|
|
 |
Dr. George Theophilus Walker Dr. George Theophilus Walker has been a resident of Montclair for forty years. An internationally recognized composer and pianist, he received the Pulitzer Prize for Music in 1996 for his work, “Lilacs for Voice and Orchestra.” He was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Letters in 1999, inducted into the American Classical Music Hall of Fame at the Library of Congress in Washington, DC. in 2000, and in 2007 was made recipient of the Legacy Award from the National Opera Association. Beginning his piano studies at age five, George Walker was admitted to the Oberlin Conservatory at age 14, and later studied with Rudolf Serkin at the Curtis Institute of Music. He made his New York Debut as a pianist at the age of 23, and went on to concertize throughout the major cities of Europe. As a Fulbright Scholar, he studied composition in Paris with the famed Nadia Boulanger. In addition to his doctorate from the Eastman School of Music, he has received six honorary degrees from institutions in the U.S. Dr. Walker has published works for virtually every musical medium, and his orchestral compositions have been played by every major orchestra in the United States. His “Lyric for Strings” has been cited as the most frequently performed orchestral work by a living American composer. Among his prodigious body of more than 90 published compositions are those for orchestra, chamber orchestra, piano, strings, voice, organ, clarinet, guitar, brass, woodwinds, and chorus. Dr. Walker has received commissions from the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, the New York Philharmonic, Boston Symphony, Cleveland Orchestra and many other ensembles. In addition to his remarkable achievements as a composer, Dr. Walker has been a lifelong music educator with appointments at the Dalcroze School of Music, The New School for Social Research, Smith College, University of Colorado, Peabody Institute of Johns Hopkins University and the University of Delaware. He was a Distinguished Professor and Chairman of the Music Department of Rutgers University in Newark where he taught for twenty-three years. His autobiography, Reminiscences of an American Composer and Pianist, was published in 2009 by the Scarecrow Press. Recently released by Albany Records is his newest CD, "George Walker: Great American Orchestral Works, Vol. 2.”
Roscoe Orman Roscoe Orman, resident of Montclair, has been known to millions for his thirty-six years as “Gordon” on PBS - TV’s highly acclaimed children’s series, “Sesame Street,” where he has become a symbol of fatherhood to an entire generation. Beyond his work related to “Sesame Street,” Orman is an accomplished stage, film and television actor, children’s book writer, poet, lecturer and child advocate. His credits, among many, include the Broadway production of August Wilson’s Pulitzer Prize winning play Fences, and television appearances including “The Wire,” “Sex and the City,” “Cosby,” “Sanford and Son,” and “Law and Order.” He is a five-time nominee and recipient of an Audelco Theatre Award for his performance in the 1997 production of “Do Lord Remember Me“ at Manhattan’s Sylvia and Danny Kaye Playhouse. A founding member of Harlem’s New Lafayette Theatre, he appeared prominently in most of that company’s productions. In June 2006, Orman’s memoir, Sesame Street Dad: Evolution of an Actor, was released, followed in 2007 by his children’s book, Ricky and Mobo. In 2008, Orman became the national spokesperson for AudibleKids.com, a website for parents, teachers, and children to connect with one another via the medium of audiobooks. In his role as Chief Storyteller, Orman narrates audiobooks and communicates with children, parents and teachers online and at community, literacy and library events, lectures and conferences, and via other media to encourage the use of audiobooks to help build an interest in reading and develop literacy skills, as he seeks to promote a lifelong love of stories and language. Mr. Orman has narrated many documentary films, including “Langston Hughes: The Dreamkeeper” on PBS, “Lifeline” on Discovery Channel, and ”Heritage of the Black West” on National Geographic and audio book biographies of such luminaries as Colin Powell, Martin Luther King, Jr., Frederick Douglas, Barack Obama, and Wilt Chamberlain.. Mr. Orman is committed to use his multiple talents to promote the social and educational enrichment of his audience, and empower all generations to become informed and conscientious citizens of the 21st century’s global community.
Dr. Gail Stavitsky Dr. Gail Stavitsky, Montclair Art Museum’s Chief Curator since 1994 and a recognized scholar of American modernism, was the leader of the curatorial team for the milestone blockbuster exhibition, Cézanne and American Modernism, at MAM. In her years as Chief Curator, she has conceived of and created many impressive exhibits, most notably the recent Cézanne and American Modernism exhibit, which brought unprecedented numbers of visitors from near and far to Montclair. In addition to the Cezanne exhibit, she has curated Conversion to Modernism: The Early Work of Man Ray, Precisionism in America 1915 - 1941: Reordering Reality, George Inness: Presence of the Unseen, Roy Lichtenstein: American Indian Encounters and most recently, Reflecting Culture: The Evolution of American Comic Book Superheroes and authored companion catalogues. These exhibitions circulated to museums across the country. Dr. Stavitsky is responsible for mounting exhibitions, overseeing gallery renovations, circulating exhibitions, writing exhibition brochures and didactic labels, collections management, acquisitions, object loans, collections and exhibition research, and exhibit preparation. She has also curated exhibitions for the Carnegie Museum of Art, The New York Public Library, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, and Grey Art Gallery. She has written extensively for numerous publications, is a frequent lecturer, and holds a Ph.D. in Art History from the Institute of Fine Arts, New York University.
Ed Carine Ed Carine is the adult partner and the driving force behind the Serendipity Café, or, more formally, the “Montclair Student Cafe Project,” which presents youth music performances operates in a variety of locales. Mr. Carine got involved in Serendipity in 1995, and over the years has become its guardian angel, doing everything from carting and setting up the sound system to locating venues and transforming students’ varied ideas into professional performances. Even though his own three boys have aged out of the organization, Mr. Carine has continued to step up and help run the organization, teaching the students how to run an organization, stage a concert, do publicity, take themselves seriously as musicians, and self-police events. Serendipity is safe, alcohol-free, fun and a place where parents are actually welcome. Mr. Carine is also on the Montclair Civil Rights Commission, has participated in Conversations on Race, and has acted as the official Sound Engineer for Parents Who Rock. He plays bass in "Geezer," "The Revivors" and “Go to the Blues Jam” at the Franklin Tavern, and the Studio 12 open mike on Church St.
|
|||||||
|
All Material Copyright © 1999-2008, Unitarian Universalist Congregation at Montclair |
|||||||||
 |
|||||||||
