In the News
The Science of Sound Delights Kindergarteners
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: info@performingartsnect.org / (860) 963-6789
Woodstock, CT, April 4, 2024 … Thanks to Performing Arts of Northeast CT, area kindergarten classes have enjoyed learning about science and music for the last seven years from talented musician and educator Sally Rogers. At Woodstock Elementary School in late March, one kindergarten class paid close attention for nearly a full hour to Rogers’ interactive program exploring the nature and creation of sound and music. Students sang, played instruments, asked scientific questions, tested theories, learned concepts and vocabulary, and each child even got to conduct a tiny percussion performance by their classmates.
The Science of Sound in-class workshop supplements school music curricula by engaging children in inquiry-based learning and guided critical thinking. Through observation, hands-on activities, play, and song, students learn about vibration, compression and sound waves; get to ask and answer questions like a scientist; how percussion and stringed instruments work and more. According to Rogers, in the past up to 25 schools and 1,500 students have participated in a single year. For 2024, students from 18 different schools in northeast CT took part. “Over eight years, we've probably served close to 8,000 students with this program.”
Annie Seraphin has been a paraprofessional assisting teachers at Woodstock Elementary for over 30 years and has seen Rogers’ program several times. “I think every school system should have Sally Rogers visit. She is amazing. Woodstock is fortunate to have her.” The Science of Sound program is provided for free to area schools, supported by funds from non-profit Performing Arts of NECT. For more information, visit www.performingartsnect.org/science-of-sound. To learn more about Sally Rogers, visit sallyrogers.com/.
For more details about upcoming performances, visit https://www.theloos.org/.
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Engage, Enrich, Inspire! Celebrating its 50th season, Performing Arts of Northeast Connecticut is a non-profit, volunteer-run organization that brings high quality, accessible and affordable professional performing arts to Northeast Connecticut and surrounding towns. See www.performingartsnect.org for more information. Follow us! www.facebook.com/performingartsnect
Holiday Season Musical Kickoff
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: info@performingartsnect.org / (860) 963-6789
Woodstock, CT, December 4, 2023 … On Sunday, December 3, over 325 area residents enjoyed the third annual Holiday Pops Concert at the Loos Center for the Arts in Woodstock. Sponsored by Performing Arts of Northeast Connecticut, the afternoon featured a festive musical kickoff to the holiday season.
The afternoon began with a pre-show reception including cookies, hot cocoa and photos with Santa and Mrs. Claus. Guests also enjoyed the colorful artwork of “This is Me” local student show in the Loos Center’s Gallery, which can be seen through the end of January. The concert began with 4 pieces performed by The Woodstock Academy Hill Singers, a small a cappella choir of talented high school students directed by Amy Ranta. The afternoon’s headliner, the Ocean State Pops Orchestra, featured pieces in two acts with a short intermission. Music included classic and contemporary scores--everything from medleys of well-known holiday hits, to foot-tapping tunes from the Polar Express soundtrack, to the lovely, traditional Irish Wexford Carol.
Founded in 1993, the Rhode Island-based Ocean State Pops Orchestra is a 60-piece touring group of talented musicians directed by Dr. Brian Cardany. They perform concerts throughout Southern New England. The Orchestra’s Board President Tim Hebert attended the show in Woodstock and said, “We are thrilled to be back at the Loos Center. It’s such a great venue for us to perform.”
For more details about upcoming performances, visit https://www.theloos.org/.
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Engage, Enrich, Inspire! Celebrating its 50th season, Performing Arts of Northeast Connecticut is a non-profit, volunteer-run organization that brings high quality, accessible and affordable professional performing arts to Northeast Connecticut and surrounding towns. See www.performingartsnect.org for more information. Follow us! www.facebook.com/performingartsnect
Riveting Performance Honors Soldiers
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: info@performingartsnect.org / (860) 963-6789
Woodstock, CT, November 20, 2023 … On Thursday, November 16th, The American Soldier was performed at the Loos Center for the Arts in Woodstock at 9AM, 11AM and 7PM. This powerful one-man performance by Douglas Taurel was based on true stories, letters and interviews “that bring to life our soldiers' struggles at war and their internal struggles to come back home.”
About 1,200 high school students from Woodstock, Putnam and Pomfret attended two free educational performances sponsored by Performing Arts of NECT and the Putnam Area Foundation. Students were impacted and respectfully engaged as the raw struggles and sacrifices of soldiers were acted out. Taurel masterfully depicted fourteen different characters, ranging from mothers, wives, fathers and children of veterans plus soldiers who served in nearly every major conflict that Americans have been involved in. This critically acclaimed show has been performed in over 40 cities and 25 states, including The Kennedy Center, Off-Broadway and now the stage of our own Loos Center for the Arts.
“Riveting and memory-provoking, it paid tribute to the bravery and sacrifices that military veterans have given throughout the years,” Rene Boutin-Tsanjoures remarked after the performance. “Many area veterans and family members were in attendance. And in the dark auditorium, tears were flowing. Thank you, Mr. Taurel, for bringing this show to our corner of Connecticut, opening our eyes and ears, so those that ‘gave their all’ will not have died in vain.” Performing Arts Board Chair Melissa Zahansky said, “Taurel captured the many different experiences and lives of the American soldier. Sitting in an audience filled with veterans, I was immediately grateful for the many sacrifices our soldiers make for our freedom.”
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Engage, Enrich, Inspire! Celebrating its 50th season, Performing Arts of Northeast Connecticut is a non-profit, volunteer-run organization that brings high quality, accessible and affordable professional performing arts to Northeast Connecticut and surrounding towns. See www.performingartsnect.org for more information. Follow us! www.facebook.com/performingartsnect
Performing Arts of Northeast Connecticut Celebrates 50th Anniversary
10.05.2023
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: info@performingartsnect.org / (860) 963-6789
After days of rain in northeast CT, the weather was perfect on Sunday, October 1, for Performing Arts of NECT’s 50th anniversary party. Almost 100 guests were treated to bluebird skies, vivid green fields and a spark of autumn color edging the pond at Little Dipper Farm in Brooklyn. The party was both a fundraiser and a well-earned celebration for this volunteer run, non-profit group, which has brought high quality, accessible and affordable professional performing arts to the children and adults of northeast Connecticut for half a century. It was also a chance to honor important members’ contributions over the years.
Inside barn doors wide open to mild air, supporters of Performing Arts enjoyed hors d’oeuvres by the Chef’s Table, a farm-to-table restaurant offering a new and delicious place to dine in the Quiet Corner (formerly the Golden Lamb Buttery). Guests mingled and friends greeted one another warmly in the historic post-and-beam barn and on the deck overlooking bucolic fields and stone walls. Vibrant fall flower arrangements by member Rachel Sarantopoulos adorned tables and vintage posters of past operas graced barnboard walls. Frank Racette (the former Golden Lamb’s pianist) performed background music throughout the afternoon.
Performing Arts Board Chair Melissa Zahansky led off a brief presentation that included Hospitality Committee Chair Susan Horn, followed by an entertaining history of the organization by local writer Nancy Weiss. Horn was pleasantly surprised that for the 50th anniversary they had come “full circle back to where our original founders frequently met to chart a course for our then fledgling organization, at a farm and restaurant known as the Golden Lamb.” She thanked the Hospitality Committee of Denise Archambault, Mary Collins, Karen DeLuca, Ann Hinchman, Eliza Kimball, Rachel Sarantopoulos, Lauren Wheaton, and emeritus member Shirley Mongillo.
Zahansky thanked guests for their “continued generosity and volunteerism,” noting this season will feature the largest and most diverse slate of genres Performing Arts has ever presented. “Opera was at the helm of the organization's mission 50 years ago,” she said. “Since then we have added a plethora of community offerings and children’s programming.” In the last decade, Zahansky, a teacher at Rectory School, has witnessed the impact of Performing Arts on her students. She has been excited by expanded programming, including symphony and the Science of Sound program taught by local musician Sally Rogers, plus cosponsored programming with the Loos Center for the Arts in Woodstock. She welcomed some of the pioneers of Performing Arts, honored guests including Betty Hale, John Ostrout, and Nancy Weiss. “These are the people who worked tirelessly on a voluntary basis to make sure that the northeast corner wasn’t forgotten when it came to performing arts, and we’re so thankful.”
Nancy Weiss, past Board Chair and longtime supporter of Performing Arts, spoke next, offering warm and humorous historical anecdotes. With affection and respect, she mentioned members including the late Bob Miller and Bob Sloat, the former a “pivotal board member” and the latter, “a marvel…who knew the theatre like the back of his hand and changed light bulbs and electrical problems as easily as he hummed the entire libretto of whatever opera was being presented.” Weiss lauded many other impactful supporters, including Donald Froehlich and his sister, Linda, who catered parties and was “the real secret to our fundraising success.” She finally honored Betty Hale, arts lover, philanthropist and tireless volunteer, who was instrumental in the founding and evolution of Performing Arts because she “kept asking – What’s here for the kids? How can we get the kids to the theatre?” Betty “answered the question over and over” with her skills at making connections, making people comfortable (from performers to arts supporters), hosting parties, sharing information, saving ephemera that now constitutes an archive, and so much more.
“Everyone here has a memory of what being connected to this group means,” Weiss concluded. “I hope you will share them and enjoy them. Performing Arts has been a remarkable success, first as an artistic endeavor, but even more as a community treasure. It brought us all together for parties, friendships, reaching out to area children and supporting professional singers and musicians. Best of all. It goes on. Here’s to another 50 years.”
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Engage, Enrich, Inspire! Celebrating its 50th season, Performing Arts of Northeast Connecticut is a non-profit, volunteer-run organization that brings high quality, accessible and affordable professional performing arts to Northeast Connecticut and surrounding towns. See www.performingartsnect.org for more information. Follow us! www.facebook.com/performingartsnect
Pomfret Community School Kindergarten classes and the "Science of Sound"
02.11.2020
The kindergarten classes in Pomfret Community School experienced the science of sound. “Science of Sound: When is it Music” was a 45-60 minute exploration of the nature and creation of sound, through hands-on activities, observation, creative exploration and song. The program was led by Sally Rogers, a master teaching artist with the Connecticut Office of the Arts. Students were able to engage in inquiry-based learning and guided critical thinking to explore principles of sound and how music is created.
This program was one of the free education programs offered by Performing Arts of Northeast CT. Performing Arts is an all-volunteer non-profit organization funded by private and state grants, local businesses and individual donations. For more information, go to http://www.PerformingartsNECT.org - (performingartsnect.org)
Photo Credit: Phyllis La Belle, Public Relations Director of PCS