On May 7, 2009, the Arts Council of Rockland announced the winners of the 2009 County Executive Arts Awards, The ceremony, held at the Cultural Arts Center of Rockland Community College, is an annual celebration of art, those who support and those who create it. 


Attendees were treated to performances by the Ramapo High School Dance Company, Members of the String Orchestra of the Rockland Conservatory of Music, violinist Shelby Yamin, pianist Jan Deats and cellist Claude Gilbert. A dessert reception was provided by the Hospitality Department of Rockland Community College. 

Hosts for the evening were Scott Vanderhoef (Rockland County Executive), Thomas L. Brizzolara (Director, Public Affairs, Orange and Rockland Utilities) and Brian Condon (Chairperson, Arts Council of Rockland). 

Orange and Rockland Utilities served as Primary Corporate Sponsor. Dominican College and St. Thomas Aquinas College were Corporate supporters of the event. The ceremony was recorded and broadcast by Cablevision. 

Pictured above: Front row, left to right: Marigene Kettler (Rockland Conservatory of Music), Dorothy Filoramo (Dominican College, Corporate Supporter), Deborah Darbonne (Friends of the Nyacks), Jennie Chien, Kathy Tappenden (Nyack High School Drama Club), Joan Gussow, Shirley Crabbe. Second row: L. John Durney (St. Thomas Aquinas College, Corporate Supporter), Foster Bass (Friends of the Nyacks), C. Scott Vanderhoef (County Executive), Thomas L. Brizzolara (Orange & Rockland Utilities, Primary Corporate Sponsor), Brian Condon, ACOR Board Chairperson.

Arts Education - Nyack High School Drama Club

 

The Nyack High School Drama Club takes on dramatic challenges of titanic proportions. In fact, one of their recent productions was "Titanic." Others include "Cats" and "Phantom of the Opera." The Club was only one of six schools nationwide selected to mount the first amateur productions of "Phantom." The show sold out each of its seven shows and won seven National Youth Theater awards. Student build and paint the sets. The Titanic sank on stage every night. During "Phantom," the huge chandelier crashed on stage every night. The students design and run complex sound, lighting and backstage systems. They sing. They dance. They play the instruments. They act. It's officially recognized as a "club" but this extra-curricular drama program at Nyack High School might be more appropriately called "a way of life." (pictured, Kathy Tappenden, Director)

LIFE IS BETTER WHERE THERE IS ART!

Arts Organization - Rockland Conservatory of Music

 

The Rockland Conservatory of Music was founded 53 years ago as the Community Music School. Over the decades, the organization grew into a conservatory of music while keeping true to its roots as a community music school. Today, 450 children and adults study and perform on many instruments and voice at the Conservatory. Honoring its commitment as a community school, 15% of its students attend on either full or partial scholarship. 

Some graduates of the Conservatory have gone on to professional careers in music. Others teach professionally. 

The Conservatory's mission is to provide quality professional music instruction at reasonable rates to students of all ages and abilities, regardless of ethnic, religious or financial background. 53 years ago, its founders felt that anyone who wished to make music part of their life should be given the opportunity. In 2009, this continues to be the center of the RCM's vision and practice. (pictured Marigene Kettler, Executive Director)

LIFE IS BETTER WHERE THERE IS ART!

Literary Artist - Joan Gussow

 

Joan Gussow is the author and co-author of four published books. Her most recent, "The Organic Life," has been reviewed as "a rollicking good read from start to finish. It is like a long talk with an old friend, filled candor and immediacy." The thread that runs through Joan's writing is nutrition. She uses food as a metaphorical launching pad to examine how human beings live on the earth. Joan's writing reflects her care for each thing the Earth has produced - because our lives depend on it.

LIFE IS BETTER WHERE THERE IS ART!

Performing Artist - Shirley Crabbe

 

Shirley Crabbe is a stunning and lyrical vocalist who uses all of the colors in the musical palette to deliver a performance that is engaging and entertaining. Seeing Ella Fitzgerald perform "A Tisket, A Tasket" in an old Abbot and Costello movie inspired Shirley to sing jazz. "I was born with a passion for singing, and when I heard Ella, I knew that jazz singing was 'it' for me."

Placing 3rd in the American Traditions Competition, a part of the Savannah (Georgia) International Music Festival, has made this an exciting year for Shirley. She has also performed at some of New York's finest cabarets and jazz clubs including Madison Square Garden, the Paramount Theater and two recent showcases at Birdland, the world famous jazz club. We're grateful to Ella for inspiring Rockland's own Shirley Crabbe.

LIFE IS BETTER WHERE THERE IS ART!

Supporter of the Arts - Friends of the Nyacks

 

Life in the Nyacks is profoundly richer because of the persistence, diligence and vigilance of The Friends of the Nyacks. This non-profit, volunteer-run organization was established in 1974 and is dedicated to maintaining and improving the quality of life in the Nyacks. Some of their accomplishments include: obtaining the lease for the arts center now known as Riverspace and being instrumental in founding that organization; producing the annual Mostly Music Festival on the Hudson; sponsoring and giving financial support to the Rivertown Film Society; building the gazebo-bandstand in Memorial Park; sponsoring the "Yesteryear on the Hudson" mural on Broadway and Burd Street; sponsoring riverside festivals to celebrate the Hudson and creating and displaying art on streets and in parks and buildings 

In 2008, the Friends sponsored a performing arts flotilla constructed by the artist, Swoon, whose work is in the collection of the Museum of Modern Art. The flotilla was anchored off Nyack's Memorial Park and served as the stage for a theatrical performance written by Obie-winning playwright Lisa D'Amour. 

When you talk about the marriage between art and quality of life, you're talking about The Friends of the Nyacks. (pictured Deborah Darbonne, Chairperson and Foster Bass, Board Member)

LIFE IS BETTER WHERE THERE IS ART!

Visual Artist - Jennie Chien

 

Jennie Chien is the winner of more than 25 awards for design excellence. Her work has been exhibited at many galleries in New York and New Jersey. Jennie has received a Special Opportunity Stipend from the New York Foundation for the Arts and is one of the two Individual Artist Grants awarded by the Arts Council of Rockland. After working as a graphic designer and art director in New York and San Francisco for 11 years, she has been employed as freelance project director and manager for 13. 

Jennie says of her work, "Making art is a search for the true self, for wholeness. I am inspired by archetypes, the elemental symbols common to all cultures. I borrow such images and concepts to create something that has within it a timeless quality. My role as an artist is to point out our commonalities while appreciating our differences, both of which make us whole human beings."

Jazz Wax
Marc Meyers    October 02, 2011
CD discoveries of the week. Vocalist Shirley Crabbe has a big, wide-open optimistic style that's reminiscent of a young, excited Sarah Vaughan. Crabbe's honest, swinging attack is fully evident on Home (MaiSong). Backed on select tracks by tenor saxophonist Houston Person, Crabbe runs through songs that are perfectly tailored to her barefoot-in-the-grass style--Lucky to Be Me, You Taught My Heart to Sing, Roland Hanna's Seasons, Detour Ahead, Not While I'm Around, Oscar Brown's Strong Man and Carole King'sSo Far Away. This is a gorgeous album from a lovely singer—proving that vocalists can indeed choose lesser-known gems rather than adhering to glue-factory Songbook fare.