3rd Saturdays at Morris View for 2016
by Dr. Lynn L. Siebert, Director of Arts Participation & Communications, Morris Arts
January 16, 2016: Quartet from Tsu Fil Duvids(Yiddish for "Too Many Daves")
Tsu Fil Duvids is a klezmer ensemble based in central NJ comprised of Piano Dave Schlossberg, Clarinet Dave Goldfarb, Bass Dave Schiff, Rob (Dave) Lowe on violin, Asher (Dave) Siebert on trumpet, Bill (Dave) Selden on accordion, Richard (Dave) Buchbinder on melodica/keyboard, and Beverly (Davida) Novick on poyk. The ensemble plays traditional, contemporary, and original klezmer music from Eastern Europe, Greece, Bulgaria,Turkey, Macedonia, Latin America and American sources. The irresistible syncopated rhythms and haunting tunes will have you clapping hands and tapping feet in no time. The group has been heard at LimmudNY, LimmudPhillylearningfest, Smokey Joe’s (Teaneck, NJ), Highland Park’s Street Festivals, the Rejoice Festival of Jewish Music (South Brunswick, NJ), at Morris View and many points in between.
Web:sites.google.com/site/tfdklezmer. E-mailTsu Fil Duvids. Tsu Fil Duvids is available for gigs throughout New Jersey. For information contact:djgoldfarb or muddyschiff - both at gmail.com
photo by Karen Mancinelli
February 20, 2016: Valentine’s Day program with the Morris Music Men
Residents of Morris View Healthcare facility enjoyed a belated Valentine’s Day serenade - on February 21st – when the Morris Music Men’s barbershop chorus and local quartet, The Four Old Parts, brought their a cappella harmonies to the Morris View atrium. The concert is part of a monthly performance series programmed by Morris Arts in collaboration with the County of Morris. The Morris Music Men – a group dedicated to the preservation and promotion of barbershop singing - are also among the local arts organizations receiving grants from Morris Arts– with funding made possible through the New Jersey State Council on the arts/Department of State, a Partner Agency of the National Endowment for the Arts.
March 19, 2016: Marie Moore School of Irish Dance
Morris View celebrated St. Patrick’s Day in style with dancers from The Marie Moore School of Irish Dancing. Begun in 1990 in Scotch Plains, NJ, the school expanded to Manhattan and Queens, NYC. The school currently has locations Scotch Plans, Pennington and Millington, NJ. One of the most competitive and successful Irish Dance Schools in the area, producing many champion dancers, the school trains students for both solo and team competitions. Many dancers compete at Regional, National and International level and have appeared on National TV as well as performed at Radio City, Carnegie Hall, and on Broadway. Many have also been part of professional shows like Riverdance and Lord of the Dance. Year round, the students perform at nursing homes, hospitals as well as weddings, parties etc. They also march in parades such as those on St. Patrick's Day and Memorial Day.
April 16, 2016: The Feinberg Brothers Trio: Classic Bluegrass
Featuring brothers Rourke (fiddle, lead vocal), Patrick (Mandolin, Tenor), and their father Ronnie (guitar, vocals), the band marries classical training to bluegrass tradition, delighting audiences with tight, soulful harmonies, and masterful techniques on fiddle, mandolin and guitar. They have performed widely at bluegrass festivals, radio broadcasts and country music shows (including the fabled Wheeling Jamboree) and just released their first CD in June 2015. Video: (Wheeling Jamboree)
May 21, 2016: Duo from Claremont Strings & Ensembles
On May 21, a duo from Claremont Strings and Ensembles will perform a program of music spanning three centuries from Bach and Vivaldi to Fauré, Tchaikowsky and Weil. The Ensemble,a NYC based professional collaboration oftop-rate instrumentalists specializing in concerts and events, includes core members who are graduates of major conservatories and universities: Juilliard , Mannes MSM ,Yale , Columbia , Harvard , Peabody, Curtis Institute, and Moscow Conservatory just to name a few. Collectively they have performed in venues such as Avery Fisher Hall, Alice Tully Hall, Town Hall, Weil Hall, Zankel Hall, the new Rose Center in NYC and others. The ensemble has also collaborated with opera and jazz singers and several members have appeared in movies under SAG auspices. Founder and cellist Vivian Penham attended Juilliard and Columbia and was a Goethe Institute Fellow at the University of Freiburg. Shefreelances with the New England Symphonic Ensemble and Scandia Symphony, Teatro Lirico Europa. She was solo cellist on tour with Phantom of The Opera in Asia and South America
June 18, 2016: The Richard Reiter Swing Trio
This band, for over twenty years New Jersey’s most popular swing combo, performs familiar standards from the swing era, highlighting America’s greatest composers, including Gershwin, Berlin, Porter, Ellington, etc. The group features Reiter on saxophone, clarinet and flute, plus vocalist Tricia Slafta, accompanied by Mitch Schechter on keyboard. Repertoire includes: "Our Love is Here to Stay," "Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy," "As Time Goes By,” "Sing SingSing," and "Jump Jive an' Wail.”
Richard Reiter, an Emmy Award winning composer, has performed as guest jazz saxophone soloist with the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, featured artist on PBS television, on-stage clarinet soloist in Bob Fosse's Broadway musical "Dancin'," and backup for such notables as Frank Sinatra, Tony Bennett, Johnny Mathis and Nancy Wilson. Of Reiter's group, Gil Perlroth wrote in the Westport (Connecticut) News: "Focused around Richard Reiter's soaring sax and Tricia Slafta's beautiful voice, the RICHARD REITER SWING BAND has a great feel for this music...the audience cheered and gave them a standing ovation." Reiter’s web site is
July 16, 2016: Alborada Spanish Dance Theatre
Through dances, drama and music, Alborada Spanish Dance Theater’s passionate artistry reveals the many diverse and historical threads that comprise the multicultural fabric of Spanish culture. Both entertaining and educational, the variety of its repertoire runs the artistic gamut from Spanish Gypsy Flamenco and traditional dances to Hispanic, Celtic and Moorish cultural influences and beyond.Founded in 1965, it presents a broad perspective of Spanish culture and traditions, and distinguishes itself from other Spanish dance companies by bringing to the stage such dance dramas as El Amor Brujo, dramatizations of the poetry of Federico Garcia Lorca, as well as regional and traditional dances from all parts of Spain. Incorporated as a nonprofit in 1995, the company has performed at NYC’s Symphony Space, MPAC, Crossroads Theatre, the George Street Playhouse, local colleges and universities as well as at venues in Philadelphia, Washington DC, Miami and San Francisco. It has also appeared on NJN TV, at NJPAC’s Festival of Dance and received grants from multiple sources, including from the Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation. Visit for more information.
August 20, 2016: Spook Handy: Remembering Pete Seeger
A well-beloved folk singer and crowd favorite, Spook Handy returns this year to Morris View showcasing his special tribute to Pete Seeger. With over 50 performances alongside Peter Seeger, Spook learned Pete’s songs and the stories firsthand and is now on a three year “Remembering Pete Seeger” World Tour, sharing Pete’s musical legacy in all 50 U.S states, all 13 Canadian provinces and territories, all NJ counties as well as internationally. Spook’s new CD, Pete, Woody and Me – Volume I, is due out by year’s end, and he was named “Best Folk Artist” by Upstage Magazine, Gannett New Jersey, The Courier News, The Home News and About.com.
September 17, 2016: Greg Giannascoli: Mallet Master
The blinding speed and precision of this marimba/percussion artist have won him top honors at numerous, prestigious international competitions. Giannascoli performed at Carnegie Hall, internationally and on CBC, NPR radio and PBS TV. On the Juilliard faculty, he leads master classes at top conservatories and has recorded five acclaimed solo CDs. Splendid Music Magazine wrote, “Giannascoli’s performance…was nothing less than astonishing, both in terms of artistry and virtuosity… a startling display of clarity and precision,” while Classical New Jersey stated, “Here is music played so well it would capture and hold anybody’s attention indefinitely.” Giannascoli is truly the mallet master.
Video:
October15, 2016: Harmonium Choral Society
Winner of the prestigious Chorus America’s 2009 Education Outreach Award, this premier vocal ensemble is renowned for its richly diverse programming and high artistic level. Celebrating its 36th anniversary season, Harmonium presents a highly diverse program ranging from the Renaissance to 21st century as well as international works, from Nigerian to Cuban. Under the inspired direction of Dr. Anne Matlack, members of Harmonium include many music educators and singers from teens to retired folks, performing a capella as well as with percussion and handbells.
For more information, visit:
November 19, 2016: Melanie Mitrano sings Portuguese Fado and Brazilian music
This musical presentation will include two distinct examples of Portuguese-language music: Brazilian music and Fado, the traditional folk music of Portugal. Award-winning ASCAP composer and singer Melanie Mitrano, who is fluent in Portuguese, pens and performs her own Portuguese-language music, which she will present alongside well-known Brazilian and Portuguese compositions. She will be joined by two talented guitarists, Dave Rimelis and José Luis Iglesias, who will play a variety of different instruments, including acoustic guitar, Portuguese guitar, mandolin and violin.
A graduate of the Eastman School of Music, the first woman to receive a Doctor of Musical Arts degree from Boston’s New England Conservatory, Melanie has worked with many top classical composers, sung with numerous ensembles and recorded several film soundracks. For more information, visit
December 17, 2016: Light Stream Orchestra, classically oriented meditative musicand multimedia presentation
The Light Stream Orchestra plays original compositions that are soothing to the soul and provide a meditative and transformative atmosphere. The music will be accompanied by a specially focused multimedia show that brings extra depth to their performance and the listening experience. The Light Stream Orchestra music has been used for healing and inspiration in a variety of venues including religious services, healing services, metaphysical fairs and gallery openings. The program combines classically oriented melodies arranged for flute, piano and guitar and scenes of nature’s beauty.
The group was founded in January of 2015 with members Patricia Lazzara (flutist), Bobby Becker (guitar) and Bob Victor (keyboards). The "mission" of the Light Stream Orchestra is to express peace, joy, and harmony through music. For more information,visit