RECENT HAPPENINGS Summer Wrap-Up
While planning was challenging due to frequently changing COVID precautions, the 32nd Music Festival came to life on May 13. Jed Gaylin of the Bay Atlantic Symphony and Eliot Bailen of the New York Chamber Ensemble again became co-artistic directors and plotted out a collaborative season that contained all sorts of contingency plans and some wonderful musical experiences. We launched the series with a virtual concert followed by a live Zoom Q & A with the artists. Through the magic of digital performance, we enjoyed not one but five images of Eliot Bailen on cello in Vivaldi’s Double Concerto. The program is still available on our website so please check it out. On May 30, we finally had the joy of live music when the Atlantic Brass Band took to the stage under the baton of Salvatore Scarpa for our popular Memorial Day Weekend concert. We had to turn to “Plan B” when the threat of rain moved us from Rotary Bandstand to Cape May Convention Hall. We’re glad we could count on a familiar friend in Convention Hall. Ayeshah Dickerson, who had recently left Cape May MAC to become the Deputy Event Sales & Public Relations at Convention Hall, was our contact. On June 3, we again had to pivot due to a forecast of rain and moved the concert to the Episcopal Church of the Advent. This joint Bay Atlantic Symphony/New York Chamber Ensemble concert treated us to Valerie Coleman’s Danza de la mariposa for flute solo featuring Susan Rotholz. Our audience and musicians were very happy to
Photo by Susan Krysiak
Sturdy Savings Bank has provided a loan for Cape May MAC to purchase an additional trolley Shown here, from left, Michael J. Clark, Vice President, Business Development Officer, Sturdy Savings Bank; Elizabeth Hulitt, Vice President, Lending Officer, Sturdy Savings Bank; Cape May MAC COO Melissa Payne; Cape May MAC Board President Tom Carroll; Cape May MAC CFO Charles Kealy; Cape May MAC Board Member Janet Coupland; and Cape May MAC Director/ CEO Jody Alessandrine.
be back at the church for the first time in two years. The Friends of the Cape May Music Festival presented A Musical Intermezzo on June 16 at Vintage BYOB. Friends Coordinator Sharon Falkowski, Jed Gaylin, Eliot Bailen and Susan Rotholz treated a very select audience to an intimate musical treat. On June 17, the weather gods were with us, and we enjoyed our first-ever concert at the Physick Estate. Eliot Bailen chose Fauré’s Elegy for Cello and Strings in memoriam for those lost to COVID to open the concert.
NEWSLETTER Published by Cape May MAC, a not-for-profit corporation P.O. Box 340, Cape May, NJ 08204 • Phone: 609-884-5404 New Jersey Relay Center for TTY Customers: 800-852-7899 Web Site: www.capemaymac.org • E-Mail: info@capemaymac.org Editor: Jody Alessandrine • Assistant Editor: Jean Barraclough Contributors: Sandra Adams, Susan Krysiak, Anna Marie Leeper, Kelly Redington and Mary E. Stewart
OUR MISSION Cape May MAC (Museums+Arts+Culture) is a multifaceted not-for-profit organization committed to promoting the preservation, interpretation, and cultural enrichment of the Cape May region for its residents and visitors. ---- v ---OUR VISION Preserving Cape May’s rich heritage and assuring its vitality through superior cultural programs and events Page 2 • Summer 2021
Cape May MAC’s public history programs are funded in part by the New Jersey Historical Commission in the Department of State.
We also enjoyed Danzas de Panama, a piece by William Grant Still, the Dean of African American Composers. We wrapped up the series on June 27 with a long-time Cape May favorite Paula Johns. Paula’s program called “The Real Me,” featured the songs and artists who have inspired her throughout her life. It was a wonderful way to end our season. We are grateful for the continued support of the New Jersey State Council on the Arts and for the many businesses and individuals who contributed to the success of the festival. Our annual Armed Forces Day Ceremony, this year coupled with Peace Officers Memorial Day, was virtual again this year. This event was sponsored by the Friends of the World War II Lookout Tower and featured a pre-recorded address by County Commissioner Jeffrey Pierson. Due to COVID pandemic, our Friends groups have not been very active. Director of Visitors Services and Special Events Janice Corkery worked hard to plan a season of varied and interesting events. Murder Mystery Dinners, performed at Aleathea’s and written by Jackie Fazio, proved to be popular with our audience, selling out each time we offered them. Jackie was also responsible for this year’s
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