Perfect Pairs at The Palace in Stamford CT

The Palace - photo by Happyhaha

Some of the most entertaining acts in history have been “Perfect Pairs” – Abbott & Costello, Martin & Lewis, Lucy & Desi.  This Fall the Courtyard by Marriott presents “Broadway/Cabaret/Jazz Series: Perfect Pairs at The Palace.”  Perfect Pairs will feature the very best dynamic duos in Broadway, Cabaret and Jazz performing in an intimate setting on the HARMAN Stage on four evenings throughout the fall and winter. This series is made possible through the generosity of Presenting Sponsor Courtyard by Marriott.

This unique series, where the performers and audience both occupy the stage, is the result of the passion and hard work of Palace Theatre Board Member Lynn DiMenna.  “Lynn has been working quite diligently to bring this series to fruition for almost four years now,” said Executive Director, Michael E. Moran, Jr.  “Combining Broadway, Cabaret and Jazz and seating the audience on the stage with the performers will make for four extraordinary and intimate events.”

"I wanted to launch the series with something a little special," said DiMenna, a cabaret performer herself. "Pairing some of the best entertainers in the different genres brings something unexpected and exciting to the mix that I think our audiences will love!"

Saturday, September 7, 2013 – 8 p.m.

JUDY CARMICHAEL & STEVE ROSS

Grammy nominated pianist Judy Carmichael, one of the world’s leading interpreters of stride piano and swing, and Steve Ross, who the New York Times calls "Crown Prince of New York Cabaret," team up for an unforgettable evening.

Friday, October 18, 2013 – 8 p.m.

CHRISTINE PEDI & JOHNNY RODGERS

October’s evening features musical theater singer, comedienne and Drama Desk nominated Christine Pedi, and internationally-celebrated singer-songwriter, pianist, Broadway star, and recording artist Johnny Rodgers, who is described by Stephen Holden (The New York Times) as an entertainer “that can’t be found anywhere else” with “fused elements of Billy Joel, Peter Allen and Johnny Mercer.”

Wednesday, November 13, 2013 – 8 p.m.

CYRILLE AIMÉE & FREDDY COLE

In November, old world jazz and standards meets the next generation – Cyrille Aimée, an unstoppable, undeniable talent in the modern age of jazz and whose unique vocal stylings reflect her culturally rich background of Dominican rhythm and the incredible swing of the French gypsies, teams up with Freddy Cole (Nat “King” Cole’s brother) whose vocals – suave, elegant, formidable, and articulate – are among the most respected in jazz today.

Wednesday, January 22, 2014 – 8 p.m.

MARILYN MAYE & HOUSTON PERSON

The series goes out with a bang when Cabaret legend Marilyn Maye returns to the HARMAN Stage with world renowned tenor saxophonist Houston Person mixing the best in Broadway, Cabaret and Jazz.

Tickets for the Broadway/Cabaret/Jazz Series can be purchased as single tickets and partial subscriptions at www.SCAlive.org or charged by phone with major credit cards by calling the Palace Box Office at 203-325-4466. Tickets may also be purchased in person at the Palace Theatre box office on 61 Atlantic Ave. in downtown Stamford, CT. The box office is open Monday-Friday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. The 2013-2014 season is made possible by Palace Theatre's Season Sponsors Seaboard Properties, Inc. and the Whittingham Family.

About the Palace Theatre

The vision of the Palace Theatre is to be the regional arts center for exciting entertainment that enhances and enriches the cultural, educational, economic, and social life of the community.  The Palace strives to achieve this vision by demonstrating integrity in all work and relationships, providing service and quality in all activities, fostering and promoting diversity of thought, ideas and culture, providing stewardship for the Stamford Arts community, emphasizing outreach in our community, and offering creativity in all endeavors.  Major funding is provided by the Department of Economic & Community Development and the Office of the Arts.  Programs made possible in part by the Fairfield County Community Foundation.

Summer Concerts at Calf Pasture Beach in Norwalk

Summer nights in Norwalk mean music by the Sound, and there is no better place to enjoy a concert as the sunsets than at Calf Pasture Beach.  In addition to music, four concert evenings begin with a classic car show organized by The Coachmen for several hundred-car buffs from throughout the tri-state area.

Bill Genuario

On July 3, Norwalk will celebrate its annual Independance Day Celebration (rain date July 5).  Dance to the Music with DJ Nuxxo opens Shady Beach entertainment at 6 p.m. and family fun at Calf Pasture Beach starts at 5:30 p.m. with The Amazing Andy Show.  Bill Genuario, one of the most popular vocalists in the tri-state area, headlines at 8:00 p.m. at Shady Beach. He will be joined by his band, Destiny, which includes Tommy Hartlett (keyboard and vocals), Linda Fakundiny (guitar/vocals), Johnny Mennonna (bass guitar) and Ron Nihoff (drums). Parking will be available at Calf Pasture Beach only. 

On July 10 at 6:30 p.m. concertgoers will enjoy Curious Creatures, a hands on exhibit of exotic animals followed by Scarborough Fair.  With voices that blend effortlessly into that Simon & Garfunkel signature sound, brothers Jeb and Jock Guthrie pay tribute to the famous musical duo.

A Classic Car Show beginning at 6:00 p.m. on July 17 is followed by the music of The Royal Kings.  This musical ensemble features vocalists Joey Bennett, Douglas Dorsey, Timmy Hayes, Tommy Talercio and Richard “Cookie” Thomas. These performers have opened for headlining acts from the 50s, 60s and 70s that include Harold Melvin and the Blue Notes, Little Anthony, AWB and the Flamingos.  They continue to perform on the Oldies Rock and Roll circuit, as well as concerts and special events, and have two CDs, “Dreamin’ Through the Years” and “Dreamin’ at Christmas.”

Fleetwood Macked

The final July concert on July 24 headlines Fleetwood Macked at 7 p.m.  This tribute band recreates the musical experience of Fleetwood Mac’s most popular line-up -- Mick Fleetwood (Frank Saitta), John and Christine McVie (Bobby Trombley and Sue Rowe), Stevie Nicks (Hillary Epstein) and Lindsey Buckingham (Mike Epstein). 

The Facts

Each Wednesday night throughout the summer, area residents look forward to packing a picnic and a blanket and heading to the beach to enjoy a relaxing evening of music beside Long Island Sound. A $5.00 parking fee is charged for cars without a Norwalk beach sticker. For updates and additional information call the Norwalk Recreation and Parks Office at 203-854-7807. All concerts have a rain date of the following day.  For cancellation information call 203-854-7938.  A $20.00 parking fee is charged for cars without a Norwalk beach sticker.

Litchfield Historical Society to Host Ceremonies, Games, and Pet Parade on July 4

credit: Litchfield History Museum

The Litchfield Historical Society will hold its annual Pet Parade and Turn-of-the-Century Fest on Thursday, July 4th. Residents and visitors alike  with or without pets are invited to participate or to observe. Pets of any kind are welcome, but all pets must be either on a leash or in a cage and, where applicable, must come with a rabies certificate.

To register for the parade, call the Historical Society at (860) 567-4501 by Friday, June 29.

The Turn-of-the-Century-Fest will also include an ice cream social, with ice cream generously donated by Peaches and Cream, and old-fashioned games. Fest participants will have the opportunity to compete in egg and spoon races, a tug of war, a sunflower seed spitting contest, and three-legged races.

The event is free and open to the public. Also, admission is free of charge on July 4 to both the Litchfield History Museum and the Tapping Reeve House & Law School.

Check-in for the parade will begin at the Litchfield History Museum, 7 South Street, at 2:15 pm. The actual parade will commence at 2:30 pm. For more information, contact the Litchfield Historical Society at (860) 567-4501 or by email at education@litchfieldhistoricalsociety.org.

For information about the Historical Society visit www.litchfieldhistoricalsociety.org.  For area information www.litchfieldhills.com

The Litchfield Hills are alive with the sound of music in Norfolk Connecticut

The Norfolk Chamber Music Festival, presented by the Yale School of Music, celebrates its 72nd season this year with performances and residencies by six internationally esteemed string quartets alongside students and young professionals from around the world. From June 22 to August 17 Norfolk will host a roster of string quartets including: the Artis Quartet, the Brentano Quartet, the Emerson String Quartet, the Jasper String Quartet, the Keller Quartet, and the Tokyo String Quartet. The Tokyo String Quartet, which is retiring this year, will play its last concert on July 6 at the festival. And on August 3 the Emerson String Quartet will perform its New York area debut concert with the group's new cellist, Paul Watkins.

Opening the 2013 festival on Saturday, June 22 is a choral program by the Yale Choral Artists, a new ensemble of 24 professional singers from around the country under the direction of the Yale Glee Club's Jeffrey Douma. The Choral Artists will perform All Night Vigil (Vespers) by Sergei Rachmaninov along with a shorter work by Pavel Chesnokov, Salvation is Created.

From July 5 to August 17 Norfolk will host a six-week Chamber Music Session. Among the twelve concerts each Friday and Saturday night in July and August is a presentation of Franz Schubert's song cycle Die Winterreise performed by pianist Peter Frankl and baritone Randall Scarlata on Friday, July 12.

The Norfolk Festival, under the leadership of Paul Hawkshaw since 2004, includes a New Music Workshop led by composer Martin Bresnick, a Lecture series, a Young Artists' Performance Series, Festival Artist concerts (Friday and Saturday nights), and a Family Day on July 14 that includes a performance of Yale's Javanese ensemble, Gamelan Suprabanggo. This year's festival concludes on August 17 with a performance of works for chorus and orchestra from the Renaissance to the contemporary by the Norfolk Festival Chorus and Orchestra directed by Simon Carrington.

For Tickets and Information: Concerts at: The Music Shed, 20 Litchfield Road (Rtes 44 & 272), Norfolk, CT Call: 203.432.1966 Email: norfolk@yale.edu Website: www.norfolkmusic.org Series Ticket Prices: $55 - $15; $10 Students (ages18-25), and KIDS COME FREE! Special Event Ticket Prices: The Tokyo String Quartet- The Last Concert $375 ($345 ltd view) - $225 ($175 ltd view) - $100 ($75 ltd view) - $45.

About the Norfolk Chamber Music Festival

Carl Stoeckel and Ellen Battell, both from families steeped in the Yale University tradition, married in 1895 and decided to honor Ellen's father by founding a local musical society that would bring an abundance of musical excellence to their town of Norfolk, CT. Choral and musical societies already blossomed around the region; every town had a club and a quorum of musicians. Mrs. Stoeckel had long hosted informal evenings in her home, first in the Whitehouse, and later in the church next door. A great musical festival in Norfolk would provide a natural center to a region steeped in music. When the Litchfield County Choral Union came into being in 1899, it soon became the first internationally known music festival of its kind in America, and inspired the array of music centers that have since settled across the Berkshires.

After five years of concerts on their estate, the Stoeckels decided to build a hall worthy of truly great music. A New York architect, E.K. Rossiter, designed the building, and the Music Shed opened for use on June 6, 1906. The Shed is built of cedar and lined with California redwood, which likely accounts for its brilliant acoustics and certainly for its rustic beauty. The original hall seated 700 audience members, but after several expansions it was enlarged to hold 2,100. (Fire regulations have since reduced its capacity back to under 1,000.) Audiences began to clamor for invitations from all over New England and as far away as Texas, Chicago and California, and within five years they could easily have filled a building many times as large. The Music Shed had begun its reign among the premiere concert halls in New England.

Mr. and Mrs. Stoeckel spared no expense in making the festival concerts extravagant musical events. They recruited a 70-piece orchestra of players from the Philharmonic and Metropolitan Opera orchestras in New York, and paid for a special train to transport the instrumentalists through the Litchfield hills. The appointments were eagerly sought; apart from the honor, the musicians had the pleasure of spending a week in the mountains, and the lawn parties that spread across the estate after rehearsals were soon famous.

Carl Stoeckel died in 1925 and the concerts continued for several years but activities came to a close during the 1930's. When Ellen Battell Stoeckel passed away in 1939 she left her estate in trust for the use of the Yale School of Music, to continue "studies in music, art and literature," and the Yale Summer School of Music/ Norfolk Chamber Music Festival began in 1941. Since that time countless gifted musicians have made for themselves a summer home in Norfolk, whether as students, faculty or performers at the Festival.

Since the beginning of the School and Festival, artists such as the Cleveland, Guarneri, Emerson, Juilliard, and Tokyo quartets have taught and performed in Norfolk. Fellows at Norfolk have included the oboist Allen Vogel, violinists Syoko Aki and Pamela Frank, clarinetist Richard Stoltzman, and soprano Frederica Von Stade. Recent ensembles have established themselves as students at Norfolk, including new music ensemble eighth blackbird, the Avalon quartet, the Calder quartet, the Claremont Trio, the Jasper Quartet, and the Miro quartet. In addition, Norfolk alumni are found in virtually every music conservatory and many major orchestras around the world, including the Boston, Chicago, and the Metropolitan Opera Orchestras.

Students from conservatories around the world audition each year to participate in the festival and those that are accepted receive fellowships to cover the cost of tuition, room, and board. Since 1906, Norfolk festival musicians (including Rachmaninov, Sibelius, Vaughn Williams, in the early decades of the 20th century, and the St. Lawrence Quartet, eighth blackbird, Frederica von Stade, Richard Stoltzman and Alan Gilbert more recently) have performed on the stage of the festival's iconic venue, the "Music Shed."

EXCITING HANDS-ON ANIMAL ENCOUNTERS ON LONG ISLAND SOUND THIS SUMMER

Go aboard The Maritime Aquarium at Norwalk’s research vessel this summer to journey out onto Long Island Sound and discover first-hand “what’s down there?”

The Aquarium’s hands-on Marine Life Study Cruises offers exciting introductions to fish, crabs, skates and other animals brought up right out of the water and onto the research vessel Oceanic for examination.

The study cruises will depart on Saturdays at 1 p.m. through June 29 and will push off at 1 p.m. daily in July and August.

“Before people can be inspired to take actions to preserve and protect Long Island Sound, they first must understand what animals are in the Sound and how complex, diverse and alive this marine environment is,” said Jamie Alonzo, the Aquarium’s director of education. “Our best exhibits within the Aquarium can’t top the immediacy and impact of seeing dozens of animals come up out of the water right in front of your eyes.”

During each 2^1/2-hour Marine Life Study Cruise, animals are brought onboard from different water levels and bottom habitats of the Sound. A video microscope provides a magnified look at wriggly plankton gathered at the sunlit surface. Tiny crabs and worms emerge from a sampling of the anaerobic muddy bottom. A biodredge reveals a hidden world of sponges, snails and mollusks. And everyone inspects the trawl net's bounty: varieties of fish and crabs, skates, lobsters, sea stars, squid and always a few surprises.

Maritime Aquarium educators involve participants in the processes, from sorting through samples to helping to pull in the trawl net and returning animals to the water.

Besides being fun and eye-opening, Marine Life Study Cruises also contribute to local scientific research. Water-chemistry and weather readings are taken. And details about the animals brought onboard are entered into the Aquarium’s Long Island Sound Biodiversity Project, a database of physical and biological features available online to teachers and researchers.

Also during the study cruises, as part of a Horseshoe Crab Census conducted by Sacred Heart University in Fairfield, The Maritime Aquarium tags and records data about all horseshoe crabs collected.

“Boat rides are always great for some family fun, but the animal encounters and learning opportunities make our study cruises even more memorable,” Alonzo said.

Cost of a Marine Life Study Cruise is $20.50 per person ($18.50 for Maritime Aquarium members).  All passengers must be at least 42 inches tall. 

Reservations are strongly recommended; walk-up tickets will be sold space permitting. The Oceanic can accommodate 29 passengers.

Marine Life Study Cruises also are available for weekday charters for schools on field trips, summer camps, Scouts and other groups at 9 a.m. and 1 p.m.

Cruises depart from the dock near the Aquarium's IMAX Theater entrance.

To reserve your spot on a Maritime Aquarium Marine Life Study Cruise or for more details, go to www.maritimeaquarium.orgwww.maritimeaquarium.org or call (203) 852-0700, ext. 2206.