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Rider calls off choir college sale
Stirring the Celtic soul Lawrence musician helps Na’Bodach mix old and new By susan Van DonGen The members of Celtic rock band Na’Bodach chose their name when the group was formed more than 20 years ago, and they were a bit younger and perhaps more cheerful. Roughly translated from broad Scottish, the moniker means “not a bunch grumpy old men.” Two decades later, however, there’s some question to that name. “The irony rises with every passing year,” says guitarist and vocalist Glenn Owens. The band will perform at the Hopewell Park Gazebo Aug. 16 at 7 p.m. Na’Bodach draws not only from the acoustic Celtic tradition but, since it is an electric ensemble, blends these songs with contemporary rhythms, harmonies, and styles that range from progressive rock to jazz to avant-garde to straightforward rock. The band—which also insists on being interviewed as an ensemble—was never interested in reproducing the music in the manner of a traditional setting. They say they’re not mummifying this music in the past, relegating it to a sonic museum piece. “That’s one of the things I love about this band—it’s our vision of what we’re going to do,” says fiddler, mandolinist, and vocalist Wolf Hul, a Trenton native now living in Lawrenceville. See CELTIC, Page 6
By Diccon hyatt
Trineice Robinson-Martin is the director of Princeton University’s Jazz Vocal Collective and has combined her passion for jazz with her love of gospel.
‘Dr. Trineice’ a jazz scene stalwart By susan Van DonGen You can easily catch the spirit of a gospel performance, but jazz can be just as blissful, especially if the performer is in the “zone,” channeling something indefinable through their instrument. Trineice Robinson-Martin, teacher, performer, author, scholar, and jazz voice instructor/lecturer at Princeton University, has such a quality to her voice, something that turns on a certain light of the soul. Director of Princeton’s Jazz Vocal Collective ensemble, Princeton University’s elite jazz student ensemble that features solo voice, Robinson-Martin has been singing and doing
ministry in the church all her life. However, she hesitates to classify herself as strictly gospel. “I’m at the point now in my life when I can say ‘I’m a jazz/ gospel singer,’” she says, adding that she can minister to the hearts and minds of folks in many different ways, even through jazz. “I always want to be a light for people and show them how to find the light in themselves,” Robinson-Martin says. Also known as “Dr. Trineice,” Robinson-Martin led the Jazz Vocal Collective in the group’s spring concert celebrating the music and life of Nat King Cole in honor of the singer’s centennial in April.
Dedications are a common Jazz Vocal Collective theme, said Robinson-Martin. Last year, the group celebrated Ella Fitzgerald, and next year, it will honor Charlie Parker. “I like legacy, am very particular about it, always thinking about the promotion and preservation of jazz,” says Robinson-Martin, who is also the executive director of the African American Jazz Caucus—the charitable organization with the mission to protect, preserve, and perpetuate the rich cultural heritage of jazz. Its mailing address is in Trenton. Robinson-Martin’s students are enjoying this music, but also learning about the cultural conSee JAZZ, Page 8
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Rider University has announced that it and a Chinese company have abandoned a plan to sell Westminster Choir College and its Princeton campus to the for-profit company. Kaiwen Education Technology also announced that its board voted unanimously on June 28 to cancel the deal, which would have been an unprecedented transfer of a nonprofit higher education institution to a foreign for-profit company. The failure of the deal means that Rider is returning to an option it explored in 2016 — only to be met with resistance from students and faculty: moving Westminster Choir College to Rider’s main campus in Lawrence. Around the same time, Rider, trying to rein in costs amid budget shortfalls, also floated the controversial prospect of selling the Westminster campus. “As an alternative, Rider’s Board approved a plan that would integrate Westminster Choir College into the university’s existing Lawrenceville campus beginning in September, 2020. Rider will continue to operate Westminster Choir College, the Westminster Conservatory, and the Westminster Continuing Education programs in Princeton during the upcoming 2019-’20 academic year,” Rider stated in a press release. See RIDER, Page 12
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