Arts and Entertainment

NEWPORT — For Tod Pronto and Cynthia Shelton, nothing can stop the music.

Hunkered down in reaction to the global pandemic, the two have teamed up to form a “Socially Distant Chorus,” inviting the community to harmonize and play along with Pronto on his version of “What a Wonderful World.”

So here are the rules:

You listen to the .mp3 version of Pronto’s song through your headphones and use your cell phone to record yourself singing along.

Shelton will put it all together and everyone will sing along as a chorus in the edited version.

If you want to participate, write to Shelton at: nekgigs@gmail.com and she will send you a copy of the .mp3 as well as provide additional instructions.

“We were looking for a general theme of hopefulness and beauty, as well as a song that is well known enough that everyone could sing along,” Pronto said. “What a Wonderful World has been a staple of my live performances for years. As a songwriter, it’s just one of those rare perfect songs that you wish you were smart enough to write yourself.”

Pronto released a studio version of What a Wonderful World back in 2016 and says it’s one of his favorite songs.

“When Cynthia approached me about doing a virtual sing-along I just couldn’t resist.”

Before COVID-19 interrupted the world as we know it, the two had been talking about several different projects they wanted to do to bring the community together.

Suddenly, anything that could unite the community became even more important than it already was.

“The main concept is just to bring people together and focus on the positive,” Pronto said. “We see every day how heart aching this situation is, but it’s also important to remember how beautiful the gift life is.”

NEWPORT — Three seniors in the art program at North Country Union High School are curating a new exhibit of Diana Mara Henry’s photographs in color at the Red Wall Meeting Place and Gallery on Main Street, in Newport.

The opening of the exhibit titled “As Yet Unseen,” will take place on March 18, from 4-7 p.m.

The public is invited to a free festive reception that day.

Raiden S. Brown, Tarah Michelle Vasquez, and Lindsay Wiggett, students of April Caspari and Natalie Guillette in the NCUHS Visual Art Program, are gaining experience in their chosen paths for careers in the arts, including art history and criticism.

Raiden, a Presidential Scholar, and accomplished photographer is headed to art school in Edinburgh this fall.

Lindsay, an illustrator, and a graphic artist will be going to SUNY Plattsburgh.

Tarah Michelle Vasquez, is a fine artist who works in charcoal.

All three students contributed to the multi-faceted tasks of choosing and preparing the work for display.

“The Visual Arts Program at NCUHS serves hundreds of students each year within our Visual Arts Enrichment Program,” said Natalie Guillette, co-teacher in the Arts and Communications Academy at the high school in Newport. “Students who become involved may travel to places like Montreal, North Adams, Massachusetts, New York City, Europe, and several other local destinations.

Guillette says she feels that enculturing a global perspective within students helps foster a deeper understanding of the world, a richer educational experience while with us during high school, and a desire to continue their travels as they enter adulthood.

Diana Mara Henry’s images “As Yet Unseen” were first developed as a project during her residency at Vermont Artist’s Week at the Vermont Studio Center in Johnson.

Unusual for her work, which is better known for its black and white photojournalism of the women’s movement, politics and the social scene in NYC, the images chosen by the students are all from color slide originals.

They offer intriguing glimpses of people and landscapes, from a boy in the dunes of Cape Cod to a couple going to be wed in Haiti, Carnaval at the Waldorf Astoria, a Parisian grande dame at home, and lush nature scenes.

A portion of the sale of the fine art prints produced by special arrangement with Don Whipple will contribute to the arts program, with pricing on the night of the reception or by advance sale.

The exhibit will be on view through May.

The gallery is open from 3 on weekdays and on Sundays from 10-4.

The artist’s website is www.dianamarahenry.com.

NEWPORT — With ice as thick as 30 inches some winters, Vermonters never tire watching for any indicative sign of the changing season.

To celebrate this time-honored tradition, Newport Parks & Recreation runs the annual “ICE OUT” contest for residents and visitors on Lake Memphremagog.

Each year a weighted Ice Out “mascot” is placed in the bay at Gardner Memorial Park attached to a time clock.

The facade can be seen from the Causeway bridge and stands steadfast through snowstorms until the ice beneath finally gives way to the early warmth of spring.

When the mascot drops, the clock stops and records the official moment that the ice is out in Newport.

“People keep pretty close tabs on the facade as they pass the Causeway,” said Jessica Booth, Director of Parks & Recreation for the City of Newport.

Parks Foreman Mac McKenny comes up with a ‘theme’ for the contest each year.

This year it’s a math pun. A play on the phrase ‘ice cube,’ by showing an ice chest with an exponent of three, or ice CUBED.

Booth and McKenny say they’re always inundated with calls and emails as soon as the mascot goes under.

“Checking the clock throughout the day is part of the fun while we work around the park,” says McKenny who is in charge of making the official call for ice out time. “But if the ice goes out on the weekend or in the evening when we’re not around, there’s plenty of people ready to report in.”

When the ice finally does go out on Lake Memphremagog, the news is always welcome to one lucky contestant who entered the closest prediction in the annual contest.

The nearest prediction, without going past, to the actual date and time wins 50 percent of the contest pool.

Last year the winning amount was over $1,500.

The other half of Ice Out proceeds will benefit the Gardner Memorial Park Playground & Splashpad Project.

Memphremagog Ice Out tickets can be purchased at Azur’s Liquor Store, Hoagies Pizza & Pasta, Jimmy Kwik, Westside Market & Deli, The Pick & Shovel or at the Parks & Recreation office on Main Street.

Predictions can be submitted online too at NewportRecreation.org/ICEOUT.

The deadline to submit is Wednesday, April 1, 2020, or when the ice goes out, whichever comes first.

No tickets/guesses are accepted after the ice is out.

For more information, call Newport Parks & Recreation at 802-334-6345.

NEWPORT — The MAC Center for the Arts was invited to celebrate the Newport City Elementary School’s PEACE PROJECT, which is in full swing schoolwide.

The colorful art concept was designed by Lynn Leimer-Flint, of a tree with every student’s hands adorned with peace symbols to represent leaves on the tree.

Using the motto of “Many Hands make light work,” the collaboration manifested the Peace Tree in a record 45 minutes.

Photo:

Completed project photo: (l to r) Jenna Walsh, Cadence Sanville, Julliette Perkins, Gwen Roberge, MAC members Joyce Flint, Debra Gosselin, Lynn Leimer-Flint (MAC President), Janice Luce (MAC Secretary), Angela Gluck, and Pam Ladds (MAC VP)

Students Gwen Roberge, Julliette Perkins, Cadence Sanville, and Jenna Walsh, building the Peace Tree.

NEWPORT — Ecosystems Through an Artist’s Eye, the upcoming and unique exhibit organized in collaboration with the MAC Center for the Arts, Memphremagog Watershed Association, and the Orleans County Natural Resources Conservation District, opens at the MAC Center on Friday, April 3.

The show highlights farm visits, but for those who could not attend the paint-outs, it will also focus on wetlands, soil health, forest, flood plain and pollinators as the five focal points of the exhibit.

This special partnership exhibition is open to all artists and all work will be juried.

The deadline for artwork submitting applications is March 2, 2020.

Application forms are at the MAC Center for the Arts, and all work should be dropped off by Wednesday, March 18 through Saturday, March 21, between 10 a.m. and 5 p.m.

Ecosystems Through an Artist’s Eye will run until May 16, 2020.

For more information, please visit, www.maccenterforthearts.com or call 334-1966.

NEWPORT — Recently, the MAC Center for the Arts underwent a major upgrade to become ADA compliant.

The facility added a handicap bathroom and changed the blueprint of the floor plan to accommodate wheelchair accessibility.

While the process was costly, they say the results are priceless.

The renovation began January 5 with a concerted effort on the part of the artists to deconstruct the venue of all artwork to allow the construction and overhaul to begin.

The two-week endeavor and redeveloped space greeted customers with a Grand Re-Opening on January 25.

During the entire month of February, a “RAFFLE” is being held to help continue the funding for more ADA upgrades.

Come see the new MAC or take part in the raffle by stopping in during winter hours, Wednesday through Saturday, 10 a.m. – 5 p.m.

For more information call 802-334-1966.

NEWPORT — After weeks of renovations, the MAC Center for the Arts is ready to unveil their new and improved Gallery Space on Saturday, January 25, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Come explore, browse, and rediscover the arts in this delightful redesign.

Thanks in part to grants and fundraising, a new ADA compliant bathroom has been added and redesign of the floor space to accommodate wheelchair accessibility has been accomplished.

To support the ADA continuing efforts, MAC will hold a “Leap Year” raffle beginning January 25 through February 29.

The winning tickets will be pulled on February 29, leap day.

MAC artists have donated pieces that are a celebration of the collaborative.

Featured in the raffle are a painting by Victoria Mathiesen, valued at $300, painting by Pixies Durand, valued at $100, Sterling Silver with Garnet earrings by Ellie Roberts, valued at $78, pottery bowl by Diana Poulin, valued at $60, pottery bowl and plate by Nancy Nash, valued at $56, pottery “face” vase by Arlene Goldberg, valued at $50, photograph on canvas by Nancy Nash, valued at $45, Polymer Pendant Necklace by Isobel Marks, valued at $25, and a Book by author, Susan Sanders, valued at $10.

All money raised will go to the ADA improvements at the MAC Center for the Arts.

For more information, visit www.maccenterforthearts.com or call 802-334-1966.

Winter hours are Wednesday through Saturday, from 10-5, and closed Sunday-Tuesday.

NEWPORT — Pianist Michael Arnowitt will return to Vermont with his ImproVisions Jazz Quintet, featuring the outstanding New York City musicians Dave Smith on trumpet and Rick Rosato on bass, joined by Vermont favorites Dan Silverman on trombone and Caleb Bronz on drums.

The concert will take place Saturday, January 18, at 7 p.m. at the United Church of Newport.

Michael Arnowitt will perform a colorful and diverse program of jazz past and present.

Music on the concert includes his creative version of the jazz standard There Will Never Be Another You, and his interesting blending of Jobim’s Brazilian jazz song How Insensitive, with Chopin’s famous Prelude in E minor which inspired Jobim’s song.

Arnowitt’s wide-ranging musical interests can be seen in other offerings on the program, from selections from his Jazz Suite from West Side Story based on the Leonard Bernstein musical, to the music of Stravinsky’s ballets Petrushka and The Rite of Spring, Joni Mitchell’s 1970’s Edith and the Kingpin and jazz-influenced by Bulgarian and Syrian music.

For the music of today, the quintet will perform a song from a recent Dave Holland recording and Michael Arnowitt’s original jazz compositions Pirouette, Migratory Mood, and Bulgarian Hoedown from his 2018 CD “Sweet Spontaneous” which he recorded with Dave Smith, Rick Rosato, and a dozen other stellar New York City musicians.

A special feature of the concert will be spoken word artist Therisa Rogers who will join the quintet to perform poems of Langston Hughes for a classic combination of poetry and jazz.

Michael Arnowitt’s upcoming activities include an 8 concert tour of China in October 2020 with the guitarist Steve Blair where the duo will perform in Beijing and other Chinese cities.

The Washington Post said of a concert Michael Arnowitt performed at the National Gallery of Art, “he played with an exquisite sense of touch, color and musical imagination.”

The concert is presented under the Now Playing Newport banner.

Tickets are $15, general admission.

For more information, email koloman@pacbell.net or call 624-6454.

NEWPORT — The Vermont Symphony Orchestra (VSO) Brass Quintet and Counterpoint Chorus, join forces again to celebrate the snowy season with performances across the state featuring popular holiday melodies, carol singalongs, and all-around festive fun.

The group will be at the United Church of Newport tomorrow, December 20.

The show will start at 7:30 p.m.

The ensemble will be led by guest conductor Kevin Quigley, a member of Counterpoint himself, and director of the Thetford Chamber Singers.

Quigley’s passion for experimental media and his enthusiasm for collaboration among the arts will make for a dynamic and exciting performance together with the VSO’s Brass Quintet.

Selections range from a brass arrangement of a Bach chorale to popular beloved tunes including “Sleigh Ride,” “Let It Snow,” and “All I Want for Christmas Is You.”

Attendees can also look forward to a new student composition, as well as selected favorites by the legendary conductor, arranger, director and Counterpoint founder, Robert DeCormier.

NEWPORT — The MAC Center for the Arts is getting ready for their final exhibit for 2019, titled “FACES.”

The opening reception is Friday, December 13, from 5-7 p.m. in the Downstairs Connection.

This is a free event and open to the public.

As Kurt Vonnegut once said, “We are what we pretend to be. So, we must be careful what we pretend to be.”

Faces can be represented in various ways.Faces are everywhere.

Whichever way we see and are seen, recognized or not, the profile or headshot evokes emotions well beyond what emojis could possibly capture.

This subject is open to multiple interpretations and they will all be on display by a plethora of MAC artists as well as art on loan in mixed media, clay, bronze, oil, 2D, 3D, fiber and jewelry.

All are on display until January 4, 2020.

This exhibit is curated by Victoria Mathiesen, Andrea Strobach and Arlene Goldberg.

Come enjoy the juxtaposition of emotions captured, aesthetics created, and ethereal atmospheres FACES can conjure in MAC’s 2019 FINALE exhibit, located at 158 Main Street, in Newport.

For more information call 802-334-1966, or visit www.maccenterforthearts.com.

NEWPORT — The MAC Center for the Arts will be showing a new exhibit in the Downstairs Connection entitled “Owls Talking to You,” by renowned award-winning nature photographer, Elinor Osborn.

The opening is Friday, November 8, 5-7 p.m.

Osborn’s stunning work will also include a 30-minute talk, Owl Vocalizations, and a Q&A.

This is free event and open to the public.

In her own words, “Photography enables me to see details of nature which remain hidden from casual observation. There are so many exciting aspects of plants, animals, weather phenomena etc. to find and learn about, that I enjoy being outdoors more than anything else, especially here in Vermont….My photography includes a variety of outdoor subjects, including natural history, scenics and outdoor sports—cross country skiing and sled dogs.”

Using a digital camera and computer, she enjoys creating both traditional photo prints and creative “Art Image” prints.

All are giclée prints that she brings to life on glossy, fine art or metallic papers.

She was the 2009 winner in Nature’s Best Photography Backyards Contest sponsored by Nature’s Best, the most prestigious nature photography magazine in the U.S. Magazines, such as Vermont Life, Click, Cross Country Skier, Stowe Guide, Northern Woodlands, Vermont Sports, Vermont magazine, VT Sports and many books have published my photos.

Watersheds United Vermont just used her river photo for a cover for Living in Harmony with Streams.

Project UltraSwan, (a children’s book published by Houghton Mifflin), which she wrote and photographed, tells the story of the trumpeter swan migration project following ultralight aircraft.

Her pictures have been published in a plethora of books including Second Atlas of Breeding Birds of Vermont, Peterson-Hummingbirds of North America, Ortho-All About Attracting Hummingbirds and Butterflies, Weisel-Cross Country Ski Vacations, The Nature Conservancy National and many more.

Come meet this fascinating world-class photographer at the MAC Center for the Arts, 158 Main Street, Newport, November 8th.

The exhibit runs through December 7th.

For more information, www.maccenterforthearts.com or call 802-334-1966.

NEWPORT — The MAC Center for the Arts is getting ready to host an opening reception celebrating the extraordinary work of renowned artist, Victoria Mathiesen.

The event will take place October 4, from 5:00 -7:00 p.m. in the Downstairs Connection.

“Notably, a retrospective looks back, and at a certain age looking back seems to be more a part of life than looking forward though that is not exactly true if you are a painter,” Mathiesen said.

Mathiesen works in both oil and watercolor, switching between both as need dictates.

Architecture, particularly that of her first home in the UK, has always provided a rich source of beautiful structures and an insight into the artist’s past.

“The idea that I can recreate on paper aspects of a thousand-year-old cathedral or a five-hundred-year-old cob cottage is simply astounding to me, and something I treasure deeply,” Mathiesen said.

This is her first exhibition at the MAC Center for the Arts since joining after moving permanently to Vermont many years ago.

“Someone remarked somewhere that all you had to do was hang a camera out the window and you had a beautiful picture,” Mathiesen sais. “I can’t remember who said it, but it is true, in all seasons but one. Fortunately, mud season is relatively short. It is also untrue of myself since for me photography is a means to an end, and not an end in itself, something I am constantly reminded of when I see the beautiful work of photographers. Painting, however, is the end in itself. Living here in this lovely environment provides a different way of seeing the world and one which I attempt to convey in what I do.”

This is event is free and open to the public. The Exhibit runs thru November 2, 2019.

For more information, visit www.maccenterforthearts.com, or call 802-334-1966.

NEWPORT — MAC Center for the Arts is getting ready to present their first annual “Musings and Music” series, which they promise will “illuminate the colors of your world audibly.”

The event will take place on September 22, from 2:00-4:00 p.m. at the United Church of Newport.

Everyone is welcome to come explore and enjoy this unique afternoon of readings by MAC Center authors and poets, as well as music by their gifted MAC performers.

Come hear the colors of Jerry Johnson, Patty Oliver-Smith, Ron Lavalette, Susan Sanders, Isa Oehry, Peggy Sapphire, Dianne Laplante, and Mark Creaven, as they share their insight, humor, and poetry as well as Janice Luce, Ben Luce, Ben Kinsley, Linda Schneck, and Deb Wesoja performing vibrant music that will provide a myriad of kaleidoscopic sounds.

Emcee for the afternoon show is Lynn Leimer.

MAC Center for the Arts is a local non-profit and is fundraising to create an ADA compliant venue for our community at their158 Main Street Gallery.

The organization says that community support of this event is appreciated and donation is tax-deductible.

For more information,visit www.maccenterforthearts, email macartspr@yahoo.com or call 802-334-1966.

NEWPORT — The MAC Center for the Arts will be opening a new exhibit, ANECHOIC, by sculptor Sterling Trail.

The opening reception takes place on August 23, from 5-7 p.m. in the Downstairs Gallery, located at 158 Main Street, in Newport.

A truly unique title, ANECHOIC, defined as free from echo, artist Sterling Trail describes his work as ”focused on aesthetic.”

“Aesthetic is how an object is made, the choices made by the maker to uncover a cohesive form,” Trail said. “I hope that my works capture a balance. I hope that the reader will either find an understanding in my work or an aesthetic enjoyment.”

Trail’s work is distinctive and one of a kind. His art is the reimagining, repurposing, and redesigning of hardscapes.

“I see discarded machines, their vacant husks laying scattered, partially submerged in the annual sediment of the summers now past. These machines are the corpses of function, returned to the earth, devoid of a conduit beyond the artist’s appreciation for their form. I can’t tell you what these forgotten things will be tomorrow or the day after, all I can tell you is what they were made from,” he explains.

“I have made the journey down the old road, through trees and shallow puddles to another world that is divided by an intersection. The world I seek is obscured by a vacancy of necessity; it was left behind by its previous stewards who only dealt in abandonment. Now all that remains of the ritualistic discarding of functionless articles are the remnants of machines and structures, submerged under accretions and deposits made annually by the silent sentinels of the forest.”

This sculpture exhibit is a first for the MAC Center for the Arts and celebrates emerging artists.

Curated by Victoria Mathiesen, Andrea Strobach and Arlene Goldberg, MAC has hosted several exhibits this season by touring artists, members, and invited artists.

These exhibits are free and open to the public.

Stop in to see this extraordinary display of modern art. ANECHOIC runs through September 22.

For more information, please visit www.maccenterforthearts.com or call 802-334-1966.

NEWPORT — As a special presentation on the final weekend of the MAC Center’s stunning exhibition “Blue: an Exploration of the Colour,” local artist, filmmaker, and MAC Center member Bradleigh Stockwell will present a lecture about “Yves Klein: The Man Who Invented Blue.”

This event will take place on Saturday, August 17, at 2:00 p.m. The event is free and open to the public.

When he died in Paris in 1963 at the age of 34, Klein was a successful artist and poised for international fame.

In his brief career, he created many of the performance and artistic techniques which would become standard practices in the decades to come.

Among his most notorious was creating art in front of an invited audience as musicians performed.

More important was his creation of a special type of blue paint, now known as International Klein Blue.

Klein made it his artistic signature, applying it to large canvases, sponges, sculptures, massive murals, and even models who became, in his words, “living paintbrushes.”

The MAC Center exhibition includes a large work created with “IKB.”

Mr. Stockwell’s lecture will include a live demonstration of this hue.

Also on the program: a fascinating filmed interview with Klein’s widow, Rotraut.

This film is being shown by special arrangement with Denmark’s Louisiana Museum of Modern Art in Humlebæk, Denmark.

Please note that this half-hour film contains brief, artistic, but explicit female nudity.

Gallery hours at the MAC are Mon-Sat 10-5 and Sun 10-6.

For more information visit http://www.maccenterforthearts.com or call 802-334-1966.