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Governor Phil Murphy has signed legislation that allows unauthorized immigrants to apply for state financial aid to attend college.The legislation will…

New Jersey’s top law enforcement officer says a federal judge’s decision to temporarily block a Texas company from posting codes online that enable people…

Ambrose Akinmusire Saturday, January 22, 2022, 8 pm Vermont Jazz Center 72 Cotton Mill Hill #222 Brattleboro VT 05301 This concert will have ONLY a limited in-person audience.  There will NO livestream component. Akinmusire is a multiyear winner of Downbeat’s critics’ choice awards for Trumpeter of the Year (including 2021) and Jazz Artist of the Year. A visionary artist with six albums as a leader, he is a first call sideman found on recordings with Joni Mitchell, Brad Mehldau, Kendrick Lamar and many others. Ambrose Akinmusire is a truth-teller whose music is an expression of his personal journey as a Black man. Although he loves playing jazz standards, he has chosen to compose original music that draws attention to the realities of racism. It’s important to me to talk about the injustices that Black people experience, and the fear that I have walking around the United States and really a lot of places in the world. And that is why I called this last album a blues album – it’s trying to express beauty and pain at the same time, trying to express what is to me the most defining part: resilience. And that’s what all my records are trying to express.” Akinmusire’s sound on the trumpet is unlike anyone else’s. He masterfully bends notes up and down to make the air coming out of his horn sound like the melismas of a human voice. Along with the timbre of the voice, Akinmusire explores sonic possibilities such as unique forms, atypical instrumentation, extended techniques and varied textures. Akinmusire’s most recent album, his fifth for Blue Note Records, On the Tender Spot of Every Calloused Moment, has been nominated as Best Jazz Instrumental Album for the 2021 Grammy Awards. The list of his accolades include Thelonious Monk International Jazz Trumpet Competition Winner, Carmine Caruso International Trumpet Solo Competition Winner; Downbeat Critics Poll: Jazz Artist of the Year, Best Trumpet (numerous times); Jazz Times Critic’s Poll: Trumpeter of the Year (3 times), Artist of the Year, Record of the Year; New York Times Best Jazz Album of the year (2011), Jazz Journalist Association Trumpeter of the Year and others too numerous to mention. His discography includes 6 albums as a leader and sideman work with Kendrick Lamar, Joni Mitchell, Joel Ross, Brad Mehldau, the Blue Note All-Stars, Mary Halvorson, Jen Shyu, Somi, Marcus Miller, Dayna Stephens, Trilok Gurtu, Gerald Clayton, the Yellow Jackets, Jack DeJohnette, Archie Shepp, David Binney, Terri Lyne Carrington, Roy Hargrove, Mimi Jones, Esperanza Spalding, Linda May Han Oh, Tom Harrell and many others. Akinmusire is one of the most acclaimed jazz artists of his generation, a trumpeter of deep expressive resources and a composer of kaleidoscopic vision. —NPR Ambrose Akinmusire - trumpet Micah Thomas - piano Linda Oh - bass Tim Angulo - drums Sponsored by a Friend of the Vermont Jazz Center educational programs. $20-40 sliding scale Reservations online & by phone Proof of Covid-19 vaccination and photo ID required. www.vtjazz.org gingervjc@gmail.com 802 258 9088 https://vtjazz.org/upcoming-events/concerts/ https://vtjazz.org/upcoming-events/sliding-scale-ticket-policy/ https://vtjazz.org/2021-safety-protocols-for-in-person-activities/

New Camerata Opera (NCO) presents a series of free, educational, and interactive children's opera videos on YouTube adapted from their opera, Party at the Opera. The collection of six videos is an immersive, musical, and theatrical experience for children ages 18 months to 5 years. Watch the entire series with the family anytime, by visiting Camerata Piccola. https://www.newcamerataopera.org/. Excerpts from seven classic operas with original English texts will teach children the fundamentals of classical music, from rhythm, melody, and harmony, to subjects like emotion in music, and even set design. A diverse cast of approachable, funny characters leads the audience on an exciting musical adventure. Children can try their hands at conducting and playing a musical instrument and can find their own operatic voice in this welcoming invitation into the world of opera. Each of the six videos covers a different aspect of opera: Party at the Opera: Barry Baritone hosts the show along with 3 other opera singing friends, to take kids on an engaging tour through several music fundamentals: tempo, range, dynamics, and voice parts. The art of conducting is also introduced in an immersive and fun manner. Party at the Opera 2: Children learn about the different types of musical songs within an opera: an aria, a duet, a trio, a quartet, and a chorus. Party at the Opera 3: Barry Baritone and Sally Soprano learn how to make their performance much more interesting, through working with a stage director, Director Deb. Party at the Opera 4: The gang introduces emotions in music. Explore how the art form can make you feel a certain way, just through how the music sounds, and how it is performed. Party at the Opera 5: A special guest tries her hand at composing for the first time, and her new opera receives its worldwide premiere. Party at the Opera 6: Actual opera production designers star in this episode about the many folks who work behind the scenes to help make an opera come to life. In 2018, NCO produced and toured its early childhood development offering, Party at the Opera to young children in New York and Long Island. The production was an instant favorite for its accessible approach to opera, while also introducing timeless themes from some of the world's greatest operas, including Carmen and The Barber of Seville. When the world transitioned to a new 'socially-distanced' normal as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, NCO quickly reimagined this production into a series of free online videos. The organization hopes that this endeavor will help to ease the burden on parents and schoolteachers, if only for 8-12 minutes.  About New Camerata Opera New Camerata Opera is a New York City-based, cooperative company in its sixth season. Its mission is to engage, excite, and educate through immersive performances that break down barriers and inspire fans of the future. NCO offers mainstage operas, children's operas through Camerata Piccola, and produces short operatic films with CamerataWorks. For more information, visit newcamerataopera.org.

Jim Ridl is in high demand as a New York City jazz pianist, composer, teacher and band leader. His ongoing residency at the internationally known jazz club The 55 Bar is in its fifth year, where he and his quartet perform his original compositions monthly. Jim performs worldwide with a variety of jazz artists, including The Joe Locke Quartet, The Dave Liebman Big Band, The Paul Jost Quartet and the Mingus Big Band. He has toured with the US State Department American Music Abroad program (’12 and ’15), performing in Russia, South Korea, China, the Philippines, Moldova, Azerbaijan, Slovenia and Malta. As a composer and leader, Jim has released 7 recordings, the latest titled Door in a Field,Volume 2. Jim was a Princeton University Visiting Artist for three separate semesters (’12, ’14, ’16), coaching jazz ensembles in repertoire and performance. Jim continues as adjunct educator in Jazz Piano Studies at The City College of New York and the New York Jazz Workshop in Manhattan. From 1994 – 2004, Jim performed with jazz guitar legend Pat Martino, receiving critically acclaimed reviews of performances around the world, and producing four outstanding recordings: Interchange, Night Wings, The Maker and Nexus. Jim was raised on a farm and ranch in North Dakota, and discovered his love for piano and jazz at an early age. He attended the University of Colorado at Denver, where he earned his Bachelor Degree in Scoring and Arranging, and was awarded its Student Achievement Award for composing “Ocean Sojourn,” an orchestral tone poem, performed with the Denver Symphony Orchestra, James Setapen conducting. Joe Locke Long known to be a soloist capable of stunning physical power and broad emotional range, it was not until the last decades that he emerged as the composer, bandleader and conceptualist that he is considered today. This is in no small part due to his solo projects since the beginning of the 2000s. This is in no small part due to his prolific solo projects, notably Four Walls of Freedom, a 6 movement suite featuring the late tenor saxophonist Bob Berg; Live in Seattle (Origin) by The Joe Locke / Geoffrey Keezer Group which won the 2006 EarShot award for Concert of the Year and his eloquent and vibrant quartet Force Of Four (Origin). In 2011 Joe joined the Motéma label for four intrinsically different albums bearing witness of his immense stylistic versatility and ability to create artistic depth in a variety of contexts: After Signing, the long-awaited follow-up studio album of Live In Seattle, 2012 also saw the release of Joe Locke’s first ever symphonic project, Wish Upon A Star, featuring Locke‘s Quartet with the Lincoln Symphony Orchestra (NE), and the Jazz radio charts #1 Blues & Ballads album Lay Down My Heart in 2013. In 2015 Locke released Love Is A Pendulum - a suite based on a poem by Barbara Sfraga - is already being hailed the most important work of his career. Locke’s latest album, Subtle Disguise (2018) is being celebrated “a crowning achievement from a certified vibraphone master” by Jazziz Magazine and means very much a happy continuation of his search to unite his love of composition with the connective qualities of melody and groove. Locke is a six-time recipient of the Jazz Journalists Association’s “Mallet Instrumentalist of the Year” Award and has won numerous further awards and polls. In 2016 he was honoured with the induction into the Music Hall of Fame of his hometown Rochester, NY. He is an active clinician and educator in the United States and in Europe and is holding the title of Honorary Associate of London’s Royal Academy Of Music (Hon ARAM) since 2013.

Michigan Senate Majority Leader Mike Shirkey said Tuesday he regretted his "insensitive comments," but he didn't address his claims that the siege was fake.

The event is touted as a way to connect to past traditions in Kyrgyzstan — and perhaps boost the tourism industry.

The NPR Music deputy director shares his favorite albums and songs of 2022.

The All Songs Considered and Tiny Desk host shares his favorite albums and songs of 2022.

Artpark announces a performance by Sō Percussion as part of the 2021 New Music in the Park series on June 13, 2021 at 4pm. Not just a world-renowned ensemble, but an institution, Sō Percussion is a percussion-based music organization that creates and presents new collaborative works to adventurous and curious audiences and educational initiatives to engaged students, while providing meaningful service to its communities, in order to exemplify the power of music to unite people and forge deep social bonds. Tickets for the event are $12 and are available at artpark.net/events/so-percussion. Through its interpretations of modern classics, innovative, multi-genre original productions, and an "exhilarating blend of precision and anarchy, rigor and bedlam" (The New Yorker), Sō Percussion has redefined the scope and role of the modern percussion ensemble, placing it at the leading edge of 21st-century music. Sō's repertoire ranges from 20th century works by John Cage, Steve Reich, and Iannis Xenakis, et al, to commissioning and advocating works by contemporary composers such as David Lang, Julia Wolfe, Steven Mackey, and Caroline Shaw, to distinctively modern collaborations with artists who work outside the classical concert hall, including Shara Nova, choreographer Susan Marshall, The National, Bryce Dessner, and many others. Proof of vaccination or negative COVID test are not required for this event. Patrons will just be required to maintain social distance and wear a mask if they are not fully vaccinated. The Artpark summer season runs May 15 - September 15, 2021, and also includes: Strawberry Moon Festival - https://www.artpark.net/events/strawberry-moon-festival-1  New Music in the Park - https://www.artpark.net/new-music-in-the-park  Sonic Trails - https://www.artpark.net/sonic-trails  Visual Art Camp - https://www.artpark.net/events/art-camp  Music & Soccer Camp - https://www.artpark.net/events/music-soccer-summer-camp  Artpark Theatre Academy: School of Rock - https://www.artpark.net/events/artpark-theatre-academy-school-of-rock  Amphitheater Concerts - https://www.artpark.net/concerts-2021 Visit https://www.artpark.net/ for a current schedule. Artpark's 2021 season is supported by M&T Bank and Cullen Foundation About the Artist Sō Percussion's original productions – including From Out A Darker Sea, Where (we) Live, and Jason Treuting's Amid the Noise – employ a distinctively 21st century palette of original music, artistic collaboration, theatrical production values and visual art, yielding powerful explorations of the human experience. In December 2019, Sō Percussion made a triumphant return to Carnegie Hall for a sold-out performance of A Percussion Century, a sprawling exploration of the modern percussion repertoire including works by composers Cage, Lang, Reich, and Xenakis as well as works by Carlos Chávez, Johanna Beyer, and the New York premiere of Sō's newest commission, Forbidden Love, a string quartet by Julia Wolfe. Other 19/20 highlights include a Miller Theatre Composer Portrait of frequent Sō collaborator, Caroline Shaw (with whom Sō has a new album due this season); David Lang's man made and Lully's Le Bourgeois gentilhomme with Louis Langrée and the Cincinnati Symphony; dates in Paris, Lithuania, and throughout the US. Sō also collaborated with choreographer John Heginbotham on a new ballet, RACECAR, premiered as part of The Washington Ballet's season-opening production, NEXTsteps. This season Sō celebrates its sixth year as the Edward T. Cone Performers-in-Residence at Princeton University and welcomes the appointment of flutist, composer, and vocalist Nathalie Joachim as the ensemble's inaugural Andrew W. Siegel Composition Fellow. 19/20 also marks the release of album collaborations with Dan Trueman and the JACK Quartet (Songs that are Hard to Sing, from New Amsterdam), and with indie duo Buke and Gase. Sō has recorded more than 20 other albums; appeared at Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, Walt Disney Hall, the Barbican, the Eaux Claires Festival, MassMoCA, and TED 2016; and performed with Jad Abumrad, JACK Quartet, the Mostly Mozart Festival Orchestra, and the LA Phil and Gustavo Dudamel, among others. Rooted in the belief that music is an essential facet of human life, a social bond, and an effective tool in creating agency and citizenship, Sō Percussion enthusiastically pursues a growing range of social and community outreach. Examples include their Brooklyn Bound presentations of emerging artists and composers; commitments to purchasing offsets to compensate for carbon-heavy activities such as touring travel; and the Sō Percussion Summer Institute (SōSI), an intensive two-week chamber music seminar for percussionists and composers. Now in its second decade, SōSI features community performances, new work development, guest artist workshops, and an annual food-packing drive, yielding up to 25,000 meals, for the Crisis Center of Mercer County through the organization EndHungerNE.  ARTPARK is a park and a cultural institution located on the Niagara Gorge, USA. Established in 1974, Artpark is a collaboration between the New York State Parks and the cultural nonprofit institution Artpark & Company. The picturesque 150 acre performing and visual arts park is located along the historic Niagara River Gorge on land rich in Native American, pioneer and early American history. Approximately 12,000 years ago the majestic Niagara Falls began to work its way upriver from this site to its current location. Artpark's Mainstage theater opened in July of 1974 on land that was once the Lower Landing of the nine mile Niagara Portage that skirted the unnavigable Gorge and Falls. Designated as a National Historic Landmark (in 1998), Artpark includes several archeological sites, including a Hopewell Mound from one of the earliest Native American mound building cultures and the remnants of the much more recent Oak Hill Mansion. Artpark is a National Wildlife Federation Backyard Wildlife Habitat, & National Audubon Society birding site (along the Niagara River Corridor), Artpark is also a popular destination for hiking, picnics, and fishing. As a cultural institution, Artpark attracts over 150,000 audiences over the course of its' summer season (June-August) and serves a population of approximately 1.2 million Western New Yorkers and over 1 million Canadian residents. Over the course of it 40-year history, over 2.5 million persons have attended musical and theater performances at Artpark. In addition to being widely regarded as one of the top rock music Amphitheater stages, under the artistic leadership of President Sonia Kozlova Clark, Artpark has presented a increasingly diverse program including major North American premiers by companies like the Plasticiens Volants (France) with their unique giant inflatable puppetry; the Brazilian modern dance sensation Bale de Rua mixing the traditions of capoeira and B-boy; music acts varying from Boy George to George Clinton and Thievery Corporation; the Native-American DJ duo A Tribe Called Red and Ukranian folk-punk band DakhaBrakha. A new Strawberry Moon Festival has been established in 2019 to celebrate the global influence of the indigenous arts. In 2016 Artpark has developed a unique Artpark Percussion Garden, a new place for sound and nature explorations with interactive installations created by collaboration of visual artists and musicians. Same year we launched a long-term initiative Artpark Laboratory under curatorship of Mary Miss and her City as Living Laboratory, focusing on the exploration of intersections of art, nature, science and technologies and creating awareness on the global climate change crisis. For more information, visit artpark.net.