March 15, 2023

Princeton University Concerts Presents Celebrated Duo

AN ANTICIPATED DEBUT: Delayed by the pandemic, star violinist Alina Ibragimova, left, appears with pianist Cedric Tiberghien at Richardson Auditorium on April 6 at 7:30 p.m.

U.K.-based violinist Alina Ibragimova is one of the few European violin stars to not have appeared on the Princeton University Concerts (PUC) series. Her recital debut, delayed for several years by the pandemic, will finally take place on Thursday, April 6, at 7:30 p.m. at Richardson Auditorium, with pianist Cédric Tiberghien.

The duo has existed since 2005 when they were in their early 20s as BBC Radio 3 New Generation Artists. At Princeton, they will perform Robert Schumann’s first two violin sonatas interspersed with Felix Mendelssohn’s Violin Sonata in F Minor, Opus 4, which he wrote when he was just 14; and Anton Webern’s Four Pieces for Violin and Piano, Opus 7. more

Ensemble From Zurich Performs Range of Works

HOPE AND MORE: Violinist Daniel Hope and the Zurich Chamber Orchestra come to State Theatre New Jersey March 21.

State Theatre New Jersey presents Daniel Hope with Zurich Chamber Orchestra on Tuesday, March 21 at 7:30 p.m. Tickets range from $17.50-$70.

Music Director and violinist Hope leads the 76-year-old music institution, Zurich Chamber Orchestra (ZCO). A protégé of violinist/conductor Yehudi Menuhin, Hope is the first instrumentalist to be named music director of the ZCO. Conducting from the violin, Hope leads the orchestra in a program featuring Ralph Vaughan Williams’ The Lark Ascending; “Waltz of Moment” from Silent Music by Ukrainian composer Valentin Silvestrov; as well as Elgar’s Introduction and Allegro and Mendelssohn’s D minor violin concerto. The program ends with Tchaikovsky’s Serenade for String Orchestra.  more

Artists Discuss Challenges At Atelier Series Event

Bill Bowers

Princeton University’s Lewis Center for the Arts presents the next event in The Atelier@Large conversation series that brings guest artists to campus to discuss the challenges they face in making art in the modern world. This event at the James Stewart Film Theater on March 24 at 7:30 p.m., concludes the 2022-23 series.

Broadway actor and mime Bill Bowers, graphic novelist and The New Yorker cartoonist E.S. Glenn, and poet/playwright Claudia Rankine will join in discussion with Pulitzer Prize-winning poet Paul Muldoon, Princeton’s Howard G.B. Clark ’21 University Professor in the Humanities and Director of the Princeton Atelier. The event is free and open to the public, but tickets are required through University Ticketing at tickets.princeton.edu.  more

“Mindscapes and More” Solo Exhibit at Small World Coffee

“MINDSCAPES AND MORE”: Works by mixed media artist Spriha Gupta are on view at Small World Coffee, 14 Nassau Street, through April 4. An opening reception is on March 17 from 5 to 7 p.m.

“Mindscapes and More,” a solo exhibition by Spriha Gupta, is on view at Small World Coffee, 14 Nassau Street, through April 4. An opening reception is on Friday, March 17 from 5 to 7 p.m. Light refreshments will be served.

Gupta is a narrative mixed media artist bringing organic forms and textures into her body of work. She uses iconic symbolism to exemplify concepts close to her heart that are influenced by personal, societal, and environmental changes. Strongly influenced by her Indian cultural roots, she said she is fearless in her use of colors and weaves them into her creations. She likes to use art as a tool of communication, wanting to break man-made barriers. She feels that art can pull one out of isolation in so many ways and illuminate the interior world that resides in each one of us while engaging in a dialogue. The uniqueness of her works comes through various textures that she creates by building layer upon layer with a variety of materials, most of which are found objects.  more

Final Weeks to See “Night Forms” at GFS

“NIGHT FORMS: INFINITE WAVE”: The site-specific, multi-sensory experience on view at Grounds For Sculpture in Hamilton is now in its final weeks and will close on Sunday, April 2. The exhibition activates the sculpture park with 12 sound and light installations, creating an interactive, immersive environment during evening hours. (David Michael Howarth Photography)

“Night Forms: Infinite Wave,” the site-specific, multi-sensory experience on view at Grounds For Sculpture (GFS) since November 2022, is now in its final weeks and will close on Sunday, April 2. This second installment of Grounds For Sculpture’s partnership with Philadelphia-based Klip Collective activates the sculpture park with 12 sound and light installations, creating an interactive, immersive environment during evening hours that is designed to engage visitors with GFS’s art and horticultural collections. more

“Stories from Trenton’s Past” At Trent House Museum

“STORIES FROM TRENTON’S PAST”: The Trent House Association will host an exhibit opening and talk on Sunday, March 26 at 2 p.m. at the William Trent House Museum in Trenton.

The Trent House Association will open a new exhibit, “Stories from Trenton’s Past – Immigrant Workers at Roebling Factories,” on Sunday, March 26 at 2 p.m. focusing on immigrants who worked in Trenton’s Roebling factories during the first half of the 20th century. At the opening, sociology students from The College of New Jersey will present their research on the lives of some of these workers. The William Trent House Museum is located at 15 Market Street, across from the Hughes Justice Complex, in Trenton. Space in the Trent House Visitor Center is limited and pre-registration for this free program is required at tinyurl.com/THMarch26.  more

March 8, 2023

Reading and Watching Balzac’s “Lost Illusions”

By Stuart Mitchner

Don’t assume that everyone on earth has seen every movie you have seen.

—John McPhee

Now and then A Book of Days for the Literary Year (Thames and Hudson 1984) offers an entry that demands repeating, like the one for March 8: “1931: John McPhee (Giving Good Weight) is born in Princeton, N.J.”

Which follows a remark from journalist, novelist, and biographer Gene Fowler (March 8, 1890): “Writing is easy. All you do is sit staring at a blank sheet of paper until the drops of blood form on your forehead.”

Which is followed by the news that on March 8, 1935, Thomas Wolfe’s second novel Of Time and the River “was published to great acclaim” and that on March 8, 1941, the novelist Sherwood Anderson “ingested a toothpick with an hors d’oeuvre at a cocktail party” and died of “complications of peritonitus.” more

Princeton University Orchestra Acknowledges One of Its Own in Pair of Concerts

By Nancy Plum

Princeton University Orchestra has a history of paying tribute to past members, including the annual Stuart B. Mindlin performances honoring a past percussionist with the Orchestra. This past weekend’s concerts by the Orchestra honored class of 2003 ensemble cellist Daniel Ulmer, who passed away prematurely but had a significant impact on the Orchestra during his time at Princeton. Friday and Saturday night’s performances at Richardson Auditorium also presented two winners of the University Orchestra’s 2022-23 Concerto Competition.

Lest anyone think that the Orchestra members spend too much time on music, both of this year’s Concerto Competition winners already have accumulated diverse achievements rivaling people twice their age. Piano soloist and senior Richard Qiu is graduating with a degree in economics and certificates in Music Performance, Statistics and Machine Learning, and Technology and Society. Student conductor Adrian Rogers, also a senior, is earning a degree in economics and a certificate in Music Performance, but has added certificates in Architecture and Engineering, and History and the Practice of Diplomacy to his resumé. Any of these academic focuses is a career unto itself, and the confidence and drive of these two students was evident in their self-assured performances with the University Orchestra.  more

A Woman Visits the Past to Prevent a Prince’s Murder in “Autumn Rewind”; Theatre Intime Presents a Poignant Fantasy Staged by Student Playwright

“AUTUMN REWIND”: Theatre Intime has staged “Autumn Rewind.” Written and directed by Le’Naya Wilkerson ’25, the play was presented February 24-March 5 at the Hamilton Murray Theater. Above: Saige (Lara Danisman, center) travels back in time to stop the assassination of Prince Rowan (Zach Lee, left). But this mission leads to encounters with dangerous people at court, including Rowan’s estranged cousin, Ernest (Orion Lopez-Ramirez, right). (Photo by Kate Stewart)

By Donald H. Sanborn III

In Autumn Rewind the protagonist, Saige, is given a chance to go back in time and prevent the assassination of her childhood friend and first love, Prince Rowan. This offer is Faustian, because it requires Saige to make an unthinkable moral decision.

Theatre Intime has presented (February 24-March 5) Autumn Rewind. The poignant fantasy was written and directed by Princeton University student Le’Naya Wilkerson. According to a program note, Wilkerson began writing the play in December 2021 — when she was “going through a difficult time” and “turned to writing, as I often do.”  more

Gershwin and More

Philadelphia Ballet presents a trio of works by George Balanchine at the city’s historic Academy of Music March 16-19. On the program are “Who Cares?” to music of Gershwin, “Agon” to Stravinsky, and “Ballet Imperial” to Tchaikovsky. Performances are Thursday and Friday, March 16 and 17 at 7:30 p.m.; Saturday, March 18 at 2 and 7:30 p.m.; and Sunday, March 19 at 2 p.m. Visit philadelphiaballet.org for tickets.

Westminster Choir Performs With Pittsburgh Symphony

ON TOUR: The Westminster Choir will take part in a spring tour with stops in Ohio and Pennsylvania March 12-18. (Photo by Peter G. Borg)

The Westminster Choir, composed of students at Westminster Choir College of Rider University, will embark on a spring tour in Ohio and Pennsylvania from March 12-18. The tour includes an appearance by the choir’s tenors and basses with the Pittsburgh Symphony, as well as a concert at the choir’s founding church in Dayton, Ohio.

Now in its 103rd year, the Westminster Choir was supposed to visit Dayton on its 100th anniversary, but those plans were canceled because of the pandemic. “It is only right that we sing there and perform for the 100th anniversary of the founding of the choir,” said James Jordan, the choir’s conductor. “It is wonderful to return to touring.” more

Westminster Conservatory Presents Faculty Concert

The monthly series Westminster Conservatory at Nassau will present a program of music for oboe, horn, and piano on Thursday, March 16 at 12 p.m. at Nassau Presbyterian Church, 61 Nassau Street. Admission is free.

The performers — Melissa Bohl, oboe; Craig Levesque, horn; and Phyllis Alpert Lehrer, piano — are members of the Westminster Conservatory faculty. The program comprises Incantation and Dance for oboe and piano by William Grant Still, Trio for oboe, horn and piano, op. 188 by Carl Reinecke, and the first performance of a new work by Levesque, Variation for oboe, horn, and piano. more

Beethoven and Mendelssohn On Gut Stringed Instruments

CONCERT UP CLOSE: Audiences get to sit beside the musicians of the Chiaroscuro String Quartet, on stage at Richardson Auditorium, at an “Up Close” concert March 26. (Photo by Eva Vermandel)

Led by violinist Alina Ibragimova, the Chiaroscuro String Quartet performs music of the Classical and early Romantic periods on gut stringed instruments with historical bows on Sunday, March 26 at 3 p.m. and 6 p.m., in Richardson Auditorium.

Unlike most string quartets, they also perform standing up at his concert, which marks their Princeton University Concerts (PUC) debut. On the program are Beethoven’s String Quartet No. 11 in F Minor, Op. 95 “Serioso” and Mendelssohn’s String Quartet No. 2 in A Minor, Op. 13. more

The Doobie Brothers Come to State Theatre

GOLDEN ANNIVERSARY: The Doobie Brothers stop in New Brunswick in July as part of their upcoming tour. Tickets go on sale beginning March 10 at stnj.org.

State Theatre New Jersey has added two performances featuring four-time Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inductees, The Doobie Brothers, on Saturday, July 8 at 8 p.m. and Sunday, July 9 at 7:30 p.m.

This extension of their 50th Anniversary Tour features Tom Johnston, Michael McDonald, Pat Simmons, and John McFee, again together for the first time in over 25 years. Tickets go on sale to the public beginning Friday, March 10 at 10 a.m.  more

Drama by A.A. Milne On Stage in Morrisville

PRE-POOH PLAY: Before “Winnie the Pooh,” A.A. Milne wrote the play “The Dover Road.” In this scene from the production by ActorsNET, Latimer (G. Anthony Williams) and his guest, Anne (Charlotte Kirkby), discuss the realities of marriage with their morning tea.

Creative partners Maryalice Rubins-Topoleski and Charlotte Kirkby have been unearthing the forgotten plays of the past, and breathing new life into them. Their current project is the rare revival of a 1922 comedy The Dover Road by A. A. Milne, being presented by ActorsNET of Bucks County at the Heritage Center Theater, 635 North Delmorr Avenue in Morrisville, Pa., March 10-26.  more

“Meditative Imagery” Joint Photo Exhibit at Gallery 14

“THE EYE OF DOUBLE O”: This work by Phillip “Dutch” Bagley is part of “Meditative Imagery,” his dual exhibit with John Stritzinger, on view March 11 through April 2 at Gallery 14 Fine Art Photography in Hopewell.

Gallery 14 Fine Art Photography in Hopewell presents “Meditative Imagery,” featuring the work of Phillip “Dutch” Bagley and John Stritzinger, March 11 through April 2. Both artists are known for their explorations of shape and form, both natural and man-made. For this exhibit they have taken a meditative approach to their images. more

Works by Paquet-Morante Now at David Scott Gallery

“WATERSHED SWAMP, SPRING”: This acrylic on canvas painting by Léni Paquet-Morante is featured in “Within View: Paintings and Drawings,” her solo exhibition on view at David Scott Gallery for BHHS Fox & Roach, Realtors on Nassau Street through April 15. An opening reception is on Sunday, March 19, from 2 to 5 p.m.

The latest installment at David Scott Gallery for Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Fox & Roach, Realtors is “Within View: Paintings and Drawings,” a solo exhibition of works by Léni Paquet-Morante, an accomplished painter and sculptor with the Johnson Atelier Studio Program in Hamilton. An opening reception is on Sunday, March 19 from 2 to 5 p.m.

“In my previous exhibition, ‘Intersection,’ I attempted to relate the connections between the visual language of four unique abstract artists,” said Scott. “With Léni’s show, I invite the viewer to seek out the intersecting elements within a single artist’s vocabulary.” more

Johnson Honored in Year-Long Art Project

“THE AWAKENING”: The late J. Seward Johnson’s 70-foot-wide sculpture will be installed at D&R Greenway’s St. Michaels Farm Preserve in Hopewell Township in May as part of the year-long project “Seward Johnson | Celebrating the Everyday.” (Photo by Ken Ek)

Something really big is coming to Hopewell Valley thanks to the Hopewell Valley Arts Council and the Seward Johnson Atelier. Together, they are partnering on an ambitious year-long art project, “Seward Johnson | Celebrating the Everyday,” to honor the late J. Seward Johnson II’s life and the things that he loved. The project runs from now through January 2024, and will incorporate sculpture installations, events, and community engagement.

An internationally renowned sculptor, Johnson was one of Hopewell Valley’s most beloved and well-known artists. Seward Johnson embodied the Johnson family’s long tradition of philanthropy along with his own interest, the arts. Serving as an influential mentor to many local artists, he was the founder of Grounds For Sculpture and the Seward Johnson Atelier in Hamilton. more

Onome Olotu Named ACP Artist-In-Residence

Onome Olotu
(Photo by Emezie Asogwa)

The Arts Council of Princeton (ACP) has announced painter Onome Olotu as its Spring 2023 Anne Reeves Artist-in-Residence (AIR).

Olotu was born in 1993 in Lagos, Nigeria. She studied art as a painting major at the University of Benin. After graduation, she worked as a curatorial assistant at the National Gallery of Art, Abuja, and later as an art teacher before taking on full time studio practice at the Universal Studios of Art, Lagos in 2018. Working predominantly in charcoal and acrylics, her work engages personal family and institutional archives to respond to social and political events. Olotu’s work has been exhibited across Nigeria and recently at the exhibition “Sankofa: African Routes, Canadian Roots” at the Museum of Anthropology, The University of British Colombia, Vancouver, Canada. She currently lives and works between Lagos and Princeton. more

March 1, 2023

Greeting Susan Wolfson’s Keats in the Company of Chopin

By Stuart Mitchner

He is the most daring and the proudest poetic spirit of his time.

—Robert Schumann on Frédéric Chopin (1810-1849)

There is something of the innermost soul of poetry in everything he ever wrote.

—Alfred Tennyson on John Keats (1795-1821)

At this time last year I was matching the power and poignance of Chopin’s music with television images of  Putin’s invasion of Ukraine, mothers and children fleeing to Poland, gazing out from rain-streaked train windows. For the past week, I’ve been listening again to Chopin while reading Princeton Professor Susan Wolfson’s A Greeting of the Spirit: Selected Poetry of John Keats (Harvard University Press $35). So, no surprise, I’ve been finding Chopin in Keats and Keats in Chopin.

On Chopin’s seventh birthday, March 1, 1817, Keats published his first book, Poems, which contained “To Kosciusko,” a sonnet celebrating the leader of Poland’s 1794 rebellion against Prussian and Russian rule. It’s possible that one of Chopin’s British acquaintances called the poem to his attention during the U.K. visits of 1837 and 1848. Chopin played the last concert of his life on November 16, 1848, at the Guildhall in London, a benefit for Polish refugees (“my compatriots”). He died a year later in Paris. more

Princeton University Glee Club Presents Annual Nollner Memorial Concert

By Nancy Plum

Princeton University Glee Club paid tribute to former longtime Glee Club conductor Walter L. Nollner this past weekend with a concert linking the high Baroque to the 21st century. Saturday night’s performance at Richardson Auditorium featured a piece by composer and former Princeton student Caroline Shaw as well as three choral/orchestral works by Johann Sebastian Bach. Led by Glee Club conductor Gabriel Crouch, the concert was in partnership with “02.24.2022,” the Princeton student organization supporting victims of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.  more

“Wuthering Heights” Uses Music, Puppetry to Retell Brontë’s Tale; Wise Children’s Contemporary, Stylized Adaptation Comes to McCarter

WISE CHILDREN’S “WUTHERING HEIGHTS”: Performances are underway for Wise Children’s “Wuthering Heights.” Based on the novel by Emily Brontë; and adapted and directed by Emma Rice, the play with songs runs through March 12 at McCarter’s Matthews Theatre. Above, from left, are the Leader of the Moors (Jordan Laviniere), Heathcliff (Ricardo Castro), and Catherine (Eleanor Sutton) — with a band behind them. (Photo by Jimmy O’Shea)

By Donald H. Sanborn III

McCarter is presenting Wise Children’s Wuthering Heights. Emily Brontë’s 1847 novel, which depicts the idiosyncratic bond between the free-spirited Catherine Earnshaw and her embittered foster brother Heathcliff, is interpreted via a unique, contemporary aesthetic.

Adapted and directed by Emma Rice, this version resolutely avoids the naturalism and textual fidelity typically expected of a Masterpiece episode in favor of a lively, unabashedly theatrical presentation that incorporates music, dance, and puppetry.

Rice is the artistic director of Wise Children, the Bristol (U.K.)-based company that she founded in 2017. McCarter is the final stop on the U.S. tour of Wuthering Heights. more

Live Concert Tribute To Aretha Franklin

QUEEN OF SOUL: The cast of “R.E.S.P.E.C.T.,” a tribute to the late Aretha Franklin, coming to State Theatre New Jersey March 11 and 12. (Photo by Jeremy Daniel)

State Theatre New Jersey presents R.E.S.P.E.C.T., an electrifying tribute celebrating the legendary Queen of Soul, Aretha Franklin on Saturday, March 11 at 8 p.m. and Sunday, March 12 at 2 p.m. Tickets range from $40-$98. more

Tickets Now on Sale For Sourland Festival

MUSIC, WINE, AND MORE: The Sourland Mountain Festival returns July 15 with a wide range of activities for all ages. Proceeds benefit the Sourland Conservancy. (Photo by Richard Paul)

On Saturday, July 15 from 3 to 8:30 p.m., the Sourland Conservancy will be hosting its 18th Annual Sourland Mountain Festival at Unionville Vineyards in Ringoes.

A VIP Experience will again be provided by The Ryland Inn, and will feature live music, local food, craft beer, wine and spirits, mountain history, and family activities. Proceeds will benefit the Sourland Conservancy, the local nonprofit organization dedicated to protecting the history and ecology of the Sourland Mountain region of Central New Jersey.  more

“Champions of Magic” Coming to State Theatre

MAGIC AND MYSTERY: “Champions of Magic” brings interactive wonders to the stage of State Theatre New Jersey in New Brunswick on Saturday, March 4. (Pamela Raith Photography)

State Theatre New Jersey presents “Champions of Magic” on Saturday, March 4 at 8 p.m. The “Champions of Magic” cast presents “incredible interactive magic, a daring escape from Houdini’s water torture cell, a mind-blowing prediction that must be seen to be believed, levitation high above the stage, and a finale beyond explanation,” according to a press release.

Tickets range from $29-$99.  more