Leading clarinetists William Wrzesien and Paulette Bowes with pianist Kevin McGinty will perform Concert Pieces by Mendelssohn as part of the All Newton Music School series at the Newton Free Library on Sunday, March 9, at 2:00PM. Seating is limited.

Wrzesien is principal clarinetist of the Boston Ballet Orchestra and the Boston Lyric Opera Orchestra. A founding member of the Boston Musica Viva contemporary music ensemble, he has performed as soloist and chamber musician at major concert venues and festivals around the world.

Bowes has concertized with many of the finest chamber groups and artists in the area and has premiered several works, including pieces written for her by John McDonald and Peter Child. As Director of ANMS since 1986, she has instituted new concert series and special musical events around Newton. The Newton Pride Committee presented her with an award for Excellence in the Arts in 1995.

McGinty has performed in numerous concert halls as a recitalist, accompanist and chamber musician including concerti with the Boston Pops, Brookline Symphony Orchestra, Hillsdale (Michigan) Orchestra and Central Massachusetts Symphony Orchestra at Worcester’s Mechanics Hall. Library concert-goers may remember his previous concerts with his wife, violist Loren Pearson, as the Aurora Duo. He teaches piano privately as well as at All Newton Music School, M.I.T. and Milton Academy.

Storytellers David Ingle and Libby Franck will present "The Nature of Black Humor: a Comparison of Tom Lehrer & Edward Gorey" at the Newton Free Library, Sunday, March 30, 2:00PM.

Black humor, long featured in the popular literature, poetry and songs of the British Isles, also flowered in the U. S. during the second half of the 20th century. Ingle will explore the topic by reviewing the work of satirical songwriter Tom Lehrer and surreal author and artist Edward Gorey. Lehrer is known for his popular and political song parodies ("Vatican Rag," "Smut," "Pollution") and the recently deceased Gorey is recognized for his witty, macabre sense of humor expressed in his more than 100 books and pen and ink drawings, including the animated opening to the "Mystery" public television series.

Ingle will compare the themes and imagery found within a dozen dark songs of Lehrer with Gorey’s limericks and stories. With the collaboration of actress Libby Franck and pianist Diane Engel, some songs will be performed and some of Gorey’s illustrations will be presented, along with recitations, on videotape. These drawings bring to life the author’s eccentric characters and subtle parodies of Victorian culture.

Ingle and Franck have presented several programs at the Library, mixing songs poetry and history. These include "Victorian British Humor," "Drinking: the Musical" and "The Wit and Woes of Dorothy Parker." Engel performs throughout the area as a chamber musician and accompanist.

Cabaret performers Bobbi Carrey, vocals, and Tomi Hayashhi, piano and vocals, will present a concert of music from their new CD "Between the Wars: Music from 1918 – 1941" at the Newton Free Library, Sunday, March 23, 2:00PM. Seating is limited.

American pop music, like all of society, was dramatically transformed by the tumultuous decades between the wars. Through social commentary and songs by such writers as Irving Berlin, Jerome Kern, the Gershwins, Sammy Fain and Johnny Mercer, Carrey and Hayashi will explore the events of the times, from the post-war highs of the frenzied 20s to the lows of the Depression and back up the long hill to recovery and ultimately WWII. They’ll trace the evolution of pop music from the jangling player pianos of 1918 to the hot Charleston rhythms of the 20s and on into the swing sound of the 30s and early 40s.

Carrey and Hayashi both perform regularly in the New England area.. Carrey founded nowandthen Productions with Hayashi, offering cabaret performances combining social history with popular American song. Shows have included "The Evolution of American Pop Music: from Rag to Rock n’ Roll," "Music of the 1930s: from Swing to Swoon" and "Irving Berlin: the Voice of Everyman."

Widely considered the greatest pure hitter in the history of baseball, Ted Williams is a beloved, legendary sports figure. Nowlin has written several books about the Splendid Splinter which go beyond his career, revealing him to be a military hero and strong supporter of charities.

A lifelong Red Sox fan, Nowlin has co-authored six books (e.g., Tales from the Red Sox Dugout) and dozens of articles on the team for the Boston Globe Sunday Magazine, Boston Magazine, the Red Sox magazine, Diehard and other publications. He is also the editor of the Ted Williams magazine, which is issued by the Ted Williams Museum. A co-founder of the folk and roots record company, Rounder Records, Nowlin is a former professor of political science at the University of Lowell.

Author Kate Moses, one of the founding editors of Salon.com, will speak on her new novel of Sylvia Plath: Wintering at the Newton Free Library, Wednesday, March 12, 7:30PM. A booksigning will follow with books provided by New England Mobile Book Fair.

Wintering is a striking literary debut that captures the haunted last months of Plath’s life following the breakup of her marriage to Ted Hughes - and the painful creation of her legendary Ariel poems. Published to coincide with the 40^th anniversary of her death, it is a deeply felt novel about artistry, marriage, motherhood and self-understanding.

Critics have praised its beauty and authenticity:

"Exceptional first novel, shot through with a fierce poetic luminosity…Readers will find it moving almost beyond words." (Publishers Weekly, starred review)

Moses is a former Senior Editor and Contributing Writer at Salon.com and co-editor of the anthology Mothers Who Think, winner of an American Book Award. She lives in San Francisco.

Patrick S. Halley, author of On the Road With Hillary: A Behind-the-Scenes Look at the Journey from Arkansas to the U.S. Senate, will discuss his 10-year odyssey as advance man for Hillary Clinton at a talk sponsored by the Newton Democratic City Committee. The program will be held at the Newton Free Library on Monday, March 10 at 7:00 p.m., followed by a booksigning.

A witty and entertaining story-teller, Halley, in his book recounts his adventures with Clinton on her campaign stops with her husband in his presidential race, as first lady and current New York Senator. He accompanies her on her intrepid visits to various parts of the U.S. and 36 other countries around the globe. His wry sense of humor and keen observations provide the reader with a rare insider’s look at how the game of politics in America is played.

Halley organized events for Clinton, ensured friendly crowds, and employed "etiquette squads" to quell disruptions by the opposition. From small towns in America to small towns in the Mongolian hinterland, his responsibilities ran the gamut from locating hotels to soothing ruffled feathers in the diplomatic community.

Halley provides us with an insider’s view of Clinton as wife, mother, first lady and successful politician. His book is an up-close look at Hillary Clinton, the person: her sharp mind, her sense of humor and playfulness, her impatience with bungled arrangements, her ability to connect with people wherever she went, from all walks of life.

Before joining Mrs. Clinton's entourage, Halley served as Executive Director of the Massachusetts Democratic Party. He has served as an advance man or state director in five presidential campaigns.

Have you ever heard strange animal sounds on early spring nights and wondered what they were? Did you know that spotted salamanders, spring peepers and wood frogs make their homes in parts of Newton? Hear environmental consultant Jon Regosin speak on vernal pools in Newton and conservation issues affecting amphibians in eastern Massachusetts. This Newton Conservators program will be held at the Newton Free Library on Wednesday, March 19, 7:00PM and will include slides and recordings of frog and toad sounds.

Many amphibian species still reside on Newton Conservation lands and other urban forest fragments. Vernal pools, small ponds lacking fish, provide critical breeding habitat for these populations. On rainy nights during March and April many amphibians in our area stage dramatic migrations to their breeding sites.

"Once thought to be just puddles in the forest, vernal pools are now recognized as rich but temporary ecosystems. Vernal pools are ephemeral wetlands which fill annually from precipitation, runoff and rising groundwater. The wet-dry cycle prevents fish from becoming established, yet presents a rich, albeit temporary, habitat for many species. Beneath the still waters of these woodland pools is a staggering array of life." (from A Field Guide to the Animals of Vernal Pools by Leo Kenney and Matthew Burne).

The Newton Conservators will schedule a Vernal Pool Walk in Newton for later this spring.

Regosin is a Ph.D. candidate in Biology at Tufts University. A Newton resident, he is an environmental consultant on wildlife and rare species issues with Hyla Ecological Services and was formerly a Conservation Planner for the Nature Conservancy of R.I. A board member of the Newton Conservators, he has led many programs for Newton Biodiversity Days and the Conservators walk series.

Gardner is the founder of Tapestry for Voices, a poetry venue that meets at Borders in Boston. He is currently the poet-in-residence at Endicott College and the organizer of the Boston Poetry Marathon at the Boston Public Library every April. He is the co-author of the poetry collection Chalice of Eros and a contributor to the Ibbetson Street Press' collection, City of Poets/ 18 Boston Voices. His poetry has appeared in Spare Change, Midstream, Harvard Review, Aurorean and others.

Goldfinger was the former editor of the Cambridge-based street newspaper Spare Change News. He has been published in such magazines as Jewish Affairs and Vital Signs and wrote the lyrics for a jazz CD entitled "Getting Fixed" by the Jeff Robinson Trio.

Goldstein is a Newton resident with work in Lilith, Comstock, The Jews of Poland, Senior Times and the Antigonish Review.

Next in the series is the 30^th Annual Poetry Festival featuring Afaa Michael Weaver, Charles Coe and Wendy Mnookin on April 8. For further information on this free series, please call the Library at 796-1360.

March is Newton’s 7^th annual Alternatives to Pesticides Month. GreenCAP, the Green Decade Coalition’s Committee for Alternatives to Pesticides, will kickoff their 2003 campaign to eliminate pesticides with a "Growing Green" program at the Newton Free Library, Monday, March 24, 7:00PM.

This program will feature their new video: "Naturally Great Gardens & Landscapes: A Guide to Organic Land Care." In it, professionals and Newton neighbors provide expert advice on growing flowers, vegetables, lawns, trees and shrubs without pesticides. Viewers will learn about site selection, soil preparation, composting, fertilizing, watering, mowing, non-toxic insect and weed control, companion planting, alternatives to the lawn and much more.

Following the screening, a panel of experts will answer questions on organic gardening and landscaping. Michael Talbot, president of Michael Talbot & Associates, Inc., is a certified arborist, landscape designer, professional horticulturist and educator specializing in Ecological Design, Restoration and Plant Care Services. Don Bishop of Gardens Are… is a NOFA accredited organic land care professional, one of the writers of the Massachusetts Northeast Organic Farming Association's Standards for Organic Land Care and serves on the Board of the Ecological Landscaping Association. Ann Barker of Ann Barker Design is an award-winning horticulturist and landscape designer, a charter member of the Arnold Arboretum Council and teaches courses in garden design.