The Inside Press

Magazines serving the communities of Northern Westchester

Cyrille Aimee

Cyrille Aimée and ‘Love Art’ Exhibit Open Exciting Fall Season at Chappaqua Performing Arts Center

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Love Art pop up gallery at ChappPac featured works by (L-R) Geoff Stein, Frank Foster Post, Cindy Press, Cabell Molina, Julie Headland, Bruce Horan.
Cyrille Aimée

By Grace Bennett

To those just arriving, the ‘Love Art’ pop up gallery titled Revolution – Art for Positive Social Change” and reception inside the Chappaqua Performing Arts Center offered visual relief for troubled times. Leave it to accomplished and awake artists to capture many of the prominent issues of our day through striking and heartfelt paintings and collages. Visit loveartgalleryandstudio.com to view these impressive collections and theinsidepress.com which will feature additional works that day. Plus: While I had a conflict and couldn’t stay for Cyrille Aimée’s performance, for a glorious few minutes, I heard the incredible celebrity jazz songstress and her fellow musicians rehearsing during a sound check before the show; it took nanoseconds to feel the passion and power of Aimée’s voice, and knew everyone was in for a treat.

A town release later described the official ribbon cutting and “a magnificent evening and an auspicious way to mark a new milestone in Westchester County’s continuing cultural evolution.” Aimée, winner of the 2012 Sarah Vaughn International Jazz Competition, later treated the audience to a number of well-known standards, dazzling originals and a selection of songs that crossed a wide array of genres including a jazz arrangement of Lerner and Loewe’s “I Could Have Danced All Night,” a touching take on the Beatles’ “Blackbird” and a special rendition of Tito Puente’s “Oye Como Va” had the crowd enthralled and chanting for more.

Duvian Montoya’s “They are Watching.”

“We couldn’t be more delighted with this new beginning,” John Fanelli, ChappPac’s theater manager commented. “In the years to come, this arts center will bring this community exceptionally diverse and distinctive programming, one that’s rich in music, theater, comedy, film and family attractions. This was a grand beginning, but indeed, it is, after all, only the beginning.”

RESERVE SOON!

The remainder of the 2017 Inaugural Fall Season in October had also featured: TIM KUBART & THE SPACE CADETS and Sō PERCUSSION; a Lobby Art Exhibit METHOD & MELODY sponsored by Northern Westchester Artists Guild and SOULSHINE: AN ALLMAN BROTHERS EXPERIENCE, a rock tribute performing ABBA favorites; and still coming at press time: the ROCKY HORROR PICTURE SHOW, a film cult classic on October 27 (showtime 8 p.m.; tickets are $20) Film: A Cult Classic; and on October 28, ECHOS OF SINATRA, a musical celebration on the life of Frank Sinatra.

Renee Pfefer, On Tour P.R. &  John Fanelli, Theater Manager at ChappPac

PLANNED FOR NOVEMBER & DECEMBER:

Thursday, November 2, MATT SCHOFIELD
Acclaimed UK-based blues guitarist.
Showtime: 8 p.m. Tickets: $17.50, $25, $35

Saturday, November 11, THE GREATEST PIRATE STORY (N)EVER TOLD!
Musical adventure for all ages with audience participation.
Showtime: 2 p.m. Tickets: $17.50

Friday, December 1, WHAT FRESH HELL LIVE!
Comedians Margaret Ables and Amy Wilson, hosts of popular parenting podcast
Showtime: 8 p.m. Tickets: $20

Saturday December 9, RAGTAG THEATRE’S CINDERELLA
Winner of 2016 Off Broadway Alliance Award for ‘Best Family Show.’
Showtime: 2 p.m. Tickets: $17.50

Sunday, December 17, 2017 ELF
Film: Modern-day Christmas Classic starring Will Farrell.
Showtime: 2 p.m. Tickets: $20

For more information, visit www.ChappaquaPAC.org

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ChappaquaPerformingArtsCenter/

This Weekend: Chappaqua Performing Arts Center Kicks Off Inaugural Season 9/23

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Opening Night Features Acclaimed Jazz Vocalist CYRILLE AIMÉE Performance and Love Art Gallery Exhibit / Reception Saturday September 23

CHAPPAQUA, NY –  Westchester County’s new hidden treasure, Chappaqua Performing Arts Center, is finally ready to officially open its doors this weekend.

The inaugural season kicks off Saturday, September 23 with an opening night concert by the acclaimed jazz vocalist CYRILLE AIMÉE at 8:00pm. Tickets are $25-$75 are available in advance at Ticketmaster.com, by calling 1-800-745-3000 and in person on the night of the show in the lobby box office.

Patrons are encouraged to arrive early to enjoy an entire evening of rich artistic experiences. Chappaqua Performing Arts Center has partnered with the LOVE ART Gallery to present a pop-up exhibition and reception entitled “Art for Positive Social Change” taking place in the lobby of ChappPAC from 4:00 to 7:00pm. The exhibition will feature a group of twelve artists from Connecticut and New York sharing a cross section of works focusing on social issues from race, to feminism to politics.

Described as “one of the most promising jazz singers of her generation” by the Wall Street Journal, CYRILLE AIMÉE is a vocalist with French and Dominican roots who fell in love with gypsy music and its culture heritage at an early age. Aimée grew up in Samois-sur-Seine, France – a village best known as the home of gypsy guitar icon Django Reinhardt – and its little wonder that its legacy resonates throughout her performances and recordings. In recent years Aimée has toured and recorded in a variety of ensembles configurations, among them, various duet projects with  Brazilian guitarist Diego Figueiredo. Her rich hybrid of influences has resulted in an award-winning vocal style that incorporates gypsy swing with Brazilian rhythms and melodies into well-known standards and original compositions that led the New York Times to proclaim, “No other young artist gives me hope for the future like Cyrille Aimée, the brilliantly inventive jazz vocal prodigy.”

Located on the former campus of Reader’s Digest in a building once known as the Wallace Auditorium, the 425-seat Chappaqua Performing Arts Center — or ChappPAC for short – was recently saved from demolition and established to provide a blend of local and national arts and cultural programming for people throughout Westchester County and the region.

2017 CHAPPAQUA PERFORMING ARTS CENTER FALL SEASON LINE UP
9/23 Cyrille Aimee (Jazz)
10/8 Tim Kubart & The Space Cadets (Children)
10/14 So Percussion (Classical)
10/20 Soulshine: An Allman Brothers Experience (Rock)
10/27 Rocky Horror Picture Show (Film)
10/28 Echos of Sinatra (Swing)
11/2 Matt Schofield (Blues)
11/11 The Greatest Pirate Story (N)ever Told! (Children)
12/1 What Fresh Hell Live! (Spoken Word)
12/9 Ragtag Theatre’s Cinderella (Children)
12/17 ELF (Film)

The Chappaqua Performing Arts Center is located at 480 Bedford Road, Chappaqua, NY 10514 just inside the gate on the former Reader’s Digest campus.

Tickets can be purchased online at Ticketmaster.com or by calling 1-800-745-3000

For additional information, visit www.ChappaquaPAC.org or call 914-458-5143

Follow on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ChappaquaPerformingArtsCenter/