Those in attendance at the Studio Series in August were treated to a wonderful convergence of the arts, as poet Rhina P. Espaillat and lutenist Christopher Morrongiello filled the evening with poetry and music.

Christopher Morrongiello began the evening with a set of music from the year 1592 on alto lute, taking the time to explain some aspects of his performance as he prepared his set.

Host Annabelle Moseley introduced Rhina Espaillat, who continued the dialogue between music and poetry. During intermission, those in attendance admired Alfred Moskowitz’s sculpture, “Seated Nude”, which was on display in the Great Room. After the intermission, Rhina continued her reading, including some of her translations of St. John of the Cross. The evening concluded with a second set of music by Christopher Morrongiello, performing on tenor lute pieces by John Dowland. During this set, Annabelle Moseley read “If Music and Sweet Poetry Agree”, which is attributed to Richard Barnfield.

On Saturday, October 29^th, those who braved the weather to experience and support the live arts were rewarded with a beautiful conversation of poetry and music. Due to the unusually severe October snowstorm that struck Pennsylvania, Barbara Crooker was not able make this event.

The evening began as host Annabelle Moseley welcomed the audience and introduced the Kim-Stuckenbruck duo of Haewon Kim and Dale Stuckenbruck. Haewon Kim performed on a Steinway Boston Baby Grand piano provided by Steinway & Sons Used Piano Gallery in Melville, while Dale Stuckenbruck performed on his violin made by none other than Charles Rufino. It was a delight to hear such a virtuosic performance in the intimate space of the Great Room.

Poet Annabelle Moseley followed, continuing the the autumnal themes of beauty and loss with a series of moving, musical poems spanning her collection of five chapbooks, as well as her forthcoming full-length collection.

Saturday, September 24^th, 5:00 PM

Host Annabelle Moseley welcomed the crowd and introduced Harris Becker, who performed delightful music on baroque guitar, an instrument beautiful to behold. Annabelle then introduced George Held and Barbara Novack, each of whom delighted the crowd. An intermission followed, and the mood was high-spirited and congenial, as books and CDs were sold, and the room was filled with conversation and laughter.

The second half of the evening began with the poetry of Barbara Novack, followed by George Held. Their poetry was polished and moving, and were resonant with themes of human relationships and the beauty of nature. Harris Becker concluded this portion of the evening on classical guitar, performing the U.S. debut of “Three Moods for Guitar” by Michael Frassetti.

The evening concluded with a particularly memorable open mic, inspired by George Held’s poem about the moon. Several open mic participants had ready their own moon poems, and a joyful lunacy ensued. Host Annabelle Moseley joined with her poem, “The Moon is a Lemon.”

Many thanks to all who made the evening so wonderful.

This event was funded in part by Poets and Writers, Inc. with public funds from New York State Council on the Arts, a state agency.

On May 27^th, poetry and music came together as String Poet celebrated the awarding of the 2011 String Poet Prize, and the launch of the inaugural journal of poetry and the arts : Volume I, Issue 1.

Host Annabelle Moseley welcomed a full house and introduced 2011 String Poet Prize Final Judge, Patricia Fargnoli (NH Poet Laureate 2006-2009), who gave a powerful and heartfelt reading. After an intermission, Volume I, Issue I of String Poet “went live.”

Annabelle Moseley introduced each reader and their poem that placed, starting with Barbara Crooker, who could not attend the ceremony.  Annabelle Moseley read for Barbara Crooker, followed by W.F. Lantry, Francine Sterle, and George H. Northrup each reading their poem.

Our evening closed with a reading of the winning poem, “Kummi Dance”, by Pramila Venkateswaran, and a premiere performance of a piece by the same name, composed by Beth Anderson for String Poet, performed by the composer herself on piano and David Wong on violin. Shortly after the performance, the premiere performance of Beth Anderson’s “Kummi Dance” was made available in the music playlist for the inaugural issue.

Now available are videos of the performances.  Included here is a playlist with all of the videos from the Award Ceremony, and each poem in the journal that was read at the event is linked from the journal page with that poem.

Our evening of Irish-inspired poetry and music was complemented by the Irish weather on Saturday, complete with mist, rain, and wind. Inside the Great Room at the Long Island Violin Shop, the atmosphere was warm and welcoming.

httpvp://www.youtube.com/view_play_list?p=57DE1A58DEBC068B Our host, Annabelle Moseley, started the evening with a reading of “Tremolo”, by Micheal O’Siadhail, along with her poem “Words Wandering in an Irish Forest”.

Cady Finlayson and Vita Tanga then started their first set, and played some wonderful tunes, including their Grand Canyon Set, including “Dunmore Lassies” and “Hector the Hero”. Following this performance was Claire Nicolas White, first reading W.B. Yeats, and then her own poetry. After the intermission, Claire Nicolas White completed her reading. Cady and Vita then took the stage once again for another rousing set of tunes for guitar and 5-string fiddle. Thanks again to St. Hugh of Lincoln Church for providing seating for this event.