Some people have obsessions about money. I have an obsession about old buildings, especially banks. I love the history, the architecture and the especially the stories,, some inspirational – about inheritance, building a dream home, starting a business; others challenging – about hardship and debt. The Chase Manhattan Bank in Far Rockaway where I grew […]
There is nothing quite like live theater. Being there beats the remote version any day of the week. Saturday night was no exception watching and hearing Bernadette Peters belting out one Sondheim song after another, with a smattering of Rogers and Hanmerstein in the mix. Well, take it from me, “There is Nothing Like a […]
There we were in Albany, us hearty few who care deeply about the New York State Council on the Arts (NYSCA). It was cold. The streets were icy. The halls were full of advocates for many causes. We were there to talk to legislators about the importance of the arts to New York State. Our […]
I first met the Tony award-winning actress LaChanze in her hometown of Mt. Vernon. I was taken in that this star of the Broadway musical “The Color Purple” had chosen Westchester as her home and that she was so devoted to this community. It was 2007, the year of the Triple Hill Music Festival in […]
Yesterday was Lisa Robb Day in Pelham. I know this because I heard it proclaimed last night at a farewell party for Lisa who has left the Pelham Art Center after 11 years as the Director. The Pelham Art Center is a family affair. Our hosts, Paul Francis, former treasurer of the board (last century) […]
Most everyone likes to think that they make their mark somewhere, somehow, in their life’s journey. Some make their mark by a deed, an idea or a lifetime pursuit. Artists like to think of the mark they make as their body of work or their signature style, their artistic vocabulary or their conceptual musings. To […]
Twenty years ago, a group called Jazz Forum Arts blew into Westchester. At the time, Westchester had very little “jive.” But when Trumpeter Mark Morganelli arrived, things changed. Jazz buffs began to come out of the woodwork to see and hear legends like Dave Brubek and Chuck Mangione and, of course, the Jazz Forum All Stars. […]
Robert Redford describes himself as having been a shy, awkward, angry young man, not much different than many of the young men in our own neighborhoods. So, I wondered: “How did he become the quintessential artistic force in America from such humble beginnings?” Drawing was his salvation, he told an audience of 200 at the […]
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