The Home Page Network

1. “Rebecca, White House Raccoon” is Now Available at From My Shelf Books
2. EMMF Releases Liberty and Justice for All Free Music Video This Week on Wednesday, Feb. 17
3. Hamilton-Gibson Staged Reading of “Blessings from the Pandemic” is This Saturday and Sunday, Feb. 20 & 21 on Zoom
4. Register for the Free Friday, Feb. 26 How to Choose and Use a Telescope Virtual Program
5. Free Help Sessions for Elementary, Middle School/Junior High, High School and College Students Who want to Participate in the Junior Composers Program will be Every Wednesday in March (March 3, 10, 17, 24 & 31)
6. Register Now for the Saturday, March 20 Refuse To Be A Victim® Seminar

Diane Eaton
dianetn@ptd.net
(570) 724-3800

“REBECCA, WHITE HOUSE RACCOON” IS NOW AVAILABLE AT FROM MY SHELF BOOKS

Photo by John Eaton
Author Kevin Coolidge is all smiles as he holds a copy of his newest nonfiction picture book for children 5 to 8 years old titled “Rebecca, White House Raccoon” and a raccoon puppet, both available at his bookstore, From My Shelf Books & Gifts in Wellsboro. The book is about the famous raccoon that became the pet of U.S. President Calvin Coolidge and his wife Grace when they lived at the White House. “Everything in it is true, even about Rebecca going on vacation with the President and First Lady in South Dakota,” he said. Copies of his just published book arrived last week and can be found wherever books are sold, including kevincoolidge.org. For more information, call (570) 724-5793.

EMMF RELEASES LIBERTY AND JUSTICE FOR ALL FREE MUSIC VIDEO THIS WEEK ON WEDNESDAY, FEB. 17

This week, on Wednesday, Feb. 17, the Endless Mountain Music Festival will release the sixth in its free music video series featuring some of the festival’s favorite guest artists.

The “With Liberty and Justice for All” concert is sung by five Mansfield University choral ensembles under the direction of Choral Director Peggy Dettwiler. Readers explain the significance of the selections and provide quotes from well-known figures such as Martin Luther King, Jr., John Robert Lewis and Ruth Bader Ginsburg. The concert selections were recorded in October 2020 during rehearsals with the ensembles following all COVID-19 protocols.

Once released, this concert and five others in the EMMF series can be viewed for free anytime at www.endlessmountain.net.

Dr. Dettwiler first directed a preconcert featuring Mansfield University singers during the Endless Mountain Music Festival in the summer of 2016. She went on to conduct the Mansfield University Concert Choir, Festival Chorus, Choral Academy students and the Festival Symphony Orchestra for EMMF concerts at Mansfield University during the summer festivals of 2017, 2018 and 2019.

This summer on Friday, July 23 during the 2021 festival, Dr. Dettwiler will direct the orchestra and choral groups in a tribute to the music of Oscar Hammerstein, the legendary American theater lyricist. Originally, it was to be performed during the 2020 festival, which was postponed until this year due to the coronavirus.

The theme of the concert being released on the EMMF website on Feb. 17 is based on the last words of the 31-word Pledge of Allegiance, “With Liberty and Justice for All.” The pledge is an expression of allegiance to the flag of the United States and the republic of the United States of America. “Music is a way to open the doors for dialogue and resolution to conflict in our nation,” Dettwiler said.

The Festival Chorus will open the concert with the Pledge of Allegiance. Alfred Reed wrote the music. They will then sing “Hard Times Come Again No More” by Stephen Foster and arranged by Mark Keller and “Lo V’chayil” by Elliot Z. Levine. This chorus is an ensemble composed of MU students – both music majors and non-music majors – as well as faculty and staff and singers from Mansfield and surrounding communities.

The Grace Notes ensemble then sings “Wild Embers” by Melissa Dunphy and “Never Sit Down”, a traditional tune arranged by Gwyneth Walker. Following will be the Steadman Singers performing “Prayer of the Children” by Kurt Bestor and arranged by Andrea S. Klouse and “Bridge Over Troubled Water” by Paul Simon and arranged by Kirby Shaw. Concert Choir and Festival Chorus members participate in these two ensembles.

The Chamber Singers will present “Seven Last Words of the Unarmed: III. Amadou Diallo” by Joel Thompson and “Adinu” by Sufi Melody and arranged by Shireen Abu-Khader and André de Quadros.

The Concert Choir will close the concert by singing five songs. They are: “Os Justi Meditabitur Sapientiam” by Anton Bruckner; “Would you Harbor Me” by Ysaye M. Barnwell; “Joshua”, a spiritual arranged by Norman Luboff; “How Can I Keep from Singing”, an American folk song arranged by Ronald Staheli and “When You Wish Upon a Star” by Ned Washington and Leigh Harline and arranged by Nancy Wertsch.

For tickets to this summer’s concerts, call the Endless Mountain Music Festival Box Office at (570) 787-7800 or visit www.endlessmountain.net. All 2020 pre-purchased season passes will be honored this year.

HAMILTON-GIBSON STAGED READING OF “BLESSINGS FROM THE PANDEMIC” IS THIS SATURDAY AND SUNDAY, FEB. 20 & 21 ON ZOOM

Hamilton-Gibson’s production of author Rich Orloff’s “Blessings from the Pandemic” opens this weekend with all eight cast members reading lines from the first poem, “A Prayer for Now.”

Brett Maynard leads with these words: “Taking a break this morning from the news and the fear, I look out the window and see a bright blue sky. I take a breath and I remember: I am healthy,” thus beginning a litany of blessings each spoken by a different actor. Others in the cast are: Josh Allen, Taylor Nickerson, Kathryn Sheneman, Jane Shumway, Claudia Waber, Phil Waber, and Tim Wilbourne.

There will be two performances of this staged reading. Both are free. The first will be at 7:30 p.m. this Saturday, Feb. 20 and the second at 2:30 p.m. this Sunday, Feb. 21.

Orloff describes “Blessings from the Pandemic” as “a chronicle of life and feelings during the pandemic, ranging from the light-hearted and mundane to the reflective and spiritual. As I’m a playwright more than a poet, I’ve written them to be performed as well as read,” he said.

“On March 18, 2020, a few days after New York City began to shelter in place, I looked out the window and a calming poem entered my head,” said Orloff. “Since then dozens of poems have spoken to me, creating an ongoing chronicle of my pandemic experience. They vary significantly in tone, but I think of each of them as a kind of ‘prayer poem’ using simple words to connect with something transcendent.”

“’Blessings’ is about our journey in dealing with the events of 2020: ‘the big, the small, the humorous, the challenging and even the inspiring’,” said Director Thomas Putnam.

“Orloff’s full work has 60 one-minute poems, but he encourages theatre groups like ours to select those that speak most meaningfully to their own community,” Putnam said. “We have selected 26 of them. Our actors will read three apiece and the whole cast will share in reading the first one and the last one.”

Among them are “A Reflection on How I’m Doing” that includes the words: “I allow myself escape Into work, into comfort TV, Because living in the here and now Is sometimes too much to bear.” “’A Reflection on Two Walks’ leads the speaker to come to some startling realizations and ‘A Prayer for Touch’ celebrates the gift of loving touch that so many of us are not able to have during this COVID time of social distancing,” said Putnam.

At the end of the 30-minute performance, the audience will be invited to stay on Zoom to talk with the “Blessings” cast and Putnam about what they saw and heard.

Audience members will find the Zoom information on the HG website at https://www.hamiltongibson.org and Facebook page or can call the HG office at (570) 724-2079.

Those familiar with Zoom can go to the website at https://zoom.us, click on “joint meeting” and enter 880 0548 0914 – the access code for the Feb. 20 performance and then enter the passcode 154763.

For the Feb. 21 performance, enter the access code 810 1383 3773 and then the passcode 115658. Please note, the entry information is different for each performance.

HG’s free staged reading series will continue with a different 30-minute short play or grouping of three 10-minute short plays each Saturday and Sunday through April 10 & 11.

Donations are appreciated. To donate, go to the HG website at www.hamiltongibson.org or send a contribution to Hamilton-Gibson, 29 Water Street, Wellsboro, PA 16901. Please include “Staged Readings” in the check memo line.

REGISTER FOR THE FREE FRIDAY, FEB. 26 HOW TO CHOOSE AND USE A TELESCOPE VIRTUAL PROGRAM

Register at https://events.dcnr.pa.gov/ under Cherry Springs State Park for How to Choose and Use a Telescope. Those who register will receive a link to this Microsoft Teams session.

The free 30-minute virtual program is being presented on Friday, Feb. 26 at 12 p.m. by Tim Morey, park natural resource specialist.

How to Choose and Use a Telescope is for people who have a telescope for stargazing at their homes and other locations but are having a problem with it or need help to use it properly as well as for those who are Interested in purchasing a telescope and want to find out what to look for and what to avoid. There will be time for questions.

Those who participate in this Feb. 26 program and just bought a new telescope or are having trouble with their existing telescope can schedule a free one-on-one virtual follow-up session if needed.

It is recommended that registrants link into the program around 11:45 a.m., about 15 minutes before the noon start time as it can sometimes take longer to connect than expected depending on the type of computer or device they are using.

How to Choose and Use a Telescope is available by request for presentation online to groups, such as scout troops or to individual classrooms as scheduling permits.

The program will NOT take place face-to-face in any state park as no in-person programs are being held at Pennsylvania state parks until after March 31.

For more information or to schedule a presentation for a group, email Morey at tmorey@pa.gov.

FREE HELP SESSIONS FOR ELEMENTARY, MIDDLE SCHOO/JUNIOR HIGH, HIGH SCHOOL AND COLLEGE STUDENTS WHO WANT TO PARTICIPATE IN THE JUNIOR COMPOSERS PROGRAM WILL BE EVERY WEDNESDAY IN MARCH

Junior Composer Program Help Sessions will be from 3:30 p.m. to 5 p.m. on Wednesdays, March 3, 10, 17, 24 and 31 for students of all ages who want to participate.

The program, competition and help sessions are free and open to students in elementary school through high school as well as college students.

All of the free help sessions are being offered by The Endless Mountain Music Festival and will be on the second floor at the Deane Center for the Performing Arts at 104 Main Street in Wellsboro.

Students in elementary school through college are asked to sign up for one or more of the help sessions by calling the EMMF Box Office at 570-787-7800 in advance.

At the Deane Center, Cindy Long, EMMF executive director, will be checking the students in who have signed up for a help session. Mark Warner, a board member, will assist students one-on-one in using scoring software to create their musical compositions.

“Before attending a help session, students must go on the EMMF website at www.endlessmountain.net and go through the Junior Composer Program PowerPoint presentation,” said Long. “There is one portion that is really important. The student who won this contest in Hollywood, California in 2019 explains how it works and what she did,” Long added.

Also on the EMMF website are eight master classes given by the Hollywood film and television composers.

“The students need to download the app from the PowerPoint program onto their computer and bring their computer and earbuds with them,” said Long. Masks are required and social distancing will be in effect.

The junior composers must write a musical piece that is inspired by one of five suggested topics. The topics are: essential workers, immigrants, civil rights, Hollywood, or the town where the student lives.

By Monday, May 31 (Memorial Day), each Junior Composer Program participant must email a pre-recorded video he or she has created to info@endlessmountain.net. The video cannot be any longer than three minutes 30 seconds to four minutes and must include the student’s scored composition plus the student’s name, age, location, year in school and a brief bio about himself or herself that is concise and informational and explains the story behind the music he or she has written.

The Hollywood composers from Los Angeles, California will select the winners in each of four categories – elementary, middle school/junior high school, high school, and college. The winning entries will be posted on the EMMF and the Science and Discovery Center websites.

The four winning junior composers and their families will be invited to attend the Saturday, July 17 EMMF concert at the Corning Museum of Glass featuring the eight Hollywood composers performing world premieres of their original compositions, each focused on a different decade of film and television music from 1940 to 2019 and meet them in person.

REGISTER NOW FOR THE SATURDAY, MARCH 20 REFUSE TO BE A ViCTIM COURSE

Register now for the Refuse To Be A Victim® crime prevention and personal safety seminar being held from 8 a.m. to noon on Saturday, March 20 at the Lambs Creek Sportsman’s Club at 339 Sportsman’s Club Road, Mansfield, Pa. Certified course instructor is Marilyn Jones.

Created by the women of the National Rifle Association, this course covers personal safety while at home, driving or traveling. “This is not a course on shooting a gun,” Jones said.

Those attending will learn common sense techniques on how to minimize the risk of becoming a victim at home, in the workplace and in other situations, such as while shopping. Also taught will be an array of personal safety strategies and tips on how to create a personalized safety plan before it is needed.

The fee is $20 to cover the cost of the book and classroom time.

To register or for more information, contact Marilyn Jones at jones_mk@yahoo.com or (570) 549-2794.