‘Between the Wars: A Living Timeline’

Music, art, dance, writing and theatre bring crucial years to life in Monticello High School’s collaboration with Weekend of Chamber Music

By RICHARD A. ROSS

MONTICELLO, NY — Art is an aesthetic and emotional response to life. What people write, paint or draw, compose, choreograph or stage is greatly influenced by the times in which they live.

The period between World Wars I and II was marked by intense dramatic social and political events, uniquely evinced by the arts of the times.

In a novel collaboration between The Weekend of Chamber Music (WCM) and the Monticello High School Chamber Music Program and Fine Arts Academy, the years 1919-1946 will come to life on May 30 in two performances in the Arnold Packer Hughes Auditorium. A daytime performance for the school’s eighth grade will precede a 7:30 p.m. performance for the public at large.

The multi-media, interdisciplinary project is student-driven and thoughtfully guided by teachers from across the disciplines. Since its inception in early January, more than 70 students have been engaged in the kind of educational experience that is apt to remain vivid for years to come.

“I hear and I forget. I see and I remember. I do and I understand,” wrote Confucius. Students, teachers and the visiting artists have fostered a resonant and memorable understanding of those crucial years that will both educate and entertain.

The “Prism” production flows from an introduction by town crier Joe Michel through musical performances that include works by Bartok, Stravinksy, Hindemith, Orff and Gershwin. Performances are rendered by high school musicians and Weekend of Chamber Music’s Judith Pierce, Matt Sullivan, Alan Blustine and Kurt Muroki.

Interspersed are theatrical vignettes from playwrights such as Eugene O’Neill, Bertolt Brecht, Noel Coward and Benjamin Britten and a dance medley featuring a student ensemble of musicians and dancers from the Fine Arts Academy, choreographed by Kelly Keesler.

Visuals include flashing headlines composed by social studies students, paintings from Jay Brooks’ art class that depict familiar local scenes as they looked between the wars, and portraits of Monticello veterans in uniform. All serve as a backdrop to a reflective dance performed by Arts Academy dancers to “American Anthem,” sung by Nora Jones.

A gallery of posters from Brenda Sylawski’s art class, which deploys era techniques of Bauhaus, Constructivism, Dada and Futurism with themes of power, identity, respect and responsibility to convey modern themes, will grace the lobby as the audience tastes foods from European countries, provided by Flour Power Bakery after the performance.

Chamber music teachers Ann Trombley and Nancy Wegryzn came up with short pieces that reflect folk themes from European nations. WCM member Alan Blustine worked with Lisa Pacht’s global studies class to clarify the relationship between events and the arts. English teacher Sue Glantz edited headlines and articles by Pacht’s students.

Student executive dir-ector Rebecca Perlman worked closely with Trombley and Wegryzn to oversee every detail of the production. Marketing Director Justine Raymond designed the logo, the newspaper program and its timeline insert.

Students from the school’s two chamber music classes designed the press kit and VIP invitations and worked on stage tech.

Trombley summed up the benefits of the experience thus: “This is an extraordinary project. Our students have had the opportunity to understand how the social and political historical events had an impact on the arts of the time and to participate actively in the production aspect of the arts.

These interdisciplinary connections give our students the opportunity to practice their research and communication skills in a meaningful way. We are very privileged to have had the Weekend of Chamber Music as collaborators throughout this project and for the past 16 years.”

Visit riverreporter.com for an album of pictures from the rehearsal. Next week, that album will include pictures from a live performance.