The clambake returns to SWSA's Satre Hill July 27 to support the Jane Lloyd Fund.
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Last year’s first-place winner, violinist Connor McMillen accompanied by bassist Conway Campbell Jr. and pianist Zaccai Curtis.
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On March 8 at the Litchfield Community Center, seventeen semi-finalists, chosen from audition tapes, will compete for scholarships to the 2025 sessions of Litchfield Jazz Camp at the Frederick Gunn School in July. The event, free and open to the public, begins at 2 p.m.
“These kids are so incredibly talented,” said Vita Muir, executive and artistic director of Litchfield Performing Arts. “They’re not just competing; they’re experiencing what it’s like to perform with top-tier musicians in a real performance setting.”
Players, ages 13 to 17, will be accompanied by a professional trio featuring bassist Conway Campbell Jr. and drummer Ian Carroll. The pianist, Zaccai Curtis, was a camper himself when he was 13. Now 43, he recently won a Grammy for Best Latin Jazz Album. The panel of adjudicators includes Albert Rivera, Don Braden, Muir, and the trio members.
“We wanted to create a competition that wasn’t about pressure,” Muir explained. “The idea was to provide an opportunity for young musicians to perform in a supportive environment. And what we found was that they naturally started encouraging each other. It’s a beautiful thing.”
Muir, who has led the Litchfield Jazz Festival and Camp since their inception, initially resisted the idea of a competition. “I always believed competition had no place in music,” she said. A partnership with radio station WDNA in Miami led to a different way of thinking. “They called us and said, ‘Hey, we’ll give you airtime if you give us a scholarship,’” explained Muir. “So that’s what we did. After going down and seeing it and being an adjudicator, I had this feeling that this was run in a very human, non-threatening way and that’s what we strive for here.”
Muir also realized that many students go on to audition for conservatories and had a bit of a revelation. “What’s an audition? It’s a competition,” she said. Realizing that for kids who are serious about music, and for some who even thrive on competition, the scholarship competition was a way to help their progress.
The first-place winner will receive a full scholarship to the Litchfield Jazz Camp. The second-place winner earns a half scholarship, while three honorable mentions will receive $250 scholarships. However, Muir emphasizes that financial need is never a barrier.
“We tell families, ‘if you make under $50,000 a year, call us. We’ll waive the application fee,” she said. “And even if a student doesn’t win, they can still apply for need-based scholarships. It’s important that everyone has a chance.”
This year’s event received about 30 submissions, which were narrowed down to 17 finalists from Connecticut, Massachusetts, New York, New Jersey and Texas. Past winners have gone on to significant opportunities, including opening performances at the Litchfield Jazz Festival.
“Our first winner was a 16-year-old violinist, Connor McMillen,” Muir shared. “He came to us when he was 14, and now he’s 17, playing professionally. He’ll be presenting the award to this year’s winner, which adds a special full-circle moment.”
The talent search is supported by The Northwest Connecticut Community Foundation, Northwest Community Bank, and friends of Litchfield Performing Arts.
“It’s a lot of work to give money away,” Muir said. “Last year, we awarded between $70,000 and $75,000 in scholarships, and we’ll keep doing it because this music changes lives.”
With a packed house expected, audience members are encouraged to arrive early for the best seats. “Music is a two-way street,” Muir said. “These young musicians need an audience. We hope the community will come out to support them.”
Enrollment is open for summer 2025. Dates are up to 4 single-week sessions from June 29 through July 25. More information can be found at litchfieldjazzcamp.com
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"Plein Air," the new exhibit at Cornwall Library, features ten watercolors by artist Dorothy Spears. The show will be on display through April 12.
Sava Marinkovic
On March 1, the Cornwall Library held an opening reception for the work of artist Dorothy Spears. The collection, titled “Plein Air,” is a series ofwatercolors on paper, depicting scenes from nature in delicate, gauzy forms evocative of an ephemerality that Spears has found artistically invigorating.
“Being up here and watching the seasons change made me want to make art,” said Spears, whose career in art began as a gallery curator and art writer for publications such as the New York Times and Art in America. Having dreamt of exhibiting her own watercolors since she was first gripped, as a high schooler, by the works of Georgia O’Keefe, this gallery is the first realization of Spears’s lifelong aspiration.
The ten watercolors that Plein Air comprises are steeped in the essence of the Northwest Corner. Though few are located explicitly — on Warren Town Beach, or in the skies over Lake Waramaug — each is charged with the spirit of the region that so inspired Spears.
“Plein Air” will be on display through April 12 at the Cornwall Library, and all works are available for purchase.
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Winter comfort stir fry
Mar 05, 2025
This winter is so cold. It gets dark by mid-afternoon, everything’s gotten so expensive, and the news is depressing ... isn’t there anything positive, uplifting? Well, what about a good meal?
Unlike the one referred to in the classic Alka-Seltzer ad, here’s an idea for a tasty, healthy, economical home-cooked meal, suitable for an individual or a dinner party.And a more than ample serving will cost less than a greasy burger and fries at a fast food restaurant!
I try to buy all the ingredients from my favorite food market: meat, vegetables, rice and a special Asian black pepper sauce.
The end result is a stir- fry dish that combines meat, vegetables, and rice, creating a whole greater than the sum of its parts.
Here is a meal with ingredients for eight people.
While this dish could be made with another meat, I prefer beef. Any high-quality steak will do, but I usually use about a pound and a half of filet mignon. It sounds expensive, but it’s delicious, and you can usually use every bit, unlike most cuts.
I slice the filet mignon up into tiny pieces so that every bite of the finished product has some of the beef in it.And with about 3/16 of a pound of beef per serving, one gets more meat than in a commercial hamburger.
In a wok, I brown the cut meat for a minute or so in a couple of tablespoons of vegetable oil making sure not to overcook it. Then I set it aside until the vegetables are nearly cooked and then stir it into the mixture.
I like to use a variety of vegetables. I start with two or three good-sized onions which I slice and then further chop up into small bits. I cook them over high heat until they start to brown, then remove them, adding them back to the wok when the vegetables are nearly done.
I try to get the best vegetables I can find, in season if possible.I typically use four or five different vegetables, all cut into small pieces.I try to find a happy medium between tiny, indistinguishable bits and huge hunks. Some reliable favorites are asparagus, string beans, sweet orange and yellow peppers, carrots and red cabbage. I even check my refrigerator for leftovers that might be good in the mix and I always try to have something colorful such as carrots or peppers.
Some folks like the stir fry vegetables al dente, some prefer more fully cooked; but it usually works best if all are cooked about the same amount. I cook the vegetables fast over high heat but stand over them to avoid overcooking and take frequent test bites. It’s better to undercook rather than overcook, especially if some of it is to be reheated and eaten the next day.
Rice inevitably makes the dish tastier and a more balanced meal. Most any high quality variety will do, but I prefer — when I can find it — wild rice for its greater flavor. And although some might find it decadent, I add a moderate amount of butter. The rice, of course, is cooked separately according to manufacturer’s directions and added to the overall mix only when served.
A final ingredient which helps bind the whole dish together and is tasty is a small amount of a specially prepared Asian black pepper sauce. It can be applied in small doses to individual portions and should be stirred in well.
I cook everything but the rice in a standard wok with a top that speeds and evens out the cooking, but a good size fry pan will do fine. The final stir fry tastes best served hot.
One more thing. How about a compatible dessert? Try homemade applesauce. Cut up several apples, discarding the cores but keeping the skins. Cook the pieces until soft and squeeze through a food mill made for the purpose and voilà, fresh apple sauce.
Enjoy!
Architect and landscape designer Mac Gordon lives in Lakeville
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