The Ann Street Gallery welcomes electronic music artists Suzanne Thorpe and Bonnie Jones to conduct a workshop and concert, Electronic Music: Powered by Girls, on Saturday March 13 from 1:00-5:00 PM, and a public concert at 8:00 PM. The workshop is free to the public, and concert admission is $10 for adults and $5 for students.
The workshop will provide young girls aged 13-18 hands-on experience with both digital and analog technologies, fostering familiarity and confidence in areas of art, science and technology. Girls will be able to make their own music gathering, editing, and processing sounds.
The evening concert will feature solo electronic music compositions by the artists as well as an improvised collaborative duet performance. Thorpe will present a single performance of Nautical Twilight, a multichannel solo work for flute, electronics, laptop and hemispherical speakers. Nautical Twilight is a piece about the absence of illumination, when objects are discernible, but details indistinguishable. Jones will present an improvised performance based on a text/poetry score.The piece will combine sound and poetry written by Jones, exploring the area where music becomes communicative and text becomes aural.
The Downing Film Center presents Film Noir Sundays. A series of 3 films showing the classic example of the Film Noir Genre. The first two movies are:
February 21– D.O.A. (1950) showing at 1pm, tickets $5.00 March 7– The Hitch Hiker (1953) showing at 1pm, tickets $5.00
What is Film Noir? According to Wikipedia, “a cinematic term used primarily to describe stylish Hollywood crime dramas, particularly those that emphasize cynical attitudes and sexual motivations. Hollywood’s classic film noir period is generally regarded as stretching from the early 1940s to the late 1950s.”
There will also be a discussion after the films with local film enthusiast, Frank Kieck, who is an instructor of film at the LIFE Program at Mt. St. Mary College & at the Encore Program at OCCC.
So, not that I’m curious, well maybe sort of. I’ve noticed the visitors here at Newburgh Restoration. And, I’ve noticed that many cool people (like yourself) are checking out Newburgh, especially people who live far away in places like Washington, D.C., California, and Ontario, Canada! Even people in the outer boroughs of NYC like Brooklyn, and Manhattan are checking out Newburgh. You are looking at houses for sale, looking up loan information, and finding out about the revitalization going on. So this blog posting is dedicated to all of you out there that are secretly crushing on Newburgh.
Now, I know that some of you might have received a variety of reactions if you have confessed your secret crush on Newburgh, due to it’s past. But, you can’t listen to everyone else’s opinion. If you are excited about Newburgh, go with your gut! Newburgh is a depressed city with a lot of urban blight, so #1 be realistic with what you are expecting. You won’t find the Newburgh of the old glory days because a lot has changed. Nor will the neighborhood instantly change because you have bought a house here. But, what you will find is awesome architecture, priceless character, and a city that is so amazingly set up, you could not plan a better city even if you were to build a new one from scratch. You’ll also find people that are head over in heals in love with their city and are really doing the dirty work of trying to make a change.
If you are interested in Newburgh, # 2 take a drive/train ride and VISIT! You can read every blog, newspaper article, go on the internet and look at all of the pictures in the world of Newburgh, listen to all the rumors and opinions, and you still wouldn’t be able to grasp it all. Newburghers are more than delighted when they meet new people visiting from out of town who are interested in this city. They know about houses for sale before anyone else does, and they know about programs and organizations that you can’t find online. They know what is going on in their city. This blog is intended to highlight the good things going on in Newburgh, but even I can’t write everything on here. There are many plans going on behind the scenes. But, it’s no ancient Chinese secret. Make a visit and hear the great developments that are going on from Newburghers themselves.
Lastly, # 3 don’t expect to see change over night. Rome wasn’t built in a day, and it took a while before Park Slope became posh. Any kind of change takes time, but many believe Newburgh is in a spot that the change will only continue to be positive. And, the change will only continue to be positive if preservation minded people like you continue to have an interest in Newburgh. More and more people are being awaken for the need for Newburgh to be preserved. No one wants to see another building tore down from neglect. The city has already lost enough of those as it is. But little by little Newburgh has been changing and will continue to change. In the past decade Newburgh has seen a significant change at the waterfront with the addition of restaurants, night life, and even a film center. Hope is in the air that the development will continue to make it’s way up Broadway. The completion of the college campus- SUNY Orange in Newburgh is a crucial step, as is the restoration of the West Shore Train Station.
So what are you waiting for? Make a trip with your BFF next Saturday and to go to Newburgh. It’s only an hour (give or take some traffic) from midtown Manhattan driving, or just a train & ferry ride away on Metro North. Grab a bite at one of the many eateries in the area. Then head over to Simple Gifts and Goodies for more than delicious home made ice cream and iceys (my friend is still craving his mango icey). Pop in to the rest of the stores and talk to the owners who are in Newburgh for the long haul. Walk down to the riverfront where you will fall in love with the views of the Hudson River and Mount Beacon. Take a drive around and marvel at the architectural diamonds in the rough, yet at the same time cry when you see the ones that are condemned. Surely before you leave, you will have seen a couple of places that you will be itching to do research on. Take a look! And, don’t worry, your secret crush is still a secret with me!
The next Newburgh Crush posting, will feature someone, who after crushing on Newburgh for 21 months finally bought their first home! Stay tuned.
I’m a little late on this but Metromix.com is hosting a contest of the Hudson Valley’s favorite places. You can vote once a day, and you have till Jan. 24th. Sorry I didn’t tell you about this sooner. But the good news is that a few Newburgh places have made the list, and you can show your support for local favorites. Click here to cast your votes. These are the Newburgh places up for vote:
Every December the Newburgh Historical Society hosts a candlelight tour of various homes throughout the City of Newburgh. You get to see an up close look at beautifully restored homes. This year will be no exception, and tours will start December 13, 12-5pm. The price is a $20 donation in advance, or $25 donation at the door.
Also to be included in this years tour will be the Train Station!
The tour begins at The Crawford House, 189 Montgomery Street. For reservations and more information, call (845) 561-2585 or email historicalsocietynb@yahoo.com
There is a new music series going on in Newburgh and, it’s at The Wherehouse. Newburgh resident of 10 years, Neil Alexander of Nail, will be playing every other week alongside guest performers. It is an evening of cutting edge experimental electronic music including ambient, Drum’n’Bass, Electronica, sound design and more. Check out his calender to see when he is playing and who the guest performers will be. He’s also playing down the street at the Terrace Lounge, December 29th.
When: Every other Wednesday Where: The Wherehouse, 119 Liberty St. Time: 8pm-11pm Admission: $2.74
