Music at First - November 5th

The next Music At First concert takes place on Friday, November 5, at 7:30 p.m., and will include performances by pianist Isabelle O'Connell and FLUTRONIX electronic flute duo featuring our very own Nathalie Joachim!  Please come out and support the arts in our very talented community.  Admission is $10.

New FPC Youth Choir!

The FPC Youth Choir with our new director, Lisa Cernadas, is for all children in 2nd grade and up.  The Choir is exploring a diverse range of music. They will learn basic choral skills, participate in service, and discover the meaningful spiritual experience of God and community through sharing song.  Rehearsals are on Sundays at 10:00 a.m., following the school calendar.  Come Join in Song!

Music at First - 2nd Season Kick Off!

MUSIC AT FIRST, an exciting new concert series taking place at First Church on Friday, September 10 at 7:30p.m., featuring Dither Electric Guitar Quartet (www.ditherquartet.com) and Kyle Bobby Dunn with string ensemble (www.myspace.com/kbdunn).


Please help us make this series a success—your attendance and support ensures that more concerts of all types take place at First Church in the future.  $10 admission.

Brooklyn Street Games Tour

There is still time left to catch some old fashioned fun!

Skelly Fest @ Fort Greene Park on Monday Aug 23, 4p-8p.  Lots of other parks on weekdays through August, check out the details.

July 2010

Want to experience the fun of Street Games all summer long? Follow the Brooklyn Street Games Tour! Each weekday, from July 6 until August 27, from 11:00 a.m.-3:00 p.m.*, a different park in Brooklyn will be transformed into a classic Street Games Festival. These festivals are based upon a variety of traditional street games including pogo sticking, skateboarding, paddleball & skelly. Participants who attempt all of the activities will receive a special prize! Next week marks the start of Roll Fest, sponsored by Modell's. Come test your skateboarding skills in free clinics given by Open Road! For more information regarding upcoming festival dates, visit our Brooklyn Street Games page or follow NYC Parks on Twitter or Facebook. *July 19 and August 23 events take place from 4:00 p.m.-8:00 p.m.

The Tempest: Shakespeare On the STEPS

This FRIDAY!! (as in, tomorrow) at 6:30PM will be the one-and-only performance of this summer's day camp on the front steps of the Church.

For the last 2 weeks a troupe of young performers, aged 7-12 have been practicing a number of theatrical exercises, and learning their lines to present an abridged version of William Shakespeare's The Tempest.

The Shakespeare on the STEPS camp will also be hosting this week's garden party and reception.

Come early, you'll want to get a good seat!

Global Arts Festival 2010

What an awesome Global Arts Festival this year!  Thanks to everyone involved in the planning, booking, setup, performance, and clean up.  There was a really good turn out of FPC-ers along with neighborhood traffic and supporters of NYCreates and the vendors.

A persistent drizzle started a little after 3PM, but "the band played on" as threefifty duo played a shortened set and the vendors packed up more quickly than they might have preferred.  The light rain didn't dampen the spirit of the crowd or any of the performers, however.

Click on the pictures and videos to see more content than mere words can adequately describe.


"Center Of My Joy"


"Guide My Feet"


"The Storm is Passing Over"

Ancestral Horizons Society

Global Arts - This SUNDAY!

This Sunday marks the return of the Global Arts Festival to First Church. Noon to 4PM, on Henry Street in front of the Church, immediately following worship.

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First Presbyterian Church of Brooklyn continues our tradition of presenting great performances and wonderful handcrafts in our beautiful garden, this time in collaboration with NYCreates!

NYCreates has assembled a superb collection of craft and folk artists and artisans from the five boroughs of NYC. And we are delighted to present these outstanding performers:

12:00 pm              Haitian Singer, Michele Sorel Ivey

12:45 pm              FPC Gospel Choir

1:30 pm                Samba! with Leticia Taylor & Carlos de Oliviera

2:15 pm                Ancestral Horizons Society {African Dance & Music}

3:00 pm                Sweet Spirit Pan Orchestra

Admission is free – all are welcome!

Final Night of "Music at First"

The debut season of Music at First comes to an end on Friday May 28...

7:30PM Start

percussionist AYANO KATAOKA with flutist CONOR NELSON

$10 Suggested Admission

MUSIC AT FIRST is a monthly new music series taking place at First Presbyterian church in Brooklyn Heights. It features a diverse mix of some of New York City's best new music ensembles and performers, accessible to a wide audience of both community members and seasoned new music listeners. All concerts begin at 7:30 with a $10 suggested donation per person for admission.

Confirmation Retreat

Yes, this is a delayed entry for the retreat that happened April 23-24.  The title of the retreat was “Your Place in the Church”, and took place at Holmes Presbyterian Camp and Conference Center (same place as the legendary Jesus Camp with the Confirmation Class in 2007).  I realized I hadn't posted the pictures Jill took, so here they are - click on the picture to open the whole album.

I didn't attend, so I haven't captioned them yet - you can use your imagination to think up your own for now!

I heard that this was the "signature moment" for our Confirmands and Teachers

Connor's Dance Concert

This past Friday night, Jill and Mark (and Connor's Mom) attended Connor's Junior Division Spring Concert of The Ailey School (as in Alvin Ailey, the choreographer).  It was 2 hours of awesome dance, in many different styles, by what had to be over 100 dance students from many different levels and ages.  Really cool!

See below for a few post-performance photos.

Congratulatory Hug	Smiling to Friends
Mom, Connor, and Jill

"Twilight Jazz" in 2 weeks

Another great music opportunity at First Presbyterian Church Brooklyn ... Twilight Jazz with a voice and several musicians you will recognize from Sunday morning.

April 30, 2010 @ 7:30PM; $10 Suggested Donation

Short Video from Music at First

Check out http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rPou0vXiylI for a short clip from one of the songs at last night's Music at First concert.  If you missed it, you missed great music and enchanting banter.


Two more "don't miss" opportunities to enjoy music in our Sanctuary...

• April 30: "Twilight Jazz" with the choir's Bertilla, and the Sunday band's Wil, Matt, and a guest bassist
• May 28 : percussionist AYANO KATAOKA with flutist CONOR NELSON

All concerts scheduled to start at 7:30PM.

Music at First - Session III

TONIGHT - April 16, 2010 at 7:30PM

Cellist/vocalist/composer JODY REDHAGE (last Sunday's Offertory musician) and her band FIRE IN JULY headline the third concert in the inaugural season of MUSIC AT FIRST, an exciting new music series at First Presbyterian Church in Brooklyn Heights.

The band, consisting of Jody Redhage on voice/cello/compositions, Ken Thomson on clarinets, Alan Ferber on trombone, Tom Beckham on vibraphone, and Fred Kennedy on drums and percussion, meld the detail and finesse of chamber music with the energy and drive of jazz improvisation.  With tinges of Medieval chanson and hints of Kurt Weill, Jody's compositions create a captivating blend of genres that simply comes across as her own unique voice.

Tonight at 7:30 p.m. in the Sanctuary. $10 suggested admission per person which will be collected at the door.

Guest post

As part of a promotion for his new book and Web site, Jon Acuff of "Stuff Christians Like" has sent in the following guest post for our blog. Check out his web site if you like clever christian humor!

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The “Is that contestant on American Idol a Christian? Scorecard”

108. They mention that if they make the tour, they hope it doesn’t have any shows in Las Vegas, cause you know that is kind of like America’s hades = + 2 points

To add up your score with over a 130 other ideas on this scorecard, visit stuffchristianslike.net.

Music at First - Session II

"MUSIC AT FIRST series featuring pianist KATHLEEN SUPOVÉ!" on Friday, March 26 at 7:30pm.

Description

New York City-based pianist KATHLEEN SUPOVÉ will be the second featured performer in the inaugural season of MUSIC AT FIRST, and exciting new music series at First Presbyterian Church in Brooklyn Heights. Kathleen is one of America's most acclaimed and versatile contemporary music pianists, known for continually redefining what it means to be a pianist/keyboardist/performance artist in today's world. After receiving top prizes at the Gaudeamus Festival, she has annually presented a series of solo concerts entitled The Exploding Piano where she has performed and premiered works by both established and emerging composers.

This program will feature signature works by composers with whom Supové has had close musical associations: American Alvin Curran; iconoclast East Hartford composer Michael Gatonska; Dutch master Louis Andriessen’s intensely virtuosic seldom-performed work "Trepidus"; and "The Body Of Your Dreams", an audience favorite by current Dutch sensation Jacob TV, based on an American infomercial for the AB-TRONIC stomach-reducing machine.

• THE MEMORY OF ROSES (1992) by Louis Andriessen for Piano, Toy Piano, and Rose
• A SHAKING OF THE PUMPKIN (2007) by Michael Gatonska for Piano, Mallet, and Optional Bass Drum
• TREPIDUS (1983) by Louis Andriessen for Piano
• INNER CITIES by Alvin Curran for Piano
• THE BODY OF YOUR DREAMS (2004) by Jacob TV (Ter Veldhuis) for Piano and Soundtrack

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MUSIC AT FIRST is a monthly new music series taking place at First Presbyterian church in Brooklyn Heights. It features a diverse mix of some of New York City's best new music ensembles and performers, accessible to a wide audience of both community members and seasoned new music listeners. All concerts begin at 7:30 with a $10 suggested donation per person for admission.


FUTURE PERFORMANCES

Apr 16 : cellist JODY REDHAGE and FIRE IN JULY

May 28 : percussionist AYANO KATAOKA with flutist CONOR NELSON

Music at First

A new music series, on Friday evenings at the Church. Starting TONIGHT (sorry for the late notice) at 7:30pm!

Guitarists THREEFIFTY DUO kick off the opening concert of MUSIC AT FIRST, an exciting monthly new music series at First Presbyterian Church in Brooklyn Heights. Described as a "classical guitar duo with a rock edge," musicians Brett Parnell and Geremy Schulick seamlessly weave their contemporary rock sensibilities into the rich fabric of classical guitar. After years of writing and performing together and with a second album under Threefifty's belt, the duo’s stylistic tendencies have expanded beyond their initial categorization, with genre blurred by an intensely personal sound.

MUSIC AT FIRST is a monthly new music series taking place at First Presbyterian church in Brooklyn Heights. It features a diverse mix of some of New York City's best new music ensembles and performers, accessible to a wide audience of both community members and seasoned new music listeners. All concerts begin at 7:30 with a $10 suggested donation per person for admission.

More Info via the web or facebook

FUTURE PERFORMANCES
Mar 26 : pianist KATHLEEN SUPOVÉ
Apr 16 : cellist JODY REDHAGE and FIRE IN JULY
May 28 : percussionist AYANO KATAOKA with flutist CONOR NELSON

"Neo-Soul Cafe" January 22

I received this postcard at Church and thought some of you might be interested. I will be out of town this night, so I won't be able to join any that want to attend.

If you can't make out the details of the card (scanned to JPEG), here is the stripped out text.

The Ambassadors for Christ

of

Dunton Presbyterian Church

PRESENTS...

"NEO-SOUL CAFE"

Spiritual Entertainment 4 Your Soul!

* Singing * Dancing * Dramatic Skits * Mime * Spoken Word * Comedy *

*** Open Mic Session ***

Open to Everyone *All Ages* Just Sign Up When You Arrive

Whose Ready To Take The Mic???

Dinner, Drinks & Dessert will be On Sale

Donation: $3 At The Door

Date: Friday, January 22, 2010

Doors Open @ 7:30pm SHARP!! - Showtime Starts @ 8PM

Location: Dunton Presbyterian Church 109-29 135th Street South Ozone Park, NY 11420

For More Info & Directions, Please Call: Michelle - 347.294.8078 / Joshua - 718.307.9198

Save the Date!!

Mario just got the Brooklyn Cyclones schedule, and we are looking at getting tickets for the Saturday July 31, 2010 game -- against the Staten Island Yankees! This will be a popular game, but we'll want to make sure all of our tickets are used.

Post-Game Fireworks is already on the Promotions Calendar!

P.S. Of course we continue to pray for the continued health and growth of Margaret Grace... Peace be with you, and your family, little Gracie.