The Windsor Journal

The Concert Choir of the Hopewell Baptist Church will be in concert on Saturday, March 31, 2012 at 7pm at the Trinity United Methodist Church located at 180 Park Avenue in Windsor, CT. Percy W. Christian, Concert Choir President and Rev. David L. Massey, Pastor. For further information, contact Trinity United Methodist Church at 860-688-9245.

The Windsor Palette and Brush Club will hold its annual Spring Art Exhibit during the month of April at the Windsor Town Hall, on the Green in Windsor Center. Approximately 70 works by about 30 local area artists will be on display in the lower level corridors from April 1-26.

The public is invited to an Opening Reception Sunday afternoon April 1 from 2-4 p.m. in the Town Council Chambers. Many of the art works will be for sale, including oils, watercolors, pastel, mixed media, stained glass, collage, drawings, and photography. They can be viewed anytime during Town Hall hours, Monday through Friday 8 AM to 5 PM, or whenever there
is an evening meeting.

The Windsor Palette and Brush Club is sponsored by the Town of Windsor's Department of Recreation and Leisure Services, and it holds monthly meetings with art demonstrations on the 2nd Tuesday of every month from September through May, except for December and
February. See website at https://sites.google.com/site/windsorpaletteandbrushclub/home

The Town of Windsor’s Human Relations Commission has announced Kathryn Stockett’s, The Help has been selected as the featured read of this year’s “One Book, One Windsor” program. Windsor residents are invited to attend the kick-off event Wednesday, March 28th at 7:00 PM at the Windsor Historical Society located at 96 Palisado Avenue. Refreshments, conversation, and historical information to deepen participants understanding of the book will be shared. Issues in the civil rights era that shaped the book’s characters, and the lives of domestic workers and their employers in this country will also be highlighted.

Following the kick-off event, there will be two book discussion sessions. The first will be held on Wednesday, April 11th at 1:30 PM in the Windsor Senior Center located at 599 Matianuck Avenue and another on Wednesday, April 25th at 7:00 PM at the Windsor Art Center located at 40 Mechanic Street.

The Windsor Public Library will be featuring the movie The Help on May 23rd beginning at 6:00 PM.

The "One Book, One Windsor" program will culminate with a panel discussion in June featuring a discussion of race and domestic work in the Civil Rights era. For more information contact Diane McDougald at (860) 285-1984.

Northwest Park Coffeehouse Concerts present: The Guggenheim Grotto

The Friends of Northwest Park are pleased to present The Guggenheim Grotto in rescheduled concert on Saturday, March 31 at 7:30 pm at the Northwest Park Nature Center in Windsor, Connecticut.

When Dublin alt-folk songwriters Kevin May and Mick Lynch of The Guggenheim Grotto first appeared on the U.S. scene in 2006, comparisons to Simon and Garfunkel dominated the critical landscape. With their two-part harmonies, folk-acoustic stylings and earnest pop songwriting, it seemed no one could resist.

Over the past four years, however, the duo has transcended the comparison – creating rich, multi-instrumental soundscapes. They dabble in synths and effects and radiate melancholic beauty. And sometimes they silence a room by simply harmonizing over a lone ukulele.
With equal amounts melancholy and jubilance, their latest CD The Universe Is Laughing is a celebration of universal truths and the mysteries of humanity. The duo’s signature mix of timeless folk, soaring melodies and emotionally intelligent lyrics remains intact while Kevin and Mick delve deeper to search for meaning within themselves.

The Northwest Park Nature Center is a smoke free, handicap accessible facility located in Windsor, Connecticut. Tickets are $18. For information and reservations call 8

Jazz guitarist, composer and teacher, Joshua Breakstone will offer a master class for guitar students at 3 PM Thursday, April 5, 2012 and will give a concert 6:30 PM at the Windsor Art Center 40 Mechanic Street. Bassist Earl Sauls will join Joshua for the concert. The master class is free but space is limited and registration is required. Please call 860-688-2528 to register for the master class or email your desire to participate to JLIB_HTML_CLOAKING . Chuck Obuchowski will interview Breakstone on WWUH on Tuesday, April 3 at 10 AM. The master class and concert is a co production with the Hartford Jazz Society and funded through a grant from the Greater Hartford Arts Council and New Alliance Foundation. Suggested donation for the concert: $10/door.

"In teaching, either in clinics or individually, I describe to students the progression we make as jazz musicians, starting with learning to improvise, to negotiate any harmonic terrain, which could be a lifetime of work right there. But when we take a step back and consider, to become an improviser is not really to have accomplished anything at all- the goal in jazz is one of self expression- to become a unique voice, to say something in our own way, with our own voice. It's only in the taking of this leap- from someone who improvises to someone who communicates- that we go from being musicians, craftsmen, to becoming artists. I don't worry about trying to be this thing or that other thing, my idea has always been to try and say something straight from my heart. It's always been my conviction that if you say something unique, in your own way, and honestly, that there will always be an audience there for you, you'll always be all right."

"Breakstone's playing emphasizes inventive, lyrical single-note melody lines. Though his fingers have been described as 'continual blur' onstage, he never lets frenetic technique detract from his interesting melodies which always have both intelligence and feeling behind them. Breakstone says 'Jazz should sing, be pretty to listen to, and feel good', and he is true to his philosophy. To anyone who has heard him, it is clear he is on his way to making his mark as one of the great jazz instrumentalists."
The Bass Clef, London, England