Music
• Cuban music comes to Saxtons River: The sounds of son, guaracha, bolero, guaguancó and rumba will flow out of Main Street Arts as the group Septeto Típico Tívoli (Typical Septet from Tivoli) performs traditional Cuban music there Friday, Oct. 22.
The 8 p.m. concert is one of several organized for the group's tour of New England under a special cultural exchange program arranged by Cuban native and Vermont resident Maricel Lucero.
The group formed in 1995 in the Santiago district of Tivoli, which is known for its rich cultural traditions, and eventually grew from an amateur group to one that is recognized in professional circles as preserving the traditional sound and essence of Cuban music. They have played in all the local venues and festivals and were selected in 1998 to represent Santiago de Cuba on a European tour that took them to Spain, Belgium and France.
Although the name of the group implies seven members, there are actually eight. They and their instruments are Eduardo Charón Massó, founder and director, guitar and back-up vocals; Carlos Alvarez Hernández, lead singer, maracas, claves and guiros; Erick Felipe Guevara Correa, double bass and back-up vocals; Beráclides Miclín Villalón, claves and lead singer; Andrés López Pozo, Tres guitar, bass and requinto; Ramón Guibert Larduet, bongo, timbales, claves, la galleta and back-up vocals; Ernesto Lara Pacho, trumpet and claves; and William Armando Rodríguez Rodríguez, congas, bongos, guiro, and timbales.
Tickets for the performance are $15. Because the size of the venue is limited, reservations are strongly suggested and can be made by contacting MSA at 802-869-2960 or [email protected].
• Chris O'Brien returns to Boccelli's: Singer/songwriter Chris O'Brien, a favorite of the local music scene, will return to Bellows Falls on Friday, Oct. 22, at Boccelli's on the Canal, presented by Vermont Festivals LLC.
O'Brien will offer some of his standards as well as selections from his widely acclaimed latest album “Little Red,” and will appear with special guest guitarist Joe Crookston. Whether a hauntingly pensive song about This Old Town, or a lament about a father's addiction, the new album is a stunning collection of songs about life and intense introspection, woven together with great mastery and a few red threads.
The doors open at 7 p.m., and the show starts at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are $15 in advance. $17 the day of show, and there are a limited number of front-row angel tickets available for $25. Tickets are available at Village Square Booksellers, Fat Franks, and Boccelli's in Bellows Falls, or online at www.brattleborotix.com. For more information, call the festival office at 802-463-9595.
• Caravan of Thieves at Hooker-Dunham: Twilight Music presents acoustic swing and alt gypsy jazz quartet Caravan of Thieves at Hooker-Dunham Theater & Gallery on Saturday, Oct. 23, at 7:30 p.m.
Fuzz and Carrie Sangiovanni (guitars, vocals), Ben Dean (violin) and Brian Anderson (acoustic bass) feature a theatrical high energy stage show, gypsy flavored songwriting, Beatlesque vocal harmonizing and driving rhythms - an overall circus of sound.
Hooker-Dunham Theater & Gallery is located at 139 Main Street in downtown Brattleboro. Tickets for the show are $16 general admission/$14 students and seniors. For ticket reservations and information, call 802-254-9276. For more information, visit www.caravanofthieves.com and www.hookerdunham.org.
• Gypsy jazz in Grafton: The Old Tavern at Grafton, one of the nation's oldest operating inns, welcomes Ameranouche, a hot gypsy jazz trio, on Sunday, Oct. 24, at 3 p.m., at Phelps Barn, the inn's pub. Tickets are $10 or if guests have dinner at the inn that evening, the concert is free.
The Ameranouche Trio features guitarists Richard Sheppard, Ryan Flaherty and bassist Xar Adelberg and plays acoustic hot jazz, both original compositions and unique arrangements by American and Gypsy songwriters. Learn more at www.Ameranouche.com.
Dinner will be served in The Old Tavern restaurant from 6-9 p.m. or guests can dine in Phelps Barn from their new Pub Menu from 5-9 p.m.
• Music for a Sunday Afternoon continues: The Marlboro College Music for a Sunday Afternoon series continues with a program of compositions by Antonin Dvorak at 3 p.m. on Oct. 24 in Ragle Hall.
A quartet consisting of Robert Merfeld, Bayla Keyes, Julia Glenn, and Ariana Falk will perform four chamber works from the 19th century Czech composer, including Dvorak's set of “Bagatelles” composed for the unusual instrumentation of two violins, cello and harmonium. The Estey Organ Museum in Brattleboro is loaning Merfeld a harmonium from their collection for the performance.
Other works in the program include “4 Romantic Pieces for Violin and Piano, op. 75", “Romance for Violin and Piano, op. 11” and “Piano Trio No. 4, op. 90” which is also known as “Dumky."
Music for a Sunday Afternoon concerts are free and open to the public. All performances during the 2010-11 season are dedicated to Luis Batlle, who is retiring from the Marlboro College music faculty after 30 years. Batlle has handpicked many of his favorite performers for the season. A complete schedule can be found at www.marlboro.edu/batlle.
• Children's Chorus returns: The BMC's Brattleboro Children's Chorus, for kids who are passionate about music and love to sing, will once again be lead by dynamic director Susan Dedell. The chorus is open to all children, ages 8-12. Rehearsals will be held on Tuesdays, starting Nov. 2, from 3:30 to 4:30 p.m., at Hilltop Montessori School in Brattleboro.
The Children's Chorus seeks to provide enriching musical experiences for motivated young musicians in a supportive, community-centered environment where students' passion and love for music can be nurtured. The chorus fee is $140 (including materials) for 10 weeks. To register for the Children's Chorus, call the Brattleboro Music Center at 802-257-4523 or visit www.bmcvt.org for more information.
Film
• Hetty Green night at RFPL: On Wednesday, Oct. 27 ,at 7 p.m., the Rockingham Free Public Library, in partnership with the Rockingham Historical Commission will present a Hetty Green evening with special guests Lance Gunberg, documentary filmmaker of Hetty Green: Beyond the Myth, and writer Charles Slack, author of Hetty Green: The Genius & Madness of America's First Female Tycoon.
A figure larger than life, Hetty Green amassed a huge fortune, along with a reputation to match. Most people still know her as the “Witch of Wall Street.” Both Gunberg and Slack set out to investigate the “Hetty myths” in their respective genres.
Gunberg became intrigued by her story when he met and got to know Edie Nichols, a woman who performed portrayals of Hetty around New England. Gunberg began researching Hetty's life and the surround of stories, delving deep to find the “real” Hetty. Along the way, he became so inspired by all he discovered, he decided to create a film about her life. “A lot of the local folklore and rumors about this woman were just untrue,” says Gunberg.
Slack's book about Green reveals a multidimensional character - eccentric, but with a wry wit and colorful personality. He recounts how she was unfairly vilified because of her sex; and he creates a page-turning portrait of a high powered, canny, intelligent woman who thrived as a Wall Street tycoon during the Gilded Age.
She married Colonel Edward Green, who was born and raised in Bellows Falls and they spent many years here with their two children. All are buried in Bellows Falls.
Refreshments will be served, excerpts from the film will be shown and there will be plenty of time for discussion. Books and DVDs of the film will be available.
• Rotary sponsors film, food festival: The Brattleboro Rotary Club is raising money to build adobe brick homes for families who are among the poorest of the poor in San Miguel de Allende and the surrounding areas in the state of Guanajuato, Mexico.
On Sunday, Nov. 7, the Brattleboro Rotary Club will sponsor the second annual “International Film & Food Festival,” with proceeds benefiting Casita Linda (which means “pretty little house”), a Mexican nonprofit organization that builds adobe brick homes for families. Casita Linda has provided over 60 homes for poor but hard-working and intact families outside of San Miguel, and continues building them at the rate of at least eight per year. They have worked with the Rhode Island School of Design to develop innovative, inexpensive building techniques which are scalable and transferable to other locations.
Additionally, the club is working with the Windham Regional Career Center to send 15 or 20 students from the construction trades and international business programs to help with the project and experience a foreign culture. Making their New England premiere, six short Mexican films followed by the feature film Espiral, will be shown at the Latchis Theatre from 4 to 6:30 p.m. Then, a tasting of Mexican cuisine will be served at the Brattleboro Museum and Art Center from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m.
Tickets to the International Film & Food Festival, which can be purchased at Vermont Artisan Designs & Gallery 2 (106 Main St., Brattleboro), cost $25 each. Tickets to the films only cost $10 each. The Brattleboro Rotary Club, founded in 1950, is an active community service club of 90 members who engage in community and human service projects locally and internationally. For more information, visit www.brattlebororotaryclub.org.
Books
• Dancing with Dynamite author in Brattleboro: Vermont author Benjamin Dangl will be at Everyone's Books on Elliot Street to talk about and sign copies of his new book, Dancing with Dynamite, on Wednesday, Oct. 27, at 6:30 p.m.
The book focuses on social movements in Latin America and how they have worked with, against, and independently of national governments. From dynamite-wielding miners in Bolivia to the struggles of landless farmers in Brazil and Paraguay, Dangl discusses the dance between movements and states in seven different Latin American countries. Using original research, lively prose, and extensive interviews with workers, farmers, and politicians, he suggests how Latin American social movement strategies could be applied internationally to build a better world now.
Dangl has worked as a journalist in Latin America for news organizations such as The Guardian, The Nation, and the NACLA Report on the Americas. For more information, contact the bookstore at 802-254-8160 or [email protected].