazette as one of the "Top Ten Classical Concerts of 2007." An active chamber musician, Jessica Lee became a member of the Johannes String Quartet in 2006, which toured with the legendary Guarneri String Quartet in its farewell season. She joined the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center's CMS 2 program in the 2009-10 season. She has toured frequently with 'Musicians from Marlboro,' including appearances at the Metropolitan Museum of Art and Boston's Gardner Museum, and is a member of the conductor-less string ensemble ECCO (East Coast Chamber Orchestra), with which she has performed at Town Hall and the Kennedy Center.

Ms. Lee has also appeared on the Concerti di Mezzogiorno Recital Series at the Spoleto Festival in Italy, the Festival de Musica de Camera in Lima, Peru and New York's FOCUS! Festival. She has performed as guest soloist with such orchestras as the American Chamber Orchestra, the New Amsterdam Symphony Orchestra, Richmond Symphony, Hampton Youth Symphony, and the New York String Orchestra at Carnegie Hall. She has been a participant at the Ravinia Festival's Steans Institute for Young Artists as well as at the Marlboro Music Festival in Vermont.

Two-time Grammy nominated violinist JESSE MILLS enjoys performing music of many genres, from classical to contemporary, as well as composed and improvised music of his own invention. Since his concerto debut at the Ravinia Festival in Chicago, Mr. Mills has performed throughout the U.S. and Canada. He has been a soloist with the Phoenix Symphony, the Colorado Symphony, the New Jersey Symphony, the Green Bay Symphony, Juilliard Chamber Orchestra, the Denver Philharmonic, the Teatro Argentino Orchestra (in Buenos Aires, Argentina), and the Aspen Music Festival's Sinfonia Orchestra. 

 As a chamber musician Jesse Mills has performed throughout the U.S. and Canada, including concerts at Lincoln Center's Alice Tully Hall, Carnegie Hall, the 92nd Street Y, the Metropolitan Museum, the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC, Boston's Gardener Museum, Chicago's Ravinia Festival, and the Marlboro Music Festival. He has also appeared at prestigious venues in Europe, such as the Barbican Centre of London, La Cité de la Musique in Paris, Amsterdam's Royal Carré Theatre, Teatro Arcimboldi in Milan, and the Palais des Beaux Arts in Brussels. Mills is co-founder of Horszowski Trio and Duo Prism, a violin-piano duo with Rieko Aizawa, which earned First Prize at the Zinetti International Competition in Italy in 2006. With Ms. Aizawa, Mills became co-artistic director of the Alpenglow Chamber Music Festival in Colorado in 2010. Mills is also known as a pioneer of contemporary works, a renowned improvisational artist, as well as a composer. He earned Grammy nominations for his performances of Arnold Schoenberg's music, released by NAXOS in 2005 and 2010. He can also be heard on the Koch, Centaur, Tzadik, Max Jazz and Verve labels for various compositions of Webern, Schoenberg, Zorn, Wuorinen, and others. As a member of the FLUX Quartet from 2001-2003, Mills performed music composed during the last 50 years, in addition to frequent world premieres. As a composer and arranger, Mills has been commissioned by venues including Columbia University's Miller Theater and the Chamber Music Northwest festival in Portland, OR.

Jesse Mills began violin studies at the age of three. He graduated with a Bachelor of Music degree from The Juilliard School in 2001. He studied with Dorothy DeLay, Robert Mann and Itzhak Perlman. Mr. Mills lives in New York City, and he is on the faculty at Longy School of Music of Bard College. In 2010 the Third Street Music School Settlement in NYC honored him with the 'Rising Star Award' for musical achievement.

 

Summer Theatre Fun for Kids

The Missoula Children's Theatre provides a week-long residency "starring" 50-60 of your local students in a full-scale musical.   This week-long residency begins with an open group audition and culminates in two public performances.  Fifty to sixty students grades 1-12, or a combination of these ages, are cast and well rehearsed throughout the week, learning lines, songs and choreography to perform as an ensemble in producing a full-length musical. All of the shows are original adaptations of children's stories and fairytales—a twist on the classic stories that you know and love. Auditions will be held for the Missoula Children's Theatre (MCT) original adaptation of Robin Hood on July 7 from 10 am to 12 noon at the Katharine Hepburn Cultural Arts Center in Old Saybrook. Those auditioning should arrive at 10 am and plan to stay for the full two hours. Some of the cast members will be asked to stay for a rehearsal immediately following the audition.

All students, entering 1st grade through 12th grade are encouraged to audition. No advance preparation is necessary. Assistant Directors will also be cast to aid in rehearsals throughout the week and to take on essential backstage responsibilities.
MCT has been touring for 39 years. Annually, MCT visits nearly 1,300 communities in all 50 states, 3 Canadian Territories and 5 provinces and 16 countries. Our mission is the development of lifeskills in children through participation in the performing arts. Creativity, social skills, goal achievement, communication skills and self-esteem are all characteristics that are attained through participation in this unique and educational project. A team of two professional tour actor/directors arrive in your town with scenery, costumes, props, make-up and basic lighting—everything it takes to put on a play . . . except the cast.
The time is simply long ago and the place is the magical, mythical Sherwood Forest. Our hero, Robin Hood, and his Merry Band of colorful characters seek the help of the Foresters, manage to waylay the Aristocrats and set out to rescue Maid Marion and Marion’s Maid. Prince John tries to stay calm as his Sheriff, guards and horsemen botch Robin’s arrest thanks to the aromatic Skunks. Wacky humor and an original score add to this fresh new look at a legendary outlaw in a legendary time.

Shoreline Arts Alliance will offer a theater performing arts program to children in the community.  Session 1, Cinderella Shakesperience is July 21- July 25 and Session 2, King Lear Shakesperience is July 28 – August 1, from 9am-3pm on the Guilford Town Green.  Tents and rain location will be provided.  Rising Star is an outreach program for ages 7 – 17.  Tuition is $250.00 per week.   Need based scholarships are available.  These one-week energy-filled, fun, entertaining theater experiences will encourage creativity, reading and interpretation, and engagement in an artistic endeavor.  Rising Star embraces the theater arts and will speak to the child’s desire and need to be recognized, to have their own voice and yet be nurtured as a successful individual as well as a contributing member of a team.  The theater workshops will illustrate and educate participants on the issues and values that shed light on the human condition and are relevant to today’s world.  Alongside the goals of promoting creativity, critical thinking, cooperation, literacy enrichment, and self-confidence, this week-long program is designed to offer an educational experience for participants.  All participants will receive training from professional instructors in script analysis, interpretation and performance, and will briefly touch on set design, sound and lighting, costume design, and stage management.  Older participants will also benefit from training in work/life skills (i.e. proper dress, inter-personal development, work ethic, public speaking, communication, etc.) to develop and strengthen crucial skills aiding in admission to college or entrance into the work force.  Shoreline Arts Alliance is again working with Shakesperience Productions, Inc. for the operation of Rising Star summer theater experience.

For Ages 5 to 10

This state-licensed camp brings together professional teaching artists from two of the area’s leading providers of arts education – Community Music School and Tracy Art Center – at the Katharine Hepburn Cultural Arts Center. This summer arts day camp for boys and girls ages 5 to 10 years old is filled with music, dance, art, and theater and each week culminates in a performance for family and friends! The Camp has four one-week sessions, offering a diverse range of activities on a rotating basis that ensure a fresh experience for even the most frequent camper.

Hours: Monday through Thursday from 9 am to 3 pm and Friday from 9 am through the conclusion of the performance (approximately 2:30 pm).
Tuition: $250 per session (includes a camp t-shirt); 10% household discount for sibling registered for the same session, or for 2nd or 3rd session enrollment (discount not applied through online registration, please call).

Session II: July 21 – 25
Cool Cats! Jazz and All That

We are all about jazz this week!  Jazzy kids will play violin, dulcimer, recorder and various rhythm instruments,
as well as using their scat singing voices! Jazzy stories and fun games indoors and out will make this week so much fun. Music, art and dance will be included in our final performance along with a piece called, “El Gato Pizzicato”! Violin students must have at least one year of study and read music.  Performance 7/25

Session III: July 28 – Aug. 1
BROADWAY BEGINNERS – Go Fish

Musical theater for the youngest thespians!  A Tuna Fish who can’t carry a tune? A Star Fish who can’t get an acting job? A seven-legged Octopus? A Zebra Fish with spots? A Tiger Shark who wants to be friends with everyone? Join  in the aquatic fun as little Tiger Shark and his unique collection of friends discover how their differences make them each special. Performance 8/1

Session IV: Aug. 4 – 8
Tell Me A Tale: The Art of Storytelling 

We’ll bring storytelling and literature to life through music, art and dance! We will discover folk tales of diverse cultures and create a tale of our own. Bring your imagination and creativity to spin a golden tale to be told to family and friends! Performance 8/8

Joe Flood Featured at The Buttonwood Tree in Middletown

Playing a variety of stringed instruments, Joe Flood delivers original material in what Karen Schoemer in the New York Times called “a gravelly voice that perfectly straddles the fence between country and the blues.” His songs inhabit a place where folk and blues roots meet the craft of Tin Pan Alley and the soul of the street. They have been covered by artists as diverse as the New Orleans style jazz band The Flying Neutruinos and Alt Country Chanteuse Laura Cantrell. His individual style has made him a favored co-writer of Levon Helm of the legendary group The Band as well as producer/guitarist Eric “Roscoe” Ambel. Joe’s delivery on record and in person is straightforward, real, and engaging, a style that is a direct result of his years as a busker and journeyman musician whose survival depended on making it count every time he played or opened his mouth to sing. Joe hit the road at eighteen playing the streets of San Francisco, New Orleans, Montreal, and Boston, and seeing forty-six of the fifty states. He then headed to Europe where he honed his songwriting skills and toured the continent with, among others, the Lost Wandering Blues and Jazz Band, a continually evolving unit whose alumni include Joan Osborne, Madeleine Peyroux, Japanese harmonica virtuoso Chikara Tsuzuki, and such mainstays of the New York R&B scene as Mr. Thing and Ron Sunshine. While playing with the Lost Wandering, Joe wrote many of the early jazz-flavored songs that would later appear on his disc “Hotel Albert.”Performance is Saturday, July 5 at 8pm.  For tickets and more nformation visit: www.thebuttonwoodtree.org.

Nash Baroque Ensemble to perform in Guilford,CT July 12 at Christ Episcopal Church

Join period ensemble, “Nash Baroque” on Saturday, July 12 for a celebratory concert of music of the 17th and 18th century British Isles and Colonial America. Featuring music of Purcell, Handel and Arne, the program highlights the influence of the musical traditions of Ireland, Scotland and England on the music and culture of a young country.

Nash Baroque performs on Saturday, July 12th, at Christ Episcopal Church in Guilford at 7:30 pm again on Sunday, July 13, at the Unitarian Society of New Haven, Hamden at 4:00 pm . The ensemble’s members feature guest soprano, Jessica Petrus, Douglas Kelley, Viola da Gamba: Bay Area’s Katherine Heater, harpsichord and Vicki Melin, Baroque Flute. The program features Three Airs for soprano by Henry Purcell, Arias from Handel Odes; The “Ode to St. Cecelia” and “ L’Allegro e il Penseroso”, Songs from Thomas Arne’s Masque, “Comus” , Handel Flute Sonata in G major, Matthew Locke sonata for Viola da Gamba, and Assorted devotional, theatrical music,
songs, dances and military tunes of the American Colonies- including the first secular song by an American composer“ My Days Have Been so Wondrous Free”.

All specialists on historical instruments and styles, the members of Nash Baroque are made up of members from both the East and West coasts and are dedicated to the performance of historical chamber music of the 17th and 18th centuries. While living on the CT Shoreline, group member, Vicki Melin founded the Nash Baroque Ensemble, naming it after her forbear, Thomas Naish, a blacksmith and a founding member of the
settlement of New Haven and original signee of the Guilford Covenant of 1639.

7:30 pm, Saturday July 12 in Guilford, CT
4:00 pm Sunday July 13, in Hamden, CT

Saturday 12th: Christ Episcopal Church, 11 Park Street, Guilford, CT .Tickets $ 15.00 at the Door or Breakwater books in Guilford.

Sunday: Unitarian Society of New Haven; 700 Hartford Turnpike in Hamden Ct. Tickets: Good will donation at door.

For Information call (203) 453-2279 or visit Nashbaroque.org.

“Soulcology In Metal” Exhibit

Guilford Art Center is hosting Soulcology: An Exhibition in Metal, a national, juried exhibition of a wide variety of works by contemporary metal artists. The exhibit will be on view June 6-July 27, 2014.

Organized by GAC metalsmithing and jewelrymaking instructor Lanette Barber, Soulcology will display a broad spectrum of the many works that can be made of metal, expressively displaying the many techniques used to conform metal into items from the organic to the angular, from jewelry to sculpture, functional art and more.

‘Soulcology’ is a word to describe the emotional and psychological component of how personal lives affect artists’ work, design, and process,” explains Barber. “This show will express the rejuvenation that occurs from life’s distractions. This awakening brings us to new places in our minds and therefore transforms the work in many different ways.”

Juror for the exhibit was Robert Dancik, renowned metal artist and teacher who has exhibited his jewelry and sculpture in museums and galleries across the US and in Europe, Japan, and Australia. He has taught workshops at art centers in the US and abroad for more than 30 years.

The opening reception for Soulcology is Friday, June 13, 6-8pm; it is free and open to the public. Admission is free. Gallery hours are Monday through Saturday 10am-4pm, Sunday 12-4pm.

The Branford Festival 2014 June 13th – 15th Celebrating 30 years 1985-2014

Since its inception in 1985, Father’s Day Weekend in Branford has become synonymous with The Branford Festival. The Historic Town Green is transformed into a festival of crafts, activities, food, live music and much, much more. Whatever your interests, there is something available for the entire family.

Come celebrate!!! This year’s 30th edition of the Branford Festival will kick off on Friday, June 13th, 2014 and continue through Sunday, June 15th. If you have never been to the festival, check out the photo gallery of past weekends, then check the schedule and make your plans for the weekend. If you are a veteran of the festival, check out what’s new and make your plans for another fun-packed weekend. Click here for event schedule.

The Dialogue Continues - Things That Really Matter

The New Haven Chorale will present "The Dialogue Continues - Things That Really Matter,” a program of choral music and panel discussion, on Thursday, June 12, 2014 at Trinity Church on the Green free to the public. A panel of community religious leaders will explore important social issues confronting our communities today, with choral music complementing and emphasizing these topics. This event will continue a dialogue begun in panel discussions that accompanied the Chorale’s 2013 New Haven and Hartford performances of "Understanding" which explored common ground among religions.

Christopher (Kip) Bergstrom, Deputy Commissioner of Connecticut’s Department of Economic and Community Development, will moderate a discussion among the following panelists, with audience participation.

Mehlaqa Samdani is founder and executive director of Critical Connections, a Massachusetts-based non-profit committed to improving understanding of the Muslim world and Muslim Diaspora, and a peace-building associate at the Karuna Peacebuilding Center in Amherst, MA, developing a proposal to address sectarian violence in Pakistan.

Fr. James Manship of Saint Rosa de Lima Church in New Haven was named “Person of the Year” by the New Haven Register and featured in the Hartford Courant for serving as an advocate for people suffering racial discrimination.

Rabbi Joshua Rattner, of Congregation Kol Ami in Cheshire, CT, was ordained by the Jewish Theological Seminary where he was a Joseph Neubauer Fellow and earned a Master's Degree in Midrash and a Certificate in Pastoral Care. Passionate about interplay between Judaism, culture, and public policy, he has worked as a rabbinic fellow for both the Rabbinical Assembly and the Jewish Council for Public Affairs. He previously earned a JD from Columbia Law School and practiced law for five years before deciding to become a rabbi.

Rev. Frederick J. Streets served as the Yale University Chaplain and Senior Pastor of the Church of Christ in Yale from 1992-2007, where he established a model for multi-faith campus ministry. Jerry currently serves as Pastor of the Dixwell Avenue Congregational United Church of Christ. The Reverend Dr. Streets is no stranger to his current post, having served there as an intern during his seminary years.

To develop “The Dialogue Continues,” the Chorale gathered a working group last fall of community religious leaders, several of whom had also participated in developing the “Understanding” project, to frame its vision and plan the forum for community and religious leaders and the public to talk about pressing social issues affecting the community. It is hoped that upon leaving the event, attendees would:
1.   Recognize that we, as faith communities, are not doing enough to address severe social, economic, and health challenges impacting the larger community;
2.  Understand the web of causation and the challenges impacting inner cities in general;
3.   Recognize that no one faith community can solve the problems alone, and that stronger relationships, better understanding, and commitments to work together must be developed in order to address these challenges;
4.   Appreciate that even one small act of kindness can change a life, and that many acts of kindness can change communities.

The Chorale invites members of community organizations, senior residences, educational institutions, and the congregations of area churches, mosques and synagogues to this event since the social issues affect so many individuals and the quality of life in the community.

While not a religious organization itself, the New Haven Chorale believes that music is a universal language, and that choral music offers a powerful opportunity to eloquently communicate words of great impact and understanding. Since much of its repertoire is based on religious texts which express timeless insights into humanity’s search for meaning and purpose in life, the Chorale helps build community by collaborating with partners to put the power of choral music, with its great themes, to work. In so doing the New Haven Chorale hopes to expand interest in choral music and encourage civic engagement by other individuals and groups.

Press Release from New Haven Chorale