Celeste and Todd Lewis' daughter Parris at Carnegie Hall

BELOW PLEASE VIEW MS PARRIS LEWIS SINGING WITH SONGS OF SOLOMON
WHO WAS FEATURED BY THE NEW YORK TIMES ON MARCH 21, 2009
PARRIS IS POINTED OUT WHERE THE CONDUCTORS BATON IS POINTED.

Music Review
Before the Spring, a Bleak Winter of the Soul
Erin Baiano for The New York Times
Carnegie Hall National High School Choral Festival: Craig Jessop conducted Michael Tippett’s oratorio “A Child of Our Time” at Carnegie Hall.
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By JAMES R. OESTREICH
Published: March 22, 2009
“It is spring,” the alto soloist sang and the chorus repeated near the end of a performance of Michael Tippett’s oratorio “A Child of Our Time” at Carnegie Hall on Friday evening. And indeed it was, to the day.
So it was as good a time as any to celebrate renewal, as embodied in a young chorus of 180, comprising groups participating in the Carnegie Hall National High School Choral Festival: the Pebblebrook High School Chamber Choir of Atlanta; the North Jersey Homeschool Association Chorale of Hawthorne, N.J.; the Shorewood High School Aeolian Choir of Shoreline, Wash.; and Songs of Solomon: An Inspirational Ensemble, of Manhattan. Part of “Honor!,” the three-week Carnegie festival organized by Jessye Norman, who introduced the program, the concert was presented by the Weill Music Institute, Carnegie’s educational arm, which is offering a related program in schools, “African-American Song: Spirituals and Anthems of Freedom.”
This is where Tippett fits in, for — profoundly English though he was — he used black American spirituals to punctuate “A Child of Our Time” in much the way Bach used Lutheran chorales in his Passions: to lend a certain universality to the specifics of the story. In truth, though, almost the whole of Tippett’s work transcends the particular.
The oratorio, which takes its title from a short novel by the Hungarian anti-Nazi writer Odon von Horvath, was a response to events in November 1938: the killing of a German diplomat by a young Jew in Paris and the unspeakable reprisals of Kristallnacht in Germany. But the closest Tippett came to portraying specific characters was, in the central section, to call the vocal soloists Boy, Mother, Aunt and Uncle. The Boy shoots an official, the bass recounts as the narrator, and “they took a terrible vengeance.” The Child of Our Time, it emerges, is the scapegoat.
That blessed arrival of spring comes after a long, arduous winter of the soul, the only consolations being those spirituals, evoking not only the suffering of American blacks in slavery and of ancient Jews in captivity but also the remarkable resilience of the human spirit. The youngsters in the chorus captured it all every bit as movingly as the more experienced soloists: Angela M. Brown, soprano; Meredith Arwady, contralto; Russell Thomas, tenor; and Morris Robinson, bass. The choral specialist Craig Jessop conducted, and the Orchestra of St. Luke’s played with its usual understated brilliance.
In the first half of the program the choruses took turns on stage to sing two or three numbers each, mostly a cappella. It was a good opportunity to drink in the spirit of youth as well as to make the acquaintance of unfamiliar composers or works, including a couple of standouts: Frank Ticheli’s “Earth Song,” from the Pebblebrook chorus, and Eric Whitacre’s “Lux Aurumque,” from the North Jersey contingent.
There were also arrangements of spirituals, and laudable attempts at soulful stylings. But even those who hadn’t heard some of the groups at a concert for schoolchildren at the Apollo Theater in Harlem on Friday morning probably knew who would win at that game.
Songs of Solomon, a group composed of students from various New York high schools, appeared last, happily, for it would have been an impossible act to follow. Conducted by Chantel Wright, it sustained attention through “Jesus Is King,” an initially fascinating but ultimately overlong gloss on Handel’s “Hallelujah” chorus by Glenn Edward Burleigh. But it positively brought the house down in William L. Dawson’s “Ezekiel Saw de Wheel”: an earlier spring before Tippett’s winter.

Minutes from 5/9/2009 Meeting

MONROE STREET MINUTES
05/09/09
In attendance
Derek Cradle – President
Celeste Lewis – Secretary
Yolanda Jordon – Member
Ms. Pat – Member
Ms. Rice – Member

Meeting called to order @ 10:15 am
1- Move forward in Incorporating the block association to become a business entity
2- The next phase is to become a not for profit entity which will consist of getting grants on the city, state and national level to improve the block
3- We have to file taxes as a business which will help to alleviate putting funds in out of our pockets and help to receive funds as a not for profit organizations
4- The 5 members in attendance agree to change the name of the Monroe Street Block Association to The Monroe Street Block Association Inc.- this will be done via internet to the State of New York
5- We are currently recognized by Community Board 3 and we want to become an incorporated business entity. The cost of this is $75.00 to process the papers and an additional $125.00 to be submitted to the state to get the paper documented and filed. Once incorporated we will receive an EIN number (Employee Identification Number). We can then purchase things as a business entity – which will have a card to for purchasing use to help increase the look of households on the block
6- The second phase to become a not for profit organization. The status of the business entity will then be pending and official with the government. Incorporation is a 1 time fee. The fees we pay up front are write offs for next year’s taxes – as a business entity we will have to file taxes as such. We are looking to have both phases complete by August 2009.
7- The vision of the Block Association is to become a larger entity
8- The block association is being slated for Landmark Preservation (A National Program) which gives recognition to Historical Landmark homes. This means the homeowners cannot change the original physod of the homes. Further research shows that there are grant monies put aside by the government for the upkeep of such homes. They are trying to help you preserve homes.
9- Derrick brought to the table that there are brown signs that can be purchased for the block with the block association name on it at a cost of @ $650 each. A question was raised as to whether the taxes for the block go up as a result of this – which the answer was yes. It was further discussed that Land marking gives the block more credibility.
10- A tag sale is slated for May 30th from 10:00 am – 4:00 pm
11- It was further discussed that there is a need of $15 per barrel for purchase of flowers for the block. We currently have 8 barrels = $120 and an additional $40 will be needed for soil which will total $160.00
12- The idea of selling dinners on a Friday night was brought to the table in order to raise funds for the block association in early June.
The address to the blog on line is www.monroestreetbk.blogspot.com
Dues were collected as follows:
Ms. Pat $20
Yolanda Jordon - $20
Ms. Rice - $10
Derrick Cradle - $10

Yolanda Jordon – 502 Monroe Street – 347-750-7972


Meeting ended at approximately 11:15 am

Block Association Meeting, Saturday, May 9, 10 am

Hello Monroe Street,

Spring has finally arrived and flowers are in bloom. Mike, Mr. Jackson, Johnny, and Rodney are hanging out enjoying the beautiful weather while the rest of us are slaving at our jobs. One thing is for sure, great spring days always makes coming home to Monroe Street sweet.

Great news, we have been slated to be considered a landmark block. There will be a meeting held Monday, May 11th at 6:30 pm at Restoration Plaza, where more information will be dissimenated, we need your attendance.

The process of incorporation proceeds, during the Saturday meeting, a break down of phase one will be presented. Phase one requires the association to be incorporated in the state the New York and then we can apply for not-for-profit status. A vote and approval are necessary to move this process forward because of the financial request.

A tag sale is scheduled for May 30th, weather permitting.

See you Saturday,

Derek Cradle
President