OLD LYME — On Friday, Aug. 19, from 5 to 7 p.m., Lyme Art Association (LAA) will host an Opening Reception for two new shows, which opened Aug. 12. All are welcome.
The first is Point of View, the 101st Annual Elected Artists Show, which showcases the ‘best of the best’ in representational art from LAA’s Elected Artists.
These are the Association’s most accomplished artists and also torch-bearers for the American representational tradition. They follow directly in the footsteps of the original Lyme Art Colony artists, who hung their tonalist and impressionist works on the walls of the local library back in 1901.
The second exhibition is True Blue. Considered beneficial to the mind and body, the color blue elicits a sense of tranquility and healing. The LAA challenged its Associated Artists to submit work where blue is the predominant or most significant color in their piece. This ode to blue will be both pleasing and intriguing for visitors.
Both shows are on view through Sept. 22, 2022 and sponsored by Chelsea Groton Bank. Admission is free with donations appreciated.
The gallery is open at 90 Lyme St. in Old Lyme from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Wednesday through Sunday, and by appointment. The Lyme Art Association is located in the Old Lyme Historic District in a building designed by Lyme Colony artist and architect, Charles Adams Platt.
The LAA was founded 1914 by the American Impressionists and continues the tradition of exhibiting and selling representational artwork by its members and invited artists, as well as offering art instruction and lectures to the community.
For more information on exhibits, purchase of art, art classes, or becoming a member, visit www.lymeartassociation.org or call 860-434-7802.
OLD SAYBROOK — Join Salt Marsh Opera on Friday, Aug. 19, at 6 p.m. for a free concert at the Old Saybrook Town Green. Rain date is Saturday, Aug. 20.
The concert will run from 6 to 7:30 p.m. Arrive early for the best seating. This event is suitable for all ages.
Bring your blankets and lawn chairs, settle in, and enjoy these three performers:
KIRK DOUGHERTY, TENOR
ABIGAIL PASCHKE, SOPRANO
BLAKE HANSEN, PIANIST
LYME — On Saturday, Aug. 20 from 4 to 6 p.m., the Lyme and Old Lyme Democratic Town Committees (DTCs) host their 2022 Summer Picnic at Lyme Public Hall, a short walk from the Hamburg Fair. All Democrats and Democratic supporters are welcome.
Senator Richard Blumenthal will be attending as the honored guest.
There will be picnic goodies galore to enjoy, as well as opportunities to mingle with friends, neighbors and local DTC members.
Parking for the event will be available in the parking lot of the Lyme First Congregational Church or the Subaru dealership (the $6 fee benefits the church and the local Boy Scouts.)
A $25.00 donation for the picnic is suggested. Find donation information to the Lyme DTC and Old Lyme DTC at these links.
Co-Artistic Director Amaya Gurpide gives an introduction to portrait drawing to students at Lyme Academy. Photo by Andrew Paez.
OLD LYME — Lyme Academy of Fine Arts invites both aspiring and experienced artists of all ages to participate in a free information session on Wednesday, Sept. 21, from 6 to 8 p.m.
Interested students will have the opportunity to tour the campus and studio spaces, and to learn more about the new art class offerings for 2022-2023, including the Studio Immersion and Young Masters Afterschool Programs.
In addition, live drawing demonstrations by Academy members will provide a glimpse into the high level of instruction that students receive at the Academy.
The session will also include an opportunity to meet the faculty, including Lyme resident and acclaimed artist Rick Lacey, Director of Youth Programs, and Edmond Rochat, new Director of Continuing Education and Principal Anatomy Instructor at Lyme Academy.
A registration table will be on site to facilitate enrollment in all ongoing and upcoming classes.
De Gerenday’s Fine Art Materials and Curiosities, newly opened on the Academy campus, will be open during the event.
Registration for the Information Session is appreciated for planning purposes but not required. To register for the Information Session, visit this link.
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 and related ventures, including the opening of de Gerenday’s Fine Art Materials and Curiosities on its historic campus, the Academy is committed to enriching the cultural life of the community. Learn more by visiting www.lymeacademy.edu.
OLD LYME/LYME — On Saturday, Sept. 24, Lyme resident Joe Fitzgerald, pictured left, will bring his Quartet to The Side Door at the Old Lyme Inn.
The Joe Fitzgerald Quartet comprises Fitzgerald on bass, Kenny Wessel on guitar, Frank Carlberg on piano and Anthony Pinciotti on drums.
Fitzgerald has been in the thick of the New York jazz world for the last few decades, performing, recording and touring internationally with many prominent artists including John Abercrombie, Donald Brown, Dominique Eade, Lee Konitz, Datevik Hovanesian, Bruce Barth , Ted Curson , Kenny Wessel and countless others.
He is very much looking forward to this return to The Side Door. Visit this link to purchase tickets.
Guitarist and composer, Kenny Wessel has worked in projects playing jazz, ranging from straight-ahead to free music, and continues to explore world music, investigating points of intersection between jazz and North Indian music. He has toured and recorded with Ornette Coleman for over 12 years as a member of Prime Time.
He is currently on the faculties of Western Connecticut State University and the New York Jazz Workshop. For more info, visit www.kenwessel.com, or to contact Kenny, [email protected].
Originally a native of Helsinki, Finland, Frank Carlberg has carved himself quite a niche in the New York jazz community. As a leader, Frank’s groups include the Frank Carlberg’s Word Circus, the Tivoli Trio and The Frank Carlberg Large Ensemble.
In addition to his playing and composing activities Carlberg also serves on the faculty at New England Conservatory. He is also a partner in Red Piano Records, an artist run cooperative label.
Anthony Pinciotti is a dynamic, innovative drummer well versed in jazz, rock, and world music. Based in New York City, Anthony performs and tours extensively with many of the most vital and forward-looking musicians on the scene today.
For more information about The Side Door, visit this link.
OLD SAYBROOK — On Friday, Oct. 14, at 7 p.m. and Sunday, Oct. 16, at 3 p.m., Salt Marsh Opera presents a double bill at the Katharine Hepburn Cultural Arts Center — ‘The Kate’ — in Old Saybrook.
It’s all about family dynamics in Gianni Schicchi by Giacomo Puccini and Trial by Jury by Gilbert & Sullivan. These one-act comedies by two of opera’s most famous composers are sure to be sold, out so reserve your tickets soon.
Gianni Schicchi, Puccini’s only comedy, is a laugh-out-loud farce about the Donati Family and the passing of their not so dearly beloved patriarch, Buoso Donati. The family fortune hangs in the balance as each member of the family looks to bend the late Buoso’s will to their advantage with the help of the conniving Gianni Schicchi.
In Gilbert and Sullivan’s Trial by Jury, the hijinks move into the courtroom when a jilted bride and her philandering groom battle it out in divorce court in this slightly updated production of the G&S classic.
Purchase tickets at this link for Friday and this link for Sunday.
OLD SAYBROOK — On Friday, Oct. 14, at 7 p.m. and Sunday, Oct. 16, at 3 p.m., Salt Marsh Opera presents a double bill at the Katharine Hepburn Cultural Arts Center — ‘The Kate’ — in Old Saybrook.
It’s all about family dynamics in Gianni Schicchi by Giacomo Puccini and Trial by Jury by Gilbert & Sullivan. These one-act comedies by two of opera’s most famous composers are sure to be sold, out so reserve your tickets soon.
Gianni Schicchi, Puccini’s only comedy, is a laugh-out-loud farce about the Donati Family and the passing of their not so dearly beloved patriarch, Buoso Donati. The family fortune hangs in the balance as each member of the family looks to bend the late Buoso’s will to their advantage with the help of the conniving Gianni Schicchi.
In Gilbert and Sullivan’s Trial by Jury, the hijinks move into the courtroom when a jilted bride and her philandering groom battle it out in divorce court in this slightly updated production of the G&S classic.
Purchase tickets at this link for Friday and this link for Sunday.
LYME/OLD LYME — Setting the Lyme-Old Lyme (LOL) Schools Building Referendum on Tuesday, Nov. 8 — the same day as the state elections — has, in Old Lyme First Selectman Timothy Griswold’s words (sent via text), been, ” … very complicated with, I believe, five lawyers working out the details.” Those details were required to be filed with the State of Connecticut today.
Griswold went on to explain, “Electors will vote on the candidates by ballot and on the school referendum question (yes/no ballot) in the same room,” but, “Qualified voters who are not electors may vote only on the referendum question in a separate room.”
Lyme Selectman John Kiker similarly confirmed by text, “… regular voting will be in [Lyme] town hall and the referendum voting will be in the [Lyme Public] library.”
Lyme-Old Lyme Schools Superintendent Ian Neviaser noted by email that Lyme-Old Lyme Schools are sending out a Fact Sheet to all Lyme and Old Lyme residents and property owners next week, which, along with additional information on the referendum, will help to clarify the difference between ‘electors’ and ‘qualified voters.’
The Fact Sheet explains that an ‘elector’ is any registered voter in either Lyme or Old Lyme.
It then goes on to state that, “A qualified voter who is not an elector is any citizen of the United States of the age of 18 years or more who, jointly or severally, is liable to the Town of Lyme or Town of Old Lyme for taxes assessed against him or her of not less than $1,000 on the last completed grand list of the Town, or who would be so liable if not entitled to an exemption under subdivision (17), (19), (22), (25) or (26) of Section 12-81 of the Connecticut General Statutes, and is not an elector (registered voter) of the Towns of Lyme or Old Lyme.”
This difference between the two is significant as qualified voters (who cannot vote in the state elections in Lyme or Old Lyme because they are registered to vote elsewhere) must by state statute physically vote at a location at least 75 ft. from that of registered voters.
Therefore, in Old Lyme:
- ‘Electors’, i.e., registered voters, will vote in both the state election and on the school building referendum in the LOL Middle School Gym.
- ‘Qualified voters’ (who are not electors) will vote solely on the LOL Schools Building Referendum in the LOL Middle School Cafeteria.
Meanwhile in Lyme:
- ‘Electors’, i.e., registered voters, will vote in both the state election and on the LOL Schools Building Referendum at Lyme Town Hall.
- ‘Qualified voters’ (who are not electors) will vote solely on the LOL Schools Building Referendum in the Lyme Public Library.
Regarding the unusual need for two polling locations in both Lyme and Old Lyme, Griswold stressed, “The Registrars must man and equip the two separate voting locations in each town,” noting, “The school will be responsible for the costs related to the school referendum.”
The ballot question for the LOL Schools Building Referendum will read as detailed below and and then ask for a simple ‘Yes’ or ‘No’ response.
“Shall the resolution appropriating and authorizing bonds in the amount of $57,555,000, of which it is expected that an estimated $9,775,000 shall be reimbursed by the State of Connecticut, for the planning, design, demolition, construction, renovation, equipping and furnishing of Mile Creek School, Center School, Lyme Consolidated School and Lyme-Old Lyme Middle School and related costs, be approved?“
Two public meetings will be held in advance of the $57.6 million LOL Schools Building Referendum on respectively Wednesday, Oct. 12, at 7 p.m. at Lyme School, and Wednesday, Oct. 26, at 7 p.m. at Mile Creek School.
Polls will be open in both towns on Tuesday, Nov. 8, from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m.
For more information on the referendum from LOL Schools, visit https://www.region18.org/district-information/referendumwww.region18.org, email [email protected] or call 860-434-7238.
DEEP RIVER, CT. — Cappella Cantorum will return to John Winthrop Middle School (JWMS, Deep River, CT) for the 2022-2023 season after a two-year absence. Rehearsals are in full swing for the upcoming winter concert, Vivaldi’s Gloria and Other Holiday Favorites, to be performed Sunday, Dec 4, at 3 p.m. at JWMS. Mark your calendar to join this musical celebration of the holidays.
Music Director Simon Holt will conduct, and the featured soloists are mezzo-soprano Rachel Abrams and bass-baritone Christopher Grundy. The chorus will be accompanied by pianist Patrice Newman and the Cappella Cantorum Orchestra.
Ticket prices are $15 for students, $30 for adults and $35 at the door. Tickets may be purchased in advance through any chorus member, on the Cappella Cantorum website through the link below, or by calling 860-532-0454.
This year marks the 53rd season of Cappella Cantorum, which was founded in Jan. 1970. The group has built a close partnership with the Region 4 School District for more than 30 years where Cappella can be found rehearsing at JWMS on Monday evenings and performing in the school district’s auditoria. Cappella has also donated acoustic sound shells to enhance the JWMS auditorium stage.
When COVID hit Connecticut in early 2020, Cappella Cantorum halted rehearsals that were already underway at JWMS and canceled its May concert. From Sept. 2020 to April 2021, the group hosted a popular Zoom series to help singers stayed connected and continue learning about music-related topics.
With the availability of COVID vaccines and improved treatments, the group began to plan its return to in-person singing for Fall 2021. However, changing state COVID guidelines made it difficult for Region 4 to allow community groups in school facilities, so Cappella rehearsals were moved to Trinity Lutheran Church in Centerbrook for the 2021-2022 season.
“We were so pleased to be coming back to JWMS for our rehearsals,” said Carol Cherry, President of Cappella Cantorum.“ Returning to John Winthrop is one step closer to normal for all of us.”
Cappella Cantorum is the premiere, non-auditioned, community choral group of the Connecticut Shoreline and Lower Connecticut River Valley. Its primary purpose is to give singers of all ages the opportunity to learn, perform, share, and enjoy great choral music. In addition to twice yearly concerts, the group promotes music education and appreciation through summer singing programs, vocal training workshops, Messiah Sing & Listen events, and other events open to the public.
Cappella Cantorum has no audition requirement and welcomes people of all ages who like to sing and want to expand their music knowledge and skills. This opportunity renews again on Monday, Jan 9, 2023, when you can register and join Cappella for their first rehearsal as the singers and administration prepare for their spring concert scheduled for Sunday, April 4, 2023, 3pm, at JWMS. Rehearsals are generally held at 7 p.m. on Monday nights in JWMS.
For more information, visit cappellacantorum.org or call 860-532-0454.