Wendell Castle - The Arts and Cultural Council for Greater Rochester

A PUBLICATION OF THE ARTS & CULTURAL COUNCIL
FOR GREATER ROCHESTER
Wendell Castle
A Design Icon
Blackfriars Theatre
Melanie’s Voice
in a Brand New Key
Sue Cotroneo
Empire State Lyric Theatre
AXOM Gallery’s
Margot Muto
FALL 2012 | ROCHESTER, NY

S
Experience the
ights & S ounds of . . .
MEMORIAL ART GALLERY
500 University Ave., Rochester, NY 14607
(585) 276-8900
mag.rochester.edu
With its permanent collection spanning 50 centuries
of world art, the Memorial Art Gallery is considered
one of the finest regional art museums in the country.
Among its treasures are works by such artists as
Monet, Cézanne, Matisse, Homer, and Cassatt. The
Gallery offers a year-round schedule of exhibitions,
tours, and events, as well as a restaurant, gift shop,
and art school. During your visit, experience the
recently renovated gallery of ancient art and enjoy
concerts on North America’s only full-size Italian
Baroque organ, on permanent loan from the
Eastman School of Music (schedule on our website).
EASTMAN SCHOOL OF MUSIC
26 Gibbs St., Rochester, NY 14604
www.esm.rochester.edu
The Eastman School of Music enhances the lives of
Rochesterians with hundreds of world-class orchestral,
wind ensemble, chamber music, jazz, and opera
performances each year. In its historic Kodak and Kilbourn
Halls, and now in the remarkable Hatch Recital
Hall in the architecturally stunning new Eastman East
Wing, Eastman musical events add immeasurably to
the artistic and cultural life of our region. In addition,
more than a thousand adults and children each year
take advantage of the Eastman Community Music
School’s renowned private and classroom instruction.
See www.esm.rochester.edu for a schedule of upcoming
concerts and events.
WRUR-FM & WXXI-AM
88.5 FM and AM 1370
www.wxxi.org/radio/wrur
Catch eclectic music programming and NPR favorites,
such as Morning Edition and All Things Considered,
on 88.5 FM, thanks to a partnership with WXXI and
University affiliate WRUR. NPR is currently simulcast
on WRUR 88.5 and AM 1370, Monday–Friday, 5–9
a.m. and 4–6 p.m. For a complete list of programs,
please visit our website.

Nazareth College Arts Center | 2012-2013 Season
artscenter.naz.edu
SERIES SPoNSoRS:
585-389-2170
Photos top to bottom, left to right: Complexions Contemporary Ballet, photo: Jae Man Joo; Just Imagine; Anonymous 4; Cashore Marionettes; Mermaid Theatre of
Nova Scotia, Guess How Much I Love You, photo: Margo E. Gesser.
SeaSon highlightS
• Internationally renowned contemporary dance from some
of the most sought-after companies;
• Wonderful family programs, including a performance by a
master marionette maker; three popular musicals presented
by the Rochester Children’s Theatre; and an adaptation of
a beloved classic, performed by one of the country’s most
acclaimed children’s theatre companies;
• A range of musical programs, from a one-man John Lennon
tribute to authentic African drumming, and from sacred medieval
music to the pipes and drums of an elite military group;
• Special events, including a remarkable illusionist and his
breathtaking, state-of-the-art magic; New Year’s Eve with the
politically based satire of The Capitol Steps; and a powerful
presentation of letters written by soldiers serving in Afghanistan
and Iraq.
Subscribe with Five and Save 20%!
Visit artscenter.naz.edu for tickets and more info!

From the Editor About the Arts & Cultural Council
for Greater Rochester, Inc.
A Request of Our Readers
The magazine you hold in your hands has just completed its
seventh year of publication. It was born from a series of ideas
I had early on in my role as the head of the Arts & Cultural Council
for Greater Rochester, a charitable nonprofit organization with
the mission of strengthening and promoting arts and culture
in the greater Rochester/Finger Lakes region. We are the only
Rochester-based organization with this unique role. To be
effective, I knew we needed a new and powerful promotional
vehicle—Metropolitan magazine.
Due to recent shifts in both the local and national economy,
funding for nonprofits in general has become more tenuous. As
part of a necessary evolution, therefore, we look to you, our readers,
to consider making a difference, by contributing a tax-deductible
gift in support of our ongoing efforts—simply fill out and return the
envelope inserted in this issue.
Help us continue to bring to the foreground the full range of arts
and culture that our community has to offer.
My thanks, in advance, and my very best wishes to you for the
upcoming holiday season.
Sarah E. Lentini
Editor, President, and Publisher
2 Fall 2012 | Photo by John W. Retallack
The Arts & Cultural Council for Greater Rochester is a nonprofit
corporation serving arts, culture, and education in the ten-county
greater Rochester region. Our mission is to strengthen the
creative sector through grant programs, constituent services, and
special initiatives; and to act as an advocate, planner, and funder,
supporting artistic vitality and cultural diversity.
Metropolitan is produced and published on a quarterly basis by
the Arts & Cultural Council for Greater Rochester. The magazine
promotes our region and is supported primarily through donations
and advertising sales.
For more information about our programs and services, visit
ArtsRochester.org.
Board of directors
Grace Tillinghast, Chair
Sarah E. Lentini, President and CEO
Jeffrey B. Crane, Vice Chair
Richard E. Rising, Vice Chair
Jonathan Gonder, DMA, Secretary
Trevor Harrison, Treasurer
Hon. Jeffrey R. Adair
Christopher C. Dahl, Ph.D.
Joseph Darweesh, Esq.
Steven DelMonte
Honorary advisors
Peter Giopulos, Ph.D.
Roslyn Bakst Goldman
Nancy Gong
Suzanne Gouvernet
Suzanne Gouvernet
This issue of Metropolitan is made possible, in part, with funds from
the Gouvernet Arts Fund of Rochester Area Community Foundation.
The Arts & Cultural Council for Greater Rochester is supported, in
part, with public funds from the New York State Council on the Arts,
a state agency.
promoting creativity and innovation
277 North Goodman Street
Rochester, NY 14607-1179
(585) 473-4000
ArtsRochester.org
Hon. Sandra L. Frankel
Sabrina Gennarino
Margery Hwang
Hon. Cynthia W. Kaleh
John F. Kraushaar
Dawn Lipson
Dr. Jacques Lipson
James C. Moore, Esq.
Hon. Carla M. Palumbo
Pengcheng Shi, Ph.D.
Robert Hursh
Nathan Lyons
Nathan J. Robfogel, Esq.
Jean Gordon Ryon
arts & cultural council staff
Sarah E. Lentini President and CEO
Jerry Gombatto Senior Director of Programs and Marketing
David B. Semple Director of Development and Grant Programs
Bruce M. Watson Director of Finance
Jim Giffi Volunteer

Images couRtesy oF aXom galleRy & eXhIbItIon sPace (toP); Wendell castle (mIddle); Photos oF melanIe couRtesy © maddy mIlleR (bottom)
8
14
18
AXOM Gallery’s
Margot Muto
Renowned designer
Wendell Castle
Melanie Safka
at Carnegie Hall
FALL 2012 VOLUME 7/NUMBER 4
Wendell Castle
A Trailblazer in Full Throttle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .14
Shaping Her Own Space
AXOM Gallery’s Margot Muto . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .8
Empire State Lyric Theatre
Brings Opera to New Audiences . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .12
Melanie’s Voice in a Brand New Key
A World Premiere at Blackfriars Theatre . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .18
Departments
The Gallery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5
In Brief . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6
On the COver
Amber Fields, 24x24 oil on canvas (detail) by Carolyn Marshall. “In my life there
are no happier times than those spent immersed in nature,” says Marshall,
whose expansive gardens form a significant part of the inspiration for her
paintings. She is one of 10 women who comprise DRAW, a Rochester-based
artist group that encourages its members to collaborate as they pursue their
individual goals. The DRAW group, a longstanding member and past exhibitor
at the Arts & Cultural Council for Greater Rochester, has been growing in sophistication
and visibility, with additional recent exhibitions at Bausch & Lomb and
RIT’s Dyer Arts Center. To learn more about Carolyn Marshall and DRAW, visit
www.carolyn-marshall-artist.com and www.drawgrouprochester.com.
Metropolitan
Sarah E. Lentini Editor, President, and Publisher
Jerry Gombatto Assistant Editor, Director of Advertising and Production
Bruce M. Watson Director of Finance
Steve Boerner Typography & Design, Inc. Layout and Design
Canfield & Tack Printing
advertising and distribution
Arts & Cultural Council for Greater Rochester
(585) 473-4000, extension 205
gombatto@artsrochester.org
Calendar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .24
Copyright 2012 Arts & Cultural Council for Greater Rochester. All rights reserved.
Metropolitan is published quarterly by the Arts & Cultural Council for Greater
Rochester. Metropolitan may not be reproduced in whole or in part without
written permission from the Arts & Cultural Council for Greater Rochester.
| Fall 2012 3

Transfer & Career Programs in Fine Arts,
Music Performance, Education, Liberal
Arts, Advertising, Commercial Art, Interior
Design, Communications & Media Arts,
Visual Communications, Graphic Arts/
Printing/Photo/TV
Call 292.2200
or visit www.monroecc.edu

Images couRtesy oF the aRtIsts
The Gallery at
Balance III, 48x27x12, sterling silver, acrylic, resin, Jiwon Han
The Balance
Jiwon Han
October 3–26
Reception, Friday, October 5, 6–9 PM
To become one with body and calm breathing
as the moving wind; it delivers the trustworthy
comfort of balance through and through
—Jiwon Han
A native of Korea, Jiwon Han has worked in the
Evolved Paintings, 2012
William Sellers
November 2–30
Reception, Friday, November 2, 5–9 PM
Originally from Detroit, Michigan, William Sellers
has had an extensive career as an artist
and teacher.
He attended the University of Michigan,
where he received a Bachelor’s degree in architecture
(1954) and a Master of Fine Arts (1962),
majoring in sculpture and ceramics. Upon
graduation he came to Rochester to teach 3D
design and drawing at Rochester Institute of
Technology. He later taught studio art courses
at the University of Rochester and at Lehman
College, City University of New York.
Until recently, Sellers was primarily known
for his sculpture. Three of his pieces are in the
fields of metal craft and jewelry design for over
20 years. Han is a graduate of both the Hong-Ik
University in Seoul and Rochester Institute of
Technology’s renowned School for American
Crafts, where she earned a second Master of
Fine Art degree in 2010. She has had an extensive
career as a professor of fine art and has
exhibited widely throughout Korea, including at
the Korean Craft Council Exhibition, Korean Fine
Arts Association Exhibition, and the Hyundae
Metal Artists Association Exhibition.
Memorial Art Gallery’s permanent collection—
including Six Cubes and Converging Cubes,
which can be seen in the Gallery’s outdoor
sculpture display.
the Arts & Cultural Council
277 N. GoodmaN Street, rocheSter, (585) 473-4000
Gallery hourS: moNday–Friday, 10 am–4 pm
In addition, she has received numerous
awards including an Honorable Mention at
the 26th Korean Industrial Artist Exhibition,
and the Copper Prize at the 21st National Art
College Exhibition.
The Balance, her solo exhibition at The Gallery
at the Arts & Cultural Council, represents
the expression of human emotion as motion,
with an implicit tension and harmony between
and among body, space, and mind—between
the human being and nature.
Untitled, 12x12, acrylic on wood panel,
William Sellers
Other large outdoor sculptures of his are installed
at the corporate headquarters of Rochester’s
Sentry Group and at SUNY Cortland.
Sellers’ work has also been included in two
annual exhibitions of sculpture at the Whitney
Museum of American Art.
Since the year 2000, Sellers’ artistic activity
has evolved into painting. “Early on, occasionally,
I created paintings based on views of the
sculptures—I called them ‘semi-diagrammatic
elevations of sculpture’. However, since the turn
of the century, painting has come to the forefront
in my artistic efforts. The paintings have
taken a direction no longer related to sculpture,
though they maintain a loose relationship to
simple geometry and three dimensionality.”
| Fall 2012 5

6 Fall 2012 |
In Brief New
Misfit Robot, an example of
Bob Conge’s recent work
Bob Conge: The Toy As Art
A seasoned painter, illustrator and sculptor,
Bob Conge has exhibited extensively throughout
the US, Europe and Japan. Over the years,
his clients have included American Express,
Sony Music, Bank of America, and Eastman
Kodak Company. His work is represented in
collections throughout the world, including the
Museum of Modern Art in Toyama, Japan; Le
Musée de la Publicité in Paris, France; and the
International Poster Museum in Warsaw, Poland.
Conge’s most recent work connects with
a worldwide movement, based on an age-old
idea of the toy as art—much of which currently
centers on the Japanese vinyl toys of
the ’60s and ’70s.
For the first time in close to twenty years,
Bob Conge will be showing locally, with a oneman
exhibition, September 22 to October 20,
at Phillips Fine Art, 248 East Avenue, located
next to The Little Theatre.
To learn more about the artist, visit www.
bobconge.com and www.plaseebo.net.
Panni Speirs: Promoting the
Performing Arts of the Circus
Last May, Panni Speirs, founder of the Rochester-based
Flexibility Plus Institute of America,
and Noteworthy
presented the first-ever Rochester Regional
Circus Arts Festival, a youth-oriented event
sponsored by the American Youth Circus Organization,
which regularly presents national
circus arts festivals and educator conferences
in cities across the country.
The one-day festival, which was hosted by
Aerial Arts of Rochester, offered several workshops
and training opportunities, focusing predominantly
on youth, in a wide range of circus
disciplines, including mime, prop making, contortion,
and juggling. A showcase performance,
which featured diverse and talented students,
alongside their instructors, punctuated the
day’s activities.
“Our mission is to promote the participation
of youth in the circus arts,” says Speirs. “Local
circus arts supporters provided key assistance
in leading workshops, and numerous volunteers
helped to make the event a success.”
The group is planning to organize a similar
event for 2013. For information, visit www.
flexibilityplusiofa.com.
Taylor Commissioned
for Veterans’ Memorial
Rochester artist Mary Taylor has been commissioned
to create a sculpture for a new
Veterans’ Memorial Park being developed on
Westfall Road, in the Town of Brighton. The
Town is also working with architectural firm
Bergmann Associates to design the park, which
will honor Brighton Veterans. Taylor’s American
Bald Eagle, a stainless steel sculpture
(54x120x60) will be perched on a
large boulder and displayed with
its wings outstretched 10 feet in
breadth. The work is slated to be
installed in October, with
Maquette of Taylor’s
American Bald Eagle
a dedication date scheduled for November 11,
2012—Veterans’ Day.
Taylor, who specializes in wildlife sculpture,
has exhibited widely throughout the country
and has numerous public and private commissions
to her credit. To learn more about the artist,
visit www.marytaylorsculpture.com.
BOA Editions Releases
Major Poetry Collection
“The Collected Poems of Lucille Clifton
1965–2010 may be the most important book of
poetry to appear in years.”—Publishers Weekly
Rochester-based
BOA Editions has just
published the definitive
compendium of renowned
poet Lucille Clifton’s
work, including 50
previously unpublished
poems.
Clifton, who passed
away in February 2012,
was the first African American woman to
receive the $100,000 Ruth Lilly Poetry Prize,
honoring a US poet whose “lifetime accomplishments
warrant extraordinary recognition,”
and the Robert Frost Medal for lifetime
achievement. The book features
a foreword by Nobel
Prize–winning author
Toni Morrison.
“If you only read one
poetry book in 2012,
The Collected Poems of
Lucille Clifton ought to
be it.”—NPR
Visit BOA Edition at
www.boaeditions.org.

oPPosIte Page: Images couRtesy oF bob conge (toP leFt); boa edItIons, ltd. (toP RIght); maRy c. tayloR (bottom). thIs Page: Image couRtesy oF PIke staIned glass studIos, Inc.
Stained glass window, designed in 2010 by
Valerie O’Hara of Pike Stained Glass Studios, at
University of Rochester’s Rush Rhees Library.
MAG Tiffany Glass Exhibition
with Pike Stained Glass Studios
Rochester’s Pike Stained Glass Studios, headed
by Valerie O’Hara, is playing a key role in a major
exhibition of original Tiffany stained glass at
the University of Rochester’s Memorial Art Gallery,
on exhibit through October 28.
William Pike, who worked for Tiffany Studios
in New York before moving to Rochester, established
his own company, Pike Stained Glass
Studios, in 1908. His great-niece, Valerie, not
only manages the unique business that her
parents, Jim and Norma Lee O’Hara, handed
down to her, but is a masterful glass artist as
well—creating and often recreating exquisite
works of art throughout the country.
The exhibition features seven 8' tall windows,
removed from an Ohio church in 1964
and discovered to be original works by American
master Louis Comfort Tiffany. Pike Stained
Glass is also featured with original works on
paper and in glass, and materials showing the
process of stained glass.
Visit www.pikestainedglassstudios.com and
www.mag.rochester.edu.
The
Arts & Cultural Council
for Greater Rochester
is pleased
to announce the
29 th
Annual Arts Awards
2012 Award Recipients
Artist AwArd
Chet Catallo
Internationally acclaimed musician and 6-time Grammy nominee,
formerly of the renowned contemporary jazz ensemble, Spyro Gyra
OrgAnizAtiOn AwArd
University of Rochester
A leading cultural and educational institution with significant innovative
developments and achievements that cut across all facets of the arts
ChAmpiOn Of the Arts
Nixon Peabody LLP
A global award-winning law firm, which for over a decade has provided
pro bono legal support to the Arts Council and its membership
of creative professionals and nonprofits
Lifetime AChievement
Wendell Castle
Recognized as one of the top 10 international designers, a groundbreaking and
iconic artist, showcased in collections and exhibitions throughout the world
29th Annual Arts Awards
Wednesday, November 7, 2012
Reception, 11:15 a.m.
Lunch and Award Ceremony, Noon–1:30 p.m.
Hyatt Regency Rochester
fOr event infOrmAtiOn
COntACt (585) 473-4000, ext. 205
ArtsrOChester.Org

Own
Shaping Her
Space
AXOM Gallery
Director Margot
Muto (left); 4-2-2,
8 Fall 2012 |
AXOM
Gallery’s
Margot
Muto
an example of Susan
Ferrari-Rowley’s
powerful work on
exhibit this fall at
AXOM (bottom left);
Fleeing Eve by Keith
Howard, part of Eve’s
Garden: The Lost
Creation, exhibited
at AXOM Gallery
this September
(bottom right).

“It was definitely not love at first sight,” says Robin Muto.
It’s a lovely late summer evening. I’m sitting with Robin and Rick and
their daughter, Margot Muto, in the offices of Robin’s design business,
adjoining the new AXOM Gallery & Exhibition Space, which
the Mutos just launched, with Margot at the helm. Robin is talking
about the first time that she and Rick, her husband of many years,
met—when they were both students at SUNY
Oswego. “Rick looked just like Jerry Garcia,”
she continues. “He had a lot of hair.”
“Do you have a picture of that?” I ask.
To my surprise, I learn that Rick, now an
accomplished artist of many years most recently
commissioned by Steinway & Sons
to paint a commemorative piano unveiled
in June in Beijing, was then a Russian studies
major. Robin, now a design maven with
a veritable Who’s Who of a client list from
across the country, was the fine arts major.
They met when Rick took pottery as an elective
and wandered into Robin’s territory. After a lukewarm set of initial
interactions—each found the other a bit distant—they ended up
talking all night when jointly assigned to keep watch over the firing
of the department’s salt kiln. Somewhere in there Rick brought Robin
one of his Italian family’s specialties: a pickled eggplant sandwich.
all Images couRtesy oF aXom galleRy & eXhIbItIon sPace
By Sarah E. Lentini
Rick and Robin Muto in 1975 at SUNY Oswego.
The Mutos’ studios and gallery are housed on the second floor of a
charming old red brick building—newly designated the Art and Design
Building—on Anderson Avenue, above the Steve Carpenter Art
Center, in the heart of the Neighborhood of the Arts, half a block from
my office. As I take the stairs, I note the extensive beautiful blanched
oak wainscotting—at once old and modern—which I learn Margot refinished.
Once upstairs, I’m greeted by Robin
and Margot and their dog, Jasper, a total ham
of a Bluetick hound who befriends me immediately,
and by a glowing pre-sunset sky
that shows off the panoramic view afforded
by oversized loft windows. The offices feel
like an architect’s digs. Neighboring AXOM
Gallery is clean and bright with blonde wood
floors and high-end art work from the current
exhibitor, Keith Howard, Margot’s former
college professor. His pieces are beautifully
stylized large nudes of a beguiling Eve, complete
with apple in outstretched hand. The
whole place feels like SoHo.
Not surprisingly, Margot Muto is fluent in the language of art. While
she tells me that she feels a stronger kinship with her mother’s artistic
style and sensibility, the warm brown eyes that gaze into mine with energy
and confidence bring her father to mind. I realize that I’ve never
| Fall 2012 9

AXOM Gallery’s first exhibition earlier this summer showcased the work of Paul Garland, Rick Muto’s former college professor.
seen Margot’s paintings—which she’s put on hold while she builds
AXOM—and hear that they’re abstracted landscapes, much like the
sophisticated work of the other artist whose work surrounds us, Paul
Garland, the first AXOM exhibitor and Rick’s former college professor.
Margot is keenly aware of the challenges facing young artists, especially
in Rochester, which while a great place to learn about art is
ultimately not an easy place from which to
launch and sustain a professional arts career.
She very much wants to help the next generation.
At the same time, she has an eye on
connecting with the best artists and arts venues
throughout the country. Showcasing the
work of Paul Garland and Keith Howard is
certainly a great start.
And, this October, Margot is bringing a
third arts powerhouse to the AXOM Gallery:
Susan Ferrari-Rowley, an immensely talent-
ed sculptor, whose large powerful pieces are an exciting—even if unintentional—testament
to femininity. Originally from New York City,
Ferrari-Rowley is a long-time fine arts faculty member at Monroe
Community College and the recipient of the 2011 SUNY Chancellor’s
Award for Excellence in Scholarship and Creative Activities. In person,
she is every bit as strong and intelligent as her work, with an appealing
intensity and directness. The exhibition of her work at AXOM
10 Fall 2012 |
AXOM Gallery & Exhibition Space
ART AND DeSiGN BUiLDiNG
176 ANDeRSON AVeNUe, 2ND FLOOR
ROCHeSTeR, NY 14607
• New Directions by Susan Ferrari-Rowley
October 5–November 17, 2012
• www.axomgallery.com
will be a preview of a show that will make its way to a major New York
gallery later this year.
AXOM Gallery is off to a great start.
Much like her parents, Margot is happiest doing more than one
thing. In addition to managing the gallery, she works with incarcerated
youth through the New York State Literary Center. The Center’s Executive
Director, Dale Davis, has told me more
than once how much she has come to rely
on Margot, for whom the work of the Center
matters deeply. With a fearless and attractive
vulnerability, Margot tells me that she struggled
a bit in school, finding traditional academic
subjects often foreign and confusing.
Conversely, the arts represented a comfortable
mode of expression—perhaps in part because
of her parents’ work, perhaps because
of a genetic predisposition, perhaps because
the arts offer the greatest range of modes of learning and expression:
a set of rich universal languages. Because of her own challenges with
traditional learning, Margot is particularly sensitive to the learning
problems of young people. It is the space that she’s carved out for herself
in a family of impressive creative spirits, and it promises to evolve
and shape her leadership of AXOM in a way that will give the new gallery
a unique and essential character. a
Image couRtesy oF aXom galleRy & eXhIbItIon sPace

Please visit us
on our website
cias.rit.edu
Peter Byrne
Chair, School of Design
pjbfaa@rit.edu
Rochester Institute
of Technology
Rochester, New York
College of
Imaging Arts + Sciences
Undergraduate
and Graduate Programs
School of Design
BFA MFA
BFA Graphic Design
Industrial Design
Interior Design
New Media Design
3D Digital Design
MFA Visual Communication Design
Industrial Design
Photo: Mariah Jade Cole
Vignelli Center for Design Studies

An accomplished soprano and the founding executive director of
Rochester-based empire State Lyric Theatre, Sue Cotroneo has hosted
multiple events designed to introduce opera to a broader audience.
12 FALL 2012 |
EmpirE StatE
Lyric
S Theatre
Sue Cotroneo has just come back from Tampa. She is wearing
Brings Opera to New Audiences
By Sarah E. Lentini
an haute couture dress in black jersey that drapes and balloons at
the knee in a style that, I realize later that evening as I’m watching
a documentary on the history of supermodels, is retro ’60s modern.
Her shoes are equally chic, high wedged platform sandals in a butter
yellow leather that complements her deep inky purple pedicure and
echoes her silky blonde hair. Sue hugs me hello and we walk back to
the kitchen to get coffee, where Sue selects an Italian Roast Keurig
K-Cup, as I had already known she would, given her similar predilection
for all things Italian.
As the founding executive director of Rochester’s opera company,
Empire State Lyric Theatre, in just a few short years, Susan Cotroneo
has formed an exciting new nonprofit organization that is filling an
important role in the arts and culture of the greater Rochester/Finger
Lakes region. Last year, the company mounted a production of
I Pagliacci at the downtown Blue Cross Arena—a venue pretty much
unprecedented for the art form in Rochester. Its financial support has
come from a variety of sources, including the Arts & Cultural Council
for Greater Rochester—which has provided the company with multiple
grants in partnership with both the New York State Council on
the Arts and Rochester Area Community Foundation.
In addition to drawing crowds to her company’s large-scale productions,
Sue Cotroneo has all along coordinated a series of much
more intimate events, aimed at cultivating new opera patrons. Her
husband, Anthony Cotroneo, a high power Rochester attorney, and
her partner in every sense of the word, has worked alongside her to
establish and support the young opera company since the beginning.
Originally an outsider to the world of opera, his perspective has been
pivotal to her ability to attract and engage new audiences and supporters.
The formula has been essentially to throw a party, with all
the best elements of what draws anyone to an event: great food and

all Images couRtesy oF sue cotRoneo and emPIRe state lyRIc theatRe, PhotogRaPh by IdRIs salIh (oPPosIte Page)
wine, a beautiful setting, a good mix of people, and music. Sue Cotroneo
knew that, if she could get her husband’s “non-opera” friends
to come and, even more importantly, to enjoy themselves, she would
be well-positioned to sustain the company over time.
The Cotroneos live in an exquisite home, reminiscent of a Tuscan
villa, which Sue painstakingly designed and decorated. She has
a marvelous aesthetic sensibility. The house is central to her work as
well: it serves as an optimal venue for both intimate and grand affairs,
and it houses her business office, enabling her to stay close to
their three young children.
Susan Delly Cotroneo was raised in Rochester, the oldest of three
children and the only girl, in a charming 1920s center Colonial on
Seneca Parkway, in the city’s Northwest Quadrant, which her mother
kept, “just so—it was always very nice.” Her parents had high expectations
for her, she tells me, so that she learned from the beginning that
she needed to work hard for the things she wanted. It is something,
Sue says, that she has since come to appreciate greatly. Their expectations
gave her the self-reliance and the confidence, she explains,
that made it possible for her to, among other things, contemplate
starting an opera company.
When Sue was 11 years old—she tells me this number two or three
times as if it is an important point of demarcation—her parents enrolled
her in the David Hochstein Memorial School of Music & Dance,
where she embarked on ballet and music lessons. “I think they saw
this curvy body and thought we need to keep this child active,” she
says, with a wry smile. “I had to take a city bus each week, the Dewey
10 to be exact, to get there—I was eleven years old. I wasn’t happy
about it. I wanted a ride. My mother said to me, ‘It’s your voice. They’re
your voice lessons. If you want them, you need to figure out how to
get there.’ And I would say to her, ‘If you loved me, you wouldn’t make
me take the bus.’ Her response to me was, ‘It’s because we love you—
it builds character.’”
After a few years of lessons, again in response to her body type, Sue
tells me, her mother suggested that it was unlikely she would ever be
a ballerina, telling her, “Why don’t you focus on the singing.”
Both of her parents worked. Her father owned and ran a contracting
business. Her mother was a librarian, who later in life—after Sue
was an adult—went back to school and got multiple graduate degrees,
ultimately becoming the principal of School 46 in the city, before retiring
this year at the age of 65. “A strong and impressive woman,” I
say. “Oh yes. Very strong and impressive,” says Sue Cotroneo. “And
tough,” I say. “And tough,” she answers. Were your parents just as tough
on your brothers?” I ask. “No!” She laments.
“They weren’t.”
Also when she was eleven years old, Sue
was put on an airplane to LaGuardia in New
York City to visit her aunt, an accomplished
Broadway performer and singer, whose career included touring the
country with Robert Preston in The Music Man. “She would take me to
the World Trade Center every day and we would buy tickets to whatever
show was available.” In the space of two weeks, her aunt took
her to 10 Broadway shows. Sue emerged from the two-week experience
knowing what she wanted to do with the rest of her life: “I said,
‘I want to do that,’” Sue Cotroneo points with her finger at the Broadway
stage of her memory. “I wanted to be on Broadway.”
Sue majored in both music and music education, getting her K-12
Sue and Tony Cotroneo in 2004 at the famed Trevi Fountain in Rome,
shortly after she had completed a production of Donizetti’s L’elisir
d’amore in the near-by region of Abruzzo (top); Sue Cotroneo in italy
with world-renowned tenor Gianni Raimondi (now deceased), with
whom she studied early in her career.
teaching certification. In fact, she tells me, it is the underpinning of
the continued interest and passion that she has for teaching as well
as music. After an early job working in a West Virginia School District,
while attending graduate school at West Virginia University, her
aunt connected her to a unique and life-altering singing experience
in Italy—on the Italian Riviera—performing with two of Italy’s opera
greats: Gianni Raimondi and Giuseppe Taddei. They were shameless
old flirts, but they were also marvelous sing-
ers who combined with the backdrop and
Empire State Lyric Theatre
history of Italy to reignite her passion for per-
• www.empirestatelyrictheatre.org
formance and for opera.
When she returned to the US and finished
graduate school it was her mother who introduced Susan Delly to Anthony
Cotroneo, her future husband, by setting her up on a blind date
with him. Her mother had never met Tony but knew of him through a
friend. Sue was 27 years old. A former high school and college wrestler,
Tony had already graduated from Syracuse Law School and had
started working at Rochester law firm Woods Oviatt Gilman, where
he would ultimately become a Partner. He is equally smart and affable.
And the two share a self-reliance and a drive that makes them a
powerful and effective team. a
| Fall 2012 13

14 Fall 2012 |
Wendell Castle
•
A Trailblazer in
Full Throttle
By Sarah E. Lentini
Wendell Castle (right) with his brother Wayne—circa 1942 in Coffeyville, Kansas—showing early signs
of the creativity and ingenuity that would become the hallmarks of his groundbreaking work in design.

Image couRtesy oF Wendell castle i
have a long, interesting talk
with Wendell Castle by phone. He’s
uncharacteristically quick and garrulous—perhaps
because he knows
his topic so well or perhaps because
we’ve known each other a
while. Castle is known internationally
for his groundbreaking fusion of
art and design. Quite simply he has
done what no one else did before. He
has created furniture that is art, and
art that is furniture, over many decades,
melding his formidable knowledge of materials,
sculpture, painting, drawing, engineering, construction,
and design to create an entirely new mode of expression—his
is not simply furniture that is strongly
artistic or aesthetic.
Not surprisingly, Castle is known as the father of the
modern art furniture movement. And, he tells me, no
other American is regularly found on the international
top 10 list of designers. Europe, he tells me more than
once, is far ahead of us in this arena.
And, even now, with certainly nothing in particular
left to prove, Castle is hardly resting on his laurels. In
addition to his longstanding faculty affiliation with
Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT), where he is
Artist in Residence and frequently lectures (currently
on topics such as “design as art” and “thinking about
thinking”), Castle is working out new solutions to
timeless problems, using cutting-edge digital robotics
along with well-established unique design processes
that are quite literally his trademarks.
“Decision making is such an important part of art,”
Castle says, expanding on the importance of thinking
as part of the creative process. “We need to examine
how we make decisions—it’s a natural human inclination
to make biased choices. The biggest decision of all
is whether to do a piece in the first place.”
Castle has been going through a bit of a professional
rebirth. He’s been recently profiled in both the New
York Times and the Wall Street Journal; he was the undisputed
star and center of attention at Design Miami
this past year, edging out younger and newer designers;
and over the next 12–18 months he is mounting
a new solo retrospective at The Aldrich in Ridgefield
(Connecticut), two new solo exhibitions at the Barry
Friedman and Friedman Benda galleries in New York, a
group and solo exhibition in Paris, and solo exhibitions
in Louisville and Seoul (Korea). Beyond this, he is also
the subject of two forthcoming books, including a catalogue
raisonné, in which his work will be comprehensively
documented, something rare for a living artist.
In addition, Castle has been commissioned to create
an anchor piece, The Unicorn Family, for the Memorial
| Fall 2012 15

At the University of Kansas, in his early 20s, Castle was finally
connected to formal training in art, giving him the framework and
tools for his future career. in short order, he was creating bold new
designs that brought him early recognition.
Castle explores various concepts through his work. The piece seen here,
Distant Thunder (top), is an example of the cantilevered chair, from his
designs of a few years ago. More recently, Castle has been intrigued by
the idea of “unusual balance,” as seen in Black Star (bottom).
16 Fall 2012 |
Art Gallery’s new Centennial Sculpture Park, Seen here at work
scheduled to be installed in the spring of 2013. in his Scottsville,
“This is the busiest year I’ve ever had,” NY, studio in 1969,
Wendell Castle
says Wendell Castle, with no trace of irony. “I
has developed a
guess I have a vocabulary that seems to have
unique approach to
an audience.”
furniture making,
Castle, who turns 80 on November 6, will using “sculptural
receive a Lifetime Achievement Award from techniques.”
the Arts & Cultural Council for Greater Rochester
on November 7 at the 29th Annual Arts Awards.
Now a long-time Rochesterian, who came to the area early on to
teach at the renowned School for American Craftsmen at Rochester
Institute of Technology, Castle grew up and went to school in Kansas.
His mother was a grade school teacher; his father taught vocational
agriculture at the local high school. Castle tells me that he was “made
to spend time on a farm” and was “not fond of farming.”
“As a child, I was only good at one thing: daydreaming,” Castle says.
“I could draw very well. No one around me put any value on it.”
When I ask what he daydreamed about, he says, “I daydreamed
about a lot.”
And then in a bit of a non-sequitor that perhaps tells it all, “The first
thing I designed that went to Europe was the Molar Chair in the late ’60s.”
Wendell Castle, the oldest of three, was and remains the only one
in his family involved in the arts. His parents neither appreciated nor
supported his artistic interests.
“I received no encouragement. I never had an art course in my life
until college.”
I ask how Castle connected to art as a child.
“I drew all the time. In the ’30s, as a child, there was a soap carving
contest that I won. It was Ivory Soap—a bar of soap. You were supposed
to carve a monkey and send it in.”
Another childhood project involved architecture and construction.
Castle tells me that he focused on “planning a tree house better
than other kids.”
And yet another involved solving a design problem that presented
itself to him in his second decade of life: in the ’40s. “The story of
Leonard and the duck—I’ll never forget it,” says Castle. “My father
subscribed to a small magazine called The Deltagram. It was a ‘how
to make things’ magazine, which I enjoyed reading immensely. There
was an article about how to make a duck decoy that interested me
more than any of the others. The article showed you how to laminate
the duck from ¾" pine by giving you the pattern for the cross-sections
Images couRtesy oF Wendell castle

Image couRtesy oF Wendell castle
every ¾ of an inch. For some reason, I never did end
up making the duck.” A decade later, when Castle was
in college, he tells me, he came across an article that
described how renowned American sculptor Leonard
Baskin created his work. “The article explained
his process step-by-step. He started working with a
huge block of laminated wood about 3' x 3' x 7' tall, from
which he would carve a figure. I thought to myself, ‘If
only Leonard had read the article [on the duck], he
could have saved himself a ton of work, and used less
wood!’” Realizing that Baskin wasn’t approaching his
work this way, Castle decided that he would—applying
the method that he remembered from his youth,
of approximating a form. “I began to think in cross
sections, such that I could laminate work close to the
final shape. Ultimately, not knowing how to make furniture
turned out to be a good thing. I had a brand
new approach to making furniture, utilizing sculptural
techniques.”
After high school, Castle wasn’t sure what he wanted
to do. “During the Korean War, everyone went to
college,” he tells me. Castle enrolled at a small Methodist
college in Kansas where he began studying “liberal
arts stuff.” During the first semester of his second
year, he was given the choice of an elective. “I thought
art might be interesting.”
“I did super well. The instructor took me aside and
said, ‘You’ve got to leave this school.’ The University of
Kansas had a very good art program.”
“My parents were beside themselves. They had no
idea what I might do with an art degree. They refused to pay my tuition
anymore.”
“My first degree, before my parents cut me off, “ continues Castle,
“was in Industrial Design—I could tell my parents, ‘It’s about industry.’”
Castle’s education was interrupted when he was drafted, during
the Korean War. “I was the battalion artist, drawing illustrations for
the newspaper—signs, maps.” He was stationed for two years in Germany,
mostly in the smaller cities. It was 1953. “Germany was still in
ruins,” he tells me.
He then went on and earned an MFA in Sculpture. Upon graduating,
he went to New York City, where he got a studio and tried to find
a gallery to represent him. “New York was the center of the arts—of
everything—and it still is.”
Roughly a year later, Castle was invited to teach furniture
design at RIT by Harold Brennan, the Dean of the
School for American Craftsmen in the ’60s “He was a great
person—a visionary person,” says Castle. The school had
previously been focused on Danish furniture. Brennan had seen Castle’s
work on exhibit in New York City. “The students all knew more
about woodworking than I did,” says Castle.
Castle had only anticipated staying in Rochester a short while. Now,
years later, he has built an international reputation and created a life
here, one that importantly includes his wife of many years, Nancy Jurs,
herself an immensely accomplished artist. The two live in a rural spot
outside the city, on a large parcel of land that’s within walking distance
of their studios. Theirs is a partnership—a set of connections—
that exists on many levels.
Castle and Jurs have a son and a daughter. Their son, Brian Jurs
(Castle’s step-son), works with him in his shop, doing “finishing work.”
Their daughter, Alison Castle, lives in Paris,
where she works as an editor for Taschen
Press and is the leading authority on Stanley
Kubrick, about whom she’s published three
books. “We always went to the movies,” Castle
says.
Wendell Castle was born in 1932. “I have
terrible visual memories. In the ’30s, there
were terrible dust storms—in the stores, nothing on the shelves.”
“What actually caused the Dust Bowl?” I ask, with pictures from
the John Steinbeck classic in my head.
“I always heard my family say that, in the summer of ’33, there were
100 days of 100 degree heat,” Castle responds.
“Out West, tractors had just come into play
and had plowed up much more ground than
had ever been plowed before.”
I’ve never heard this before and am momentarily
distracted by it: Tractors—the technological advance of the
’30s—bringing with them an unanticipated misery.
More importantly, it seems too perfect a poetic irony that, somehow,
the Great Depression and the Dust Bowl shaped and nurtured
one of the most creative minds of this era.
It begs the question: Does deprivation lead to creation? Or is the
creative human spirit undaunted in the face of deprivation?
I ask Castle what idea currently interests him.
“Unusual balance,” he replies.
“I have an unusual balance situation with a piece that’s very
heavy—500 pounds—and I only have legs under one seat,” he continues.
“I’m developing a structural vocabulary for merging ellipsoids.” a
Wendell Castle Studio
• www.wendellcastle.com
Castle, who owns a
small collection of
sports cars, poses
next to a classic MG
TC, along with his
wife, Nancy Jurs—
also a major force in
the art world.
| Fall 2012 17

Melanie. I guess I should have understood
who it was. But I hadn’t. It wasn’t until minutes before
her arrival in my office, with John Haldoupis
and her son Beau, that I realized who she was from
the background materials that I finally opened
and read.
I remember being all of eleven years old, hanging
out at the Limelight off Christopher Street and
Sheridan Square in the Village with my parents,
drinking real American Coke with ice in a glass,
ordering burgers and fries, playing What have they
done to my song, Ma? on the jukebox, sung by Claudine
Longet—years before she would be arrested for
killing her boyfriend, Spyder. It was a lovely, happy
time for me, and nothing brings it back more
18 Fall 2012 |
By Sarah E. Lentini
quickly than this particular piece of music—music
I’ve since learned that was one of many songs written
by Melanie.
Her most famous song, of course, came right after
and was emblazoned on the national psyche—it
was played so very much on the radio. Brand New
Key was everywhere. Much as Adele has taken over
the airwaves in the last 12 months, Melanie ruled in
1972. In fact, Billboard named her the #1 Top Female
Vocalist of the year. Brand New Key, a sweet tune
filled with what some saw as sexual innuendo, was
a bit shocking—at least for the radio stations of the
time, many of which banned the song. It charmed
audiences with a youthful romantic directness and
simplicity that ultimately verged on feminism.
Melanie Safka, one of the original
32 Woodstock performers, seen
here in a 1973 performance
at Carnegie Hall in a moment
of connection with her
audience, captured by leading
international photographer
and photo editor Maddy Miller
(maddymillerphoto.com).

Photos oF melanIe couRtesy © maddy mIlleR
You remember it, don’t you? Or, if you’re too
young, perhaps you’ve heard it recently as it’s been
picked up as the music for an HP commercial in the
last few years. “I’ve got a brand new pair of roller
skates; you’ve got a brand new key.” The opening line
was delivered by a very pretty 22-year-old Melanie
in a melodic youthful lilting voice.
The success of Brand New Key in 1972 followed
the explosion of Melanie on the scene in a national
phenomenon that will live eternally in the history
of American music: Woodstock.
“I walked onto the stage an unknown,” Melanie
says. “I walked off a star.”
Woodstock had the power to do this. There were
half a million people in the audience. Melanie was
one of 32 acts that performed over the course of
four days—August 15 through August 18 (strangely,
the day that I find myself writing this)—and included
the Grateful Dead, The Band, Janis Joplin,
The Who, Santana, Joan Baez, Joe Cocker, Country
Joe (later of Country Joe and the Fish), Clearance
Clearwater Revival, Blood Sweat & Tears, Sly
and the Family Stone, Jefferson Airplane, and Jimmie
Hendrix.
Before Woodstock, Melanie tells me, there were
no large outdoor music festivals in this country.
And before Melanie, there was no tradition of
lighting a candle (a match, a lighter) by crowds at
a festival. It first happened during Melanie’s set on
the first day of the festival, at Woodstock, in 1969—
Melanie and the Record Man
BLACKFRiARS THeATRe
795 e. MAiN ST., ROCHeSTeR
• October 19–28, 2012
• Box Office: (585) 454-1260
• www.blackfriars.org
| Fall 2012 19

where she walked onto a very big stage for the first time. She later
wrote a song about it: “Candles in the Rain.”
The real miracle she tells me is that she walked out at all; she was
painfully shy and agoraphobic. Moreover, she got the gig in the first
place because another band refused to play in the rain. She performed
seven songs and was sandwiched between Ravi Shankar and Arlo
Guthrie. She was one of only three women performers. (Joan Baez
and Janis Joplin were the other two.)
Melanie Safka is originally from Astoria,
Queens, the oldest of two girls. Her mother
was a jazz singer who had performed at
clubs throughout New York; her father was a
businessman, who wanted traditional things
for his daughter, including having her come
out as a debutante in high society—something in which she was not
at all interested.
At the age of 16, Melanie ran away from home. She took what little
she had and bought a plane ticket to LA. She had no more of a plan
than that. She had no money and no one to receive her on the West
Coast. She knew her father would be looking for her, so she booked
the ticket using a pseudonym. She happened to sit next to actor Robert
Ridgely, then starring in a ’60s television show called The Gallant
Men. He had a guitar with him. One thing led to another and by mid
flight the two were singing and playing his guitar together. She had no
idea who he was. Before they landed, he asked her for her real name
and age. While she didn’t tell him the truth, he guessed most of it
20 Fall 2012 |
Melanie emerged as a major presence on the
music scene in the late ’60s and early ’70s,
earning Billboard’s #1 Top Female Vocalist of the
year in 1972 (left); Melanie with her late husband
Peter Schekeryk, who devoted himself to managing
her career over several decades (above).
and, luckily for her, insisted on finding her safe accommodations in
a facility for young women before night fell. She never saw him again.
Strangely, they almost reconnected when her song, Brand New Key,
was selected and played in its entirety for the movie, Boogie Nights, in
which Ridgely had a part. He passed away before the move came out
and Melanie doesn’t know if he ever connected her with the young
runaway he had helped many years earlier.
Melanie knows that she’s been both brave and lucky, so that she’s
been taken care of in some important ways and in some key moments
of her life.
And, of course, Melanie explains, the man who became almost instantaneously
both her manager and her husband, Peter Schekeryk,
was the great business mind behind her career, making every decision
and handling every detail, so that she was left with the freedom
to create.
He was an immigrant from Russia, the country Melanie’s family
came from, with a forceful personality and a fierce commitment to
her from the start, so that he quickly got rid of all of his other clients
in order to focus on her.
Over her career, Melanie has recorded 34 albums—two of which
have gone gold—and released 19 singles, including the gold single
Brand New Key, which sold over 3 million copies internationally. Her
songs have been recorded by a host of other artists as well, including
The New Seekers, Nina Simone, Macy Gray, Dolly Parton, Olivia Newton
John, Cher, and Ray Charles, and she won an Emmy for her musical
composition for the television series Beauty and the Beast. She was the
first woman and only the second recording artist (after the Beatles) to
Over her career, Melanie has recorded 34
albums—two of which have gone gold—and
released 19 singles, including the gold single
“Brand New Key,” which sold over 3 million
copies internationally.
Images couRtesy oF blackFRIaRs theatRe

Photos oF melanIe couRtesy © maddy mIlleR
Melanie’s son, Beau Jarred Schekeryk, a
uniquely gifted performer and composer, will
be joining her on stage during the Blackfriars
Theatre production of Melanie and the Record
Man (above); Melanie Safka continues to record
and perform both in the US and abroad (right).
start her own record label in 1971, and she was the first solo pop/rock
performer to play Carnegie Hall, unaccompanied by an orchestra.
With a long-time European and international fan base, in 2007,
Melanie performed a sold-out concert at London’s Royal Festival Hall
to critical acclaim in the British press, which placed her in the pantheon
of iconic female singers, along with Judy Collins, Marianne Faithfull,
Janis Joplin, and Joni Mitchell.
And, she’s just released a new CD entitled, Ever Since You Never
Heard of Me.
Peter had, in recent years, been exhorting her to write her story.
He was devoted to her—so much so that her name was the last he
spoke when he passed away suddenly and unexpectedly of a heart attack,
while out running a shopping errand.
His death was shocking and tragic. He had been a relatively young
man. And it left Melanie and her three adult children, all musicians,
now living in Nashville, with many things to learn and manage for
the first time.
So how does Melanie Safka come to be sitting in
my office in Rochester, New York, on August 7, 2012?
She’s come as the guest and collaborator of
Blackfriars Theatre Artistic and Managing Director
John Haldoupis, a long-time Melanie fan, who rather
brilliantly reached out to her, at the right moment to
invite her to participate in making his dream of bringing her story to
the stage, here in Rochester, a reality.
The timing was perfect. Melanie had been writing an autobiog-
raphy, just as Peter had wanted her to do. And, with his passing, the
story became, Haldoupis realized, the story of Melanie and Peter, a
couple whose lives were fully intertwined. Haldoupis and Melanie developed
a production, based on her writing, which she will personally
narrate and which will be premiered at Blackfriars in Rochester from
October 19 through October 28.
“Peter was exciting, dramatic, fearless,” says Melanie. And their
son, Beau Jarred Schekeryk, nods his head in bashful and forcefully
vehement agreement.
Beau is serving as musical arranger and director and will also be
performing (singing backup) as part of the Blackfriars Production this
fall. He has brought his guitar and a mini-amp, at his mother’s urging,
into my office and, before leaving, plays one of his original guitar
compositions for us, using an original style of picking he developed.
Except for a stint allowing him to play high school sports, Beau
was home schooled by Melanie and Peter. He had taken a few guitar
lessons but didn’t originally seem all that interested. Then one night,
before a performance, Melanie’s guitarist abandoned her. “Beau said
to me, ‘I could do it.’ I never even knew he could play,” says Melanie.
“He’s all self-taught.”
“Segovia is my idol,” Beau tells me.
“Really? I saw him perform live before he passed away,” I respond,
thinking to myself that he’s actually the only solo guitarist I’ve ever
seen perform. And then Beau plays, and he’s really good—he’s great.
And, as I look across the table at Melanie and Beau, I realize once
again how impossible it is to be anything other than what you’re intended
to be. a
She was the first woman and only the second
recording artist (after the Beatles) to start her
own record label in 1971, and she was the first
solo pop/rock performer to play Carnegie Hall,
unaccompanied by an orchestra.
| Fall 2012 21

iGallery
kathy clem
see. feel. experience. enjoy
"FANTASY" A magical exhibit by Kathy Clem made in her iPhone and iPad, and expressed through other mediums.
Grand opening October 26, 7-9 pm. Exhibit Continues November 2 to December 8. Monday through Friday 1-5
pm. Special Events First Friday November 2, 6-9 pm and First Friday December 7, 6-9 pm. Closing Party Second
Saturday December 8, 11-4 pm. Artist talk and iPad Painting Demonstration at 2 pm. All events are free and open
to the public. Anderson Arts Building, 250 North Goodman, Suite 312, Rochester, NY 14607 kathyclem@me.com
www.iGalleryKathyClem.com

DANSCORE
November 15 and 16 at The College at Brockport
November 17 at Hochstein Performance Hall
Upcoming events:
reasons to be pretty: October 5 – 7 and 18 – 20
Low Fidelity Exhibit: October 25 – December 9
Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra: October 26
DANCE/Hartwell: November 1 – 3
Mauritius: November 30 – December 2 and December 6 – 8
(585) 395-2787
www.brockport.edu/finearts
If your “local” bank
is leaving town,
maybe you should
leave them first.
Switch to a bank that’s been a part of your community
for 125 years—and counting. We make it easy.
Ask about our special Switch Offers today.
CNBank.com (585) 394-4260 Member FDIC = Equal Housing Lender
Fine
A Rochester original
showcasing Rochester
originals.
That’s Shop One2.
Shop One2 is a one-of-a-kind art and cra� gallery that celebrates the arts
in Rochester. Here, you’ll find original paintings, sculptures, jewelry, cards,
and clothing—all available for purchase and handmade by artists in the
Rochester and RIT communities. Each work of art has a professional feel
and a personal touch, and each visit to the shop is sure to bring a new and
exciting adventure.
Stop by and experience the most unique art and gi� gallery in Rochester!
Open to the public. Free parking available.
For maps and more information,
visit us online at www.rit.edu/shopone2,
on Facebook at www.facebook.com/shopone2,
or give us a call at 585-475-2335

For a complete listing of events, visit ArtsRochester.org OCTOBER
24 Fall 2012 |
Coming to The
State Theatre of Ithaca
Paul Taylor 2
Dance Company
11/18/12 @ 8PM
African
Children’s CHoir
11/30/12 @ 8PM
Treasured Stories
of Eric Carle
12/2/12 @ 3pm & 12PM
The Chieftains
2/26/13 @ 730PM
105 W State/MLK Jr. St, Ithaca (607) 277-8283
www.stateofithaca.com
Calendar
For a complete listing of events, please visit ArtsRochester.org
On GOinG
Rochester Institute of Technology
Frans Wildenhain, 1950–75:
Creative and Commercial American
Ceramics at Mid-Century
Drawn from RIT’s premier world collection, an exhibition of
150 works created by Bauhaus ceramist, Frans Wildenhain.
Runs through: Tuesday, October 2
Location: RIT’s Bevier Gallery and Dyer Arts Center, One
Lomb Memorial Dr., Rochester
Cost: Free
More info: www.rit.edu/wild
mOnDay, OCtOber 1
International Art Acquisitions
Master Graphics: Rembrandt to Dali
Graphic work by Rembrandt, Renior, Chagall, Miro,
Moore and Dali.
Time: All Day
Also: Thursday, November 1, All Day;
Saturday, December 1, All Day
Runs through: Monday, December 31
Location: International Art Acquisitions,
3300 Monroe Ave., Pittsford
Cost: Free
More info: (585) 264-1440; iaainc@ix.netcom.com;
www.internationalartacquisitions.com
sunDay, OCtOber 7
First Muse Chamber Music
Amenda Quartet
String Quartets of Beethoven (Op. 130) and Smetana
(From My Life) performed by the Amenda Quartet. David
Brickman and Patricia Sunwoo, violins; Melissa Matson,
viola; Mimi Hwang, cello.
Time: 7:30 PM
Location: First Unitarian Church,
220 Winton Rd. South, Rochester
Cost: $10 (adults); $5 (students)
More info: (585) 259-2710; www.FirstMuse.org;
info@FirstMuse.org
Pegasus Early Music
Apollo & Dafne
Music by Handel including his dramatic cantata which
tells the story of the Sun God Apollo and his love for the
nymph Dafne, and a colorful orchestral suite by Telemann.
Time: 4 PM (3:15 pre-concert talk)
Location: Downtown United Presbyterian Church,
121 N. Fitzhugh St., Rochester
Cost: $25 (adults); $20 (seniors); $10 (students);
children free
More info: (585) 703-3990; www.pegasusearlymusic.org;
info@pegasusearlymusic.org
FriDay, OCtOber 12
Monroe Community College
Jose Olivieri Rivera Radical Departure
Opening Reception: Fri., Oct. 12, 7-9 pm; Gallery Talk: Oct.
12, 12 noon; Exhbition: Oct. 12– Nov. 9.
Time: 7-9 PM
Also: Friday, October 12, 12 PM
Runs through: Friday, November 9
Location: Mercer Gallery, 1000 E. Henrietta Rd., Rochester
Cost: Free
More info: (585) 292-3121; www.monroecc.edu/go/mercer;
kfarrell@monroecc.edu
SUNY Geneseo
An Evening of Choral Excellence
Join us as two of our premier choirs, the Chamber Singers
and Spectrum, present an exciting mix of traditional
and contemporary choral works under the direction of
Dr. Gerard Floriano.
Time: 8 PM
Location: Central Presbyterian Church,
31 Center St., Geneseo
Cost: Free
More info: (585) 245-5824; www.geneseo.edu/music;
farrell@geneseo.edu
FriDay, OCtOber 19
Blackfriars Theatre
Melanie and the Record Man
Come on a journey with Melanie Safka—the first lady of
Woodstock - as she shares both the challenges and soaring
heights of a passionate life in pursuit of eloquence,
music and love.
Time: 8 PM
Runs through: Sunday, October 28
Location: Blackfriars Theatre, 795 E. Main St., Rochester
Cost: $45 (adults)
More info: (585) 454-1260; www.blackfriars.org
mOnDay, OCtOber 22
Penfield Symphony Orchestra
The Four B’s
Berlioz Hungarian March from the Damnation of Faust;
Brahms Hungarian Dances No. 5 & 6; Britten Young
Person’s Guide to the Orchestra; Beethoven Symphony
No 3 Opus 55 (Eroica).
Time: 7:30 PM
Location: Penfield High School, 25 High School Dr., Penfield
Cost: $14 (adults); $12 (seniors); free (students/children)
More info: (585) 872-0774; www.penfieldsymphony.org;
office@penfieldsymphony.org
tuesDay, OCtOber 23
The Little Theatre
Annual Celebration of the Little!
Join us in celebrating the Little with a Roaring Twentiesthemed
celebration! Tickets go on sale Sept. 5th.
Time: 6 PM
Location: The Little Theatre, 240 East Ave., Rochester
Cost: $100 (adults)
More info: (585) 258-0252; www.thelittle.org;
membership@thelittle.org
thursDay, OCtOber 25
Hochstein School of Music & Dance
Spotlight on Faculty Concert Series
Fantastic Brass with Plymouth Brass Quintet; Barbara
Hull & Roy Smith, trumpets; Colleen Wolf, horn; Steven

Zugelder, trombone; Jeremy Stoner, tuba; Music of
Sampson, Sacco, Maslanka, and Arnold.
Time: 7 PM
Location: Hochstein Performance Hall,
50 N. Plymouth Ave., Rochester
Cost: $5 to $10
More info: (585) 454-4596; www.hochstein.org;
FrontOffice@hochstein.org
FriDay, OCtOber 26
Perinton Concert Band
Fright Night
Spooky music at its dreadful best!
Time: 8 PM
Location: Minerva DeLand School auditorium,
140 Hulburt Rd., Fairport
Cost: $7 (adults); $5 (seniors); $3 (children)
More info: (585) 223-2207;
www.perintonconcertband.org; keithboas@gmail.com
Rochester Community Players
The Tempest, by William Shakespeare
Shakespeare’s last play, re-imagined in ’Steampunk’
style. Oct 26 to Nov. 10 at MuCCC.
Time: 8 PM
Runs through: Saturday, November 10
Location: MuCCC Theater, 142 Atlantic Ave., Rochester
Cost: $15 (adults); $10 (seniors); $5 (students/children)
More info: (585) 234-7840; rochestercommunityplayers.
org; rochestercommunityplayers@gmail.com
Writers & Books
4th Annual Masquerade Party:
Something Wicked This Way Comes
Come enjoy food, drinks, entertainment and prizes. Costumes
encouraged. Raffle bags, music, and Halloween
mayhem based on Ray Bradbury’s book, Something
Wicked This Way Comes.
Time: 8 PM
Location: Writers & Books, 740 University Ave., Rochester
Cost: $12 to $15
More info: (585) 473-2590; www.wab.org; chrisf@wab.org
sunDay, OCtOber 28
National Susan B. Anthony Museum & House
Friends of Susan B. Anthony
House Annual Fall Tea
Come celebrate women’s right to vote & Election Day
with a delicious fall tea. Tickets: $45 ea., $360 table (8),
patron $65, sponsor $100. Featuring U of R YellowJackets,
NBC The Sing-Off favorites!
Time: 3-5 PM
Location: Locust Hill Country Club,
2000 Jefferson Rd., Pittsford
Cost: $45 to $100
More info: (585) 381-2121; www.susanbanthonyhouse.org;
suebarres@yahoo.com
thursDay, nOvember 1
JGK Galleries
Murray Krueger
West Coast artist. Digital art.
Time: 7-9 PM
Also: Friday, November 2, 6-9 PM
Runs through: Saturday, December 15
Location: JGK Galleries, 10 Vick Park A, Rochester
Cost: Free
More info: (585) 734-6581; www.jgkgalleries.com;
Maria.jgkgalleries@gmail.com
Visual Studies Workshop
Hank Willis Thomas
A solo exhibition of artist Hank Willis Thomas dealing
with issues of race in contemporary culture co-curated by
Carla Williams and Oscar Palacio.
Location: VSW’s Bookstore and Gallery,
31 Prince St., Rochester
Cost: Free
More info: (585) 442-8676; www.vsw.org; info@vsw.org
saturDay, nOvember 3
Memorial Art Gallery of the University of Rochester
12th Annual Fine Craft Show
Ceramics, glass, jewelry, metal, leather, wood, wearable
art. The Fine Craft Show showcases one-of-a-kind,
limited-edition works by 39 craftpersons from 11 states.
Sponsored by the Gallery Council.
Time: 10 AM-5 PM
Also: Sunday, November 4, 11 AM-4 PM
Runs through: Sunday, November 4
Location: Memorial Art Gallery,
500 University Ave., Rochester
More info: (585) 276-8900; mag.rochester.edu/events/
fine-craft-show/; maginfo@mag.rochester.edu
University of Rochester Department of Music
River Campus Jazz Ensemble Concert
Featuring the best of both traditional and contemporary
big band jazz! Bill Tiberio, director.
Time: 8-10 PM
Location: Strong Auditorium, UR River Campus, Rochester
Cost: Free
More info: (585) 275-2828;
www.rochester.edu/College/MUR
mOnDay, nOvember 5
ensemble.twenty.21
2012–13 Concert Series
ensemble.twenty.21: experience.art.music—join upstate
New York’s premiere contemporary music ensemble for
its new concert series.
Time: 7:30 PM
Location: Hilda D. Taylor Recital Hall, Hochstein School of
Music & Dance, 50 N. Plymouth Ave., Rochester
Cost: $25 (adults); $15 (students)
More info: (585) 957-0284; ensembletwenty21.com;
artisticdirector@ensembletwenty.21
WeDnesDay, nOvember 7
Arts & Cultural Council for Greater Rochester
29th Annual Arts Awards
Celebrate the outstanding accomplishments of the 2012
award recipients: Chet Catallo, Artist Award; University
of Rochester, Organization Award; Nixon Peabody
LLP, Champion of the Arts; Wendell Castle, Lifetime
Achievement.
Time: 11:15 AM Reception; Noon-1:30 PM Luncheon and
Award Ceremony
Location: Hyatt Regency Rochester—Grand Ballroom,
125 E. Main St., Rochester
Cost: $60; $50 Members; Reservations Required
More info: (585) 473-4000, ext. 205; ArtsRochester.org
FriDay, nOvember 9
Nazareth College, Department of Music
Nazareth College Symphony Orchestra
A program inspired by Shakespeare and the blues, featuring
a rare but witty solo turn for the tuba, Mourant’s
Blue Haze for clarinet and strings as well as Mussorgsky’s
Pictures at an Exhibition.
Time: 7:30 PM
Location: Linehan Chapel, Nazareth College,
4245 East Ave., Rochester
Cost: Free
More info: (585) 389-2700; go.naz.edu/music-events;
music@naz.edu
Bob Conge / recent works
September 22 thru October 20
Opening reception Saturday September 22 / 1 to 5 PM
“War Masquerades As Innocence” hand cast resin
Phillips Fine Art and Frame
248 East Avenue Rochester N Y
Next to The Little Theatre
585-232-8120
HOURS: Tues –Fri 12-6 & Sat 12 -5 or by Appointment
| Fall 2012 25
OCTOBER
For a complete listing of events, visit ArtsRochester.org

For a complete listing of events, visit ArtsRochester.org NOVEMBER
Dark Horse
Coffee
274 N. Goodman St
Rochester, NY 14607
Next to California Rollin’ Sushi Bar
M-Th: 7am-6pm | F: 7am-8pm
Sat: 8am-5pm | Sun: Closed
(585) 730-8035
DarkHorseCoffee.net
Master of Arts in Liberal Studies
REINVENT, TRANSFORM, and INTEGRATE your life
A flexible graduate degree for adult learners
X Become a creative problem solver and critical thinker
X Advance your research and writing abilities
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26 Fall 2012 |
contemporary new music ensemble
Join us for our
new concert series!
7:30 p.m.
Hilda D. Taylor Recital Hall
Hochstein School of Music and Dance
50 N. Plymouth Ave., Rochester
monday.september.24
monday.november.5
mond monday.february.11
monday.april.29
For tickets and info:
585.957.0284
artisticdirector@ensembletwenty21.com
ensembletwenty21.com
WeDnesDay, nOvember 14
Skalny Center for Polish and Central European Studies
Polish Film Festival
The Festival will present new award-winning feature
films and selected documentaries and will bring to town
some of Poland’s most acclaimed actors and directors.
Time: 7 PM
Runs through: Monday, November 19
Location: The Little Theatre, 240 East Ave., Rochester
Cost: $8 (adults); $5 (seniors); $5 (students)
More info: (585) 275-9898;
www.rochester.edu/college/psc/CPCES/;
bozenna.sobolewska@rochester.edu
FriDay, nOvember 16
Cordancia
Vintage to Modern
Chamber music concert by Cordancia featuring Bruce
Frank, organ soloist and conductor David Harman, part
of the Concert Series sponsored by First Presbyterian
Church of Pittsford.
Time: 7:30 PM
Location: First Presbyterian Church of Pittsford,
25 Church St., Pittsford
Cost: Free
More info: (585) 586-5688; www.cordancia.org;
www.pittsfordpres.org; Cordancia@gmail.com
saturDay, nOvember 17
The College at Brockport
DANSCORE
Faculty choreography will be performed on Nov. 15 and
16 in the College’s Strasser Studio, while the Nov. 17
performance takes place at the Hochstein Performance
Hall in downtown Rochester.
Time: 7:30 PM
Also: Thursday, November 15, 7:30 PM;
Friday, November 16, 7:30 PM
Location: Hochstein Performance Hall,
50 N. Plymouth Ave., Rochester
Cost: $15 (adults); $10 (seniors); $8 (students)
More info: (585) 395-2787; www.brockport.edu/finearts;
ssoloway@brockport.edu
sunDay, nOvember 18
Elizabeth Clark Dance Ensemble
Multi-Generational Dance Afternoon
Dances will be shared from many interesting perspectives
and age groups.
Time: 3-4 PM
Location: St. Thomas Episcopal Church Great Hall,
2000 Highland Ave., Rochester
Cost: $5 to $10
More info: (585) 442-5988; elizabethclarkdance.com;
elizabeth.clark@esc.edu
To learn more about the Master of Arts
in Liberal Studies (MALS) program, visit
go.naz.edu/MALS
FriDay, nOvember 23
Rochester City Ballet
The Nutcracker, with the Rochester
Philharmonic Orchestra
Begin the holidays with this special tradition. To
celebrate Rochester City Ballet’s 25th anniversary season,
look for a special twist in the Sunday night performance!
Time: 2 PM and 7 PM daily
Runs through: Sunday, November 25
Location: Kodak Hall at Eastman Theatre,
60 Gibbs St., Rochester
Cost: $10 to $75
More info: RPO Box Office (585) 454-2100; www.rpo.org
sunDay, DeCember 2
Rochester Chamber Orchestra
Handel’s Messiah, David Fetler, Conductor
World-class soloists: Soprano, Tracy Chang; Alto, Jennifer
Ens Modolo; Tenor, Douglas Ahlstedt; Bass, Daniel Mobbs;
Festival Singers and Bach Children’s Chorus.
Time: 3 PM
Location: Hochstein Performance Hall,
50 N. Plymouth St., Rochester
Cost: $25 (adults); $15 (seniors); $10 (students)
More info: (585) 442-9778;
www.rochesterchamberorchestra.org;
jdoescher@frontiernet.net
FriDay, DeCember 7
Anderson Alley Artists
Holiday Gala
Meet the artists, tour studios and consider purchasing
original artwork.
Time: 5-10 PM
Also: 12/08/2012, 11 AM-5 PM
Location: Anderson Arts Building,
250 N. Goodman St., Rochester
Cost: Free
More info: www.andersonalleyartists.com
saturDay, DeCember 15
Nazareth College Arts Center
Anonymous 4
Anonymous 4 has performed at series & festivals including
Tanglewood, Edinburgh and the Brisbane Biennial.
Their 18 recordings of medieval, contemporary and
American music have sold 2 million copies.
Time: 8 PM
Location: Callahan Theater, 4245 East Ave., Rochester
Cost: $30 to $60
More info: (585) 389-2170; artscenter.naz.edu

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Arts & Cultural Council for Greater Rochester
277 North Goodman Street
Rochester, NY 14607-1179
ArtsRochester.org
She chased away every dragon
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