Summer is a terrific time for outdoor concerts, and the Waterbury Symphony Orchestra (WSO)will hold its 37th Annual Picnic & Pops Concertin Hollow Park in Woodbury Sunday, July 12 at 5:30 p.m., according to a news release
The pops concert, “What The World Needs Now,” invites families and friends to pack a picnic, a blanket and listen to a program celebrating the songs and sounds that have shaped America’s musical heritage, according to the release
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Connecticut-born soprano Katie Nicole Weiser will return as a WSO audience favorite, performing alongside the orchestra’s wind and brass ensemble. Concertmaster Alyce Cognetta Bertz, on violin, and Gary Bertz, guitar, will make special featured appearances
“We are thrilled to be back in Hollow Park celebrating America’s love affair with songs,” music director and conductor Leif Bjaland said via a release. “With folk melodies like ‘Shenandoah,’ Broadway ballads such as ‘What I Did for Love,’ and rousing tributes to our Armed Forces, we will be performing music that is timeless, uplifting and patriotic — music that has been woven into the fabric of our nation for the past 250 years. It is an evening designed to bring people together through the joy of live music.”
More For YouCT Culture Corner: A picnic concert and Yale exhibit looking at American history
A summer pops concert in Woodbury and a new exhibit at the Yale Center for British Art center looks at loyalists and patriots during the American Revolution.
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Guests are encouraged to bring lawn chairs or blankets for general admission lawn seating. In the case of inclement weather, the concert will be held at Nonnewaug High School
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Revolutionary art at Yale Center for British Art
Was the American Revolution really as simple as a bunch of fed-up patriots rising up against a tyrannical king?
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Maybe not, suggests the Yale Center for British Art, which is hosting “Loyalists and Sons of Liberty: America 250.”
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The facts are clear: in 1776, the Declaration of Independence announced the 13 American colonies’ intention to break from the British Empire. The reality of the conflict on the ground, especially in a colony where many considered themselves “British,” according to the Museum of the American Revolution, could be murky. The tension divided communities and tested friendships, according to a news release
The exhibit, which runs through the end of 2026, features paintings, prints, drawings and sculptures by both British and American-born artists—including works by Benjamin West, John Singleton Copley and Gilbert Stuart. West, for example, was not only in the Royal Academy, but he was also one of its founding members in 1768 and served as its second president, according to the Royal Academy. So was Copley. Although Stuart exhibited at the Royal Academy, he was never a member.
“Loyalists and Sons of Liberty” will examine America’s battle for independence via the artists who documented the years leading up to and throughout the Revolutionary War, according to the release. “Offering an alternative view of this complex moment in global history, their work portrays the many supporters of the American cause within Britain at the time of the Declaration’s signing,” according to the release. “Other works were created to inspire loyalty and express a vision of the colonies’ future as part of the British Empire, in turn shaping the public image of the monarchy and the government.”
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The exhibit, on the museum’s fourth-floor galleries, will include a a complementary display in the center’s study room
Among the historical figures featured in the display are British monarchs such as King George IIIand Queen Charlotteand military leaders like General Charles Cornwallis, in addition to lesser-known figures, including abolitionists, enslavers and supporters and opponents of the American revolutionaries, according to the release
Queen Charlotte, born in Mecklenberg-Strelitz, was a devoted wife to George III and had 15 children, according to Historic Royal Palaces. She also had quite a menagerie, which included a beast from South Africa that created a sensation in London. The creature has a particular significance to the Yale Center for British Art where an image of it is on display. What was the beast and who was the painter?
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Hartford Stage’s 20th anniversary of Breakdancing Shakespeare
This summer marks 20 years of Hartford Stage’s “Breakdancing Shakespeare” program, which “combines classical text with contemporary dance and original music to make Shakespeareaccessible and exciting for young participants and audiences alike,” according to a news release.
The program involves more than 300 students from across Greater Hartford from ages 3-18 with opportunities to “develop artistic skills, build friendships, and gain confidence both on and off the stage,” according to the release.
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This summer, participants join from all across the Greater Hartford Region; Amston, Ashford, Avon, Berlin, Bloomfield, Canton, Cheshire, Colebrook, Collinsville, Coventry, Cromwell, Danielson, East Hampton, East Hartford, Ellington, Enfield, Farmington, Glastonbury, Hartford, Manchester, Marlborough, Middletown, New Britain, Newington, Plainville, Portland, Rocky Hill, Simsbury, Somers, South Glastonbury, South Windsor, Southington, Storrs, Suffield, Tolland, Unionville, Vernon, West Granby, West Hartford, West Simsbury, Wethersfield and Windsor, according to the release.
Public performanceswill be held July 24-26.
Trivia answer
George Stubbs painted “Zebra,” was an animal brought from South Africa to the queen’s menagerie, in 1762 Stubbs exhibited the work in 1763, according to the Huntington
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