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Home > Programs, Press, Exhibits & Classes > Calendar Archives > June2005

Calendar of Events

JUNE 2005
Sunday	Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday	Saturday
			1 Concert, 7:30pm Contemporary Books Group, 7:30pm	2 Tom Standage Talk, 7:30pm	3	4 Booksale, 10am - 3:00pm Auburndale
5 Bäverstam Chamber Players Concert, 2pm Booksale, Noon - 3:00pm Auburndale	6 Children's Book Writers Group, 7pm	7 Short Fiction Writing Group, 7pm	8 Sequences Group Meeting, 10am	9 Historical Show, 10:30am Author HealthTalk, 7:30 pm	10	11 Newton History Tour at Cemetery, 10:00am Singing Group, noon
12 NEOC Program, 2:00pm	13 Short Story Discussion Group, 7:30pm SAT Talk, 7:30pm	14 Author Sports Talk, 7:30pm Great Books Discussion Group, 7:15pm	15	16 Green Decade, 7pm	17	18 Life Stories Workshop, 10:30am
19 Piano Concert, 2pm	20	21 Board of Trustees Meeting, 8:30am Nepal Talk, 7:00pm	22 Children's Book Writers Group, 7pm	23 Talk on Composers, 7:30pm	24	25
26 Choir Concert, 2:00pm	27	28	29 Waban Book Group, 10:30am	30

For more information on any of the Library events,
please call the Library at (617) 796-1360

Unless noted otherwise, all events take place at the Library's Main Branch.
All events are free and open to the public.

The Library is handicapped accessible. For special assistance when attending programs, call 796-1410 during business hours and 796-1360 evenings and weekends.

To view a previous calendar, click here to view the Archives. (Available from October 2004.)

Art Exhibits

Gallery & Main Hall Hours

Monday to Thursday 9:00 am to 9:00 pm
Friday 9:00 am to 6:00 pm
Saturday 9:00 am to 5:00pm
Sunday Noon to 5:00 pm

ART EXHIBITION INFORMATION

Are you interested in exhibiting your artwork at the Library? The Newton Free Library presents monthly exhibits by regional artists in the Gallery and Main Hall of the main library, a state-of-the-art facility which 11,000 people visit weekly. Please click here for more information.

GALLERY/ JUNE

Paintings by Justice on Exhibit

Weston Woods

Dinora Felske Justice's exhibit of paintings, “Fundamentally Green,” will be shown in the Gallery June 2 – 29.

Possessed of a luminescent glow, Justice’s oil paintings have a fairytale-like atmosphere, enticing the viewer to enter these imagined forests and lake views. In many of the scenes, tall, slender trees frame a glowing clearing, amber or white, in the center of the canvas, or an unruffled lake lies like a long table extending into the distance. We look on, mesmerized by the light, by the misty beauty. Much of the atmospheric effect is created by glazing, layering transparent paint to create rich, dark colors, and scumbling, overpainting with opaque colors to create a dense illusion, techniques used by the Dutch Masters.

Growing up in Brazil, Justice often roamed the green fields and woods and still feels “a profound connection to nature,” she says. “Weston Woods” shows the organic life cycle, fallen branches, blooming verdure, the “glorious beauty as well as the horror of putrefaction…the regeneration of life.” Other works have an Asian feel in their simple, stylized form, verticality and lack of depth. This is the “primordial world” as she re-imagines it, based on original sketches and photos she makes on her outings.

The artist has exhibited in the DeCordova Museum Corporate Exhibition Program, at South End Open Studios, Kingston Gallery in the South End and in Brazil. Honors include the Medici Artist award from the Museum of Fine Arts, a grant from Middlesex Beat Open Studios and Best of Show from a Boston Archdiocese Benefit. Justice is represented by Kantar Fine Arts, Newton and NOA Gallery, Groton.

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MAIN HALL / JUNE

New Works by Gauthier on Display in June

Michelle Andree Gauthier’s abstract paintings will be exhibited in the Main Hall, June 2 – 29.

“I paint in an attempt to penetrate the surface of nature through color,” says Gauthier. Painting is a spiritual practice for her, an exploration of life’s meaning. She sees “the edges of the canvas as a window, a process begun earlier in [her] life, while looking out kitchen and attic windows.”

Starting with a blank canvas, she lays out her palette and begins to apply taches of color in a non-representational way. The rich, deep blues and greens must speak to her as she saturates the surface with these oil pigments, sometimes producing a bold color-field, other times watching how they relate, interact, create a space. Her “Blue” series plays with the luminosity of royal blue, taking a minimalist approach with just a suggestion of a horizon. Other paintings employ wilder brush strokes, smudges of color overtaking a horizontal structure, straining in different directions, building emotionally to a stormy crescendo.

Gauthier is a painter as well as a librarian at Andover-Harvard Theological Library. She has exhibited at Symphony Hall, First Expressions Gallery in Boston, Club Passim and other venues.

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Clubs

Library groups meet at the Newton Free Library, 330 Homer Street, Newton Centre, unless otherwise noted. All meetings are free and open to the public.

	African Literatures Discussion Group
	This group will meet again in September.
	Children's Book Writers Group
	Meetings are held on the first Monday or on the fourth Wednesday of the month at 7:00PM in Meeting Room A. This group is for writers who have work in progress. Pre-registration required. Please call Jacqueline Davies at 781-455-8334 or Karen Day at 244-4830 for more information. Meeting Dates: Monday, June 6 or Wednesday, June 22.
	Contemporary Books Discussion Group
	Meetings are held the first Wednesday of the month, 7:30PM, in Meeting Room A. Participants should read works in advance. Group coordinator: Marilyn Miller. Meeting Date: June 1: The Namesake by Jhumpa Lahiri. Contemporary Books Booklist
	Great Books Discussion Group
	Meetings are held on the second Tuesday of the month at 7:15PM in Meeting Room A. Members read books from the Great Books Foundation (available at the Library). Meeting Date: June 14: “Exodus” from the Bible.
	Life Stories Group
	This group is for those seeking support in their writing to capture and preserve life’s important moments and stories - whether for their own appreciation and reflection, or to share with others. Led by Tom Yee, the group meets on the third Saturday of the month, 10:30 – Noon in Meeting Room A. Pre-registration required: Call 630-0742. Meeting Date: June 18.
	Newton Camera Club
	Group will resume meeting in September. For further information: www.newtoncameraclub.org.
	Sequences: Women Tell Our Stories Group
	In this women’s workshop, participants read, discuss and write about literature by women. The group meets the second Wednesday of each month from 10 - 11:30AM in Meeting Room A. Leader: Robin Mayer Stein. Meeting Date: June 8.
	Short Fiction Writing Group
	This workshop provides an atmosphere of expert support to polish short fiction. It is geared for published writers as well as those who are actively pursuing publication. Leader is Michael Kaufman. Pre-registration is required: call coordinator Dorian Kotsiopoulos at 781-821-4786. The group meets the first Tuesday of the month, 7:00PM, in Meeting Room A. Meeting Date: June 7.
	Short Story Discussion Group
	Meetings are held on the second Monday of the month at 7:30PM in Meeting Room A. Group co-leaders are Mary Lanigan and Barbara McGinley. For further information, call 527-1505. Meeting Date: June 13: “Brownies” by ZZ Packer and “Black Death” by Zora Neale Hurston.
	Singing Group
	This group is for singers of all levels who enjoy singing classical and popular music. Conducted by Amelia LeClair of the women’s choir Clairvoix, it meets monthly on Saturday afternoons, Noon – 1:30PM in Druker Auditorium. Meeting Date: June 11. Call coordinator Miriam Simen at 617-244-6705 for more information.
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Concerts

All concerts are free and open to the public. For directions to the Library, please click here.

BSO Violist Ed Gazouleas Returns

Violist Edward Gazouleas and pianist Pei-Shan Lee will return to the Library to present a Brahms sonata and Bloch's Suite for Viola and Piano on Wednesday, June 1, at 7:30PM.

A member of the Boston Symphony Orchestra since 1990, Gazouleas previously was a member of the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra and the N.Y. String Orchestra. Winner of the 8th International String Quartet Competition in France as a member of the Nisaika Quartet, he made his Carnegie Hall recital debut as a member of the Cezanne Quartet in 1982. Locally, he has performed with the Boston Artists' Ensemble and Collage New Music.

Lee has won many competitions, including the 2001 Rosa Lobe Memorial Award which recognizes the highest level of artistic achievement in collaborative piano. She has performed in such venues as Jordan Hall, Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall and Taiwan’s National Concert Hall.

Bäverstam Chamber Players to Perform

Members of the Bäverstam Chamber Players, featuring cellist Sebastian and clarinetist Kristian, with guest pianist Constantine Finehouse, will perform works by Beethoven, Debussy and the Brahms Clarinet Trio at the Library, Sunday, June 5, 2:00PM.

Sebastian has received many awards in his young career as a soloist and chamber musician. He has appeared most recently as a featured young artist at Williamstown Chamber Concerts and with the Albany Symphony. Previous performances include Sanders Theatre, Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall, Cape Cod Chamber Music Festival, the ASCAP awards at Lincoln Center, Verbier Festival Academy in Switzerland and many others with the Bäverstam Players. He is a sophomore at Newton South H.S.

Kristian has also performed extensively in the U.S. and Europe with the Bäverstam Players including Presidents Night at the Boston Pops Gala, the French Embassy in Washington, D.C. and Fête Nationale de la Musique in France. He was twice a winner of the Boston College Concerto Competition and now plays principal clarinet in the Boston College Symphony Orchestra.

Praised by Allgemeine Zeitung, Rhein Main Presse for his “interpretations of depth and maturity,” Finehouse has performed extensively in the U.S. and abroad and frequently at the Library.

Pianist Shuann Chai to Play Beethoven, Scriabin

Pianist Shuann Chai will return to the Library for a concert of music by Beethoven, Scriabin and others on Sunday, June 19, at 2:00PM.

Chai has been heard in solo and chamber music concerts throughout the country and around the globe. Recent performances include Steinert Hall of Boston, Warebrook New Music Festival, Pianoworks Gallery in Atlanta, Helikon Festival in Belgium and appearances as the soloist for the Schumann and Tchaikovsky concertos at the Gliere Festival of Kiev. Upcoming concerts include programs in Norway and solo recitals at the Cataumet Arts Center on Cape Cod and Steinway Hall in Seattle. Currently, she is completing a Ph.D. at Brandeis University where she was awarded the Gershwin Foundation Prize.

Concert by Womens' Choir Cappella Clausura

Cappella Clausura will present “Maestras! Early Italian Composers in the Convent and the Salon” on Sunday, June 26, 2PM at the Library.

Boston’s newest women’s ensemble continues its series of Boston premiere performances of music rarely, if ever, heard, written by women composers. This concert will feature sacred music composed by nuns in the cloisters who wrote and performed despite harsh church strictures against their self-expression. In contrast, glorious love songs will be heard, written by one maestra of the salon whose father created an academy so that his daughter could perform for its members, and whose music and voice were renowned in Venetian patrician homes. Works by Hildegard von Bingen, Barbara Strozzi, Isabella Leonarda, Sulpitia Cesis and Chiara Margarita Cozzolani will be included in the program along with a new piece by contemporary Welsh composer Hilary Tann which is a reverent nod to Hildegard’s music.

Founded in 2004 and led by Amelia J. LeClair, Cappella Clausura specializes in music written through the centuries by women in clausurae, that is, in the cloisters. The ensemble spotlights composers who have struggled to answer the call of the Muse despite considerable social taboos, and presents one concert per year as a benefit to support women’s issues. LeClair is conductor of Clairvoix, choir director at St. Andrews Church in Marblehead and conductor of the Library’s Singing Group.

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Lectures

Tom Standage to Speak on "A History of the World in 6 Glasses"

Throughout human history certain drinks have done much more than quench thirst. As Tom Standage, technology editor of The Economist, relates with authority and charm, six of them have had a surprisingly pervasive influence on the course of history, becoming the defining drink during a pivotal period. Hear the story when Standage speaks at the Library on Thursday, June 2, at 7:30PM, followed by a booksigning. With Father’s Day around the corner, Library patrons might consider the book a welcome gift idea.

A History of the World in 6 Glasses tells the story of humanity from the Stone Age to the 21st century through the lens of beer, wine, spirits, coffee, tea and cola. Beer was first made in the Fertile Crescent and by 3000 B.C.E. was so important to Mesopotamia and Egypt that it was used to pay wages. Spirits such as brandy and rum fueled the Age of Exploration. Although coffee originated in the Arab world, it stoked revolutionary thought in Europe during the Age of Reason, when coffeehouses became centers of intellectual exchange. And although carbonated drinks were invented in 18th-century Europe, they became a 20th-century phenomenon and globalizing force under the banner of brands like Coca-Cola.

For Standage, each drink is a kind of technology, a catalyst for advancing culture by which he demonstrates the intricate interplay of different civilizations.

Standage is author of three other history books: The Turk, The Neptune File and The Victorian Internet which was made into the television documentary, “How The Victorians Wired the World.” He has previously covered science and technology for a number of newspapers and magazines and lives in London.

Developing Healthy Eating Habits

Therapist and writer Karen Koenig will speak on her book The Rules of “Normal” Eating: A Commonsense Approach for Dieters, Overeaters, Undereaters, Emotional Eaters and Everyone in Between at the Library on Thursday, June 9, at 7:30PM. The talk will be followed by a book signing.

Written with humor and compassion, this practical book instructs readers how to change their eating habits by learning skills such as: eating when they’re hungry, making satisfying food choices, eating with awareness and enjoyment and stopping when they’re satisfied. Based on an easy-to-understand cognitive-behavioral model, the book presents a common sense approach for transforming negative beliefs and behaviors about food and eating into genuine physical and emotional fulfillment.

Koenig, LICSW, M.Ed., is a cognitive-behavioral therapist, educator and writer who is also a recovered chronic dieter and binge-eater. She is co-founder of the Greater Boston Collaborative for Body Image and Eating Disorders and a member of the Professional Advisory Committee of the Massachusetts Eating Disorders Association.

Hail to the Ladies

Join actress Judy Bernstein for some star-spangled entertainment: "Hail to the Ladies: A Tribute to America's First Ladies from Martha to Laura" on Thursday, June 9, at 10:30AM at the Library. This interesting program has been performed several times at the White House Visitor Center and at many other places. Enjoy behind-the-scenes stories of America's most overworked, unappreciated and unelected public servants.

Bernstein is quite popular with Library audiences and has presented uch historical programs as "The Golden Door," "The Proper Bostonians" and many more.

Civil War Walking Tour of Cemetery

A Civil War Walking Tour of Newton Cemetery, part of the Newton History Series co-sponsored by the Library and the Newton History Museum at the Jackson Homestead, will take place on Saturday June 11, at 10:00AM at the Newton Cemetery, led by David Olson, Director of the Museum.

Newton residents created the Civil War Memorial in Newton Cemetery before the war ended, to remember the soldiers who died in this conflict. The Soldier’s Memorial was the first monument for the dead of the Civil War in New England.

The cemetery’s arrangement of meandering paths and beautiful vistas was a strong departure from the austere burying grounds of the previous century. Many famous Newtonites were buried there at the time of the Civil War.

Meet at the cemetery’s main entrance at 791 Walnut Street just down the street from the Main Library.

This project is being funded through the Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners with funds from the Library Services and Technology Act, a Federal source of library funding.

“Renata Tebaldi: the Voice of an Angel"

John Tischio, President of the New England Opera Club (NEOC), will present an audio/visual lecture on “Renata Tebaldi: The Voice of an Angel” at the Library, Sunday, June 12, at 2:00PM.

2005 saw the passing of one of the great singers of the 20th century, Renata Tebaldi, described by Toscanini as having “the voice of an angel.” This program will pay tribute to her legacy with a review of her life both on and off the stage, including her relationship with the other reigning diva of the day, Maria Callas. Some of her many audio and video recordings of performances in both familiar and less well-known roles will also be played.

Tebaldi first came to prominence in 1946 when she auditioned for Maestro Arturo Toscanini and was selected to sing at the inaugural concert for the reopening of La Scala after WWII.

She soon was singing in all the major opera houses in the world where she performed most of the standard Italian lirico spinto roles including Aida, Tosca, Gioconda and Butterfly with an occasional foray into French and German operas, always sung in Italian. She made her Met debut in 1955 as Desdemona in “Otello” where she remained for 17 seasons.

Tischio has lectured several times at the Library. In addition to local and regional speaking engagements, he leads opera tours in this country and abroad.

Talk on Purpose and Effectiveness of SAT

Mention of the SAT often instills anxiety in parents, teachers and students. Although opinions can be quite strong when discussing the test, few know the actual history of the SAT, how it works statistically, what it claims to do, and why the College Board has added a new writing section this year (currently required at 419 colleges and universities).

Harvard doctoral researcher Keith Berman will pose the question “Is the SAT a reliable indicator of student skills and does it predict college success?” in a talk at the Library on Monday, June 13, at 7:30PM.

Berman will summarize the three largest academic/statistical sources of information on the topic: the College Board, the University of Chicago, and (most recently and influentially) the University of California. Attendees will leave with a sense of what the SAT is, why college admissions throughout the country use it, what it is supposed to do and what this means for students applying to selective colleges that require the SAT.

Berman is a Roy E. Larsen doctoral researcher at Harvard Graduate School of Education, whose research focuses on the effect of the new SAT exam on competitive college admissions. He has held several admissions positions at Yale University and other Ivy League colleges and worked as a Teaching Fellow in the New York City public school system. He currently holds an Interviewer position at the Harvard College Admissions Office and is the CEO of Options for College.

Dan Shaughnessy to Speak on 2004 Red Sox Season

Dan Shaughnessy, best-selling author of The Curse of the Bambino and an award-winning columnist for the Boston Globe, takes us behind the scenes of the greatest sports story of our lifetime in Reversing the Curse: Inside the 2004 Boston Red Sox. He’ll speak at the Library on Tuesday, June 14, at 7:30PM, followed by a booksigning with books from New England Mobile Book Fair.

With access right on the front lines — from the front office to the bleachers — Shaughnessy reveals how a self-proclaimed bunch of “idiots” achieved what eighty-five teams before them failed to do, besting their arch-rivals, the New York Yankees, and ending eighty-six years of frustration by winning Boston’s first World Series since 1918. It was the most remarkable campaign in the history of American team sports, and Shaughnessy had the inside track.

Shaughnessy illuminates the whos, hows, and whys of it all, including the strategy of Theo Epstein, the fans’ perspective, the “Nomar problem” and the magnitude of the Red Sox conquest of the Yankees in the American League Championship Series, after being down in the series 0–3.

“Reversing the Curse is riveting, entertaining, and inspiring. Take that, Babe!” says Tim Russert.

Green Decade Talk

The annual meeting of the Green Decade Coalition will feature a presentation by Jan Aceti on community-based social marketing, a practical approach that uses social science knowledge of behavior-change to encourage environmentally sustainable practices such as using alternative transportation for commuting to work, recycling, purchasing organic food and reducing lawn watering. The talk will take place at the Library on Thursday, June 16, at 7:00PM.

Aceti is president of Aceti Associates, a consultancy that focuses on community-based social marketing for a variety of clients. Previously she served as Recycling Director for the City of Cambridge.

Empowering Low-Caste Women of Nepal

Social Worker Bishnu Pariyar of Nepal will show a short video, “We Have the Same Kind of Blood,” and speak about the oppressed Dalit (low-caste) women from her country as well as her organization, Empower Dalit Women of Nepal, on Tuesday, June 21, 7:00PM at the Library. The evening will be moderated by Eva Kassell, founder of a Boston-based sister organization. The documentary was created by anthropologist and filmmaker Berit Madsen.

Dalits, and especially women, suffer blatant discrimination in terms of access to healthcare, education, credit and jobs. Coming from a background of extreme poverty, Pariyar managed against all odds to get an education as a social worker. A passionate activist for women’s rights, she founded an innovative program in literacy training and initiating women’s savings groups that has improved the lives of 1100 women and children.

Pariyar has lectured at Harvard University and was a panelist and speaker at the 2002 International Dalit Conference in Vancouver, the 2004 U.N. Development Fund for Women Conference and the 2004 northeast regional Amnesty International Conference at B. U. She is currently working for the Asian Taskforce against Domestic Violence in Boston.

Tribute to Songwriters Arlen, Styne and Fields

This year marks the centennial births of American Songbook composers Harold Arlen and Jule Styne and lyricist Dorothy Fields. Beyond the birth year they share, each has worked with top notch collaborators and received an Oscar for Best Song: Arlen for “Over the Rainbow” (1939), Dorothy Fields for “The Way You Look Tonight” (1935), and Styne for “Three Coins in the Fountain” (1954).

Music preservationist Roger Hall will return to the Library to give an entertaining lecture illustrated with recordings, celebrating these three songwriters on Thursday, June 23, 7:30PM.

Arlen, who was a fine singer and the son of a cantor, is known for “Stormy Weather,” “Ac-cent-chu-ate the Positive” and many more songs. Fields, the first woman songwriter elected to the Songwriters Hall of Fame, wrote lyrics for “Big Spender,” “Don’t Blame Me,” “Never Gonna Dance” and others. Styne, a classically trained pianist, is known for “It’s Magic,” “People,” “Small World” and more.

This program will provide a rare opportunity to hear Arlen and Styne singing and playing their own songs as well as other popular singers: Judy Garland, Frank Sinatra and Michael Feinstein.

Hall has more than thirty years experience in research and writing on American music, from the American Revolution to the present. An ASCAP composer who has written over 50 songs, he was host of a radio program on WBET-AM featuring music from the 1930s to the 1950s and a frequent guest on WGBH’s “Music America” program. He has written two reference books: A Guide to Film Music: Songs and Scores and Remembering Radio: Great Songwriters and Singers which will available for purchase at the Library program.

Booksale

Get ready for summer reading with a trip to the Friends Booksale at the Auburndale branch of the Library. Browse the extensive collection of books, tapes, CD's and more for children and adults - all at bargain prices. The sale will be held Saturday, June 4, 10:00AM - 3:00PM and Sunday, June 5, Noon to 3:00PM. All proceeds benefit the Library.

Computer Classes

Are you confused by computer terminology? Would you like to learn to conduct online research or use e-mail? Drop by a Reference Desk or call 796-1380 and register for a class in PC Basics, Search Engines and more.

Booklists Available

Looking for a good book to read or conducting research in a particular area? The Reference Department has compiled many booklists in a variety of subjects: African Americans in American Life, College Admissions, Books for Modern Parents, Buddhism, Day Trips, Gardening Guides, Rise and Fall of Saddam Hussein, Retirement and much more. Ask a Reference librarian at the YA Desk on the second floor for help in locating a list, or click here.

Garden City Cafe, Too!

Stop by our cheerful cafe off the art gallery for coffee, muffins, soups, salads, sandwiches and more, open Monday - Saturday.

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Morning Programs at the Library

Waban Book Group

The Waban branch book group will discuss Sixth Lamentation by William Brodrick on Wednesday, June 29, at 10:30AM. All are welcome.

For Your Information

Consider a Gift to the Library

Please help supplement our municipal funding and contribute towards the purchase of books, audio/visual materials or equipment. Send your check, payable to the Trustees, to: Development Office, Newton Free Library, 330 Homer Street, Newton, MA 02459. For further information, call 796-1400. Thank you.

To Our Concert Goers:

Please be considerate of the performer today as well as your fellow audience members and refrain from leaving the auditorium during a piece of music. If you have small children with you, please sit in the back rows. If you leave the auditorium between pieces, please close the door quietly behind you and wait to re-enter after a musical piece. Also, if you have a cellphone, please shut if off. Thank you.

PLEASE DON'T SAVE SEATS!

When attending a Sunday afternoon concert, please do not save more than one seat as this deprives others of attending the concert. The rule is first come, first served.