Cover Story
Holiday Guide 2018
In this year’s Holiday Guide, we’ve got the prescription for a more relaxed, yet still festive season, with plenty of ideas for slowing things down, whether you’re celebrating Thanksgiving, Hanukkah, Christmas, Kwanzaa, or the winter solstice.
RCSD gets low grades from Distinguished Educator
The Rochester School District “seems driven more by the needs of administrators, teachers, and parents, with student concerns often taking a back seat to adult interests,” says a scathing assessment of the district by the state-appointed Distinguished Educator, Jaime Aquino.
Classical review: Leila Josefowicz and John Novaeck
The Kilbourn Concert Series at Eastman School of Music took a decidedly raw turn on Tuesday, when violinist Leila Josefowicz and pianist John Novaeck took the stage. Josefowicz’s performance, full of mercurial rage, was nothing short of iconoclastic.
Report on city schools is expected today
After several months of anticipation, a report on the Rochester City School District by Distinguished Educator Jaime Aquino is expected to be released today. State education Commissioner MaryElllen Elia, Board of Regents Chancellor Betty Rosa, and Aquino will be holding a press conference at 1:30 p.m. Aquino was appointed by several months ago to observe the district’s operations,…
Jeff Tyzik and the RPO play early-20th-century hits
This weekend’s Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra Pops program follows a playlist ranging from 1900 to 1925 – mostly popular songs from that era, with a few classical works included side-by-side. And it’s typically imaginative programming from Principal Pops Conductor Jeff Tyzik.
MODERN CLASSICAL | Musica Nova and Charles Wuorinen
Charles Wuorinen is not your typical composer of prickly contemporary classical music. Sure, there are plenty of emotionally charged, dissonant harmonies, but there’s also a rich lyricism that makes his atonal compositions more than purely visceral exercises. On Friday, the Eastman School’s Musica Nova, led by conductors Brad Lubman and Edo Frenkel, will perform an…
Crafting through the holidays
Finding time to get the right gifts, decorate your house and spend time with family can be difficult in our fast-paced world. So this holiday season, spare yourself the stress and do all three at once – DIY! Crafts can make thoughtful gifts, be used as decorations, and be the perfect way to spend time…
ROCK | Chris Robinson Brotherhood
When listening to the Robinson brothers’ post-Black Crowes work it shows where each Robinson defined themselves as individual artists. Each brother’s solo work wasn’t bad, it just wasn’t the Crowes. Chris Robinson has had the Brotherhood for just over 15 years and though miles away from what he’s done, this is the jam-band aesthetic he’s…
Pair, pour, party
Local wine experts on what to pour this holiday season
Bring some corn for poppin’
A holiday film primer
SPECIAL EVENT | Monster Jam
Monster Jam returns to the Blue Cross Arena this weekend, featuring the roaring engines of beastly machines “Grave Digger” and “El Toro Loco.” Drivers will compete together on a dirt motorsport track, performing gravity-defying stunts in the monster-sized vehicles. The Saturday and Sunday shows at 1:00 have the option of attending a Pit Party at…
SPECIAL EVENT | Maker Faire Rochester
Science and engineering come together with art and creativity at the annual Maker Faire Rochester. This year more than 150 makers will gather and showcase their inventiveness and creativity, bringing exhibitions, demonstrations, and activities to this family-oriented event. Featured exhibits include Magic Wheelchair, a company that provides free Halloween costumes for kids in wheelchairs; RIT…
ART-FILM | Her Voice Carries Screening
Rochester-based artist and internationally-known muralist Sarah Rutherford’s years-in-the-making mural series, “Her Voice Carries” was an artistic quest to understand how the women of Rochester have come to shape the city. A documentary film named for her mural series explores the stories of the women in the murals, and Rutherford’s own journey of creating the large-scale…
ART | ‘The Genesee Valley 100’
The beauty and ecological diversity of the Genesee Valley region has long been a source of artistic inspiration. The Genesee Valley Conservancy (a group charged with protecting land preserves, habitats, and farmland) gave 100 artists of all walks a 12-inch-square canvas to record the beauty of the region upon, and has brought the works of…
Midterm election brings change and caution
The 2018 midterms were volatile and contentious, and some sort of change was perhaps inevitable. Professional prognosticators said a Blue Wave would put Democrats in control of the House of Representatives, which it did. And Democrats in New York made good on predictions that they’d flip control of the state Senate. The power shifts in…
MCC says come back, pay later
James Simpson was just 12 credits away from completing his degree at Monroe Community College in 2008 when he stepped on something that left him was a serious foot infection. “It got so bad that it led to kidney failure and I was on dialysis,” Simpson says. He could hardly walk for nearly two years…
Holiday escapism
A suggested reading list
ART | ‘The Cup, The Mug’
The annual national juried exhibition of drinking vessels, “The Cup, The Mug,” returns to Main Street Arts this weekend, featuring nearly 100 cups by 56 artists from 26 states. From clean and subtly detailed minimalism to bright colors and anthropomorphism, there’s something for every taste in this show that blends form and function. The exhibition…
FAMILY | ‘Preparing for Winter’
Signs of the approaching winter in Western New York include digging leaves out of our gutters, switching to snow tires, and plastic-wrapping drafty windows. As you get ready for the harsher weather, you can take a trip through time to see how cold weather preparations would have been tackled in our region in the early…
CLASSICAL | ‘Giving BACH’
This Saturday afternoon, Ad Hoc Music presents one of J.S. Bach’s most engaging vocal works. The so-called “Coffee Cantata” is not a typical Bach cantata. In this very secular work, the yearning soul is a young lady who just wants her three cups of coffee each day. Part of the Rochester Early Music Festival, the…
FOLK | ‘Friendsgiving’
Here comes the folk and fiddle music, from the lovingly capable arms of The Brothers Blue and a pile of good folks, sitting in and raising some dough for the homeless community. Hosted by Dan Gross, special guests include members of The Crooked North, Zack Rabbet Foot, Jungle Steve, and Rayce and Alyssa. “Friendsgiving Party…
Feedback 11/14
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. Seek input…
ELECTRONIC | DJ Martha Stewart and DJ ELUS
Swan Dive, the burgeoning and aesthetically astute bar and New-American eatery on Alexander Street, will also host a killer set of underground electronic music this Friday. DJ Martha Stewart – previously of local surf-rock trio The Huckleberry Fins – will team up with DJ ELUS of Sole Rehab JD Collective to bringing a flavorful party…
Urban Action 11/14
This week’s calls to action include the following events and activities. (All are free and open to the public, unless otherwise noted.) Pushing for reforms in incarceration Metro Justice, Just Leadership USA, VOCAL-NY, and the Rochester Police Accountability Board Alliance will host a program to focus public attention on the problems associated with mass incarceration…
CLASSICAL | Amenda Quartet
Rochester’s Amenda Quartet has a busy weekend ahead of itself. First is an all-Mozart program with pianist Christopher Goodpasture on Friday, as part of Rochester Institute of Technology’s Performing Artists Concert Series. On Sunday at First Unitarian Church, the quartet will continue to play Mozart, this time with guest pianist Jon Nakamatsu in a rendition…
A nation divided: the US after the midterms
Hate and prejudice are huge factors in the country’s division. And Donald Trump and other Republicans have made them acceptable.
Album review: ‘Long time comin’ ‘
Dirty Blanket ‘Long Time Comin’ ‘ Self-released dirtyblanketbluegrass.com. What began as an acoustic folk duo featuring guitarist Max “Dirty” Flansburg and singer/songwriter Kevin “Blanket” O’Leary in 2013 became a foot-stomping bluegrass quintet by the end of 2016. The original duo was augmented with longtime friends Richie Colf on mandolin, Joel Fedkiw on five-string banjo, and…
Album review: ‘Soma’
The Moho Collective ‘Soma’ Self-Released themohocollective.com. After almost a decade of perfecting its live sound, Rochester art rock trio The Moho Collective is now celebrating its third release. While more stripped down than previous albums, “Soma” continues to expand its musical boundaries by exploring the sonic possibilities offered in a mid-19th century church recording studio.…
Lulu brings LA-style street food to Fairport
Lulu Taqueria emphasizes LA-style tacos, and each one has a specially paired (and house-made) salsa, aioli, or pico de gallo. A quarter of the menu options are vegetarian and more than half are pescetarian.
Review: ‘Wildlife’
On a certain level, the story “Wildlife” tells is not an unfamiliar one, but it’s a tender and quietly powerful character study filled with understated emotion and incisive empathy.
Film preview: ‘Widows’
Tense, thrilling, and smartly directed, “Widows” is a heist movie that proves popcorn entertainment doesn’t have to sacrifice a bit of intelligence or artistry.
New play ‘Bravura’ spotlights Hochstein, the man
The play tells the story of the gifted violinist who was tragically killed during World War I at the age of 26, and whose name is now synonymous with meaningful music education in Rochester.
Classical review: RPO performs ‘Hungarian Harmonies’
This week’s Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra concert is an engaging RPO debut for guest conductor Carlos Kalmar, in a program that also features a refined, confident solo performance from Principal Cellist Ahrim Kim.
Interview: Ruby Velle & The Soulphonics
Ruby Velle & The Soulphonics play music that soothes and “sassifies,” comforts and cajoles.
