October 26th -NORWALK
CITY HALL, 125 East Ave #236 -The Mayor’s Gallery at the Norwalk City Hall presents
Chrestomathy-an Anthology of the other arts. The show features photographs and
paintings from Norwalk’s Crystal Theater in its 25th anniversary
season and special moments from the Norwalk Symphony. Among the special guests
will be Crystal Theater’s own Cheryl Kemeny and Company as well as Maestro
Jonathan Yates from the Norwalk Symphony Orchestra. There will be a reception 3:30 -4:30 on Friday October 26th in the
gallery at Norwalk City Hall 125 East Ave room 236. The show runs through January
31, 2013.
Crystal
Theatre, founded in 1987 by Cheryl Kemeny, David L. Jackins, Alexandrea Kemeny,
and Mariner Pezza, is a non-profit organization with the mission of training
students in the techniques of musical theatre, promoting and producing original
works, and providing performance opportunities for those who might otherwise
not have access to the stage.
Over the past 25 years, Crystal Theatre has been fulfilling this mission by
producing over 100 student and professional shows since its inception.
Twenty-four of these shows were original musicals written for Crystal students,
with three world premiers scheduled for this year. Crystal Theatre has taught
over 3000 children and entertained more than 100,000 audience members through
the years. The Theater Company has also provided many instances of community
outreach over the years.
The Norwalk Symphony Orchestra, in its 73rd
season, has been fulfilling its mission to provide audiences with
the opportunity to explore and discover the joys of orchestral music by
bringing this live experience through excellent performances, pre-concert
discussions and educational activities for all ages.
The
Norwalk Symphony Orchestra (NSO) was founded in January 1939 and was primarily
a community orchestra composed of volunteer musicians from the greater Norwalk
region until 1985. In 1956, the Norwalk Youth Symphony was formed, and younger
musicians from surrounding communities were frequently invited to be part of
the orchestra. All rehearsals and performances were held in what is currently
the Norwalk Concert Hall, formerly the WPA-era high school auditorium, and
support for the organization came from the family and friends of the orchestra
members.
Over the
years, the Norwalk Symphony has been led by many influential Music Directors
starting with Edward Kreiner who conducted the premier concert on May 9, 1939.
A year later, the celebrated Quinto Maganini, a Pulitzer Prize winning composer
and principal flute for the New York Symphony, began his 26-year tenure as the
Orchestra’s Conductor and Music Director. Following Maestro Maganini’s
retirement in 1967, Dennis Russell Davis conducted the orchestra from 1969 to
1973, and was succeeded by Gilbert Levine from 1974 to 1980. Jesse Levine, who
expanded the musical aspirations of the NSO as well as demanded an increasingly
rigorous standard of performance from its musicians, held the baton from 1980
to 2000. During this time the profile of the musicians shifted dramatically to
a fully paid professional orchestra. Diane Wittry, the NSO’s first female
Maestro, stood the podium for 7 seasons from the 2002-2003 season to 2009-2010.
Currently Jonathan Yates, a professional with envious musical accolades, directs
the Norwalk Symphony Orchestra into its next chapter and has so far
demonstrated his enormous talent to do so.
The Mayor’s Gallery of Norwalk is
supported by the Cultural Arts Commission of Connecticut in an effort exhibit
art in public spaces and make art accessible to the public in a variety of
venues.
