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D&R Greenway Offers Unique Bus Excursion to Regional Premier Performance of Sam Guarnaccia’s Emergent Universe Oratorio, Villanova University
originally published: 07/01/2018
(PRINCETON, NJ) -- D&R Greenway Land Trust invites the public to a unique bus excursion to the regional premier performance of Sam Guarnaccia’s Emergent Universe Oratorio. Performed by the Main Line Symphony Orchestra, with choral singers from Pennsylvania and Vermont, it will take place at Villanova University Church, on Saturday, July 28 at 7:30pm. The bus will depart at 5:30pm from D&R Greenway Land Trust’s Johnson Education Center, returning by 11:30pm. Wine and hors d’oeuvres will be provided. At the post-party after the Villanova performance, participants will meet with composer Sam Guarnaccia and Symphony director Don Liuzzi. Tickets for the bus journey and the Emergent Universe Oratorio are $125. This includes bus trip, wine, hors d’oeuvres, performance and post-party. Space is limited; RSVP by Thursday, July 19: Most convenient payment: www.drgreenway.org, DONATE, and specify BUS TRIP. On July 28 at 5:30pm, the bus will leave One Preservation Place, off Rosedale Road, Princeton. A portion of the fee supports D&R Greenway’s preservation of New Jersey’s segment of the universe. Sam Guarnaccia’s Emergent Universe Oratorio inspired the dynamic paintings by award-winning environmental artist Cameron (Cami) Davis, currently in D&R Greenway’s galleries: Cosmophilia may be seen through July 25 in D&R Greenway’s Johnson Education Center, 1 Preservation Place, Princeton 08540. Gallery hours Monday-Friday 10:00am-5:00pm. Call to be sure galleries not rented at the time of prospective visit. Our regional premiere of the Emergent Universe Oratorio will be performed in the majestic setting of the Villanova University Church on July 28. D&R Greenway President Linda Mead attended the Ohio premiere in Cleveland, observing, “This oratorio soars, inspired by, and composed to inspire conservation of, the Earth. It is a beautiful melding of music, poetry and philosophies—some familiar, some eye-opening!” Both the artist and the composer drew significant influences from the 2011 Emmy-winning documentary Journey of the Universe, by Mary Evelyn Tucker and Brian Swimme of Yale. Sam Guarnaccia addresses questions about the impact of stars, tectonic plates, even sea life of hundreds of millions of years ago upon today’s humans. He weaves in words and thoughts of Rainer Maria Rilke, Wendell Berry, John Elder, among others, carrying audiences to the “beginning of time.” Guarnaccia explains, “The motivation for this oratorio was to add weight and depth to our awareness of what we are doing to the planet.” Cultural historian, geologist and teacher Thomas Berry also impacted Guarnaccia during this composition: “A new revelatory experience is needed, an experience wherein human consciousness awakens to the grandeur and sacred quality of the Earth process. This awakening is our human participation in the dream of the Earth…”
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The oratorio is related to opera in that it features recitatives and music. It differs from opera in that it contains no performance. This oratorio interacts with the 2011 Emmy-winning documentary Journey of the Universe, by Mary Evelyn Tucker and Brian Swimme, which dramatizes interconnectedness and universal energy from the moment of the Big Bang, forward. Don Liuzzi, director of the Main Line Symphony Orchestra and principal timpanist with the Philadelphia Orchestra, describes his experience of the oratorio: “The more we talk about [the perils to our planet] this as a society, the less chance we have of ruining this planet.” “Science links everyone on the planet,” Guarnaccia adds. D&R Greenway’s Linda Mead asserts, “It is the melding of science, music and new thinking that makes this work so inspiring. This magical, unforgettable evening can transform how you view your place in the world and the actions you yourself need to take for the sake of the planet.” D&R Greenway Land Trust is in its 29th year of preserving and protecting natural lands, farmlands and open spaces throughout central and southern New Jersey. Through continuous preservation and stewardship -- caring for land and easements to ensure they remain protected and ecologically healthy in perpetuity -- D&R Greenway nurtures a healthier and more diverse environment for people and wild species in seven counties. Accredited by the national Land Trust Accreditation Commission, D&R Greenway’s mission is to preserve and care for land and inspire a conservation ethic, now and for the future. Since its founding in 1989, D&R Greenway has permanently preserved more than 20,000 acres, an area 20 times the size of New York City’s Central Park, including 30 miles of trails open to the public. The Johnson Education Center, a circa 1900 restored barn at One Preservation Place, Princeton, is D&R Greenway’s home. Through programs, art exhibits and related lectures, D&R Greenway inspires greater public commitment to safeguarding land.
Tommy Castro & The Painkillers To Return To Lizzie Rose Music Room
(TUCKERTON, NJ) -- Tommy Castro & the Painkillers return to the Lizzie Rose Music Room on Wednesday, April 17 at 7:30pm. Whether he’s squeezing out the deepest blues or playing the funkiest soul grooves, legendary blues and soul giant Tommy Castro knows how to ignite a crowd. Tickets are $38.00 Advance and $45.00 day of show.
Experience Hendrix at NJPAC on March 29th
(NEWARK, NJ) -- Celebrate the music and legacy of Jimi Hendrix as Experience Hendrix comes to Newark’s New Jersey Performing Arts Centeron Friday, March 29 at 8:00pm. This critically acclaimed multi-artist tribute to Hendrix features performances by Billy Cox, Joe Satriani, Dave Mustaine, Jonny Lang, Dweezil Zappa, Eric Johnson, Doug Pinnick, Chris Layton, Mato Nanji, Kenny Aronoff, The Slide Brothers, Henri Brown, Kevin McCormick and special guest Taj Mahal.
World Famous Bachata Artists To Take The Stage for Uforia Bachata Fest 2019 At Prudential Center on Saturday, March 16
(NEWARK, NJ) -- Uforia Bachata Fest 2019 at Prudential Center will bring together the world’s best Bachata artists including, Frank Reyes “The Prince of Bachata”, Hector Acosta “El Torito”, Zacarias Ferreira, Luis Vargas and Raulin Rodriguez "El Cacique”. Uforia Bachata Fest 2019, presented by Zamora Live, Euforia Radio (Univision) and Corona Extra, will be held on Saturday, March 16 at 8:00pm. The contagious Caribbean rhythm known as "Bachata" will have its gala night, marking the first time in history these world-renowned artists will perform on the same stage.
Youth Symphony and Youth Orchestra To Perform at Princeton University January 27
(PRINCETON, NJ) -- The New Jersey Youth Symphony (NJYS) continues its 40th Anniversary with a concert featuring the NJYS Youth Symphony and Youth Orchestra on Sunday, January 27 at 4:00pm at Richardson Auditorium at Princeton University located at 68 Nassau Street in Princeton. Youth Symphony will open the concert with Mahler Symphony No. 1 in D major followed by Youth Orchestra performing Dvořák Symphony No. 8 in G major, Op. 88.
Rickie Lee Jones To Perform At Grunin Center
(TOMS RIVER, NJ) -- Two-time Grammy winner Rickie Lee Jones exploded onto the pop scene in 1978 and has made a career of fearlessly experimenting with her sound and persona on more than 15 critically acclaimed albums. She brings her show “An Intimate Evening with Rickie Lee Jones” to the Jay and Linda Grunin Center for the Arts on Friday, February 22 at 8:00pm.
The Empire Strikes Back in Concert with the NJSO LIVE! at the State Theatre
Some of our favorite childhood memories growing up at the Jersey Shore involved going to our town’s grand old movie palace, The Community Theater, in Toms River. Built with colonial architecture and featuring large white columns in the front, paned glass windows in the lobby, a circular brick walk from the sidewalk to the box office, and a white picket fence which enclosed a lawn and a flower bed, this local gem presented the latest Hollywood films. For kids like us back in the 1960’s, that meant pictures like Mary Poppins, Cinderella, The Love Bug, and Flipper.
Scott Wolfson and Other Heroes At Riverside Rhythm & Rhyme
This coming Sunday, January 20, Scott Wolfson and his band will be serving up their unique blend of Americana at the Riverside Rhythm & Rhyme series at Investors Bank Theater in Succasunna, New Jersey. The band – Scott Wolfson and Other Heroes – formed in Jersey City in 2011, and, even though the members have migrated in various directions since then, they still consider themselves to be a Jersey City band.
"He Totally Wowed Us!" John Oates LIVE! at SOPAC
It’s brisk for an evening walk on South Orange Ave. in South Orange, NJ, this Friday, Jan. 4, 2019 evening, but it’s a good road to follow as it leads us directly to the South Orange Performing Arts Center (SOPAC) for a special performance by singer, songwriter, and guitarist John Oates and his backup group, The Good Road Band.
“Tons of Fun!” The Glenn Miller Orchestra LIVE! at the Grunin Center
Although Friday, December 21, 2018 is the shortest day of the year, the audience of big band music lovers here at Toms River, NJ’s Grunin Center for the Arts is hoping for a long evening of classic swing and holiday tunes performed by the incomparable Glenn Miller Orchestra!
Mike Davis and The New Wonders
Mike Davis traces his love for the trumpet back to a Disney movie.
He grew up in a musical family, with both his parents playing strings in the Seattle Symphony. But Davis wanted an instrument of his own.
Then, at age 9, he saw “The Aristocats,” the animated film about a bunch of French felines — including a group of jazz-playing alley cats.
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