An Afternoon of Musical Creativity at the Central Library

On Saturday, October 27, 2012, Alice Kay Kanack, inventor of the Creative Ability Development method of teaching children musical improvisation, author of several music books, and director of the Kanack School of Music, will bring a group of her students for two programs filled with the joy of music.

Ms. Kanack is a frequent lecturer at conferences and festivals across the U.S. and Canada, and has presented her methods to audiences in Australia, France and Japan.  The concerts given by her students are powerful, inspiring, beautiful, and completely improvised.

“Musical Improvisation for Children” starts at 11:30 in the children’s room with a musical performance of the story “The Three Little Pigs” and a chance for children to try some hands-on musical improvisation.

From 1:00 -2:00 in the Kate Gleason Auditorium, Alice Kanack and her tour group will present “Improvisation without Inhibition” a lecture and performance that demonstrates the importance of developing the creative part of the brain.Ms. kanack will demonstrate methods for developing comfort with improvisation, and talk about current brain research that supports these methods.

A book signing will follow the performance with copies of Alice Kay Kanack’s books available for purchase.

To register for “Improvisation without Inhibition,”  call the Arts Division at 428-8140, or register online at http://tinyurl.com/cm45s73

Calligraphy Display

Calligraphy Display

Toi Clawson from Fairport and of the Genesee Valley Calligraphy Guild has a wonderful display of her work, as well as the Guild’s,  in the Arts Division this month. Toi will also be presenting a calligraphy demonstration in the Arts Division on Monday evening, January 23, from 6 pm to 7:45 pm. Toi writes, “Calligraphy is the art of beautiful writing. Using bold colors and illustrations to capture the viewer’s attention, I invite the reader to think more deeply about the text.”

Beautiful Words

Tools of the art

For more information about this display and Toi Clawson’s presentation call the Arts Division at 428-8140. The library has many books and resources about the art of calligraphy if you are interested in learning more about this popular art form.

Sunday Cinema @ the Library

Looking for something to do on a Sunday afternoon? The Central Library presents Sunday Movie Matinee @ the Library beginning in January 2012. We invite you to an all-ages free movie experience in the Kate Gleason Auditorium of the Bausch and Lomb Public Library Building on these Sunday afternoons of the following months:

January 8 – Transformers: Dark of the Moon [rated PG-13]

February 12 – The Music Never Stopped [rated PG]

March 11 – Alice in Wonderland (2011) [rated PG]

April 22 – Cars 2 [rated G]

May 6 – African Cats [rated G]

June-September – LIBRARY CLOSED

October 14 – Akeelah and the Bee [rated PG]

November 4 – Who the #$&% is Jackson Pollock [rated PG13]

December 9 – A Christmas Story [rated PG]

Show time is 2 PM. Movie goers are welcome to bring their own snacks or visit our new Tim Hortons restaurant.

Caution! Artist at Work!

The Arts Division of the Central Library of Rochester and Monroe County will feature a different artist once a month with its Caution! Artists at Work! series. We will host a different local artist or musician who will be working on a piece right in the Arts Division. Patrons are welcome to stop by and observe an artist painting or listen to a musician playing.

We hope you will stop by and see our local talent at work! Call 428-8140 for more details.

Monday April 16, 6-7:45 pm – Marsha Wolsky, encaustic painter
Saturday May 19, 1-3 pm – Jeff Bloom, acoustic guitarist
Thursday June 15, Noon – Heather Swenson, woodcut artist

V.I.P. Museum Passes

This week the Central Library launched the V.I.P. pass program, a partnership with the Memorial Art Gallery, Rochester Museum & Science Center, Genesee Country Village & Museum, Geva Theatre Center and George Eastman House, which allows libraries to circulate discount passes for each of these institutions.

Here’s how it works:

• Visit the Central Library and check out a V.I.P. pass – just like a book! Passes are available at the Bausch & Lomb Library Building circulation desk.
• Take the V.I.P. pass to the Museum/Theatre Pass partner and enjoy special admission prices.
• After you have enjoyed a great day return the V.I.P. pass to the central Library so another person can check it out.

Visit the library website for more information or call the Arts Division at 428-8140

OZOMATLI @ the Library!

Okay, so maybe you haven’t heard of Ozomatli before. Well, if you are looking forward to this summer’s music scene in Rochester you may have heard that Ozomatli is playing at Party in the Park this Thursday, June 23 at the Riverside Festival site.  They will also be visiting Central Library’s Kate Gleason Auditorium on Thursday from 1:30 to 2:30 PM, to talk with kids about their music and their careers, before they head across the bridge to play at the City’s Party in the Park that evening. The band, which formed in 1995 in Los Angeles, plays primarily Latin, hip hop and rock music. NPR featured Ozomatli as their guest DJ on the Alt.Latino blog this week. Listen to La Meta – Ozomatli or check out Fire Away, their latest CD. We hope to see you here @ the library for this exciting event!

Summer Music Happenings

It’s that time of year again when the city of Rochester presents many opportunities to enjoy a wide variety of music offerings. The Annual Rochester International Jazz Festival which takes place from June 10 to 18 will feature Natalie Cole, Elvis Costello, k.d. lang, Bela Fleck & the Flecktones and many, many more artists performing not only jazz but music of other genres. In the spirit of the Festival the Rochester Public Library will host The Jazz Starts Here series from June 13 to 17.  These hour long lunchtime concerts are from noon to 1 pm and will feature:

MONDAY, June 13 – Herb Smith
TUESDAY, June 14 – Mambo Kings
WEDNESDAY, June 15 – Trio Slaye
THURSDAY, June 16 – Mike Kaupa Quartet
FRIDAY, June 17 – Jimmie Highsmith

This concert series takes place in the Kate Gleason Auditorium, Bausch and Lomb Library Building, Central Library of Rochester & Monroe County, 115 South Avenue.

Other summertime Rochester music events are Party in the Park , a concert series that brings thousands of music fans to downtown Rochester each summer for a night of world class entertainment in an outdoor setting and the 17th annual MusicFest,  a two-day, multi-venue format highlighting the best in R&B and hip-hop and urban contemporary music.

The Arts Division has an extensive recorded music collection.  It is our goal every year to acquire new CDs of the current Jazz Festival, MusicFest and Party in the Park artists. Call 428-8140 to learn more or visit our website at www.libraryweb.org