The Inside Press

Magazines serving the communities of Northern Westchester

The Inside Press

Chappaqua Performing Arts Center: Ambitious Plans Shape Up for a New Westchester Destination

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Frank Shiner and fellow musicians at the Chappaqua Performing Arts Center PHOTO BY Carolyn Simpson/Doublevision Photographers

By Grace Bennett

“We were so lucky to be able to save this theater,” Town Councilwoman Lisa Katz said, at the start of an animated conversation about the current uses and all the grand possibilities for the Town of New Castle’s Chappaqua Performing Arts Center (ChappPac), the stately white building previously known as the Wallace Auditorium on the old Readers Digest campus.

With its airy interior and 300-plus, plush red velvet seats, and ample outdoor parking, the ChappPac already serves as ‘home’ to the town’s beloved Chappaqua Orchestra, whose productions there have been ongoing. Most recently, the Chappaqua Orchestra performed a second Storybook Concert and a Concerto Winner’s Concert inside its doors. Early on, a simulcast from Hamilton drew 125 attendees.

ChappPac is also now officially an exciting new venue for upcoming theater productions led by John Fanelli, executive director of the Lighthouse Youth Theater that’s based in Armonk. Fanelli was brought in to begin bringing in compelling theater to inside the ChappPac. “He is highly energetic and has a lot of contacts,” said Katz. “We are allowing his organization to use the space for eight weeks.” Fanelli stated at a recent performance that he is open to feedback on the kinds of productions area residents would be most interested in.

The pursuit of a full range of performing arts offerings is just beginning, and support from the community has already proved robust. The excitement was palpable among audience members who packed the house to enjoy Chappaqua’s blues and soul singer Frank Shiner. It was a first ‘charity concert,’ with Shiner donating 100 percent of the revenue from the evening toward a variety of purchases and improvements to the Center. (See a ‘Gotta Have Arts’ profile about Shiner at theinsidepress.com). A Friends of the Chappaqua Performing Arts Center, headed by Michele Gregson and Tracy Stein, aims to raise $50,000 this summer toward programming efforts.

Steffi Nossen School of Dance
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“The building could well have been demolished,” Katz points out, “to make room for town homes at the upcoming Chappaqua Crossing on the old RD campus. Town officials ‘jumped,’ to save it, she explained, and for a pittance, the Town of New Castle became the Center’s official owner. A theater camp for kids with one-week sessions is planned on site for the summer too.

The possibilities are endless, Katz says. She listed possibilities ranging from major art exhibits and comedy nights to an A-List lecture series (such as at the 92nd Street Y) or, “who knows, maybe an a capella concert featuring high schools from around the county. My goal is to transform the Center into a pre-eminent destination for visual performing arts and music and art.”

The success of the Jacob Burns Film Center in Pleasantville inspired the members of a Town Arts and Culture committee, formed two years ago, Katz added. “We want to create here for performing arts what the Burns Center is for film in Pleasantville.”

At press time, a programming schedule was in the works, and a website for the Chappaqua Performing Arts Center is still in development.

Donations are welcome! Write to: The Friends of the Chappapaqua Performing Arts Center, P. O. Box 351, Chappapaqua, NY.

Grace Bennett, Publisher and Editor of The Inside Press, looks forward to watching ChappPac evolve.

Inside the ChappPac: the May Concerto Winners’ Concert (L-R): David Restivo, Chappaqua Orchestra Executive Director; Julian Langford, Cello: the George and Sheila Drapeau, 1st Prize winner, Senior Division; Dylan Wu, Cello: the Frank and Suzanne Shiner 1st Prize winner, Junior Division Georgia Lazaridou, Piano: the Rita Ross 2nd Prize winner, Senior Division; Sara Scanlon, Cello: The Carmen and Rafael 2nd Prize winner, Junior Division; and Radaslawa Jasik, Piano: The David and Natalia Restivo 3rd Prize winner, Senior Division. Not shown: William Tang, Piano: the Georgia and Ron Frasch 3rd Prize winner, Junior Division.
PHOTO BY LANA ROSENBLIT

Northern Westchester Hospital to Celebrate in “Leading The Way, Together” November 18 Gala

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David William Miller, M.D., Chief of Anesthesiology

Northern Westchester Hospital (NWH) will hold its Annual Benefit themed “Leading The Way, Together” on Saturday, November 18, 2017 at the Saw Mill Club, 77 Kensico Drive, in Mount Kisco.

The Hospital will pay tribute to physician honoree, David William Miller, MD, Chief of Anesthesiology and to community honoree, Nancy Karch, Chair of Northern Westchester Hospital Board of Trustees. The benefit co-chairs are Albert and Doris Chance and Steven and Harriett Libov.

Dr. Miller, a resident of Armonk, New York, and a MEDNAX-affiliated anesthesiologist, has served as Chief of Anesthesia at NWH since 2003. He is a member of the Northern Westchester Hospital Medical Board, Board of Trustees and Foundation Board.

In addition, he and his wife Lauri are active philanthropists and benefactors of Northern Westchester Hospital, contributing to the Laurie Bass Sklaver Infusion Center and the Capital Campaign for the first phase of the Hospital’s Surgical Services Modernization, and donating to the Leukemia Society and the Ovarian Cancer Research Fund.

Ms. Karch, a resident of Katonah, is a former Senior Partner of the international consulting firm McKinsey & Company where she spent 26 years; she joined the Northern Westchester Hospital Board of Trustees in 2006. Since then, she has been involved in some of the most consequential decisions in the Hospital’s history.

Nancy Karch, Chair, NWH Board of Trustees

Under the leadership of immediate past Board Chair The Honorable Robert Spolzino, Ms. Karch chaired the committee that led the search for a new parent, culminating in January 2015, when Northern Westchester Hospital became part of Northwell Health, New York State’s largest healthcare system. When she became Chair of the Board in 2015, Ms. Karch led the transition. In 2015, she was appointed to serve on Northwell Health’s Board of Trustees.

The “Leading The Way, Together” benefit will take place at the Saw Mill Club and the menu will be provided by Abigail Kirsch. Cocktails begin at 6:30 p.m. with dinner at 8 p.m. For additional information, contact Gaby Golod Greenwald at 914.242.8392 or ggreenwald@northwell.edu.

VOX Summit Shows Byram Hills Freshmen Ways to Help People Far and Near

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The freshmen at Byram Hills High School were treated recently to a wealth of information on ways to help people in countries around the world, and also close to home. At the school’s first VOX Summit, 10 service organizations made presentations to the 200 first-year high school students on projects that provide for children’s badly needed heart operations in developing nations, educate at-risk girls in Kenya and help immigrants build new lives here in Westchester, among other missions.

Students watch slides of children helped by Heart Care International, which provides free surgical and medical care for children with heart disease in developing countries.

“My eyes are open,” freshman Cole Picca said near the end of the BHHS VOX summit. “I learned a lot.”

Organized by Melissa Stahl, chairperson of the World Languages Department, the summit was a key event in the District’s initiative to build students’ “global competency.” Stahl was joined by social studies teacher Ruben Torres, who enlisted his Student Leadership Board members to help with the event.

“The summit is intended to give students an idea of how they can use their voices to help other people,” Stahl said.

The event began with a keynote speech by Justin Buttar, founder of the British Columbia-based group Running for Hearts.

He told the students of his transformation from “a sheltered kid in White Rock, Canada” to the head of an organization that raises money through running events to fund care for children with heart defects in developing countries.

Starting Running for Hearts, he told them, “was my toughest project, but also my proudest achievement.” In breakout sessions, presenters told the students that the efforts make a difference, and can bring about change throughout a whole society. Ruthie Rosenberg of KEEP–the Katonah Education Exchange Program–described a boarding school in Kenya that protects and educates girls at risk of violence and other troubles. The school, the Kakenya Center for Excellence, is changing the way people see their community, she said.

“Really, they’re changing the thinking of the whole culture, and that’s not easy to do,” she said. The summit’s organizers plan to make it an annual event, ideally with students taking over more of the leadership in the future. Students said they came away from the presentations with ideas on how to help.

Materials brought by KEEP, the Katonah Education Exchange Program, supporting the Kakenya Center for Excellence, a boarding school that educates and protects at-risk girls in Kenya.

Cole said he was affected by a presentation by Bridges to Community. In the session, he heard from peers who took a service trip to Nicaragua, and who talked about how much they had learned from the people who lived there.

The residents of Nicaragua, he said, “got to teach you what their culture is about. I had never thought about it that way, so it was really eye opening for me.”

Student Taleen Postian said a key benefit of the day was in raising awareness about the ways that people can aid others.

“Now that you know that there’s some way to help, if you can’t start your own project, you can always help someone to help someone else–you can always help another organization.”

Another freshman, Jake Wild, said he was thinking of ways of using his talents –he plays guitar and sings– to help others.

“I’m happy that our school is getting into thinking about this more,” he said. Principal Chris Walsh said the event was a success.

“This fits squarely into the general direction that we are going to go in as a district and a school,” he said. “We are going to continue to find positive ways to improve our global competency.”

The organizations that took part were:

Abilis
http://www.abilis.us/

Bridges to Community
https://bridgestocommunity.org/

The Cookstove Project
http://www.cookstoveproject.org/

KEEP Girls in School
http://keepgirlsinschool.org/

My Brother’s Keeper
https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/my-brothers-keeper

Neighbor’s Link
http://www.neighborslink.org/

Ronald McDonald House
https://www.rmhc.org/

Running for Hearts
https://www.runforhearts.com/

SHARE the Project
https://sharetheproject.org/

Top 10 Financial Tidbits

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BY SCOTT M. KAHAN CFP®

  1. Join your company’s retirement plan and try to contribute as much as you can. Make sure you are contributing enough funds to get the maximum matching contribution from your employer.
  2. One of the greatest gifts you can give is to help pay the education costs for your grandchildren. Any gifts, regardless of how large, made to anyone for the purpose of funding education, do not incur gift taxes as long as the payment is made directly to the educational institution.
  3. Update your estate planning documents. Protect your health and your wealth with a health care proxy and durable power of attorney. Make sure your will and trusts leave money to the correct people.
  4. Maximize your tax deductions. Donate items you don’t need to charity. If you expect a large income tax refund, change your withholding tax so you get more per month in your paycheck and less of a refund.
  5. Buying low and selling high is a lot easier said than done. Have a solid rebalancing strategy in place that helps take the emotions out of investing.
  6. A shorter mortgage isn’t always better. Consider taking a long-term mortgage, and then make additional payments when you can. If things become financially “tight,” you can stop making additional payments.
  7. Protect tangible assets with the right amount of homeowners, automobile and liability insurance for liability and disasters.
  8. Withdrawing retirement plan assets before age 59½ may lead to a 10% penalty; not withdrawing enough after age 70½ may lead to a 50% penalty. Moral of the story? Know when to make withdrawals.
  9. Pay yourself first. As you set your budget each month, set aside money for savings and fixed expenses first. What’s left over can be used for other purposes.
  10. Like regular checkups with your physician, regular reviews with a Certified Financial Planner professional are important to your financial “health.”

Scott M. Kahan, is a Certified Financial Planner® professional and President of Financial Asset Management Corporation, a fee-only wealth management firm located at 26 South Greeley Avenue in Chappaqua. Call Scott Kahan at 914-238-8900.