Monday, February 20, 2012
The ensemble welcomes musicians from the community to share their joy of playing—with its debut concert happening on March 18 in White Plains.
Local music lovers can welcome a new symphony orchestra to Westchester—one that invites amateur musicians to join for the pure love of playing music in a judgment-free environment. The New Westchester Symphony Orchestra, founded in November 2011, calls itself a community orchestra—and is made up mostly of county residents. Their mission, according to general manager Belinda Kan, is to provide the opportunity “for anyone who has ever secretly longed to play the great music they have heard on the radio and in the concert halls of New York City and beyond,” to join an ensemble. Benjamin Niemczyk, conductor and co-founder, thinks that this is a great time to start such an orchestra. “With all of the stress that many people are experiencing …
Sunday, February 19, 2012
This HD movie's encore date is not yet announced.
What a pity that it is over—this spectacular production of Wagner’s 4-part opera cycle, Der Ring des Nibelungen, which ended with a particularly triumphant Goetterdaemmerung. Offered live-in-HD in more than 1,600 movie houses in 54 countries, this 6-hour production caused tremendous excitement not only because of the now famed innovative “Machine,” but because of the marvelously successful cast and the phenomenal rendition by the Met’s orchestra. We lucky audience members (especially if we are “Wagnerites”) were able to savor the first two operas of the Ring in last year’s live-in-HD series. This served to whet our appetites for the culmination of the cycle this season. (In the spring two complete sets of the Ring will be performed at the…
Friday, February 17, 2012
International blues man Robert Cray performs in Tarrytown Music Hall next Wednesday.
For a man who’s got the blues, Robert Cray is actually a pretty chipper dude. Cray will be singing and slicing off some of his trademark sizzling guitar solos at The Tarrytown Music Hall, on Wednesday. He tells funny stories, laughs easily and seems to have a firm, flexible grip on life. In fact, he’s warm and friendly enough to be your best buddy. That is, if your best buddy got to solo on an Eric Clapton album, kick it with Chuck Berry and been credited with helping to revive America’s truest, most-authentic musical art form. “I think I may have played there before,” said Cray, recently. “I play so many gigs, it’s not always easy to remember. I’ll know for sure, when I’m in the dressing room. The way it looks, how it smells. That’s how I…
Thursday, February 16, 2012
What's your favorite part of the show?
The Royal Hanneford Circus performs this President's Day Weekend in White Plains, transforming the Westchester County Center into an exciting three-ring extravaganza. The show features tigers, acrobats, mother and baby elephants, the human cannon ball, ATV daredevils, trapeze stars, acrobats, high flyers, thrilling high wire walkers and the spectacular quick change artists among other internationally acclaimed circus performers—and more. What's your favorite part of the circus? Take the Patch poll below to tell us. Also, share your memories of the circus in the comments section below. To help celebrate the circus' visit to the area, Patch is giving away six 4-packs of tickets to the shows this weekend. To enter to win tickets, email Patch …
41.03654
-73.77842
198 Central Ave, White Plains, NY
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Sunday, February 12, 2012
A quintet performed Sunday at the White Plains Library.
A quintet of students from the Music Conservatory of Westchester performed at the White Plains Library on Sunday afternoon, hoping to educate and inspire children to develop a love of playing music themselves. Through a three year collaboration, the library and music school have offered free concert programs to the public. During today's presentation entitled, "Meet the Woodwinds," the musicians explained how their instruments work, why they chose to play them, and performed separately and together for the crowd. This was the second of three performances this season with the third "Meet The Strings" scheduled for March 11 at 2:30 pm.
Dan Slepian and the 'Dateline' team tell the story of Jon-Adrian Velazquez, convicted of the 1997 murder of a retired NYPD officer. The show airs Sunday night at 8 p.m. on NBC.
Updated, Sunday Feb. 12: Due to the death of Whitney Houston and a television special airing at 7 p.m., this special will air at 8 p.m. Ten years ago, Dan Slepian began receiving letters from an inmate at the Sing Sing Correctional Facility in Ossining. The prisoner, Jon-Adrian Velazquez, who was serving 25 years to life for the 1997 murder of a retired New York City cop, asked for the news producer's help in proving his innocence. Slepian, a Katonah resident, received dozens of such letters throughout his 16-year career as an investigative producer at NBC, but this appeal was different. It arrived via David Lemus, exonerated of the murder of a New York City nightclub bouncer and freed from prison after 15 years, due in large part because …
Sunday, February 5, 2012
Approximately 500 people gathered to welcome the year of the dragon at the Westchester Association of Chinese Americans' 23nd annual Chinese New Year program at New Rochelle High School on Saturday, Feb. 4.
Hui Huang of Croton-on-Hudson and Erqian Na of Yonkers hand-rolled, filled and steamed dumplings for an eager crowd of children in the cafeteria at New Rochelle High School on Saturday. "You like them, yes?" Huang asked Brian Chin, 5, of Mamaroneck as he and his brother Ethan, 8, took turns crimping the doughy edges of the dumplings. "Be careful, it's hot," she warned Katie Yacoub, 11, of Eastchester. Nearby, Eileen Wang of Valhalla played a modified game of peekaboo with her 3-year-old daughter Emma who was trying on an elaborate, child-sized lion mask at the dance workshop. Although the Westchester Association of Chinese Americans hosts the event, the gathering is a combined effort bringing together sponsors TD Bank and PepsiCo as well …
40.92853
-73.7939
New Rochelle High School
265 Clove Rd, New Rochelle, NY
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483037
/locations/6317355
Saturday, February 4, 2012
The latest Live-in-HD-Met-Opera is a tempestuous dream (Shakes.).
Catch the encore of this delightful Opera in HD on Feb. 8 at 6:30 PM at City Center 15 in White Plains and NewRoc 18 in New Rochelle. A delightfully entertaining surprise: the Movie World-Premiere of The Enchanted Island, the newest opera in the Live-at-the-Met-in-HD series that took place on Jan. 21 locally and in more than 1,600 movie houses around the globe. Surprising also in that there was quite a huge audience despite the debilitating snowstorm raging at matinee time. It proves again that we have a vast number of truly dedicated opera lovers in Westchester. The Enchanted Island is a pastiche of arias by Handel, Vivaldi, Rameau and several lesser-known Baroque composers. All are offered to us (in English,) via a clever libretto …
41.032078
-73.766497
19 Mamaroneck Ave, White Plains, NY
City Center 15
/articles/enchanted-and-enchanting
/locations/6316268
40.91129
-73.780719
33 Lecount Pl, New Rochelle, NY
New Roc 18
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/locations/6316269
Thursday, February 2, 2012
ArtsWestchester is to award 39 Arts Alive and Arts Partners Challenge Grants to Westchester-based arts organizations and artists.
The arts are alive and well in Westchester and, thanks to the Arts Alive awards, it’ll stay that way. According to a press release , on Friday, Feb. 3 members of the New York State Legislative delegation will gather with ArtsWestchester’s Board of Trustees to award more than $39,000 in ArtsWestchester’s Arts Alive Grants and $11,100 in Arts Partners Challenge Grants to more than 39 local arts organizations, artists and special projects. The variety of Arts Alive projects that will receive funding this year range from outdoor heritage festivals and concerts in parks, to painting workshops, to community theater productions and fully-staged operas, to a presentation of Gospel Choirs. For a complete list of the organizations and artists …
Monday, January 30, 2012
Reilly is a lifelong resident of the village.
Former Mayor Patricia Reilly has been chosen to be Mount Kisco's woman of distinction, a project being done by state Sen. Greg Ball for each community in his district. Mayor Michael Cindrich, who nominated his predecessor, called it “an honor well deserved.” Reilly, 80, has been a Mount Kisco resident for her whole life. She served as mayor from 1999 to 2003 and as a village trustee from 1994 to 1999. Professionally, she is a retired school nurse. "I'm very humbled," Reilly said. Reilly has done a lot in the way of community service, including sitting on the board for the Boys & Girls Club and helping seniors through the Friends in Service Helping (FISH) program. Over the decades, Reilly has received honors from the Mount Kisco Chamber of …
Joyce Baliint
8:42 am on Tuesday, February 21, 2012
I'm so glad to see a new community orchestra in lower Westchester for amateurs of all levels. It is so badly needed, and I hope there will be a lot of people dusting off their instruments to join in the fun. Joyce Rasmussen Balint more ›