Homepage

The JCT Trio — pronounced “junction” — plans to bring an ever-evolving musical dialogue to Chautauqua Institution.

JCT Trio will perform at 4 p.m. Monday, July 8 in Elizabeth S. Lenna Hall as part of the Chautauqua Chamber Music Guest Artist Series. The trio prioritizes a musical approach that cellist Jay Campbell describes as a “dynamic, fluid thing” — allowing for musical evolution and diverse audience interpretations.

Like many chamber music groups, the trio often performs music that is decades, if not centuries, old. Today’s performance features Christopher Trapani’s “Passing Through, Staying Put,” Charles Ives’ Piano Trio, Op. 86 and Antonín Dvořák’s Piano Trio in F minor, B. 130, Op. 65.

Campbell said the members aim to present the music from new perspectives.

“We’re not just trying to emulate the musical heroes we grew up with, but trying to bring something fresh and new to it,” Campbell said. “There’s a lot of different perspectives in the group, and we’re coming to these pieces that we’ve all known for a long time from very different angles. But there’s something in our approach that, to me at least, shows a similar aesthetic and a similar interpretation in terms of how we want to bring this music to life.”

Chamber music, which features a small group of musicians who each play an individual instrument, allows for an approach that Campbell describes as a type of conversation.

“Chamber music, at its best, feels like a dialogue,” Campbell said. “Each person has a very distinct, individual voice saying what they want to say into the piece to the audience — and to each other. Ultimately, it’s a dynamic, fluid thing — we’re working something out on stage.”

The JCT Trio’s goal is to help that conversation evolve. Campbell said many chamber music performances feature a group of musicians who play together only once.

“There was a feeling that when we do pick up chamber music, you play the piece once and then you never see those people again, so it doesn’t feel like you have this cumulative effect of playing pieces multiple times, growing with the same people and getting to know each other’s playing,” Campbell said.

Campbell and the other two members of the JCT Trio, Stefan Jackiw and Conrad Tao, wanted to create a longterm project where their music could evolve together.

“That was something that was kind of missing from our lives, so we thought it’d be fun to have this ongoing trio that we could perform in when we weren’t off doing our own projects,” Campbell said.

Campbell said that audience members’ interpretations of music are unique and unpredictable, and he believes that musical performances provide an “open door” of interpretive possibility.

“When you get out on stage and play something, you can’t really force someone to feel anything; they’re going to have a very individual, unique experience no matter what you’re playing,” Campbell said. “For me, performing is about opening up a door. If people want to step through it, they can.” 

This is the trio’s first visit to Chautauqua. Deborah Sunya Moore, vice president of performing and visual arts, said the performers have made a name for themselves both as soloists and as a group.

“The three performers are soloists in their own right, so I’ve always been aware of them and I was excited to hear that they had formed a trio,” Moore said.

After their performance this afternoon, the trio will take the stage Tuesday as guests of the Chautauqua Symphony Orchestra. Moore said the performers’ impressive background and passion for music led her to book them for both performances.

“I’ve always been impressed with (JCT Trio’s) passion as well as their artistic experience and excellence, so that is one of the reasons that, with them, I decided to do that double booking,” Moore said.

Corey Jaskolski captures beauty, history and humanity through technology.

The National Geographic fellow, inventor, photographer, explorer and tech developer will open Week Three’s morning lecture platform — themed “A Planet in Balance: A Week in Partnership with National Geographic Society” — at 10:45 a.m. Monday, July 8 in the Amphitheater.

Jaskolski’s background is in technology; he specializes in creating devices — archaeology search drones, robotic underwater cameras, color night vision platforms, 3D scanning camera traps and underwater laser scanners — for researching the world’s most challenging environments, like deep-ocean ridges, dense jungles and arid deserts. He holds multiple patents for his inventions.

“I’m an engineer primarily, and all of my work is focused on helping people see the world in a new light,” he said at the 2012 National Geographic Explorers Festival. “By that I mean developing technologies to help us peer into the world in a way we haven’t been able to before.”

His company, Hydro Technologies, builds sensing and imaging solutions for NASA and departments in the U.S. Navy and U.S. Special Forces. Additionally, Jaskolski co-founded Virtual Wonders, a company focused on capturing and sharing the world through 3D scanning. These efforts aim to make extraordinary images accessible and engaging to the masses.

“We’re so inundated by images,” Jaskolski said in a 2013 interview with MIT Technology Review. “What used to be so compelling in photography 30 years ago, these days people look at for only a quarter of a second on a mobile device.”

Moreover, Jaskolski’s imaging solutions aim to capture animals and places before the effects of climate change and human encroachment become irreversible. Jaskolski founded the nonprofit Digital Preservation Project, focused on preserving threatened archaeology through 3D scanning.

“We really are at a tipping point; a lot of these things that are beautiful and important to us right now are going to cease to exist in our lifetimes and our children’s lifetimes — whether it’s archaeology sites being destroyed or looted, or whether it’s animals going extinct,” he said at the 2012 National Geographic Explorers Festival.

Technology can also “stand where we can’t stand.” Jaskolski’s work has taken him into Antarctica’s frigid water, the reported tomb of Jesus, the Titanic wreckage, King Tut’s tomb, Chichen Itza and underwater caves containing the remains of Mayan human sacrifice victims — explorations made possible because of technology.

“What’s sitting 20 or 30,000 feet down there in places we haven’t been?” he said. “How many new species are down there to discover — ones that will rewrite our understanding of biology?”

Jaskolski’s work has appeared in National Geographic, on PBS and National Geographic TV channels, as well as in scientific journals; he serves on the Milwaukee Public Museum’s board of directors and holds degrees in physics, mathematics, electrical engineering and computer science from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Jaskolski is one of six National Geographic Explorers on the morning lecture platform this week. National Geographic last partnered with the Institution for a week on “The Human Journey: Origins, Explorations and Preservation” in 2017.

“National Geographic is thrilled to once again partner with Chautauqua Institution to host a week of National Geographic programming,” said Glynnis Breen, National Geographic Society vice president of marketing and engagement. “We look forward to another week together dedicated to pursuing knowledge, instilling curiosity and encouraging thoughtful conservations to better understand our world.”

The view of human history may be clouded by the passage of time — but because of people like Kristin Romey, it’s now possible for some to throw their gazes back through the fog of the “used to be,” and glimpse insights into antiquity.

“Unless you’re an emperor and you’ve got your face on a coin, archaeology is super difficult,” said Romey, an archaeology editor and writer for National Geographic, “especially when it comes to zeroing in on a single individual, and even proving that person’s existence.”

Romey has reported on archaeology for National Geographic since February 2016, and in 2017 wrote a feature for the magazine on “What Archaeology is Telling Us About the Real Jesus.”

At 2 p.m. Monday, July 8 in the Hall of Philosophy, Romey will bring clarity to the beginnings of Christendom as part of the Week Three Interfaith Lecture Series: “What Archaeology Tells Us About Biblical Times.” Romey’s lecture will walk “In the Footsteps of Jesus: A journalist’s quest into the origins of Christianity.”

“When we set out to look at the archaeology of Jesus Christ, it wasn’t to say ‘he existed or didn’t exist,’ ” Romey said. “That’s not the point. What really interested me, with my background in the archaeology of the Classical world, is the chaos of the first century.”

Oppressive Roman rule, squabbling Jewish factions and the antagonism between the two led to a “pressure-cooker of time,” according to Romey.

“So it’s kind of interesting to place this Jewish guy who lived in Roman Palestine into that whole mix,” Romey said. “The development of Christianity really comes out of this first century political pressure-cooker.”

But Romey said Jesus wasn’t the only one proclaiming he was the son of God during that time.

“There were plenty of guys out there roaming the deserts and saying that they had a direct line to God,” Romey said. “Why we ended up with this one specific guy who was prosecuted and crucified by the Romans — at some point, we can’t explain what that is. There are accidents in history all the time.”

Part of Romey’s journalistic work has focused on the restoration of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem, which contains what is said to be the sites of Jesus’ crucifixion and tomb.

“What I found out through my reporting was that at the time that Jesus was crucified, about 33 A.D. or so, the location of the Church of the Sepulchre was actually outside the walls of Jerusalem,” Romey said. “It was on a main road leading to the coast, between Jerusalem and the coast. That area had been an old limestone quarry that had been repurposed as a burial ground for wealthy Jews. The archaeology shows us all that.”

Romey has spoken to archaeologists who said the New Testament provided clues which, in turn, pointed to that burial site as being the most logical possibility for the location of Jesus Christ’s tomb.

Romey said National Geographic applies a way of approaching subjects for storytelling that can be applied to anything, not just the story of Jesus Christ.

“National Geographic provides a very unique perspective on things,” Romey said. “I’d like to (give my audience) not only a background of looking at Jesus as a character in history, but also how the standard approach to reporting and storytelling that National Geographic does works equally well for Jesus as it does for snow leopards.”

Three of the 2018 Sigma Alpha Iota voice competition winners will join forces with the Music School Festival Orchestra in concert at 8:15 p.m. Monday, July 8 in the Amphitheater. The MSFO’s second public performance of the season will feature five pieces sung by the SAI winners and, after intermission, a selection of suites from Sergei Prokofiev’s ballet, Romeo and Juliet.

The student vocalists are baritone Luke Sutliff, mezzo-soprano Marie Engle and tenor Matthew Cairns. The chance to perform with the MSFO this year is part of their prize for winning last year’s SAI voice competition.

The concert will feature Maria Fuller in her Chautauqua debut. Fuller is the 2019 David Effron Conducting Fellow, who is studying under Timothy Muffitt, artistic and music director and conductor of the MSFO. She will be conducting the first two pieces of the concert: Richard Wagner’s “Prelude to Die Meistersinger” and Charles Gounod’s “Avant de quitter ces lieux,” from his opera Faust.

“I’m super excited to be here; it’s an honor to be the David Effron Conducting Fellow,” Fuller said. “This orchestra is extremely good. They’re extremely quick and they’re very eager to follow. They’re sensitive listeners, and they’re watching (when I conduct), which is really good.”

Sutliff will be singing the Gounod piece — which translates from French to “Before I leave this place” — an aria in which the singer, as he goes off to war, prays for the safety of the younger sister he’s leaving behind. The piece has a special meaning to Sutliff.

“I take that very personally because I have a younger sister,” Sutliff said. “I’m not always there to look out for her, so I connect really personally to this piece because, in a way, I want whatever’s out there, or whoever it is — I want them to protect my younger sister.”

The next piece will be sung by Engle — Gustav Mahler’s “Ich bin der Welt abhanden gekommen,” from Mahler’s Rückert-Lieder song cycle. This German piece translates to “I am lost to the world” and explores elements of the human psyche, Engle said, as well as faith, love and song.

“It’s not actually about death,” she said. “It’s about overcoming the travails of life through different means.”

Engle has sung the German lied with piano accompaniment before, but to do it with the whole MSFO is an entirely different and special experience for her.

“It’s a dream come true to get to do (the piece) with orchestra because it’s much more rich in color,” Engle said. “To add in strings and brass and woodwinds really brings the piece to life in a totally different way.”

Next, Cairns will sing “Che gelida manina” from Giacomo Puccini’s opera La Boheme, which means “What a frozen little hand” in Italian, and is about a man singing of his dreams, ambition and love to a woman who has come into his room to relight her candle.

Cairns will then join Sutliff in a duet from George Bizet’s opera The Pearl Fishers called “Au fond du temple saint,” or “Into the holy temple.” In this piece, two friends recall how love for the same woman came between them in the past and swear never to let that happen again.

“(They say) ‘let us swear to remain friends’ and ‘let nothing part us,’ and I find that really wholesome,” Sutliff said.

Following intermission, the MSFO will launch into a 35-minute compilation of nine suites from Prokofiev’s Romeo and Juliet: “Montagues and Capulets,” “The Child Juliet,” “Madrigal,” “Masks,” “Romeo and Juliet,” “Death of Tybalt,” “Romeo at Juliet Before Parting,” “Romeo at the Grave of Juliet” and “The Death of Juliet.” Though these pieces represent a small selection from the much-longer ballet, Muffitt chose these suites to give the audience an idea of the full drama and emotional arc of the story.

“It’s extraordinary music,” Muffitt said. “There’s really nothing else out there quite like it in terms of the drama and the passion and the beauty that’s written into this music. … This is a work that is a very important piece for these young musicians to be playing because it’s immensely difficult.”

It is a unique challenge for the orchestra to play with vocalists.

“Working with singers is a very different way of making music, in a good way, and what I find is that instrumentalists learn a whole lot about music-making when they work with singers,” Muffitt said. “I mean, singing is the original musical instrument and it’s the most natural way of making music.”

The singers learn from performing with a full orchestra as well, and it is an opportunity that they do not often get.

“I’ve not sung beside an orchestra like this,” Sutliff said. “The piano can bring out a lot of what the orchestra is … but I don’t think one really understands the motive and intensity of the composition that the composer constructed until they hear how it was exactly supposed to sound. That’s something I’m looking forward to; to have the moment to really understand what (the composers were) trying to portray to the audience.”

Each summer, Chautauquans showcase their American spirit with a day filled with celebrations of country and community. The Children’s School parade, Chautauqua Community Band concert, Independence Day Pops Celebration, and fireworks over a flare-lined Chautauqua Lake make for an Independence Day celebration like none other.

If the Institution grounds appeared on the Marauder’s Map, thousands of footprints would be appearing Saturday around the Amphitheater.

Chautauqua Symphony Orchestra will perform “Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban in Concert” at 8:15 p.m. Saturday, July 6 in the Amphitheater. Conducted by internationally recognized conductor and film composer John Beal, the CSO will perform the film’s score live while the film plays overhead.

Beal, who first visited the Institution last year as the guest conductor for “Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets in Concert,” said there is no better way to experience a film’s score than with a live orchestra — and these scores will become the next classic compositions.

“I am a strong believer that there is nowhere else but on the concert stage one can experience the emotional impact of a film score properly presented with a living, breathing group of master musicians,” Beal said. “This is the new ‘classical’ music of our era, and our major film composers are right up there, in my estimation, with the greatest composers of history.”

Many concert attendees may be unfamiliar with symphony music, Beal said — but the performances are an opportunity to experience the music beneath the movie.

“For some people, this is the first time they have ever heard a full symphony orchestra perform,” Beal said. “Some have no idea that this is what is happening underneath the dialogue and action in a movie. I hope these experiences will bring more and more people into the symphony hall to hear everything they possibly can from our musical heritage.”

Beal said the score of “Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban” is his favorite of film composer John Williams’ works because of the music’s versatility and complexity.

“This particular score of John’s is quite interesting, in that it pays tribute to an extremely wide range of musical history, from early Renaissance to jazz to traditional John Williams,” Beal said. “The colors are fascinating, and the challenges of performing these incredibly varying tempos and styles while staying in perfect synchronization with the movie are psychologically and emotionally exciting, for both the orchestra and the audience.”

Beal finds that the Harry Potter franchise’s fanbase brings exceptional energy to the concerts.

“Every show is packed with fans of all ages wearing Harry Potter clothing,” Beal said. “I went to a concert at the Hollywood Bowl last weekend and there were 16,000 people — many of whom were quite middle-aged adults — in all sorts of Harry Potter looks.”

To Beal, audience excitement and involvement is an integral part of these concerts.

“One of my favorite things about conducting these great shows is being able to hear the audience responding — and we definitely encourage that,” Beal said. “We hear delighted children, we hear the cheers and boos from teens and adults. It makes the incredibly difficult challenge of intense preparation and performing worthwhile.”

Deborah Sunya Moore, vice president of performing and visual arts, said that every season, Chautauquans turn up in the thousands for the Harry Potter events.

“One of the most exciting things for us is seeing the Amphitheater — every seat filled for an orchestra concert,” Moore said. “Even though we always have healthy audiences for orchestra concerts, we are not used to having almost 4,000 people for orchestra concerts.”

That audience, Moore said, is made up of all ages — especially young people, who can experience the films they grew up with in a brand new way.

“Seeing every seat filled and seeing such an intergenerational audience is particularly thrilling for us, to see so many young people seeing a live orchestra performing something that is meaningful and magical for them,” Moore said.

Although Buffalo Day at Chautauqua has come and gone, this weekend the Chautauqua Women’s Club is sponsoring a second day in recognition and appreciation of the transformation of New York’s second-largest city. Situated within Erie County and along Lake Erie’s southeastern shore, this border city forms part of the Canada-United States Buffalo Niagara Region.   

A “Celebrate Buffalo Arts” sale featuring pieces from 15 select Buffalo artists will be held from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday, July 6 under the tent on the lawn in front of the CWC House.

And at 2 p.m. in the Hall of Philosophy, Buffalo Mayor Byron W. Brown II will give a talk titled, “Inclusion Infusion: How embracing diversity and inclusion is bettering the City of Buffalo in government and beyond,” for the Contemporary Issues Forum.

“From graduation and going forward, I was feeling Buffalo was a very segregated city,” Brown said. “There was a divide. Even though Buffalo was considered a City of Good Neighbors, the neighbors didn’t live together. There was a decline in certain neighborhoods and an income decline.”

Brown, who was elected in November 2017 to his fourth four-year term leading Western New York’s largest city, grew up in Queens. A first-generation college graduate, he ventured west to earn a dual Bachelor of Arts degree in political science and journalism at the State University College at Buffalo, also known as Buffalo State College.

Years later, Brown completed Harvard University’s program for senior executives in state and local government at the John F. Kennedy School of Government.

“I had an interest in how politics helps shape our world, our nation and our communities,” Brown said. “I wanted to work in public communications in a political environment, which I did.”

Although he started out as a regional sales representative for Bristol-Myers Squibb after college, Brown was soon hired as the chief of staff to the president of the Buffalo Common Council, the city’s representative assembly and legislative branch. He then served for two years as an aide to an Erie County legislator, and another two years as an aide to the deputy speaker of the New York State Assembly.

“From those positions, having done extensive work in the community, I made the decision that I could have a greater impact on the community than by being a staffer,” Brown said. “I was interested in community development and improving the landscape of the community.”

In 1989, Ebony magazine recognized Brown as one of “30 Leaders of the Future,” citing his leadership skills in particular. Two years later, the Southern Christian Leadership Conference’s Buffalo Chapter bestowed on him the Martin Luther King Jr. Award for community service.

Brown said that economic development — “creating jobs and opportunities for other residents” — was very much of interest to him, as was “getting average, everyday residents more involved so they’d have a larger voice in the community.”

After Erie County’s executive appointed him director of the county division of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, Brown served in the position for eight years. In July 1993, he resigned to run for public office.

The same year, Buffalo Business First included him on its “40 Under 40 Honorees.”

Brown’s first publicly elected office was the seat for the Buffalo Common Council’s Masten District, which he won in September 1995, after defeating the incumbent, who had held it for 18 years. Brown was reelected twice to this seat.

In 2000 and 2004, he ran for and won the state senate seat for the 57th district — making history by being the first African American New York state senator to represent a district outside of New York City, and the first member of a minority race to represent a majority white state senate district.

Two years after his second senate victory, Brown was elected Buffalo’s first African American mayor.

“There were many people who told me, ‘Don’t do it or you’ll lose,’ ” he said. “I had a vision that I could … bring people together, and through diversity, equity and inclusion make Buffalo more vibrant. … Now in 2019, being in my fourth term, we’ve seen well over $7 billion of economic development in the city.”

When he first became mayor in 2006, Brown said he “wanted to get people to believe in themselves and each other more.”

Enhancing the quality of public education is one of many ways in which he has been trying to raise individual and community self-esteem.

Although New York’s education law does not provide mayors with the authority to manage the city’s public schools, Brown said that his efforts to support public education include increasing municipal aid and instituting reading and higher education programs.

“I have a literacy program that I started in the New York state legislature,” Brown said. “ ‘Reading Rules’ is the mayor’s summer reading call. Last year, more than 2,000 children completed the summer reading challenge.”

He has also established the Mayor Byron W. Brown Summer Youth Internship Program.

According to Brown, this year the city will be employing more than 1,700 young people. Among other things, program participants learn job and life skills that better prepare them for continuing education and future success.

In 2011, under Brown’s leadership, Buffalo became the second city in the nation to partner with the nonprofit Say Yes to Education. The city contributes to a Say Yes fund that pays for support services for at-risk, economically disadvantaged youth and their families. It also provides full scholarships to impoverished children for college or vocational training.

“We have seen graduation rates increase and college matriculation rates increase,” Brown said.

Buffalo’s finances present a challenge that is central to Brown’s mayoral responsibilities.

“The management systems we have put in place enabled us to increase the city’s credit rating and reduce its tax burden,” he said. “In 2019, people are paying less in residential and commercial taxes than they were in 2005. That has stimulated more investment residentially and commercially.”

The prime lending rate in the City of Buffalo has also been reduced.

During the past several years, Buffalo has been receiving national and international attention for its booming waterfront redevelopment, Buffalo Niagara Medical Campus, expanding fine and performing arts, in addition to new and historic architecture.

According to Brown, economic development has increased in all directions. In the city’s previously neglected East Side neighborhood, he said there are currently more than $300 million worth of redevelopment projects.

Job creation is another accomplishment of which Brown is proud.

“Just last week M&T Bank made the decision to bring its tech hub, with 1,000 jobs, to Buffalo, and to locate it in One Seneca Tower, the tallest building in Buffalo,” Brown said. “There’s a much greater sense of optimism.”

Welcome to the third week of our 146th Assembly! I am writing this column on the Fourth of July, one of my favorite times here at Chautauqua. From the Children’s School parade, where our youngest Chautauquans participate in earnest in a time-honored tradition, to the sounds of the Chautauqua Community Band playing patriotic favorites, it’s a slice of Americana that lifts the soul. Equally dynamic, however, was the morning lecture by Risa Goluboff, dean of the University of Virginia School of Law, who walked us through issues of free speech after the Charlottesville riots, where white supremacists and neo-Nazis clashed with protesters. It’s one of the best examples of what Chautauqua does at its finest: Rather than duck the issues, respectfully tackle them in dialogue, across difference, seeking solutions. I couldn’t have thought of a more fitting way to celebrate our nation’s birthday.

A similar moment happened at a reception at the President’s Cottage this week. Someone asked a question about how we might diversify Chautauqua, and one guest’s response elicited a counter-response from someone of another race, questioning the assumptions made. Instead of screaming or ducking the question, they publicly and respectfully challenged the premises and afterward sat with one another to find a deeper sense of shared meaning. This is the Chautauqua we hope to most lift up.

Which brings us to Week Three of our assembly, one that celebrates one of our most dynamic partnerships, that with National Geographic. This week we join our friends at NatGeo in exploring “A Planet in Balance.” In response to a rapidly changing planet, National Geographic is leveraging its legacy of exploration, innovation and vibrant storytelling to further solutions. From funding cutting-edge technologies to leading advancements in science communication, we’ll uncover how NatGeo is using 21st-century tools to shape the future of exploration and to address the greatest challenge our world has ever faced. Together we’ll look at:

• The status of the planet, and how the most advanced conservation technology is being deployed to show how nature and culture are changing in real time;
• How exploration and the communication of science work in tandem to protect the environment so that all species have a shot at survival;
• Earth’s last wild places, to learn about the efforts to protect and restore those habitats before it’s too late;
• The planet’s extreme environments, and seek clues offered there for surviving the impact of the changes we are facing; and
• our own choices, discovering how we can reduce our human footprint.

In our companion Interfaith Lecture Series, we honor the practice of exploration by examining “What Archaeology Tells Us about Biblical Times.” Christians and all peoples of the world are drawn to Biblical sites in Israel, tracking the historical Jesus. These sites are not only vibrant centers of pilgrimage and faith, but monuments of archeological significance as well. Through recent work in Israel titled “The Search for the Real Jesus,” National Geographic, for example, has discovered a way to help us see that the scientific and the spiritual can and do coexist. We look forward to a week of walking between those two ways of seeing the world.

Speaking of exploring the impacts of faith and the journey of discovery, Peter and I had a chance to see Chautauqua Theater Company’s production of The Christians this past week. If you haven’t done so, it’s a thought-provoking piece and worthy of a look.

As always, there is so much in any given week to hold up as something “not to miss.” What has become an annual favorite tradition during my tenure is the Chautauqua Symphony Orchestra’s performance alongside a Harry Potter film, this one “Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban.” Peter and I are so excited to take our nephews and have them fall in love with the symphony through this vehicle. And then there’s also the CHQ Olympics. So much fun is packed into a week that includes the incredible work of our artistic companies, preachers, teachers and speakers. Whether you’re with us for the first time this week, or continuing your own Chautauqua journey from the week prior, I hope that you allow your spirit to be filled with the many offerings that this magical place provides.

And even more so, I hope what we have discovered on platforms, stages and porches so far this summer — the notion of engaging across difference — gives you hope for our society. As Dean Goluboff said Thursday, if you want to know how to engage with someone who thinks differently than you, start with a question of understanding, versus a statement to be heard. Imagine if we could all do this here, and then take it out across the country. Then, perhaps, there is hope.

Enjoy Week Three and one another,

Michael E. Hill

Eric Klinenberg believes the key to a more equitable society lies in shared spaces — specifically, in libraries.

Klinenberg, professor of sociology and director of the Institute for Public Knowledge at New York University, and author of Palaces for the People: How Social Infrastructure Can Help Fight Inequality, Polarization, and the Decline of Civic Life, spoke at 10:45 a.m. Friday, July 5 in the Amphitheater, closing Week Two’s theme, “Uncommon Ground:  Communities Working Toward Solutions.”

Klinenberg tried to impart the importance of libraries to his daughter through a social experiment. The plan was to take her to the new Amazon 4-Star store in SoHo, and refrain from buying anything. Next, he was going to take her to the Seward Park Library and let her check out anything she asked for.

However, his plan fell apart when the library was closed. Klinenberg forgot libraries closed on Sundays.

“Not long ago, Sundays were actually the busiest day in the New York Public Library system because on Sundays, what you want is to go be with your family in a place that’s generous, and to be with your neighbors, and just to have that time,” Klinenberg said.

According to Klinenberg, the experiment was a “powerful experience” that taught him the vital role of social infrastructures.

“When I say ‘social infrastructure,’ what I mean is that in the same way we have a lower-level infrastructure that supports things like water, power, transit —  things we take for granted — there is a set of physical places and organizations that shapes our capacity to participate in social life,” he said.

Klinenberg was first introduced to social infrastructure as a graduate student. The first project he completed for his program was about the 1995 Chicago heat wave.

In 1995, the temperature in Chicago hit 106 degrees, but “felt like 126 degrees.” Over the course of five days, thousands of residents were hospitalized and 739 died.

“I got really curious about what happened,” Klinenberg said. “I wanted to understand who died and why they died and where they died.”

The first thing Klinenberg did was draw maps of the mortality patterns. One thing jumped out right away: Chicago is a “famously segregated and unequal city.”

“The parts of Chicago that were most likely to suffer, that had the most deaths, were the neighborhoods on the South Side and the West Side where there is concentrated African American poverty,” he said.

Klinenberg said he doubts anyone would be surprised to learn that poor communities were hit the hardest.

“Is there a single person in this room who is surprised by the fact that when this heat wave came, this natural disaster came, that the poorest and most vulnerable areas were hit the hardest?” he said. “I don’t think so. That’s what we expect. That’s why that concept of ‘natural disaster’ is ridiculous. There is nothing ‘natural’ about that disaster.”

But when he looked closer, he saw something everyone else missed.

“The really amazing thing about what happened in Chicago, the real moment where social science helps us understand something we couldn’t otherwise see, is that there was also a set of neighborhoods in Chicago that looked, on paper, demographically like they should have fared catastrophically during this event,” he said. “But in fact, they proved to be some of the safest neighborhoods in Chicago, safer than the very affluent neighborhoods on the North Side.”

The neighborhoods of Englewood and Auburn Gresham border each other in Chicago’s South Side, but the impact the heat wave had on each of them could not have been more different.

According to Klinenberg, Englewood had suffered for decades before the heat wave hit. Factories had closed down, jobs disappeared and in response, thousands of people left.

“It feels bombed out,” he said. “It’s not just that there’s segregation and poverty over here, it’s that the social infrastructure is bombed out.”

In order to survive in Englewood, Klinenberg said people made their homes as nice as they could. They hunkered down and avoided socializing.

“What happens is if you live over here, you don’t ordinarily go out and talk to your neighbors and get to know people, like you do in Chautauqua, or even on the other side of the street,” he said. “That’s fine most of the time, but when a heat wave comes and your survival strategy is to stay indoors, you cook.”

Auburn Gresham looked the exact same on paper. The data on poverty levels and segregation was identical, except that the neighborhood didn’t experience the same cycle of depopulation.

“There are no abandoned lots or abandoned houses,” he said. “You still have retail infrastructure, you keep the sidewalks together, you’ve got local churches, you’ve got nonprofit community organizations. So what happens is you talk to each other.”

The socialization in Auburn Greshman made people more likely to check in on each other and help when needed.

“It’s not that in Englewood you don’t care, it’s just that you don’t know each other that well,” he said. “The death rate here in Auburn Gresham is 10 times lower than it is in Englewood. But here’s the really crazy thing: The life expectancy, no matter what the weather is, is five years longer. That’s social infrastructure.”

In September 2012, Klinenberg was teaching at NYU when he announced the university would begin working to rebuild New York City for “a new era.” That work was quickly brought to a halt a month later when Hurricane Sandy hit.

“Sandy was really hard,” he said. “I realized that in New York City even, there’s not really an institution that stands up and helps the city process what happens during a major event like this. I wanted the university to step up and play that role.”

In addition to planning city events focused on hurricane recovery, climate change and the future of New York City, Klinenberg started writing articles about social infrastructure. His work got the attention of the Obama administration.

“They saw this work; they were interested in social infrastructure and they said ‘Look, we are going to have this international design competition to try to generate innovative ideas for how to build infrastructure and structures to help the United States get into the 21st century,’ ” he said.

The competition was called “Rebuild by Design.” Klinenberg was recruited to be the research director and show design teams the “needs, vulnerabilities and possibilities” for the region, post-hurricane.

The teams didn’t come in with a proposal; they came in with a mission statement, and they would shape their proposal in the context of the competition. Klinenberg said bringing in outside perspectives was important, because a lot of leading engineers and policy officials suggested the city build a wall.

“This isn’t really a Republican thing, by the way,” Klinenberg said. “There is a long-standing American history of being confronted with a problem, like say, racial integration, and saying ‘Oh, the solution to this is to build a wall.’ They didn’t invent this, guys; we own it.”

But a wall wouldn’t work to protect Manhattan. The first reason is because the Hudson River’s ecosystem is too fragile to block the flow of water. The second reason is because New Jersey is on the other side.

“If you build a wall to protect Manhattan from a massive climate event, the water and the sediment that was surging in, it doesn’t just evaporate; it goes to New Jersey,” Klinenberg said.

The pattern continues from one state to the next; the question becomes: Where would the wall stop?

“Let’s be honest, we have to ask that question everywhere,” Klinenberg said. “Whether it’s inside the City of Cleveland or Pittsburgh or Chicago or Detroit or New York City, or whether it’s the southern border, where do we stop building the wall? The thing about a wall is, at best, it protects the people who are on the right side and says to everybody else ‘To hell with you, figure it out for yourself.’ And as it happens, a wall works just about as well for water as it does for people, which is not too well.”

Klinenberg was walking a design team around Brooklyn when they pitched him an idea called a “resilience center.” The building was supposed to act as a home away from home. There would be programs geared toward children and the elderly, with activities such as craft classes, book clubs and film screenings. There would also be free Wi-Fi, comfortable seating and coffee.

Klinenberg told the team they just described a library.

“It was weird because they basically just spent months reinventing the wheel,” he said. “I got frustrated about that because I love libraries, but the truth is that we live in a moment where a lot of people do take them for granted, and fail to recognize that we do have these things called libraries.”

Klinenberg recalled an article in Forbes magazine in which a columnist wrote: “A library as an institution is obsolete.” The columnist went on to propose that libraries across the country should get knocked down and replaced with Amazon stores.

Then, an “incredible” thing happened. Librarians united and posted testimonies about the power of libraries on social media.

“They said things about how libraries remain the place where more Americans get early literacy and exposed to books than any other institution,” he said. “The library does more English-as-a-second-language training than any institution. It does more citizenship courses, it provides companionship for older people, it has after-school programming for young people — the same young people we are always telling to get off the streets.”

Along with the resources libraries can provide, Klinenberg said a common theme on social media was how library cards serve as a right of passage.

“For many of us, it’s the first time in our lives that we get officially recognized by the government and by the community as a participant, as a member,” he said.

In response, Forbes took the article down. Klinenberg said he considers it “the only good thing that’s ever happened on Twitter.” However, it worries him that there are still people who think libraries are irrelevant.

“There are people who think if we are going to solve a big problem, we better get an app, we better have a market-based solution to make it sustainable,” he said.

Klinenberg asked the audience to forget that libraries exist, and to imagine pitching the idea of a library to Gov. Andrew Cuomo in Albany. Every aspect of the pitch would be appealing, until someone suggests that everything in the building should be free and operate on a system of trust.

“I am almost willing to guess that the idea that I just pitched to you, this idea of these public libraries, might be one of the most radical ideas ever to be pitched here on the stage of Chautauqua,” he said. “It’s a radical idea, but here’s the crazy thing: We have it. It’s real.”

The “radical” presence of libraries raises a question: “How did that happen?”

“What happened, that we have libraries in every town, in every neighborhood, that welcome us all in, that operate as the best social infrastructure you can get?” he said.

Klinenberg said libraries came to life because of the values of people who lived generations ago.

“People just like us, sat in a place just like this and said ‘I want to live in a society that’s a good society, where everyone has an opportunity, where people do well and live well, but not so outrageously well that it comes at the expense of the well-being of the people around me,’ ” he said.

Libraries were also the result of a government that invested in public good.

“They said ‘We are not just going to say this rhetorically, we are going to put our money there,’ ” he said. “ ‘We are going to invest our tax dollars, we will pay more money. I might have a little bit less, but in the big picture I am going to have a lot more.’ Generations before us said that. That’s why the (Smith Memorial Library) is right there.”

In order to progress as a society and create new, worthwhile social infrastructures, Klinenberg said the current generation needs to start prioritizing the “people coming next.”

“We have to rebuild,” Klinenberg said. “We have to build bridges. We need to reanimate our social life, our civic life and we need to do it now. If we try to do it by building a wall, we’re doomed. But you know how else we’re doomed? If we try to do it on our phones. No two people will argue faster in any form than Twitter if that’s where they meet. You know where we are going to do it? You know where we are going to rebuild? Smith Library over there, and in places like Chautauqua.”

After their first-game loss to the Mayville Pounders, the Chautauqua Arthritics defeated their longtime rival for the first time ever.

On Wednesday, the Arthritics triumphed over the Pounders, 17-14, at Sharpe Field in a Chautauqua slow-pitch men’s softball league game. The rivalry between the Arthritics and the Pounders has existed since the teams’ founding. The Arthritics played smart; their use of good communication was key to their success, according to coach Mike O’Brian. 

O’Brian said small improvements, like calling out who would catch a ball or who should run, were important to the team’s cohesion.

Though the younger members of the Pounders were strong at bat, the Arthritics had a stronger outfield that was always prepared to make a big play.

After the second inning, the score was still low, but going into the third the Arthritics got into gear, scoring 10 runs and gaining a strong lead over the Pounders.

Arthritics outfielder Max Lerman scored a triple, and later a double, scoring five total runs in the third inning.

After moving to defense in the outfield, Lerman delivered a strong performance, catching big hits from the Pounders and keeping the Arthritics ahead. Arthritics pitcher Curtis Paul scored two home runs, while O’Brian scored one, setting the team apart in points and morale. With additional big plays, the Arthritics’ energy on the field grew, drawing cheers from the bench and the stands. Paul said he was proud of his team for the work they put in for the third inning.

“We hit three home runs this game, which was amazing. Our defense played really tight,” Paul said.

Playing in his second game ever for the Arthritics, Paul said he had been to Chautauqua the season before but never thought to join the team. After playing with the Arthritics, Paul said he would be back to continue playing in future seasons. All ages were in attendance for the Arthritics, with fans ranging in age from 15 to late 60s. Commissioner of the men’s softball league Mark Altschuler said he appreciates the players, saying it makes the league “quirky” to have people getting competitive during the games and becoming friends after.

NOW Generation is comprised of Chautauquans ages 21 to 40 who value the Chautauqua experience and devote their time and resources to ensure its continued legacy.

Last Sunday, NOW Generation held its welcome reception for the 2019 season. The reception at the Chautauqua Girls’ Club started with a welcome from Amy Schiller, who reflected on her final year as vice chair of the NOW Generation advisory council.

“It’s been a really incredible year for us, to have so many people here to share things that are going on at Chautauqua as we do at this time,” Schiller said. “I am so happy to see all of you here.”

Schiller was succeeded as vice chair by Kate Groninger. Other council terms that have ended include terms of service by John Haskell, Brian Goehring and Kate McKee Simmons. New council members include Tally Bevis, of Nashville, Tennessee; and Tim Smeal, of Jamestown, New York.

Institution President Michael E. Hill then discussed the new strategic plan, 150 Forward, and the ways in which the plan will be implemented at Chautauqua Institution.

“The strategic plan is trying to look at a new 10-year vision for Chautauqua,” Hill said. “Chautauqua has been bringing people to the grounds to explore the most pressing issues of the day through four pillars, and we believe that you can’t explore issues in the world in silence.”

Hill shared four key objectives and cross-cutting imperatives from the plan. These imperatives include strategic partnerships; mobilization of technology; labor and talent solutions; and inclusion, diversity, equity and accessibility. He then took questions from the crowd and invited members of the NOW Generation to attend the strategic plan weekly information sessions at 3:30 p.m. Thursdays in the Hall of Christ.

Matt Ewalt, vice president and Emily and Richard Smucker Chair for Education, then introduced a special guest to share an update on an educational and regional partnership.

Journey Gunderson, executive director of the National Comedy Center, spoke briefly about the center’s partnership with Chautauqua. Gunderson is a longtime Chautauquan and has worked as a lifeguard and counselor at the Boys’ and Girls’ Club.

“Chautauqua really was a huge factor in the fact that we can even create a National Comedy Center in Jamestown, New York,” Gunderson said. “Being able to point to Chautauqua Institution and say that people will travel for good cultural product is huge; we wouldn’t be here without that.”

Netflix will be launching an annual comedy stand-up hall of fame special, and the National Comedy Center will be the physical permanent exhibition for the show. A bill that was recently passed by United States Congress and signed into law has officially named the center the United States’ Cultural Institution Dedicated to Comedy.

Alyssa Porter, Chautauqua Institution’s new director of youth and family programs, was then welcomed to the podium. Porter has always been interested in recreation and has a master’s degree in recreation administration and leisure studies.

“When I think about recreation, it’s so much more than just athletics,” Porter said. “It’s anything that you do in your free time that’s focused on re-creating who you are. It can be anything you choose to do that betters yourself as a human being.”

Porter said she has the perfect amount of experience to come to Chautauqua and advocate for a bright future based on respect and appreciation for the Institution’s history.

Advisory council updates and highlights for upcoming events were given by Carrie Zachry Oliver.

Some of the events that NOW Generation has planned for this summer include volunteer-led weekly play dates at 10:30 a.m. Tuesdays at Timothy’s Playground and “Wednesdays at the Water” gatherings at 2:15 pm Wednesdays at Children’s Beach. Additional family-friendly activities hosted by the NOW Generation for the community include a kickball game at 10 a.m. Saturday, July 20, at Sharpe Field and Summerfest, a casual celebration following the Old First Night Run/Walk, at 10 a.m. Saturday, Aug. 3, at the Youth Activities Center.

For adults, the NOW Generation is hosting weekly Pub Chats at 4 p.m. Tuesdays at the Athenaeum Hotel bar, and will be the featured community host at 3:30 p.m. July 29 for the Chautauqua Writers’ Center writers-in-residence reading in the Hall of Philosophy.

Zachry Oliver ended by calling Schiller back up to honor her for her work as vice chair, presenting her with flowers and thanking her for her work with the NOW Generation advisory council during her tenure.

Schiller then closed the evening.

“First I wanted to say ‘thank you’ to everyone who’s a part of the Lewis Miller Circle,” Schiller said. “This is one of the ways that we become part of advancing everything that Michael (Hill) has talked about, everything that our wonderful team has talked about today. So it’s just one of those things where we’re really proud that NOW Gen is a part of that effort.”

The Lewis Miller Circle is comprised of NOW Generation members who make an annual gift of $250 to the annual Chautauqua Fund, and will be recognized at a special reception later in July.

Schiller then announced a new initiative to gather on the grounds for a fall weekend event, which will take place Oct. 25-27. This event will bring Chautauquans together during the off-season.

“This is meant to be a complement to CHQ Near You, which is our spring event that has been a really successful nationwide effort to bring Chautauquans together wherever they are year-round,” Schiller said.

Schiller reiterated her appreciation for the NOW Generation membership and their efforts to advance the group’s mission.

“Thanks to everyone who’s made this such a remarkable experience and such a remarkable group,” Schiller said.

For more information about the NOW Generation or to inquire about upcoming events, visit the Facebook page (facebook.com/NOWGenCHQ) or contact Megan Sorenson, staff liaison, at 716-357-6243 or msorenson@chq.org.

There are 660 registered brass bands in England. In New York, there are only two.

One of the two, the Buffalo Silver Band, will return for its third performance at Chautauqua at 2:30 p.m. Sunday, July 7 in the Amphitheater.

David Myro, bass trombone player and the band’s marketing chair, said the group has been looking forward to returning to Chautauqua all year.

“It is a great venue, and there is such a great crowd there in that community,” he said. “It’s a bigger crowd than we usually play for and it’s also one that is really enthusiastic, something that’s important to us as musicians. The setting is just so amazing; Chautauqua is just magical.”

To create a “special, mellow sound,” the British-style brass band has cornets in place of trumpets and primarily consists of horns and percussion.

“We can almost guarantee people will have never heard a sound like ours,” Myro said. “There is no other kind of music that requires a very specific combination of instruments the way ours does.”

Because their style is so unique, Myro said people have misconceptions about the music.

“We all think this style is going to be a marching band, but it’s nothing like that,” he said. “We play all sorts of music, like Broadway, folk tunes, classics and jazz. Yes, the sound is different from other bands, but it’s still versatile. We like to switch it up, keep it captivating for everyone.”

The band is comprised of volunteers and, according to Myro, about a third of the band members are either current or former band directors.

“It puts us in between amateur and professional, but they’re really all good musicians,” he said. “They all have different strengths and musical techniques, so when it all comes together, it creates something special.”

Members of the band aren’t compensated for any performances — they even use donated rehearsal spaces. Myro said the fun and love of music is what drives them year after year.

“We have had a lot of success, but most importantly, we have a lot of fun with it,” Myro said. “I think the quality is good and the people are even better. We try to make the most of every performance. We handle the music with so much care and I think people see that when we perform.”

During their Chautauqua performance, the ensemble will be playing everything from marches to movie scores and patriotic selections. Myro said the selections were made for an intergenerational audience.

“I think the music is attractive to any age,” he said. “We do things that are fun for the kids to see, but it’s clever and surprising enough to make everyone interested. Being at this venue before, we now have a good idea about what the audience enjoys as well as how diverse it is, so choosing a wider range of music like this was important.”

Myro believes the set will be “particularly appealing to Chautauquans” because there is a teaching aspect to the program.

“We touch a lot on what’s behind the music selections, things like the context and the time periods in which the pieces were created,” Myro said. “Like everything at Chautauqua, it has a learning element to it. It makes it richer in the end. I hope people leave with more than what they came with.”

The second performance in this year’s Chautauqua Chamber Music Resident Artist Series, “Brian Zeger & Friends,” will feature pianist and guest voice faculty Brian Zeger alongside three School of Music faculty: violin instructor Nurit Pacht, chamber music coach and viola instructor Kathryn Votapek and cello faculty Tobias Werner. The performance begins at 4 p.m. Saturday, July 6 in Elizabeth S. Lenna Hall.

The performance will focus on French music and composers from the late 19th century. Zeger and Pacht will begin by playing two pieces by Claude Debussy: “Cortège (procession) from ‘Petite Suite’ ” and “La fille aux cheveux de lin (The Girl with the Flaxen Hair).” Then, Zeger will play two solo pieces by Emmanuel Chabrier: “Danse villageoise (Village Dance)” and “Feuillet d’album (Album Leaf).” Finally, all four musicians will play Gabriel Faure’s Piano Quartet No. 2 in G Minor, Op. 45.

All three of these composers lived and worked in Paris in the 1800s, and all the pieces were written in the same decade: the 1880s. By putting these pieces together, Zeger hopes to give the audience a musical portrait of Paris during that time.

“It’s marvelous to create a program with a lot of variety where you might have an American piece, a Russian piece, a French piece — but there’s also something, I think, that can be very seductive about just staying within one world,” Zeger said. “This program is very much like you’re being transported back into that world because all these pieces come from that same environment.”

The Debussy pieces are “charming and short,” Zeger said, each one only a few minutes long. Written when Debussy was a young composer in his 20s, they are relatively uncomplicated and serve as a lovely introduction to the French theme and style of music.

“The Debussy(s) are very good curtain-raisers,” Zeger said. “They’ve got really good tunes, they’re really hummable.”

The solo piano pieces by Chabrier are not often played, but Zeger finds them to be catchy and charming.

“They’re disarming, always surprising harmonically and really fun to play pianistically,” Zeger said. “I love them.”

The concert will finish off with the much longer Faure piano quartet, which is the centerpiece around which Zeger planned the program.

“I’ve known it all my life, and I really love it,” he said. “I think it’s undeservedly little-played.”

Faure’s Piano Quartet No. 1 is better known, but this second quartet has more depth and range to it, Zeger said. He last played it in concert about 20 years ago, and is excited by the chance to perform it again.

“The thing I find really remarkable about it is the third movement — the slow movement — which for me is one of the most profound and haunting pieces for chamber ensemble that I know,” Zeger said. “It particularly features the viola, and the sound of a viola well-played has a very mellow, somber, dark quality, and I think Faure takes advantage of what the viola brings to the ensemble.”

Votapek, on viola, also has great affection for the Faure quartet, and hopes that if audiences don’t know Faure, they will discover and love his work for the first time; and if they do know Faure, they will connect with this, one of his lesser-known works.

“I want them to be moved, like when you go to a movie and you weep,” Votapek said. “I want people to be viscerally moved by this piece.”

Zeger and Votapek have played together once before, last season, but it will be Zeger’s first time performing with Pacht and Werner. However, the unfamiliarity is exciting to him, and he knows that given how talented and experienced they all are, they will have little trouble coming together very well in concert.

“I know they’re all really accomplished professionals, so I look forward to that,” Zeger said. “I think it’s fun to mix it up with new people. … It’s wonderful to meet new colleagues.”

Students in the School of Music will perform in the first open recital of the season at 4 p.m. Sunday, July 7 in Fletcher Music Hall. It is the first of five open recitals this summer; students from any of the school’s three departments — piano, voice and instrumental — can sign up to perform at these events.

The first recital will feature seven student musicians: three pianists, two vocalists, a cellist and a violinist. Some will be performing solo, while others will have accompaniment, in the style of chamber music.

One student musician performing Sunday is Lorenzo Medel, a pianist from Eastman School of Music in Rochester, New York, who is here at the Institution for a second year.

He will play Mephisto Waltz No. 1, in A Major by Franz Liszt. The piece is based on the story of Faust, a fictional character from a classic German legend who sold his soul to the devil in exchange for wealth, power and women.

The piece has some parts that are fast, almost frantic, which projects the feeling of excitement and being chased, as well as a slow, expressive section.

“I love playing pieces that have a storyline, and I believe this piece is such a great piece because it projects so many emotions and it projects so many characters in the story,” Medel said. “Whenever the piece is projecting excitement or somebody chasing you, it activates my adrenaline and it makes me so excited to play it. … It (gives me) so much joy to play this piece to the audience.”

Medel will be playing the piece on solo piano, which presents an additional challenge since there is also a version of the piece that exists for a whole orchestra, so the pianist must try to emulate the color and complexity that an orchestra would bring.

Michael Frontz, a cellist from Boston University, will also be performing. His chosen piece is Johann Sebastian Bach’s Cello Suite No. 4, in E Flat Major. It is lesser known than some of Bach’s more popular cello suites, and it’s one of his most challenging suites because of the key it is in, Frontz said. It is a powerful, contemplative and spiritual work.

“It makes me feel very powerful, especially the prelude — the first movement has lots of majestic strength,” Frontz said. “I like being able to channel that. But then there are also some moments that are very tender, … very meditative and contemplating, and I really like being able to tap into that.”

The piece is one of several cello suites that go together and that are often accompanied by dances, so it is a fast and dynamic work. Frontz will be playing unaccompanied. As a cellist, however, many of his performances have been in collaboration with other musicians. He enjoys playing chamber music and in orchestras, but it is a special opportunity for him to be able to do this one solo.

“To be there by yourself is definitely a different role, and you really have a lot of different freedoms than you would with other people because you can take your time when you want it, and there’s really no one else between you and the audience,” Frontz said.

Violinist Rebecca Moy, from the Cleveland Institute of Music, will be accompanied on piano by Shannon Hesse, a member of the piano faculty at Chautauqua.

She will be playing the first movement of Ludwig van Beethoven’s Violin Sonata No. 1, Op. 12. This movement is called “Allegro con brio,” which means it is meant to be performed with fire, liveliness and spirit.

“A big characteristic would be the contrast in character and moods; it starts out really forte and sort of majestic, but then a couple seconds later there’s this beautiful lyrical line,” Moy said. “The interplay between the piano and the violin is also really interesting.”

The sonata is one of Beethoven’s earlier works, from when he was a young and relatively inexperienced composer. Moy likes that the piece is intricate while maintaining a pleasing simplicity to its sound that is youthful and energetic.

“It’s a really fun and innocent piece,” Moy said. “It’s not too dark.”

The musicians look forward to getting more practice performing and to playing in the same recital with a variety of other musicians.

“The great thing about these open recitals is that it’s not just a piano concert,” Medel said. “I believe that is good for the public audience because they get a taste of each instrument. … Sharing all our uniqueness and our talent, our personalities, our style of life while playing music is such a magical experience.”

Who: Stori Ayers, Chautauqua Theater Company guest artist and assistant director of One Man, Two Guvnors.

Ayers wears multiple hats this season for CTC. She appears onstage in The Christians as Elizabeth, wife of Pastor Paul and pillar in the community of his church. She is also directing CTC’s Bratton Late Night Cabaret toward the end of the season. Finally, she will be helping CTC Artistic Director Andrew Borba stage One Man, Two Guvnors and is excited to work on the show because of her love for farces.

For now, she’s working to bring Elizabeth to life in The Christians. She said her favorite part of the process was working to craft her character’s stage presence when she isn’t speaking.

“I’ve never been onstage for so long without lines,” Ayers said. “It’s given me a lot of time to get inside the mind of the character. It’s been a lot of fun to develop in that journey so that I can really think like Elizabeth and present myself wholly as my character.”

Where she’s from: Originally from Washington, D.C., she currently resides in Newark, New Jersey, because it’s cheaper than living in New York City, while still only being a 20-minute train ride away from the city.

“I feel like I struck gold living there,” Ayers said.

What she does outside of Chautauqua: She works as a year-round freelance artist. Ayers does theater, works in film and television, does voiceovers and directs plays.

“I spend my year going from gig to gig, city to city,” Ayers said. “I figured I might as well do it while I’m young.”

Until recently, she worked as executive assistant to playwright Dominique Morisseau. Ayers said the experience was valuable and enjoyable, but that she was ready to strike out on her own.

“While juggling my artistic career, I was also on her team, building hers,” Ayers said. “It got to the point where I just made the leap of faith and started to put all my energy into me. It was scary, but exciting.”

Favorite theater memories: Building bonds with her fellow actors.

Instead of a single moment she remembers most fondly, Ayers said that any time she’s able to connect with her peers when working on a performance is an immensely rewarding experience.

“It’s always about the people for me,” Ayers said. “I’m a big fan of the cast of any show getting together and doing things. Usually, in regional theater, no one really knows the new city, so you are each other’s family. Going out and exploring together is always super fun.”

Favorite food: Bacon.

Ayers said that although bacon isn’t exactly a health food, there’s no denying that it’s delicious.

“It’s so bad, but I love it,” Ayers said. “I’ve loved it my entire life. I love it on everything; my salad, my burgers, everything — bacon makes everything better.”

Favorite show: “Friday Night Lights.”

After arriving at Chautauqua, Ayers started watching the series for a second time. She said she never fails to feel moved by the depth and realness of the characters.

“The story is so heartwarming, but at the same time, it deals with real issues in real ways, not the after-school special kind of treatment that a lot of stories about high schools fall into,” Ayers said.

Favorite music: At the moment, anything by the artist Lizzo.

Ayers said that aside from the upbeat, fun music that Lizzo makes, the fact that she confidently flaunts her abilities as a flutist is cool to see.

“I was in marching band growing up,” Ayers said. “I played the clarinet, and she’s making kids like us feel cool.”

If she isn’t listening to Lizzo, Ayers said she’s crafting and immersing herself in the playlists she makes for each character she plays. Right now, to get into the headspace of Elizabeth, Ayers said she’s listening to a collection of gospel songs centered around praise and worship.

Dream vacation: The Maldives.

Ayers said that although she doesn’t know much about the country, the beautiful photos and videos she’s seen of the beaches there are more than enough to convince her it’s worth visiting.

“I love the beach, and the Maldives is so gorgeous,” Ayers said. “It seems like the perfect place to go, relax and enjoy the beauty.”

Who: Madeline Seidman, Chautauqua Theater Company conservatory actor.

She takes the stage in CTC’s production of The Christians as the shy, yet determined, Congregant Jenny. Seidman said her favorite part of the role has been digging into the philosophical and theological themes of the show.

“We really got to spend a lot of time working with each other at the table,” Seidman said. “We got to share our own personal stories about religious upbringings, to explore the religious aspects of the show and to ask some questions of our own.”

She also enjoys how the show sheds light on the human aspects of a religious community, and how personal relationships play a part in whether or not people stick to their beliefs.

Where she’s from: Originally from Wesport, Connecticut, Seidman currently lives in New Haven, Connecticut. She’s currently pursuing her MFA in acting at the Yale School of Drama.

Her first exposure to performing in theater was in her community’s theater programs for children. After that, she began performing in shows for her schools.

“I really love the transformative aspect of theater,” Seidman said. “At the same time, it’s a really inclusive environment and you’re able to form a community while exploring change.” 

Favorite theater memory: Playing an opera singer in her sixth grade performance of the musical Barnum, a show about the traveling circus and raucous life of P.T. Barnum.

Seidman had never had any opera training, but said she just leapt into it.

“(The character) was also Swedish,” Seidman said. “So learning both how to sing opera and how to do that accent was so much fun. I loved taking that risk and being challenged.”

Favorite food: Pot roast or brisket.

Her mother has a recipe for both, and Seidman said few other foods topped these homemade dishes.

What she’s reading: Hamlet, at the moment.

Next year, her drama program will be focusing entirely on Shakespeare, so Seidman is working to prepare.

“I know that work will be tough, so I’m trying to read ahead and get ahead,” Seidman said.

What she’s watching: A whole lot of nothing.

She’s currently shopping around for a good show to get into, but said there’s so much out there to choose from that it’s hard to differentiate between what’s worthwhile and what’s just fluff.

Previously, she’s enjoyed “Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt.”

Favorite part of the Chautauqua community: She’s appreciated the community commitment to asking big questions.

“It’s not just the arts programming, but the tie-ins to all the lectures,” Seidman said. “It’s been so cool to have people come up and ask me questions about the show and the themes. The inquisitiveness of the people here has been a lot of fun.”

Fictional character she’d love to meet: Hermione Granger.

Seidman said that Granger is someone she finds inspiring, powerful and intelligent; someone she’d love to hang out with.

“I’d love to just pick her brain and talk with her,” Seidman said. “It wouldn’t hurt if she could teach me some spells too.”

Dream vacation: Seidman said she’d love to go to London to bring her love for theater and Harry Potter together.

“There’s such a vibrant theater scene over there right now,” Seidman said. “I’d love to go and just take that in.”