The Inside Press

Magazines serving the communities of Northern Westchester

Gotta Have Arts

Pleasantville Music Festival: A Great Family Experience

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When given the opportunity to visit the 17th annual Pleasantville Music Festival on behalf of the Inside Press, I had to take it! For years, my family has been invited but scheduling issues always arise, and bummer after bummer, for one reason or another, it just didn’t work out! So that I was excited is an understatement given what I already knew about the Festival’s diverse offerings. When I entered, I noted the three performance stages, countless food tents where friends and families gathered for both shade (yes, it was a hot summer’s day) and a really good meal, in coolers from home or purchased. The total picture for me shouted “great family experience”!

But let’s face it, first and foremost, the Festival is about appreciating and enjoying the musical artists, of local, regional and even national significance. You can be certain I sprinted to the main performing stage for the first live performance of the day! It was hard to miss not only because of the sound of the instruments but also on account of the audible anticipation I picked up in comments among festival goers. It was the first show* and the musicians set the tone for a great day!

I’d be remiss if I didn’t give a special shoutout to the food and beverage vendors, who offered something for almost everyone. For kids, there were many inflatable games and attractions! Even if you do not have children don’t fret, the 21+ beer and wine corner is a great time for any adult. Prepare to be carded! I heard about the downpour later in the day and wondered how everyone fared. I was relieved to hear that everyone recouped, and the shows did go on!

Bottom line: The Pleasantville Music Festival will always be a superb opportunity to enjoy live music alongside favorite festival foods and activities! And you will be anything but bored!

*For a full lineup of who played, and to anticipate what you might expect next year, visit pleasantvillemusicfestival.com

A Barbie World Goes Local

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The Barbie Block party outside the Jacob Burns Film Center Media Arts Lab in July will be one for the memory books – with residents and visitors of all ages decked out in their best Barbie (and Ken!) pink and other eye-popping attire – enjoying a photo with the event’s very own Barbie or imbibing on ‘Barbie Beer’ offered by Soul Food.

Any ‘eye rolling’ over a movie about Barbie came to a quick halt as the word hit the streets in Pleasantville and beyond that “THIS” Barbie was no superficial plastic experience, but a living testament to how a doll and society can evolve. The #Barbie movie succeeded at being both a fabulous feast for the eyes and a deep dive into the soul.

Yes, gorgeous Margot Robbie plays a Sensitive, Soulful Barbie! I also didn’t expect to see a movie that offers our best answer to the patriarchy to date – helping men get in touch with their emotions. It’s actually very empathetic to men in case anyone is hearing the opposite. In a sidebar, Barbie’s travails also softened a tense mother/daughter relationship that would strike a chord for anyone in that boat. I laughed a lot but also cried a couple times during this delightful, smart movie. Whether you agree or not, I know so many who feel grateful to the Burns for also always making movie night feel special!

Caramoor Announces a Packed Calendar of Spectacular Fall ’23 and Spring ’24 Performances

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Spring ‘24 Season Features Cellist Abel Selaocoe, Singer-Songwriter Allison Russell, The English Concert, Baritone Will Liverman, the Lakecia Benjamin Quartet, Pianist Seong-Jin Cho and Much More

Caramoor’s longstanding commitment to adventurous programming – encompassing an expansive range of genres and outstanding artists – continues indoors all year round in the intimate setting of the Rosen House Music Room. Highlights of the Fall ’23 – Spring ‘24 season include genre-bending South African cellist Abel Selaocoe (Oct 22); a benefit concert with Juno Award-winning and Grammy-nominated singer-songwriter Allison Russell (Dec 2); superlative period-instrument ensemble The English Concert led by Harry Bicket (Dec 8); Grammy-winning baritone Will Liverman (March 24); dynamic saxophonist and bandleader Lakecia Benjamin with her quartet (April 19); and Chopin International Competition-winning pianist Seong-Jin Cho (May 15).

The fall and spring season is rounded out with the multi-Grammy winning Pacifica Quartet (April 14); a holiday program featuring TENET Vocal Artists (Dec 10); two programs from this season’s Ernst Stiefel String Quartet-in-Residence, the Abeo Quartet (Nov 12 & May 5); American Roots music from Alisa Amador (Nov 3) and Jake Blount (May 11); jazz from the Emmet Cohen Trio with special guest Lucy Yeghiazaryan (Sep 29); cabaret singer Carole J. Bufford (Oct 20); performances by young artists from Caramoor’s Evnin Rising Stars and Schwab Vocal Rising Stars programs, and more. 

Designed by Caramoor’s founders, Walter T. and Lucie Bigelow Rosen, as a charmingly intimate space for chamber music concerts, the historic Rosen House Music Room, with its authentic Renaissance furniture, paintings dating from the 16th century, and terra cotta reliefs, provides an ideal venue for Caramoor’s fall and spring programs – many of them unlikely to be heard this season elsewhere in the New York area.

Recitals and Chamber Music

Reviewing a recent performance, The Strad called genre-bending South African cellist Abel Selaocoe “a keen improviser, effulgent vocalist, natural collaborator and a winning communicator.” Moving seamlessly through a range of genres and styles, he has collaborated with world musicians and beatboxers, while also giving concerto performances and solo classical recitals. He combines virtuosic performance with improvisation, singing and body percussion, and he has a special interest in curating recital programs that highlight the links between Western and non-Western musical traditions, with a view to helping classical music reach a more diverse audience. An exclusive Warner Classics recording artist, Selaocoe’s debut album, Where is Home? (Hae Ke Kae), on the subject of home and refuge, was released last fall (Oct 22).

Superlative period-instrument ensemble The English Concert, led from the harpsichord by Harry Bicket, a recipient of an OBE from Queen Elizabeth, returns to Caramoor to perform the music of Vivaldi, Geminiani and others. This follows their 2021 all-Vivaldi performance, and featured on this concert are the remaining concertos from Vivaldi’s string concerto collection L’estro armonico that were not performed two years ago. Founded in 1972 by Trevor Pinnock CBE, the pioneering chamber orchestra was one of the first devoted to playing 18th- and early 19th-century music on period instruments and is recognized as one of the world’s leading exponents of Baroque and early Classical repertoire (Dec 8).

New York City-based TENET Vocal Artists, now in its 15th anniversary season, returns to Caramoor for a Christmas program entitled “Love Enfolds Thee Round.” Under Artistic Director Jolle Greenleaf, the vocal ensemble has won acclaim for its innovative programming, virtuosic one-voice-to-a-part singing “to an uncanny degree of precision” (Boston Globe) and command of repertoire that spans the Middle Ages to the present day (Dec 10).

Baritone Will Liverman, who earned raves and a subsequent Grammy for his “breakout performance” in Terence Blanchard’s Fire Shut Up in My Bones at the Met, gives his debut recital at Caramoor this season. Called “a voice for this historic moment” (Washington Post), Liverman was also awarded the Met’s 2022 Beverly Sills Artist Award. Following Fire’s success, the Met announced that Liverman will star in Anthony Davis’s X: The Life and Times of Malcolm X, premiering this fall and making Davis the second Black composer to have an opera produced at the Met in the company’s history (March 24).

With a career spanning nearly three decades, the multiple Grammy-winning Pacifica Quartet is known for its virtuosity, exuberant performance style, and often-daring repertory choices. Faculty string quartet-in-residence at the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music since 2012, the quartet also leads the Center for Advanced Quartet Studies at the Aspen Music Festival and School. Its 2020 album Contemporary Voices, featuring the works of Pulitzer Prize winners Shulamit Ran, Jennifer Higdon, and Ellen Taaffe Zwilich, won the Grammy Award for Best Chamber Music Performance. The quartet’s Caramoor program comprises works by Korngold, Gruenberg and Beethoven (April 14).

Pianist Seong-Jin Cho – the youngest-ever winner of Japan’s Hamamatsu International Piano Competition – also won Third Prize at the International Tchaikovsky Competition in 2011 at the age of 17 and was the first prize winner at the 2015 Chopin International Competition in Warsaw. An exclusive Deutsche Grammophon artist since 2016, his latest recording for the label is the solo album The Handel Project, released this past spring, following up on a 2021 release of Chopin’s Piano Concerto No. 2 and Scherzi with the London Symphony Orchestra and Gianandrea Noseda. At Caramoor, he plays a program of Haydn, Ravel and Liszt (May 15).

Jazz (in collaboration with Jazz at Lincoln Center)

Multifaceted American jazz pianist and composer Emmet Cohen is an internationally acclaimed jazz artist, dedicated educator, winner of the 2019 American Pianists Awards, and a finalist in the 2011 Thelonious Monk International Piano Competition. A regular headliner at Jazz at Lincoln Center, the Village Vanguard and Birdland, he has also appeared at the Newport, Monterey, and North Sea jazz festivals. The Emmet Cohen Trio is joined at Caramoor by American-Armenian vocalist Lucy Yeghiazaryan, a frequent collaborator who has become a leading voice in American straight-ahead jazz. She was a top ten finalist in the 2015 Thelonious Monk Competition and is also a skilled classical violinist. Her third album, Lonely House, was released earlier this year (Sep 29).

In 2020, charismatic alto saxophonist Lakecia Benjamin was voted “Rising Star” in the 2020 Downbeat Critics Poll and “Up and Coming Artist of the Year” by the Jazz Journalists Association. Fusing traditional conceptions of jazz, hip-hop, and soul, she has shared stages with several legendary artists, including Stevie Wonder, Alicia Keys, and The Roots. Her fourth studio album, Phoenix, released this past January on Whirlwind Recordings, was praised by All Music for its “wide sense of adventure,” revealing Benjamin to be “as ambitious as she is focused, energetic, and perceptive.” She appears at Caramoor with the Lakecia Benjamin Quartet (April 19).

American Roots (in collaboration with City Winery)

Winner of the 2022 NPR Tiny Desk Contest, Alisa Amador began performing as a backup singer for her parents’ bilingual Latin folk band, Sol y Canto, at age five, began playing classical guitar at age ten, and eventually found the electric guitar a decade later. Her own songs, written in both English and Spanish, contain elements of Latin and jazz music as well as pop, funk, soul, and something uniquely her own. As she puts it, her specialty is sparking connections across both listeners and musical styles (Nov 3).

Self-taught singer, songwriter, poet, activist and multi-instrumentalist Allison Russell plays a special benefit concert in the Rosen House Music Room in December. Her first solo album, Outside Child, was released two years ago, and garnered three Grammy nominations, the Juno Award for Contemporary Roots Album of the Year, the 2022 Americana Music Association’s Album of the Year Award, two International Folk Music Awards, three Canadian Folk Music Awards, and four UK Americana Music Awards. Her eagerly awaited follow-up, The Returner, a body-shaking, mind-expanding, soulful expression of Black liberation, Black love and Black self-respect that features an all-female musical collective, will be released in September (Dec 2).

Based in Providence, RI, Jake Blount is an award-winning interpreter of Black folk music. Initially recognized for his skill as a string band musician, Blount has charted an unprecedented, Afrofuturist course on his pilgrimage through sound archives and song collections. In his hands, the banjo, fiddle, electric guitar and synthesizer become ceremonial objects used to channel the insurgent creativity of his forebears. His performances – like his recent Smithsonian Folkways release, The New Faith – seamlessly merge centuries-old traditional songs with the trappings and techniques of modern Black genres (May 11).

American Songbook

Carole J. Bufford – recipient of Broadway World’s Vocalist of the Year and the 2020 Gold Medal winner of the American Traditions Vocal Competition – gives a benefit performance in October. Originally hailing from Lincolnton, GA, her program, ROAR! Music of the Jazz Age, will feature classics from the Jazz Age songbook made famous by the likes of Sophie Tucker, Louis Armstrong, Al Jolson, Fats Waller, Bessie Smith, Helen Morgan, Ruth Etting, and more.  (Oct 20).

Community

Caramoor presents a celebration of Día de los Muertos, or Day of the Dead, for the third year as a free outdoor community event. The rich cultural holiday will be observed through traditional music, dance, arts & crafts, and storytelling so that loved ones are honored in this lively celebration. Featured artists include the Calpulli Mexican Dance Company (Oct 15).

Family

Blanca Cecilia González and Jesse Elder – a husband and wife violin/piano duo – bring the holiday-themed Musiquita Nutcracker Tap Dance Special to the Music Room, in a playful bilingual exploration in Spanish and English of music, language and culture (Dec 3). 

In the spring, Latin Grammy-nominated songwriter Sonia De Los Santos presents a family program on Friends Field following the release of her third and latest solo album, Esperanza, a bilingual collection of songs that explore hope, looking back at our own journey, cherishing our cities and homes, being grateful to one another, dreaming of a better future, marveling at nature, and finding light within ourselves (May 19).

Mentoring

Young artists from Caramoor’s chamber mentorship program, Evnin Rising Stars, led by Guest Artistic Director Marcy Rosen, perform a pair of concerts in the fall following a week of workshops, reading sessions, and ensemble rehearsals alongside distinguished artist mentors violist Shmuel Ashkenasi and double bassist Edgar Meyer. This year’s Rising Stars are violinists Maria Ioudenitch, Lun Li and Amarins Wierdsma; violists Njord Fossnes and Cara Pogossian; cellists Gabriel Martins and Chase Park; and pianist Janice Carissa. Over the course of two programs, they perform works by Boccherini, Mozart, Schubert, and Dohnányi, as well as Meyer’s Quintet for String Quartet and Double Bass (Oct 28 & 29).

The Abeo Quartet, Caramoor’s 2023-24 Ernst Stiefel String Quartet-in-Residence, gives two performances this fall and spring. The quartet formed at Juilliard in 2018 and is currently the inaugural Graduate String Quartet in Residence at the University of Delaware under the mentorship of the Calidore String Quartet. Abeo’s recent accomplishments include winning Third Prize at the 2023 Bad Tölz International String Quartet Competition and being among ten quartets invited to participate in the 14th Banff International String Quartet Competition in 2022. The quartet was also a First Prize and Audience Favorite Prize winner in the Yellow Springs Chamber Music Competition for Emerging Professional Ensembles and Silver Medal winner of the Chesapeake International Chamber Music Competition, both in 2022. The quartet’s fall program includes music of Prokofiev and Beethoven, along with the U.S. premiere of Lee Bradshaw’s Resolve. In the spring they perform quartets by Glazunov, Shostakovich, Ravel and Reena Esmail (Nov 12, May 5).

Caramoor’s Schwab Vocal Rising Stars – led by Artistic Director Steven Blier, assisted by Bénédicte Jourdois and developed in conjunction with the New York Festival of Song – present “EROS AND CO.”: the chaos and the delight of Cupid’s arrow, refracted through songs by Saint-Saëns, Granados, Sondheim, Serge Gainsbourg, and others. This follows a week-long residency that includes daily coaching, rehearsals, and workshops (March 17).

Getting to Caramoor

Getting to Caramoor is simple by car or public transportation. All parking is free and close to the performance areas. Handicapped parking is also free and readily available. By car from New York City, take the Henry Hudson Parkway north to the Saw Mill River Parkway north to I-684 north to Exit 6. Go east on Route 35 to the traffic light (0.3 miles). Turn right onto Route 22 south, and travel 1.9 miles to the junction of Girdle Ridge Road where there is a green Caramoor sign. At the junction, veer left and make a quick right onto Girdle Ridge Road. Continue on Girdle Ridge Road 0.5 miles to the Caramoor gates on the right. Approximate drive time is one hour. By train from Grand Central Station, take the Harlem Division Line of the Metro-North Railroad heading to Southeast, and exit at Katonah. Caramoor is a 3.5-mile drive from the Katonah station.

About Caramoor

Caramoor is a cultural arts destination located on a unique 80-plus-acre campus with Italianate architecture and gardens in Northern Westchester County, NY. Its beautiful grounds include the historic Rosen House, a stunning mansion listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Besides enriching the lives of its audiences through innovative and diverse musical performances of the highest quality, Caramoor mentors young professional musicians and provides music-centered educational programs for young children.

 

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Caramoor Fall ’23 – Spring ‘24 season

All concerts take place in the Rosen House Music Room unless otherwise indicated

Fri, Sep 29 at 8pm

Emmet Cohen Trio with special guest Lucy Yeghiazaryan

Presented in collaboration with Jazz at Lincoln Center

 

Sun, Oct 15 at 3pm

Friends Field

Día de los Muertos Celebration

With Calpulli Mexican Dance Company

 

Fri, Oct 20 at 8pm

Carole J. Bufford

Benefit Concert

 

Sun, Oct 22 at 3pm

Abel Selaocoe, cello

 

Sat, Oct 28 at 8pm

Evnin Rising Stars: Program I

Guest Artistic Director:

Marcy Rosen, cello

 

Distinguished Artists:

Shmuel Ashkenasi, viola

Edgar Meyer, double bass

 

Rising Stars:

Maria Ioudenitch, violin

Lun Li, violin

Amarins Wierdsma, violin

Njord Fossnes, viola

Cara Pogossian, viola

Gabriel Martins, cello

Chase Park, cello

Janice Carissa, piano

 

Luigi BOCCHERINI: String Quintet TBA

Edgar MEYER: Quintet

Ernő DOHNÁNYI: Piano Quintet in C

 

Sun, Oct 29 at 3pm

Evnin Rising Stars: Program II

Luigi BOCCHERINI: String Quintet TBA

W.A. MOZART: String Quintet in G minor, K. 516

Franz SCHUBERT: Piano Quintet in A, “Trout”

 

Fri, Nov 3 at 8pm

Alisa Amador

Presented in collaboration with City Winery

 

Sun, Nov 12 at 3pm

Abeo Quartet

Lee BRADSHAW: Resolve for String Quartet (U.S. premiere)

Sergei PROKOFIEV: String Quartet No. 2 in F, Op. 92

Ludwig van BEETHOVEN: String Quartet No. 12 in E-flat, Op. 127

 

Sat, Dec 2 at 8pm

Allison Russell

Benefit Concert

 

Sun, Dec 3 at 3pm

Family Concert: Musiquita Nutcracker Tap Dance Special

 

Fri, Dec 8 at 8pm

The English Concert

Harry Bicket, conductor and harpsichord

Antonio VIVALDI: L’estro Armonico, Concerto No. 5

Antonio VIVALDI: L’estro Armonico, Concerto No. 6

Antonio VIVALDI: L’estro Armonico, Concerto No. 7

Evaristo Felice DALL’ABACO: Concerto a più istrumenti, Op 5, No. 6

Unico Wilhelm VAN WASSENAER: Concerto Armonici for 4 violins in E-flat, No. 6

Giovanni MOSSI: Concerto for 4 violins

Antonio VIVALDI: L’estro Armonico, Concerto No. 4

Francesco GEMINIANI: Concerto grosso in D minor, “La Follia” after Corelli

 

Sun, Dec 10 at 3pm
TENET Vocal Artists

“Love Enfolds Thee Round”

 

Sun, March 17 at 3pm

Schwab Vocal Rising Stars

Steven Blier, Artistic Director

“EROS AND CO.”

 

Sun, March 24 at 3pm

Will Liverman, baritone

Pianist TBA

 

Sun, April 14 at 3pm

Pacifica Quartet

Erich Wolfgang KORNGOLD: String Quartet No. 3 in D, Op. 34

Louis GRUENBERG: Four Diversions for String Quartet, Op. 32

Ludwig van BEETHOVEN: String Quartet No. 15 in A minor, Op. 132

 

Fri, April 19 at 8pm

Lakecia Benjamin Quartet

Presented in collaboration with Jazz at Lincoln Center

 

Sun, May 5 at 3pm

Abeo Quartet

Alexander GLAZUNOV: Five Novelettes, Op. 15: 2. Orientale

Reena ESMAIL: String Quartet “Ragamala”

Dmitri SHOSTAKOVICH: String Quartet No. 11 in F minor, Op. 122

Maurice RAVEL: String Quartet in F

 

Sat, May 11 at 8pm

Jake Blount

Presented in collaboration with City Winery

 

Wed, May 15 at 7:30pm

Seong-Jin Cho, piano

Joseph HAYDN: Piano Sonata in E minor

Maurice RAVEL: Menuet sur le nom d’Haydn

Maurice RAVEL: Le Tombeau de Couperin

Franz LISZT: Années de pèlerinage, deuxième année – Italie, S161

 

Sun, May 19 at 3pm

Friends Field

Family Concert: Sonia De Los Santos

Open to Public Viewing on June 24 and July 7: What Happened to Jackson Avenue — A Story of Urban Renewal in 1960s Nyack

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What Happened to Jackson Avenue: A Story of Urban Renewal in 1960s Nyack is a new documentary which captures the human impact of 124 predominantly Black families displaced from their homes, businesses and generations of accumulated wealth lost.

The first public screenings is Saturday June 24 at 8 p.m., and Friday, July 7 at 8 p.m. at the Nyack Center. Tickets are on sale, now. https://phoenixtheatreensembleorg.thundertix.com/events/213870

Per news direct here from the film’s producer Phoenix Theatre Ensemble in collaboration with Rivertown Films is a summary about the film and information about the gathering of artists and storytellers who have brought it to the screen:

“Urban renewal projects irrevocably changed the landscape of American cities and villages in the 1950s and 1960s. Although intended to stimulate economic and social ‘revitalization,’ many of these projects resulted in the destruction of entire communities.

Black parishioners in Piermont. Courtesy of the Leonard Cooke collection.

Nyack has its own urban renewal story, now told in a new documentary through interviews with people who lived the experience. What Happened to Jackson Avenue offers real-life accounts of the human impact–deeply felt by the124 Nyack families, nearly 80% Black, who lost their homes, businesses and generations of accumulated wealth to ‘eminent domain.’

“This film is essential to an understanding of Nyack’s history, and provides an important case study of how even a small village was shaped by the broader forces driving urban renewal policies in the 1960s,” said Elijah Reichlin-Melnick, Former NY State senator. The first public screenings will be held at The Nyack Center, located on South Broadway and Depew Avenue, on Saturday, June 24 and Friday, July 7 at 8 pm.

Tickets are on sale now for $25 in advance and $35 at the door. 

Urban Renewal Map Courtesy of the Nyack Library Local History Room

Panel discussions following the 60-minute screenings will give audiences opportunities to hear live from storytellers interviewed in the film, as well as the documentary creators. Nyack activist, artist and historian Bill Batson (also in the film) will moderate.

Nicole Hines, President, Nyack NAACP, will join the June 24 panel. Hines comments: “Fair housing and home ownership continue to be key issues for the NAACP and for everyone we represent. We hope this film will advance the discussion and motivate change.”

The documentary was produced by the Phoenix Theatre Ensemble, a New York City-grown theater company now with a home and annual live arts Festival in Nyack. The public screenings in Nyack are presented in collaboration with the Rivertown Film Society.

“This is a powerful film, and a service to our community as it acknowledges and learns from its history,” commented Don Hammond, Mayor of Nyack

Inspiration for the documentary sprang from a comment made by Batson in the summer of 2019 as he in stood in the main parking lot at the center of the village.

”This was Jackson Avenue. Our family home once stood here,” said Batson.

That spark set a creative process in motion–two-years of research, interviews, photography and editing undertaken by young filmmakers Hakima Alem and Rudi Gohl.

“June 12 marked the 60th anniversary of the assassination of civil rights pioneer and NAACP leader Medgar Evers,” said Batson. “And with Juneteenth just days away, this an especially good time to reflect on the past, present and future of our own community. What Happened to Jackson Avenue challenges us to look back, and look ahead.” 

ABOUT THE STORYTELLERS
Bill Batson is well known in the Nyack community as a leader, artist and historian. His grandmother’s family, the Avery’s, moved to Nyack in the late 1800s. They lived through, and spoke out against, urban renewal. His family home on Jackson Avenue was a casualty. Today, Batson is a columnist and featured contributor to Nyack News & Views, where his weekly Sketch Log chronicles the Nyack experience. Batson also manages the weekly Farmers Market for the Nyack Chamber of Commerce.

Faith Blount is a Nyack native who experienced urban renewal first-hand as a child. Her family lived with her grandparents in a house on Liberty street, with their dry cleaning business attached. While both their home and business were demolished during urban renewal, they received compensation for the residence only. Blount’s grandfather was a civil rights leader and founder of the NAACP chapter in Nyack. Blount is a teacher and a role model for young Black people wherever she goes.

Lonnie “Buster” Leonard is a Nyack native who grew up on Jackson Avenue in the 1950s. He experienced urban renewal as a teenager when he lost his home and saw his friends and community forced out. His family moved to High Avenue just before the demolition began. Their old home on Jackson Avenue was destroyed shortly thereafter.

Win Perry is a historian and architect who comes from a long line of Nyack locals. He currently resides in the house his family built in 1846. His grandson is the 12th generation of his family to live in Nyack. Perry worked for an architectural firm in Nyack during urban renewal and saw both sides of the process. Avid historian and past president of the local historical society, Perry currently serves as a member of the executive board. He was a member of the NAACP and has served as an educator on urban renewal and city planning. 

Barbra Williams was born in Anniston, Alabama and moved to Nyack in the early 1960s just before urban renewal got under way. She was an avid member of the protests against the project. In 1965, she managed the campaign that won Heziekiah Easter a seat on the Village of Nyack Board of Trustees–the first Black person elected to public office in Rockland County. Williams was inducted into Rockland County’s Civil Rights Hall of Fame in 2016 for her work in fighting discrimination against people of color and the disadvantaged. She describes herself as a storyteller, memory keeper and “ancestor in training.”

ABOUT THE ARTISTS

Hakima Alem is an Ethiopian writer and film director. She moved to Nyack in 2018, and now resides in New York City. Alem graduated from Bard College in 2021. Her work centers on the lives of women of color, human rights and international adoption. She has worked on several documentary films and with multiple nonprofits. Before directing What Happened To Jackson Avenue, she was an assistant editor for the film Muicha, The Voice of Bossa Nova and created her own film titled Black at Bard 2020. Moving forward, Alem hopes to publish novels and continue creating and directing documentaries and other films.

Rudi Gohl is a filmmaker, documentarian and editor based in New York City. Since graduating from college in 2021, Gohl has worked extensively in New York, filming and editing music videos, short films, plays and documentaries. Offering a wide range of creative possibilities, the documentary format is of particular interest to Gohl. He has recently worked with the musical artist Chandrika Tandon, and multi-cultural artist Eljuri. He currently works as a junior assistant editor and post-production assistant for the award-winning documentary company Show of Force.

Faith Blount is a Nyack native who grew up in the midst of Nyack’s Urban Renewal Program. Her family lived with her grandparents, who owned a house on Liberty street that had their dry cleaning business attached. During Urban Renewal, they were compensated for their home as a residence only, not as a business. The Blounts moved to Orangeburg shortly after. Photo by Rudi Gohl

Jackson Avenue. Young Faith (Courtesy of the Blount Family)

 

 

Announcing the Hudson Valley Summer Arts Pass

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Five premier cultural arts organizations – Jacob Burns Film Center, Historic Hudson Valley, Caramoor Center for Music and the Arts, Storm King Art Center, and Hudson Valley Shakespeare Festival – have joined together to announce the 2nd year of presenting the Hudson Valley Summer Arts Pass.

The Hudson Valley Summer Arts Pass is a discounted bundle of tickets to the season’s top events. With an abundance of offerings across the five partner organizations, the Pass helps consumers plan a vibrant and diversified season of arts and culture – all within a short drive! The Pass costs $185, but is valued at over $400, and a link for more information on the Pass can be found on each of the participating organizations’ websites through May 31, 2023, however the only way to officially purchase the Pass is here: https://shop.burnsfilmcenter.org/packages/fixed/188

Offers include:

Jacob Burns Film Center, Pleasantville

With a diverse slate of films curated by our talented programming team, you’re sure to have an outstanding experience at our state-of-the-art theater. Get a taste of all we offer from buzzworthy new releases and award-winning foreign films to eye-opening documentaries! Join us for our music series Sounds of Summer, Pride Month programming,   eagerly anticipated new releases such as Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse, Greta Gerwig’s Barbie, Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer, and Wes Anderson’s Asteroid City.

You will receive four complimentary passes (plus two coupons for free popcorn and soda) to any regular* screening. Your passes can be redeemed in person at the box office for the screening/s of your choice, pending availability. Your tickets and coupons will be mailed within 10 days of purchase. *Special events are not included in the offer. Valid for screenings through 8/31/23.

Learn more at https://burnsfilmcenter.org/cinefiles-hv-summer-arts-pass/

Questions? Contact us at support@burnsfilmcenter.org or 914.773.7663, ext. 6.

Historic Hudson Valley, Sleepy Hollow Country

This summer, enjoy spectacular treasures of the Hudson Valley with two tickets for tours of three National Historic Landmarks. See Washington Irving’s Sunnyside, the charming riverside home of the Father of American Literature; gaze in wonder at stained glass windows by master artists Henri Matisse and Marc Chagall at Union Church of Pocantico Hills; and be transported to the 1750s during a tour of Philipsburg Manor.

Two tickets for each historic site tour must be reserved on hudsonvalley.org. Please allow 48 hours after purchase of the Hudson Valley Summer Arts Pass to access your benefits on hudsonvalley.org/tickets. You will receive an email with instructions on how to log in and make reservations for your tickets. Valid for tours through 9/10/23. Not valid for tours of Kykuit, the Rockefeller estate, or any special events.

Learn more at https://hudsonvalley.org/hudson-valley-summer-arts-pass/

Questions? Contact us at info@hudsonvalley.org or by calling 914.366.6900.

Caramoor Center for Music and the Arts, Katonah

Experience an exciting array of curated concerts during the 2023 Caramoor Summer Season! Featuring top artists and ensembles spanning genres of classical, American roots, jazz, global, Broadway, and opera, Caramoor has something for everyone.

Select two tickets to a concert of your choice (an $80+ value) and join us for world-class music in one of our open-air venues. Valid only for events in Caramoor’s summer season through 8/18/23. Some exclusions apply (opening night and afternoon teas not included). Your tickets will be emailed to you within one week of your performance.

Learn more at https://caramoor.org/upcoming-events/summer-caramoor-ticket-packages/

Questions? Contact us at boxoffice@caramoor.org or by calling 914.232.1252.

Hudson Valley Shakespeare Festival, Garrison

HVSF is bringing you a summer of love, laughter, and adventure. The 2023 season includes two of Shakespeare’s greatest hits, LOVE’S LABOR’S LOST and HENRY V, and the world premiere of PENELOPE. At the heart of each of these plays is a story about love of comrades and friends, of family, of country, of romantic enchantments and unspeakable longing.elect two tickets to a weekday (Monday – Thursday) performance of your choice and come revel in the joy and magic of live theater. Valid for performances through 9/17/23. Your tickets will be emailed to you within one week of your performance. Some exclusions apply.

Learn more at https://hvshakespeare.org/hvsap/

Questions? Contact us at boxoffice@hvshakespeare.org or 845.265.9575.

Storm King Art Center, Mountainville

There is so much to do at Storm King this summer! Plan the perfect day exploring large-scale sculptures under the open sky in our 500-acre landscape, including new special exhibitions by Beatriz Cortez, Ugo Rondinone, and RA Walden. Rent a bike, ride the tram, join a free tour or family program, or lounge among the art with a picnic lunch.

You will receive admission for two people on the day of your choice. Tickets may be redeemed as a two-person vehicle with parking or a pair of Storm King Shuttle tickets from Beacon Metro-North station (Sat-Sun visits only). You will receive an email from Storm King with a link to request your tickets. Valid for weekday and weekend visits through August 31, 2023. Tickets and entry times subject to availability. Some blackout dates apply.

Learn more at https://stormking.org/hv-arts-pass

Questions? Contact us at info@stormkingartcenter.org or 845.534.3115.

The Hudson Valley Summer Arts Pass was created by these premier arts organizations so that patrons can experience just a small portion of the ever-expanding cultural arts scene we have in the Hudson Valley.

Caramoor President and CEO, Edward Lewis, III, comments: “Music has the unique ability to unite people across geography, through history, and from all lived experiences. At Caramoor, we recognize and embrace the unique responsibility we have as arts presenters, and with our fellow participants, we create a welcoming and safe cultural community. We hope that Caramoor fans and newcomers alike will take advantage of this great deal and experience!”

“We’re thrilled to partner once again with the region’s top arts organizations to offer visitors this opportunity to explore the richness of the cultural landscape here in the Hudson Valley,” said Historic Hudson Valley’s Vice President of Communications & Commerce, Rob Schweitzer. “This collaboration offers the community the chance to see some of the most anticipated events of the season and experience a wide range of offerings throughout the summer. Plus, it’s a real bargain!”

Jacob Burns Film Center Executive Director, Mary Jo Ziesel comments: “We love to collaborate with other arts and culture nonprofits in the region to offer a chance to try out the diverse cultural offerings we have so close by. The arts are a fun way to celebrate the summer and patrons can enjoy a significant discount with all partner organizations while supporting arts in the Hudson Valley!”

“Hudson Valley Shakespeare Festival is thrilled to participate again in this vibrant effort to showcase the best of the region’s arts and culture scene,” said Kendra Ekelund, Managing Director of HVSF. “We look forward to collaborating with our peer arts organizations and sharing our love of live theater with new and returning audiences this summer. Whether you’re a lifelong theater-goer or a first-time visitor, we hope the Summer Arts Pass inspires you to explore the rich arts & cultural offerings of the Hudson Valley.”

“There are so many wonderful places in the Hudson Valley to enjoy art, music, film, performance, and the outdoors,” said Storm King Art Center President, John P. Stern. “Storm King is pleased to collaborate with nearby organizations to offer a unique way to plan cultural activities throughout the summer. I hope that the Hudson Valley Summer Arts Pass encourages people to visit somewhere they’ve never been or seek out a new experience. We look forward to welcoming visitors to what will be an exciting season of outdoor exhibitions and programs at Storm King.”

2022 was the inaugural year of the pass and loyal arts patron, Julie Alterio, shared her gratitude: “The Hudson Valley Summer Arts Pass gave us a full roster of enriching entertainment in 2022, including favorites such as Caramoor, the Jacob Burns Film Center, and the Hudson Valley Shakespeare Festival.

 

Editor’s Note: The information in this post has been provided to the Inside Press by Caramoor on behalf of the organizations participating in the Hudson Valley Summer Arts Pass.