Connecticut

Fall in CT brings cooler weather but some of the hottest symphony orchestras. Here are some of the must-see shows.

Published

9 months ago

September 24, 2023

Fall in CT brings cooler weather but some of the hottest symphony orchestras. Here are some of the must-see shows.

A symphony orchestra is simply defined as an orchestra that’s large enough to play symphonies. Symphonies are robust, rich, layered compositions requiring 50 or more performers. Connecticut boasts dozens in cities and towns and colleges and universities but also finds room for those who are just passing through on tour.

It helps that Connecticut is home to some major college music programs such as Yale University, the University of Hartford, Wesleyan University and elsewhere.

Great classical works are conceived, commissioned and written in Connecticut, and when they are finished there are many skilled musicians around prepared to play them. These musicians are also well-versed in the classics.

What makes a classic a classic is constantly changing. The dead white men canon has been challenged. The Hartford Symphony, for one, has been celebrating the work of female, Black, and Black female composers who deserved to have earned more acclaim in their own time.

The 2023-24 symphony season is beginning now. The Hartford Symphony Orchestra, New Haven Symphony Orchestra, Ridgefield Symphony Orchestra and several others have their season-opening concerts on the weekend of Sept. 29 through Oct. 1. There are also visiting symphonies, holiday events and other special concerts on the way.

Here are some must-see concerts.

Symphonic standouts

This season is full of surprises with challenging classics, new works and opportunities for classical musicians to rub shoulders with rock and jazz bands. Here are 10 of the most highly anticipated shows.

“American”
Ridgefield Symphony, Sept. 30 at 7:30 p.m., Ridgefield High School

Given Connecticut symphonies’ penchant for American composers, and that the release of a movie bio of Leonard Bernstein starring Bradley Cooper is nigh, you might wonder where Bernstein’s being played this fall. Ridgefield Symphony is doing melodies from two of Bernstein’s acclaimed Broadway musicals with the overture from “Candide” and the symphonic dance arrangements of songs from “West Side Story” for its Sept. 30 “American” concert, which also features works by Reena Esmail and Samuel Barber. ridgefieldsymphony.org.

Emo Orchestra with Hawthorne Heights
Oct. 6 at 7 p.m., Warner Theater in Torrington

This is a touring show that brings classical oomph to the songs of Hawthorne Heights, a dark-yet-perky emo rock band that formed in 2001. warnertheatre.org.

“Dvorák and Price”
Hartford Symphony Orchestra, Oct. 20-22, The Bushnell in Hartford

The Hartford Symphony Orchestra has already been acquainting its audiences with Florence Price, playing her Symphony No. 1 (famous as the first symphony by a Black woman to be played by a major symphony orchestra, in 1933) alongside Rachmaninoff and modern composer Jessie Montgomery this past February. On Oct. 20, the Hartford Symphony Orchestra is pairing Price’s Violin Concerto No. 1 with Brahms’ Tragic Overture and Dvorák’s Symphony No. 7. Price’s concerto is being performed by violinist Melissa White, this year’s Joyce C. Willis Artist-in-Residence. The Willis residencies are given to Black artists at a transitional point in their careers. hartfordsymphony.org.

Sean Fowler / Special to the Courant

The Hartford Symphony Orchestra is pairing Price’s Violin Concerto No. 1 with Brahms’ Tragic Overture and Dvorák’s Symphony No. 7 on Oct. 20.

“Gershwin & Dixieland”
Eastern Connecticut Symphony Orchestra, Oct. 21 at 7:30 p.m., Garde Arts Center in New London

In one of the most eclectic classical music concerts this Autumn, the Eastern Connecticut Symphony Orchestra connects a world premiere by Tom Myron, “Monhegan Sunrise (Peace Fanfare)” to Amy Beach’s 1893 “Bal masqué,” Gershwin’s epic “Rhapsody in Blue,” Samuel Coleridge-Taylor’s 1905 “The Bamboula” and a concluding Dixieland jazz medley from the Tom Brown 6, whose leader is a former Eastern Connecticut Symphony Orchestra trumpeter. ectsymphony.com.

“Halloween Spooktacular”
Wallingford Symphony Orchestra, Oct. 22 at 4 p.m., Choate Rosemary Hall in Wallingford

Wallingford Symphony Orchestra’s “Halloween Spooktacular” is typical of how symphonies can go all for the holiday. The orchestra is jamming with the Frantic City Band on AC/DC’s “Highway to Hell” and “other Halloween rock classics.” facebook.com/WlfdSymp/.

“Vienna Comes to Norwalk”
Norwalk Symphony Orchestra, Nov. 4 at 7:30 p.m. at Norwalk City Hall, 125 East Ave., Norwalk

A geographically specific yet stylistically varied concert by the Norwalk Symphony mingles Johan Strauss waltzes, Richard Strauss’s “Dance of the Seven Veils” and Alban Berg’s “Altenberg Lieder.” norwalksymphony.org.

Enigmatic Elgar
Nov. 11 at 7:30 p.m. and Nov. 12 at 3 p.m., Palace Theatre in Stamford

Edward Elgar pumps up the fall concert season, not with his “Pomp & Circumstance” march but with his hipper “Enigma Variations,” which Hartford Symphony is performing on Sept. 29 at The Bushnell and the Orchestra Lumos is doing in November at the Stamford Palace. Orchestra Lumos is adding Rachmaninoff’s second piano concerto and Gabriela Lena Frank’s “Elegia Andida” to its bill. orchestralumos.org.

“breathe/burn”
New Haven Symphony Orchestra, Nov. 19 at 3 p.m., SCSU Lyman Center in New Haven

If the Hartford Symphony has you wanting to hear more Florence Price, her first symphony is being done again in Connecticut, this time by the New Haven Symphony Orchestra. Also on the bill: The world premiere of Joel Thompson’s “breathe/burn,” which the New Haven Symphony Orchestra commissioned, plus Mark Adamo’s “Last Year: Concerto for Cello and String Orchestra” with guest cellist Jeffrey Zeigler. newhavensymphony.org.

“Fantasy”
Western Connecticut Youth Orchestra, Nov. 19 at 4 p.m., East Ridge Middle School in Ridgefield

Youth orchestras are often where the action is. The Western Connecticut Youth Orchestra’s ambitious “Fantasy” concert in Ridgefield is covering the same classical giants that the pro orchestras are — Dvorak, Grieg, Rimsky-Korsakov, Massenet — as well as woodwind or string compositions by the likes of Thad Jones, David Del Tredici, Leroy Anderson, Clare Grundman and Susan H. Day. wctyo.org.

Colonial Concert LXIV
Orchestra New England, Nov. 25, United Church on the Green, New Haven

Orchestra New England is not quite symphony strength (usually making do with 20 to 30 musicians), but they’re the right size for the music they specialize in, like the works of the genius 20th century Connecticut composer Charles Ives and the compositions favored by small orchestras when Connecticut was still developing as a state. ONE is celebrating its 50th anniversary with a special Ives concert in the spring, and on Nov. 25 is doing its 44th Colonial Concert. In the past, the wig-wearing, candle-lit Colonial Concert has been graced by such 18th-century celebs as Benjamin Franklin and Roger Sherman. orchestranewengland.org.

NBC114 10/17/95 -- "HOME ALONE" - 'NBC THURSDAY NIGHT MOVIE' -- TELECAST DATE: Thurs., Nov. 23 (8- 10p.m. ET) --- PICTURED: Macaulay Culkin --- "HOME ALONE" --- Macaulay Culkin ("My Girl"), Joe Pesci ("My Cousin Vinny") star in the highest-grossing comedy feature of all time, "Home Alone." It's three days before Christmas, and young Kevin (Culkin) is accidentally left behind when his family departs for a holiday trip. He soon has to defend himself and his home singlehandedly when two men try to burglarize his house. --- NBC Photo. — The Palace Theater in Waterbury will feature the score of the comedy classic “Home Alone” performed by the Waterbury Symphony Orchestra on Dec. 2. NBC Photo.

Movies with live music

Here are three standout events where a live orchestra accompanies a popular movie. It’s a trend that has grown and prospered over the years, anchored by “Harry Potter” accompaniments but stretching to “Star Trek” and beyond. This year, comedies and cartoons get the orchestral treatment.

“Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse Live in Concert”
Oct. 1 at 6 p.m., Oakdale Theatre in Wallingford

Here’s another unusual movie-with-orchestra concert with the Oscar-winning animated Spider-Man action film accompanied by a very live orchestra. The national tour stops at the Oakdale in Wallingford on Oct. 1. livenation.com.

“Home Alone in Concert”
Dec. 2 at 2 p.m., Palace Theater in Waterbury

John Williams’ enchanting score for Macaulay Culkin’s finest film zips deliriously from sentimental to slapstick. The Waterbury Symphony Orchestra accepts the challenge. palacetheaterct.org.

“Elf in Concert”
Hartford Symphony Orchestra, Dec. 22 at 7 p.m. and Dec. 23 at 1 p.m., The Bushnell in Hartford

The Hartford Symphony Orchestra’s latest Harry Potter concert, with the orchestra playing along to a screening of “Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince,” will be in the spring. The Hartford Symphony Orchestra is taking a different cinematic direction in December with “Elf in Concert,” accompanying the Will Ferrell comedy. Ticket sales have been so strong that a second performance was added. hartfordsymphony.org.

More musical musings

Here are some more highlights of the fall symphony season.

Yale Symphony Orchestra is one of the many orchestras starting their seasons this coming weekend, Sept. 30, with the booming “Also Sprach Zarathustra.” yso.yalecollege.yale.edu.

The Greenwich Symphony season begins Sept. 30 and Oct. 1 with some Mendelssohn, Emerson, Tchaikovsky and Duke Ellington at the Performing Arts Center at Greenwich High School. greenwichsymphony.org.

The University of Connecticut Symphony has its first fall concert on Oct. 20 on the UConn campus. music.uconn.edu.

Farmington Valley Symphony marks the 10th anniversary of music director Jonathan Colby by playing works he did in his first year there, including Dvorak’s Symphony No. 5 on Oct. 22. fvso.org.

West Hartford Symphony Orchestra helps you through the holidays with a “Spooky Halloween Costume Concert” on Oct. 29 and a Christmas concert on Dec. 10, both afternoon concerts at Kingswood Oxford School in West Hartford. whso.org.

Cheshire Symphony, a civic orchestra, opens its season on Nov. 1 with heavy hitters Verdi, Tchaikovsky, Grieg and C.P.E. Bach. cheshiresymphonyorchestra.org.

Manchester Symphony and Chorale mixes Mozart, Hindemith, Sibelius and Hagenberg for its Nov. 3 concert at Manchester High School. msoc.org.

Connecticut Symphony Orchestra’s first concert of this season is “Dark Adventures,” with works by Mozart and Berlioz on Nov. 4 at Congregation Beth Israel in West Hartford. connecticutsymphony.org.

Waterbury Symphony’s cleverly titled “Eight Seasons” concert on Nov. 5 at Edmond Town Hall in Newtown combines Vivaldi’s classic “Four Seasons” with Argentinian composer Astor Piazzolla’s “Four Seasons of Buenos Aires.” waterburysymphony.org.

Southeastern CT Community Orchestra has two concerts this fall: “Works of Passion” by Tchaikovsky, Bach, Marquez and Mozart on Nov. 5 and the carol-filled “Making Holiday Memories” on Dec. 16 at the Waterford Community Center. seccorchestra.com.

Colchester Choir & Orchestra has a “Holiday Homecoming” concert on Dec. 2 at 6:30 p.m. at Colchester Federated Church. colchesterchoirorchestra.org

Source link

Click to comment

Connecticut

Chamber Foundation Awards $10,000 In Scholarships to 8 Local Students

Published

4 hours ago

June 14, 2024

Press Room

Chamber Foundation Awards $10,000 In Scholarships to 8 Local Students

Information via The Chamber of Commerce of Eastern CT Foundation

NEW LONDON, CT — The Chamber of Commerce of Eastern CT Foundation granted $1,250 scholarships to eight 2024 high school graduates in the region, the largest sum distributed
to date through the Foundation’s scholarship program. The program focuses on students who plan to contribute to Eastern CT’s economy and quality of life through their future career, and who have a demonstrated record of community engagement, academic achievement,
and financial need.

“The Chamber Foundation is proud to award $10,000 in scholarship funding to these deserving, outstanding youth this year, our largest sum granted to date,” said Louis Ziegler, Chair of the Chamber of Commerce of Eastern CT Foundation’s Board of Directors. “We take great pride in supporting the up-and-coming workforce of Eastern Connecticut, fully aware of the profound impact they’re destined to have in our community as they pursue their aspirations and goals.”

Scholarship funding comes from generous local businesses and donors who support the Foundation’s annual Bowl-a-thon fundraiser, held each year at High Rollers Luxury Lanes and Lounge; this year’s event will be July 16. The Foundation also hosts an annual Holiday Gala each December.

The awardees are as follows:

Gianni Drab of Robert E. Fitch Senior High School, attending
Northeastern University

Stephanie Flores Aguilar of New London High School Multi
Magnet Campus, attending University of Connecticut

Aeracura Harney of Waterford High School, attending
Florida Institute of Technology

Brianna Harris of Robert E. Fitch Senior High School,
attending Eastern Connecticut State University

Grace Peil of Marine Science Magnet High School, attending
University of Massachusetts-Amherst

Ivan Rodriguez of New London High School, attending
University of Hartford

Alyssa Tomasso of Stonington High School, attending
Eastern Connecticut State University

Sadeya Zakaria of Norwich Free Academy, attending University
of Connecticut

Source link

Connecticut

How will ranked-choice voting work in Connecticut?

Published

11 hours ago

June 14, 2024

Press Room

How will ranked-choice voting work in Connecticut?

HARTFORD, Conn. (WTNH) — A new working group convened by Gov. Ned Lamont will craft a proposal for the state legislature to introduce ranked-choice voting in some Connecticut elections.

Currently, 29 states allow for ranked-choice voting, mostly in party primaries and municipal elections.

The most common type of ranked-choice voting is a system known as instant-runoff ranked-choice voting. In an election utilizing instant-runoff ranked-choice voting, voters are able to rank each candidate in order of preference. Voters are not required to rank all of the candidates if they do not want to. If no candidate receives a majority of first choice votes, the candidate with the lowest number of first choice votes is eliminated. Voters who listed the eliminated candidate as their first choice then have their second choice counted as part of a second round of vote counting. This process repeats until one candidate has a majority.

For advocates of ranked-choice voting, the process represents something of a remedy for political polarization that they attribute largely to the current system of primary elections.

“The current system rewards factions and it rewards the fringes of a party,” said Monte Frank, an attorney and the vice chair of the working group. “So, the more polarizing you are, the better you do in a partisan, winner-take-all primary.”

Frank sees ranked-choice voting as a way to encourage candidates to court a wider base of support on the theory that being a voter’s second, third or even fourth choice gives them a better chance to win if multiple rounds of vote counting are required.

Frank is the former running mate of the late Oz Greibel, the third-party candidate for governor who captured just under 4% of the vote in the 2018 gubernatorial contest that pitted Republican Bob Stefanowski against Lamont.

“It not only drives voter participation, increases voter choice, but it produces a better candidate, a more consensus-driven candidate, and that improves our democracy,” Frank said.

The governor’s working group includes representation from both political parties and is co-chaired by one state senator from each side of the aisle. Any potential recommendation to the legislature would apply only to the use of ranked-choice voting in primaries, certain municipal elections, caucuses and conventions. Political parties and municipalities would have the choice of whether to adopt ranked-choice voting.

“My hope is that this working group will collect the information necessary to make specific recommendations and hopefully improve voter turnout in Connecticut,” Sen. Cathy Osten (D-District 19) said in a statement announcing the working group.

Osten, who also chairs the legislature’s influential appropriations committee, is sharing leadership of the ranked-choice voting working group with Republican Sen. Tony Hwang (District 28).

“We hope to learn how ranked-choice voting can give the voters of Connecticut a stronger and more representative voice in their local elections,” Hwang said in a statement.

Despite bipartisan interest in exploring the use of ranked-choice voting in Connecticut primaries and municipal elections, concerns remain about the wisdom of making major changes to the voting process.

“One of my concerns globally is that we’ve done a lot of changes to our election laws,” Rep. Vincent Candelora (District 86), the House Republican leader.

Candelora was referencing the introduction of early voting, which Connecticut is implementing for the first time this year. Local elections officials, he said, are challenged by the expanded in-person voting periods and would be further burdened if they had to adapt to the process of tabulating ranked-choice ballots.

Candelora also questioned how many races would actually draw more than two candidates.

“I just think that’s rare when it happens,” he said, “So, you know, to me it’s more of an academic exercise versus something that will really have a practical impact on Connecticut voting.”

The inaugural meeting of the Governor’s Working Group on Ranked-Choice Voting is on June 14.

Source link

Connecticut

Recap: Chicago Sky fight hard, but fall to the Connecticut Sun, 83-75

Published

18 hours ago

June 13, 2024

Press Room

Recap: Chicago Sky fight hard, but fall to the Connecticut Sun, 83-75

When facing the Connecticut Sun, the team with the best record in the WNBA, the Chicago Sky’s main goal was to remain competitive. For much of the game, that was the case.

Through three quarters, the Sky stayed with the Sun, leading by a few points or behind by a few points but never relenting. They did so by not only displaying tenacious defense against a powerful offense, but also through some spacious offensive play that led to good looks in the paint and on the perimeter. Chicago also was competitive in the battle of the boards.

Yet when the fourth quarter rolled around, the tide turned dramatically as the Sun got off on a 10-3 run that gave them a 68-55 advantage at the 7:12 minute mark, the largest lead of the game. The Sky turned the ball over four times in the quarter as their offense began to look out of sync and, in turn, their transition defense struggled. The Sky managed to close the gap to four, 79-75, via a Diamond DeShields 3-pointer with 28 seconds left. But Chicago then was forced to foul, allowing DeWanna Bonner to ice the game for the Sun at the free throw line.

Despite the 83-75 loss, the Sky once again overperformed against a formidable opponent. Some notable Chicago performances included:

Angel Reese

Not only did she come away with her fourth-career double-double (20 points and 10 rebounds), Reese shot 80 percent from the field and was perfect at the foul line (4-for-4). More than that, Reese became the first rookie this season to notch 100 points and 100 rebounds. She also held her own against the veteran Alyssa Thomas at both ends.

Kamilla Cardoso

Freed from playing limited minutes and given the responsibility of taking over for injured Elizabeth Williams in the post position, Cardoso was not to be denied. She scored 10 points, grabbed nine boards and had three emphatic blocks against the likes of Bonner and DiJonai Carrington.

Cardoso was also perfect from the foul line (4-for-4). After the game, she spoke about how she understands the importance of foul shots, particularly when Connecticut took more shots at the line (28 to 5), but she emphasized that her main objective is to score inside. “It was really important to make them (free throws) as you can see they shot way more free throws than us,” she said. “But I feel like my main focus was to go out there and make layups.”

Marina Mabrey

Mabrey all over the floor, ending up as the playmaker who did a little bit of everything. She came away with 10 points, six rebounds, five assists and three blocks.

Chennedy Carter

As always, Carter was full speed ahead coming off the bench. She was a major catalyst in sparking a Chicago 11-0 run in the first quarter when they were down 16-8. She would go on to finish with 10 points, three assists and three steals.

Diamond DeShields

The workhorse of the team who puts her body on the line had some big moments when the game was hanging in the balance. DeShields finished with a season high of nine points, shooting 50 percent from the field and 42 percent from the 3-point line, including the 3 that brought Chicago to the brink of a potential comeback in the waning seconds of the fourth quarter. She did all that while playing with an ankle issue. “Diamond is playing injured right now,” said head coach Teresa Weatherspoon. “We appreciate her being on the floor.”