Soprano Carla Chrisfield and pianist William Merrill will return to the Newton Free Library for a concert of works by Haydn, Debussy, Satie and Brahms on Sunday, April 6, at 3:00PM. Seating is limited.

Chrisfield enjoys an active musical life as a soloist, recitalist and chamber musician, both at home and abroad. Praised as "a singer with sincere and fresh musicianship, and great insight into the musical and textual issues," she is passionately committed to the art of the song recital. She has given recitals in Great Britain, the Netherlands and throughout the United States, performing under the auspices of the Aldeburgh Festival, the International Darius Milhaud Society, the Chautauqua Institution, the Emily Dickinson International Society, the Cantata Singers Recitalists Series, the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum and others. She has also performed as soloist with the Nevada Symphony Orchestra and the Ohio Chamber Orchestra. Among her teachers is the acclaimed Dutch soprano, Elly Ameling. Chrisfield has recorded for Boston Records and can be heard on the recording "Musique Française," in collaboration with pianist Peter Serkin and others. Upcoming performances include a program of Lieder at the Goethe Institut and a recital at the Museum of Fine Arts in connection with this summer's exhibition of the portraits of Thomas Gainsborough.

A noted pianist and vocal coach, Merrill has accompanied many singers in the Boston and New York areas, including recitals at Alice Tully Hall and Carnegie Hall. In recent seasons he has concertized in Rome, as well as in Beijing and Shanghai, as a guest of the government. He has been affiliated with the Boston Academy of Music, the Opera Company of Boston, Boston Lyric Opera Company, the Goldovsky Opera Institute and the New England Conservatory Opera Department. Merrill can be heard on a recently-released CD of songs by Sir Arthur Sullivan on the Pearl label. He is Principal Coach and Accompanist of the Boston Aria Guild.

For the second year in a row, the Newton Free Library was chosen as one of 15 libraries nationwide to host the writing/publishing program during National Library Week, April 6 - 12. Lasell College in Newton will partner with the Library to promote the program to its students.

Kelly is a local writer specializing in women's health and mind/body issues. She writes for a variety of magazines, including Shape, Glamour, Oprah, Parents, Reader's Digest, Yoga Journal, Fitness, Self, and Woman's Day. She is also the co-author (with Alice D. Domar, Ph.D.) of the book Conquering Infertility which was named by Publisher's Weekly as one of the best health books of 2002. She is a former senior editor of Walking Magazine and has also worked for daily newspapers, children's magazines and high-tech publications.

In honor of National Poetry Month and National Library Week, the Newton Free Library will present its 30^th Annual Evening of Poetry, sponsored by the Friends of the Library. Charles Coe, Wendy Mnookin and Afaa Michael Weaver will read their latest poetry on Tuesday, April 8, 7:00PM. Refreshments will be served. This festival and the year-long series are coordinated by Doug Holder.

Mohtadi will discuss the process of globalization and the adequacy of ourcurrent national and international institutions to establish mechanisms to implement solutions to global problems. These include the widening gap between rich and poor countries, environmental deterioration, labor, human rights, peace and security issues.

Mohtadi is Associate Professor of Economics at Suffolk University where he is Graduate Programs Director and Director of the Undergraduate International Economics Degree Program. He has published widely and presented papers at many symposia and conferences throughout North America and Switzerland.

In honor of the Armenian Genocide Commemoration in April, videographer Roger Hagopian will screen "Memories of Marash: the Legacy of a Lost Armenian Community" on Tuesday, April 22, 7:00PM at the Newton Free Library. State Representative Peter Koutoujian, whose family is from Marash, will introduce the program.

This moving video traces the ancient history of Marash, located in present day Turkey, from the Hittite, Roman and Crusade periods through the series of massacres from the late

1800s to 1923 and the final expulsion of the Armenian community. The content consists of interviews with Genocide survivors as well as their children and experts on the subject of Marash and Cilicia. Also included are family and historical photographs, silent movies from post-World War I and video scenes of present day Cilicia, computer generated maps and authentic Marashzi music provided by Professor Leon Janikian of Northeastern University. 90 year old Newtonville resident Peter Bilezikian, a Genocide survivor, is featured in the film.

The idea for the video originated with Hagopian’s desire to tell a family story within the context of historical events, much like a previous work shown at the Library "Journey of an Armenian Family: The Struggle of a Nation," the story of his father, a survivor from Van. In the process of research, however, the theme shifted from the plight of Hagopian’s grandmother to the tale of the city of Marash as remembered by Marashzis.

From New York, author Elisabeth Gitter will speak on The Imprisoned Guest: Samuel Howe and Laura Bridgman, the Original Deaf-Blind Girl at the Newton Free Library, Thursday, April 24, 7:30PM, followed by a booksigning.

In 1886, Helen Keller’s mother learned that there was hope for her daughter by reading Charles Dickens’ account of the remarkable Laura Bridgman (1829 – 89). One hundred years later, Gitter also read Dickens’ notes, and wondered what had become of the deaf-blind girl who had so amazed him. On a visit home to Boston, she stopped at the library of the Perkins School for the Blind and there discovered bundles of unpublished documents and Bridgman’s teachers’ journals. These papers - some penciled in Bridgman’s distinctive square lettering, others written by family members, admirers and teachers – record her poignant struggle to create a life for herself and to preserve her singular identity. Gitter’s book recounts her story as well as that of her tumultuous relationship with Perkins Director Samuel Gridley Howe who rode her achievements to his own fame. The Imprisoned Guest retrieves a forgotten life, placing Bridgman in the context of nineteenth century American social, intellectual and cultural history.

"Stimulating…a challenging mix of American history and unique biography that at times can wring the heart." (Kirkus Reviews)

Although Russian composer Prokofiev died 50 years ago, only in the last decade have his eight completed operas begun to enter the international repertoire. Besides the sarcastic fairy tale "Love for Three Oranges," Prokofiev’s other operas are not well known as they encountered many obstacles in the West and in Russia, largely due to political and ideological problems. With the collapse of the USSR in 1991, Russian opera singers were able to travel freely to the West and they brought Russian opera with them. Russian conductor Valery Gergiev, now Assistant Conductor at the Metropolitan Opera, has presided over stagings of "The Gambler" and "War and Peace" at the Met and has brought his Kirov Opera company on tour with "Betrothal in a Monastery" and, this coming summer, "Semyon Kotko."

Robinson is a Professor of Modern Languages and History at Northeastern University. His books include Sergei Prokofiev: A Biography and The Last Impresario: The Life, Times and Legacy of Sol Hurok. A frequent lecturer for many major concert houses and museums around the country, he has worked as a writer and commentator for PBS television, National Public Radio and the Texaco-Metropolitan Opera International Radio Network. His articles and reviews have appeared in numerous anthologies and in the New York Times, Opera News and others. He has written liner notes for many recordings and program essays for the Boston Symphony, Metropolitan Opera, Lincoln Center and others. A pianist and singer, he has made 25 trips to Russia and received two Fulbright Grants for study in Russia.

The Green Decade Coalition will present a talk by Warren Leon on "A Consumer’s Guide: Making Effective Environmental Choices" at the Newton Free Library on Monday, April 28, 7:00PM.

Paper or plastic? Minivan or station wagon? Beef or chicken? Cloth diapers or disposables? Some choices have a huge impact on the environment; others are of negligible importance. Leon will reveal the findings from a landmark study that examines the relationship between consumers and the environment. He will discuss how individuals can most effectively improve environmental quality through their everyday decisions and will also discuss the roles of community projects and government policy.

Leon is Executive Director of the Northeast Sustainable Energy Association, the leading regional organization working to promote renewable energy, clean transportation, and green buildings. A frequent lecturer and radio guest, he has co-authored The Consumer's Guide to Effective Environmental Choices, Is Our Food Safe? and A Small Price to Pay: US Action to Curb Global Warming Is Feasible and Affordable among his many publications.