Cover Story
Contested territory
Meleko Mokgosi challenges ideas of national identity and history in the exhibit ‘Pax Kaffraria’ at MAG and RoCo
Squeezing starts at GateHouse-owned Daily Record and RBJ
Eight employees were affected by an ongoing restructuring and consolidation of The Daily Record and the Rochester Business Journal, according to a statement by Suzanne Fischer-Huettner, publisher of both media companies. It’s not clear what “affected” means, exactly: if the employees were laid off, offered buyouts, or something else. Fischer-Huettner did not respond to follow-up questions.…
New purpose for controversial carousel panel
A controversial panel that was once part of the historic Dentzel carousel at Ontario Beach Park is now part of a travelling multimedia exhibit. The exhibit was unveiled by Rochester Mayor Lovely Warren, the Rochester Museum and Science Center, the Central Church of Christ, and the Take it Down group on Monday. (Take it Down fought…
Trump upends refugee resettlement
Imagine living in a camp with thousands of people, including women and children, fleeing one of many war-torn regions in the world. Life for you is worse than homelessness; you’re virtually without country. Locally, the Catholic Family Center is a beacon of hope for refugees: resettling more than 1,100 people in Rochester last year alone.…
Week Ahead: Events for the week of Monday, February 27
A press conference later today will reveal the exhibit that was created out of the controversial pickaninny panel that was removed from the Dentzel Carousel at Ontario Beach Park last year. Many local residents found the panel offensive. The exhibit will go on display at Central Church of Christ on Plymouth Avenue and at other…
Classical review: Pegasus’s “The Secret of the Muses”
The 17th century French lutenist and composer Jacques Gaultier was once praised for “the goodness of his hands — the most swift, the neatest, and most even that ever were.” That’s also an accurate paean for 21st century lutenist Paul O’Dette, who offered a blissful solo recital on Sunday afternoon as part of the Pegasus…
Live blog: Oscars 2017
Join CITY’s film critic, Adam Lubitow, for a live blog during the 2017 Academy Awards broadcast on Sunday, February 26. The red carpet pre-show starts at 7 p.m., and the ceremony begins at approximately 8:30 p.m. Join our live blog commentary below! Starting at 7 p.m. on Sunday. Live Blog The Oscars 2017 window.cilAsyncInit…
Film review: ‘Bitter Harvest’
German director George Mendeluk takes a stab at historical melodrama with “Bitter Harvest,” a tale of star-crossed lovers swooning against the backdrop of real-life tragedy. Set in Ukraine in the early 1930’s, the film follows a young peasant farmer and aspiring artist named Yuri (a bland Max Irons) desperately fighting to maintain his connection to…
Healing workshop for writers
On Saturday, February 25, Writers & Books will host a workshop, “Exploring the Healing Power of Personal Writing,” co-sponsored by the National Association for Poetry Therapy. For less than 10 bucks, participants can spend an afternoon exploring how writing can be used for personal growth and healing. The day includes workshop writing breakout sessions, keynote…
Who is William Snyder
Part of being a good photographer is capturing more than just the mere image. It also transcends the visual to include its sound and motion and its soul. William Snyder is an extraordinarily gifted photographer: he’s chair of the photojournalism program at RIT’s College of Imaging Arts and Sciences; he has been awarded the Pulitzer…
Rochester Music Hall of Fame announces 2017 inductees
It’s hard to believe that the Rochester Music Hall of Fame is now planning for its sixth annual induction ceremony.
A few words, Mr. Collins?
Roughly three dozen people stood on a sidewalk and in a parking space in front of House Representative Chris Collins’s Geneseo office last week, trying to get the Republican Congress member to attend an upcoming forum on the Affordable Care Act. They might as well have been spitting into a strong wind. Collins has made…
JAZZ | Mostly Other People Do The Killing
I’ve heard Mostly Other People Do The Killing as a quartet and a quintet, and on the group’s latest wonderfully quirky album, “Loafer’s Hollow,” it ballooned to a septet. But when the group hits the Bop Shop for a rare Rochester appearance, it will be a piano trio featuring leader Moppa Elliott on bass; Ron…
Catching up with RYCE
Last March, CITY wrote about the Rochester Youth Culinary Experience program and its vision to open a fully functioning restaurant, run completely by East High School students, in Village Gate. On February 2, that vision became a reality. RYCE (pronounced “rice”) opened in the space between Salena’s Mexican Restaurant and Nox Cocktail Lounge, and is…
CLASSICAL | St. Petersburg Philharmonic Orchestra
On Tuesday, February 28, the Eastman School of Music will present a program by Russia’s oldest orchestra. Founded in 1882, the St. Petersburg Philharmonic Orchestra originally only performed privately for the court of Alexander III. Today, under the direction of Yuri Temirkanov, the orchestra will perform Dmitri Shostakovich’s wistful and dramatic Symphony No. 5, a…
Roomful of Teeth brings the ‘Swiss Army voice’ to Kilbourn Hall
The boundary-destroying ensemble Roomful of Teeth is at the forefront of new music written for the voice. Since 2009, founder and Artistic Director Brad Wells and his core group of 8 versatile singers — which includes Eastman alumni Martha Cluver and Eric Dudley — have created an indomitable, singular sound that has since garnered a…
Album review: ‘Dan Trudell Plays The Piano’
The Dan Trudell Trio “Dan Trudell Plays The Piano” Self-released dantrudell.com Dan Trudell could be a hot pianist on the New York scene, but he’s chosen to live on a lake about halfway between Chicago and Milwaukee. Working those two scenes, he has played with Kurt Elling, Roy Hargrove, Eric Alexander, Nicholas Payton, and others.…
Album review: ‘Anything Could Happen’
Bash & Pop “Anything Could Happen” Fat Possum Records facebook.com/bashandpop You can’t talk about one without mentioning the other: anything that any one of The Replacements touches sounds like a deliberate off shoot of the seminal band’s signature sound. “Anything Could Happen” is the second studio outing for Bash & Pop, former Replacements bass player…
THEATER | “The Sound of Music”
One of the most successful musicals ever — not to mention one of the most iconic films — Rodgers and Hammerstein’s “The Sound of Music” has been revived for a new production by Tony Award-winning director Jack O’Brien, bringing Maria and the von Trapp family back to life. This tour features Charlotte Maltby as Maria,…
RECREATION | Native American Winter Games and Sports
The Seneca people have always embraced the winter months, and with Ganondagan’s Native American Winter Games and Sports day, attendees can check out people’s traditional indoor activities and outdoor sports. In Ganondagan, a historic site for the Seneca people, visitors can race in Snow Boats (wooden boats to ride down snowy channels) or get a…
ART | “Benjamin Entner: Drawings”
Although Rochester-area artist Benjamin Entner is formally trained in sculpture, his artistic practice doesn’t follow convention: Entner’s art manifests in video, sound, installation, performance, woodworking, drawing, painting, and sewing. He also creates massive “soft sculptures,” which are large-scale inflatable forms that reference portraiture and still life, exploring the boundaries between two- and three-dimensional representations of…
ART | “Soulful of Art”
In honor of National Black History Month, Gallery 384 (384 East Avenue, at the East Avenue Inn & Suites) is hosting “Soulful of Art,” a group show featuring paintings and sculpture in a variety of media by Rochester-based artists Dunstan Luke, Elliot Luke, Rich Bryant, and Najhay Quick. The show continues through March 29, and…
THEATER | “Festival of Ten”
Ten is the magic number this weekend and next at SUNY Brockport as the college’s Department of Theatre and Music Studies presents its 10th “Festival of Ten.” Each evening features 10 plays by 10 playwrights, presented by students and each lasting 10 minutes. The characters in this year’s selections include financial planners, astronauts, basketball players,…
ROCK | Mike Doughty
If you include his most recent album, “The Heart Watches as the Brain Burns,” Mike Doughty has cranked out 18 records since 2000, when he broke up Soul Coughing. Warner Bros. dropped him and he embarked on a tour selling 20,000 copies of his CD “Skittish.” Still ensconced in the DIY aesthetic, Doughty continues to…
Rochester updates status as Sanctuary City
Rochester has asserted itself as a Sanctuary City amid sweeping federal orders to crack down on illegal immigrants. City Council unanimously approved a resolution Tuesday night that updates its status as a Sanctuary City. The move comes on the same day Homeland Security announced plans to enforce President Donald Trump’s executive order that enforces stricter…
CLASSICAL | “The Secret of the Muses”
A good early music rule of thumb is if it’s a concert with Paul O’Dette, just drop everything and go. This world-renowned lutenist lives in Rochester (he teaches at the Eastman School of Music), but is celebrated around the world. He does not perform all that often here, so his recital this weekend, sponsored by…
Feedback 2/22
We welcome your comments. Send them to themail@rochester-citynews.com, or post them on our website, rochestercitynewspaper.com, our Facebook page, or our Twitter feed, @roccitynews. Comments of fewer than 350 words have a greater chance of being published, and we do edit selections for publication in print. We don’t publish comments sent to other media. Some things…
CLASSICAL | “Music of Sevens”
On Sunday, First Muse Chamber Music will present “Music of Sevens,” a concert featuring compositions written in the seventh year of their respective decades. The Argos Trio — pianist Chiao-Wen Cheng, cellist Lars Kirvan, and violinist Liana Koteva Kirvan — along with violist Marc Anderson, will perform cherished chamber music works by Franz Schubert and…
Urban Action 2/22
This week’s calls to action include the following events and activities. All are free and open to the public, unless otherwise noted. Planning board wants input on projects The Monroe County Planning Board will hold a public meeting at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, March 1, concerning the 2018-2023 Capital Improvement Program. The CIP is a…
HIP-HOP | MC Lars
MC Lars, the innovative self-proclaimed creator of post-punk laptop rap, has helped establish nerdcore and pioneered lit-hop. The guy treads so lightly that sometimes it seems like his contemporaries haven’t given him proper credit for his contributions. Regardless, the Stanford-educated rapper has found his niche and a dedicated fan base with an effective outreach.…
Progressives release platform
Some of Rochester’s progressive groups and activists got together to develop and publish the “Platform for a Progressive Movement,” which is exactly what it sounds like: a general statement of common principals that the groups will work toward. They’re asking residents to visit rocplatform.com and sign on in support. The agenda includes calls for a…
ROCK | Big Wreck
Like Led Zeppelin or Soundgarden or Foo Fighters feeling their way in the dark, Canadian-American rock sensation Big Wreck is a band of curiosity and riffs. The band’s songwriting is such that it pleases the listener on levels they didn’t know were there, levels they didn’t know they had. I blame it all on Ian…
The 4th Annual Lubies
CITY presents its alternative take on the Oscars. These films might not up for golden statues, but they definitely deserve the Golden Everything Burrito
Politics, violence, and the city’s mayoral race
Violence is not a problem of policing. It’s a terrible, complicated societal problem, and police cannot solve it.
Theater review: Screen Plays’ ‘The Cat’s Meow’
Hollywood has plenty of glittering folklore and tabloid-worthy stories that provide a brief glimpse into the dramatic past of the elite. Few, though, maintain the mystery of one particular November weekend in 1924. Through February 26, Screenplays — a community theater company that specializes in producing the Golden Age of Hollywood onstage — presents a…
