Art for Life Sponsors... An All-Classical Afternoon with Pianist Joe Pepper on Sunday, August 7 in Orange

Art for Life Sponsors... An All-Classical Afternoon with Pianist Joe Pepper on Sunday, August 7 in Orange

Join classical pianist Joe Pepper in an afternoon performance of Bach, Beethoven, Chopin, Mozart and contemporary composer Bathory-Kitsz on Sunday, August 7 starting at 4:00 pm at the First Universalist Church, 31 North Main Street in Orange, MA.  The performance is free of charge and sponsored by the Performing Arts Collaborative, a division of the North Quabbin-based Art for Life. 

Recently described by the Montpelier, Vermont publication, The Times Argus, as having “an unusually warm sound” and “a direct musical approach,” Pepper’s performances have attracted audiences from various musical backgrounds.  The August 7 concert will feature Bach’s 1^st Partita in B Flat Major, Beethoven’s Sonata in D Major, Opus 10, No. 3, Chopin’s 3^rd Sonata in B Minor, Mozart’s Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star Variations and contemporary composer Bathory-Kitsz’s Starry Night.

Joseph Pepper grew up in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, earning performance degrees from Ithaca College and the UMKC Conservatory, where he also performed with the Kansas City Ballet.  Pepper moved to Vermont in 2006 and opened a private piano studio.  He has taught Theory and Piano in the music departments at the University of Vermont, Champlain College, SUNY Plattsburgh and Johnson State College. 

Pepper frequently concertizes throughout New England and Upstate New York in solo and collaborative performances.  In addition to his classical music career, Pepper is an audio professional and contributes his abilities as an audio engineer, producer and announcer to Vermont Public Radio.  He has most recently founded the Church Street Concert Series featuring both local and international artists at the First Unitarian Universalist Meeting House in Burlington, Vermont.

The mission of the Art for Life Performing Arts Collaborative is the cultivation and promotion of the performing arts…music, theatre, dance, spoken word and more.  We welcome performers from the region, the state, the country and the world! 

Following the August 7 performance, the public is invited to a reception to meet the performer. Light refreshments will be served.

Theater Games and Dance Moves train “YouthReach Summer Theater Ensemble” for Premier of Original Comedy

Ingrid Schatz and Julian Fox

Theater Games and Dance Moves train “YouthReach! Summer Theater Ensemble” for Premier of Original Comedy

Ingrid Schatz, one of the founding members of the Inside Out Dance Company in Orange, is hard at work training young actors in theater and dance movement as part of the Athol Area YMCA’s YouthReach! Summer Theater Ensemble during the eleventh season of their Annual Summer Theater Program.

According to Manuel King, the program director and producer for the YouthReach! Summer Theater Ensemble, “Members of the cast have been working hard to develop an original drama which was recently titled, ‘Now and Then and Now Again.’ The play centers on a guided tour of the castle of King Humphrey with stories narrated of events that happened in the castle during Humphrey’s reign in the middle ages.”   

Manuel King

“The goal of the YouthReach! Summer Theater Ensemble is to provide teens the chance to explore their imaginations and creativity while learning about the craft of stage writing and acting. During four weeks of intensive work, they develop their own original play and then perform it publicly,” King explained.

Theater Ensemble

Actors for the Athol Area YMCA’s Annual Summer Theater Program include Anastasia Anderholm, Aldan Clyatt, Naomi Cope, Jessica Funa, Tim Funa, Dominic Funa, John Hume, Quinton Illhardt, Andrew Illhardt, Paige Parsons, Ashley Reed and Nicole Savoy.  This year, Julian Fox and Cory Flood are serving as co- performance directors.

Cory Flood blows the horn

“Now and Then and Now Again” will be performed on Saturday, July 23 at 7:00 pm in the Ruth B. Smith Auditorium, Orange Town Hall at 6 Prospect Street, Orange, MA.  For further information, call Manuel King at Telephone # (978) 249-3305. 

Ingrid teaches the actors about horizontal and vertical lines and meaning

Story and Photo Credit:  Genevieve Fraser

North Quabbin Performing Arts--a division of Art for Life -- Prepares for Storefront Summer Music Series

Ingrid Schartz (left) and Ginny Porcari

Preparing for the Storefront Summer Music Series....

The standing committee of the North Quabbin Performing Arts--a division of Art for Life -- has been meeting regularly at the Millers River Café to work on a “Storefront Summer Music Series,” a proposed “Battle of the Bands,” a “Town Hall Performance Series” and a North Quabbin Performing Arts Collaborative Resource List.

Candi Fetzer

The mission statement adopted by the committee is as follows:

       North Quabbin Performing Arts Collaborative, a division of Art for Life.  Our mission is the cultivation and promotion of the performing arts…music, theatre, dance, spoken word and more.  We welcome performers from the region, the state, the country and the world!

Polly Bixby

Bad news---Our space is being rented!  Bad new for us, good new for the town!  We think that we still have the month of July, so the summer music series can still happen; if not there, then some other venue.  More information is coming soon.

Diane Nassif

For information on the wide range of Art for Life offerings, including the gallery and gift shop, visit: http://www.artforlifeproject.org/newsite/

Genevieve Fraser

Photo Credit:  Genevieve Fraser

Puppets, Dancers, Artists, Poetry, Arts and Crafts and Song Celebrate North Quabbin "Arts in Bloom"

Puppets, Dancers, Artists, Poetry, Arts and Crafts and Song Celebrate North Quabbin "Arts in Bloom"
Sponsored by Art for Life

Puppets designed by Manny King provided the backdrop for the day.

Photo: Heidi Strickland

On Saturday, May 7th, 2011 downtown Orange, Massachusetts sprang to life with a celebration of talents blossoming throughout the North Quabbin region with the Arts in Bloom Springtime Festival sponsored by the Performing Arts Division of Art for Life, 7 East Main Street in Orange, MA.

Along with the artists and artisans, gardeners and food tents, the program featured a community Maypole,  singer songwriter Richard Chase, the Millers River Morris Dancers, the Inside Out Dance Company and poetry reading by author Genevieve Fraser.  Organizer Candi Fetzer served as the MC for the day's entertainment.

Performers Bio’s 

Richard and daughter
Photo: William Johnson

RICHARD CHASE—Performing both locally & nationally for more than 20 
years, Richard is an avid writer & multi instrumentalist and has played in many 
musical situations covering a wide range of styles including rock, folk, classical, 
and blues. 


Richard regularly performs at many local venues and sightings of him are wide and varied. Performing his own music as a solo acoustic act, or with the support of his band is the heart and soul of the Richard Chase experience though many have seen him as a principle tenor in the Quabbin Valley Pro Musica group, actor in local theatre productions, or piano player in the contra dance bands Joy After Sorrow, & Noah's Raven. 

Ingrid Schatz

INSIDEOUT DANCE COMPANY -was founded by Brenda Schatz and Ingrid Schatz in 2008 to offer students of The Dance Studio the opportunity to expand their dance education and deepen their facility as dance artists. Ranging in age from 8 -18, InsideOut's 16 members are dance ambassadors, performing concert length choreography of ballet, modern, jazz, tap, and hip hop to diverse audiences throughout the North Quabbin Region. www.thedancestudio.org 

Candi Fetzer (left) announces poetry reading
by Genevieve Fraser (right)

GENEVIEVE FRASER - Genevieve Fraser is a poet, playwright, director and novelist who holds two degrees in Theater/Writing. Fraser is the artistic director of the Drama Circle sponsored by Art for Life in Orange. Her World War II nonfiction novel, "In the Claw of the Tiger" is based on the true story of survivors of the Bataan Death March and POW camps in the Philippines and Japan. 


MILLERS RIVER MORRIS MEN - Begun circa 1980 (AD), the Millers River Morris Men practice the nearly ancient tradition of Morris Dancing. We celebrate, assist and cooperate with the forces of nature that are brought forth in 
springtime - of course always in good humor. Members include: Will Szal, Isaac 

Richardson, Martin Brown, Tim White, Rick Walton, Richard Shaw, Bill Sullivan, Carl Kamp, Dave Richardson, John Richardson, Stefan Maier, Lester Scafidi, Nate Davis, and Rise Richardson. 

Organizers take a bow

A HUGE THANKS TO THE SUPPORTING ORGANIZATIONS: 


Art for Life [ a project of CF Pals & Millers River Café ] and 
North Quabbin Woods [ a project of the NQ Comm Coalition] 

A good time was had by all!

CF Pals - enhancing the quality of life for people diagnosed with Cystic Fibrosis or with life threatening pulmonary ailments. 

Arts in Bloom Celebrates Birth of "Art for Life" in the North Quabbin

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