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Annual choral performance probes the nation’s identity with bluegrass and a call for tolerance
Alec Linden
Aug 05, 2026
The Litchfield County Choral Union performs “Everyday Wonders: The Girl from Aleppo” during its annual concert at the Norfolk Music Shed on Aug. 2.
Photo by Alec Linden
NORFOLK — Any great weekend in Norfolk ends with music, and such was the case on Sunday evening, Aug. 2, when the Litchfield County Choral Union (LCCU) took over the historic digs of the Music Shed for a novel performance that traced the United States’ complicated lineage through the lenses of patriotic anthem, Americana and global music traditions, all carried by the soaring voice of a 69-strong choir.
As a capstone event for the town’s summer festival, called Weekend in Norfolk, the time-honored singing group, composed of choral singers from across the region, held its annual concert inside the redwood and cedar lined hall of the building. The iconic structure was built in 1906 with the direct purpose of housing the choir, which itself was founded seven years prior. Although the Music Shed’s usage has diversified since then, notably as the primary venue for the Yale School of Music’s Norfolk Chamber Music Festival, the LCCU still hosts its summer performance at its historic home.
Titled “From Roots to Promise: Singing America at 250,” this year’s program was designed as a nod to the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence. In his introduction included in the concert pamphlet, LCCU Music Director Gabriel Löfvall, an accomplished conductor in his second season with the group, asks, “At 250, who are we as a country? Are we fulfilling the ideals upon which our democracy was founded?”
Löfvall said his curation of the evening’s program was meant to use diverse musical traditions to explore those questions.
Sunday’s performance notably featured accompaniment by a full bluegrass band, complete with fiddle, banjo, mandolin, guitar, upright bass, percussion, fife and piano.
Speaking amid an excited buzz during an after-show reception outside the venue, Löfvall said that “The World Beloved: A Bluegrass Mass,” one of the show’s two centerpieces, is the only work he’s aware of that combines choral music with Appalachian folk traditions.
The piece was composed about two decades ago by Carol Barnett with the libretto — or lyrics — written by Marisha Chamberlain. Löfvall said he enjoyed developing the 30-minute piece with the choir and the bluegrass band, given that it represents an unlikely combination of ideas coming together to produce something new and unique, which he said is representative of the strengths of this country.
“The instruments [Barnett] uses are bluegrass, but the idiom is very complex,” he said, with the term idiom referring to the choral writing. Despite the stereotype that choral music doesn’t necessarily call for barn dances, when it comes to this piece, “it makes you tap your foot,” Löfvall said.
The other centerpiece was Cecilia McDowall’s 2018 “Everyday Wonders: The Girl from Aleppo,” with text by Kevin Crossley, which traces the true story of a Kurdish teenager with cerebral palsy named Nujeen Mustafa when war forced her to flee from her homeland to Europe.
Löfvall, himself an immigrant from Argentina, said that the piece represents to him a vision of the future potential of the United States, and an affirmation of its history as a place where people from around the world interact and exchange ideas.
“I’m always fascinated by the American experiment,” he said, and when it works, “it’s thanks to tolerance and everyone bringing in their best.”
The rest of the performance was bookended with an opening of “Sweet is the Work,” written by Norfolk composer Robbins Battell who died in 1895. The group performs the piece each year in honor of the composer, who inspired the founding of the LCCU.
It was followed by William Billings’ Revolution Era patriotic song “Chester”—“It represents to me the birth of America,” Löfvall said.
The program was capped with a performance of Paul Halley’s “Freedom Trilogy,” composed in 1994, which blends Gregorian prayer song, South African chant and the famed hymn “Amazing Grace.”
The performance closed to an extended standing ovation before the audience slowly filtered out to a reception with refreshments waiting outside just below the Music Shed’s broad facade.
As he fielded congratulations from all angles, LCCU President Felix Graham-Jones said, “That’s what we do for fun in the summer, isn’t it!”
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Trees removed from cemetery after storm, clearing space for Town Hall generator
Patrick L. Sullivan
Aug 05, 2026
Work began last week to clean up the fallen basswood trees at Town Hall in Salisbury. The July 4 storm took down several trees that landed in the cemetery.
Photo by Patrick L. Sullivan
SALISBURY — Members of the town highway crew joined John Swanson of Swanson Tree Removal last week to clear the large basswood trees that fell into the cemetery behind Town Hall during the July 4 storm, which caused widespread damage and left many residents and businesses without power for days.
Several of the large trees crashed into The Old Burial Ground during the storm, destroying part of the fence and knocking over at least two headstones.
On Friday, July 31, crews fed tree limbs into a wood chipper while Swanson stationed himself in a cherry picker to take down large branches. First Selectman Curtis Rand, Selectman Kitty Kiefer and Jean McMillen also observed from a safe distance.
During a July 20 Board of Selectmen meeting, Rand said the planned tree removal could solve a longstanding problem: finding a location for a generator at Town Hall. After the July 4 storm knocked out power in Salisbury for up to three days, the need for a generator at Town Hall became apparent.
Although officials had previously discussed purchasing a generator, they had not moved forward without identifying a practical location for it.
With a now-clear space on the Factory Street side of Town Hall, a generator can now be put in.
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Cornwall kids have a whale of a time at town hall
Allison Gollenberg
Aug 05, 2026
A visit from the traveling Whalemobile brought Cornwall kids an opportunity to sit inside a replica humpback whale named Nile. The event drew a dozen local children and their families eager to learn more about the mammal.
Photo by Allison Gollenberg
CORNWALL — With a whoosh, Nile the inflatable humpback whale filled a room in Town Hall as kids lined up for a chance to see what the inside of a whale looks like on Thursday, July 30 from 1 to 3 p.m.
The Whalemobile is a traveling education program created by lifelong whale lover and environmental educator Cynde McInnis. Based in Massachusetts, the program has traveled to schools and libraries as far west as Illinois and as far south as Maryland, McInnis said.
Inside the life-sized replica whale, children sat beneath a diagram of whale anatomy while Whalemobile educator Misty Baker guided them through lessons on whale biology, behavior and conservation. Baker passed around real sperm whale teeth and baleen plates, explaining how baleen filters tiny prey such as krill from seawater.
“What’s inside of a whale?” Baker asked, tracing a laser pointer across the whale’s ceiling. “Hearts, organs, blood. That’s the same stuff that’s inside of you, too,” she said.
The presentation also highlighted whales’ role in the planet’s ecosystem. Baker explained that tiny marine plants called phytoplankton feed on nutrients from whale waste and produce about half of the oxygen humans breathe. She added that studying whale waste also helps scientists understand what whales are eating and the health of the ocean.
McInnis said she hopes the program inspires children to care about the planet around them.
“First and foremost, we hope they learn that whales are awesome,” McInnis said. “Because the kids are going to grow up and care about the things they get excited about.”
The program also focuses on teaching kids habits that protect the planet, like using reusable water bottles and picking up trash.
Nile, the inflatable whale, was custom-built by a company in Minnesota and is named and modeled after a real whale that has been sighted off the coast of Massachusetts for almost 40 years. McInnis first spotted Nile herself in 1995 and has seen her nearly every year since during her frequent whale-watching tours.
Asked how she can tell Nile apart from other whales, McInnis said the answer lies in the tail. Whales have patterns on their tails like fingerprints, and Nile’s has a line in the shape of the Nile River.
The Whalemobile’s stop in Cornwall was organized by the library, held at Town Hall, and paid for by the Cornwall Foundation, library director Margaret Haske said.
The library’s Children’s Program Coordinator Eiseley Kotchoubey said this is just one of many kid’s programs the library has offered this summer.The programs have covered a wide range of topics, including an art exhibit in a bus, a magic show and nature talks.
Haske said she hopes events like this get kids excited about visiting the library.
“It’s very educational and I hope they learned quite a bit about whales,” Haske said. “I hope they enjoyed it, and I hope it sparks their interest in being in the library.”
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Fire damages second floor of Kent home, draws multiple fire crews
Ruth Epstein
Aug 05, 2026
A fire at 190 Bulls Bridge Road in South Kent destroyed the second floor of the two-bedroom house.
Photo by Ruth Epstein
SOUTH KENT – A fire broke out Saturday afternoon at a home on Bulls Bridge Road, causing extensive damage to the second floor but resulting in no serious injuries, according to the Kent Volunteer Fire Department.
Fire Chief Tim Sneller said firefighters received a report of a house fire at 190 Bulls Bridge Road at about 4 p.m. The department’s first engine arrived on scene approximately 13 minutes later.
Sneller said two occupants were treated at the site, as was one firefighter. The home is owned by Joseph Sario.
“We pushed up the stairs with a hose line in order to knock the fire down,” Sneller said. “It was a good save.”
Additional crews assisted with ventilation and salvage operations while also addressing overheating within the structure. Sneller said firefighters had no difficulty maintaining a water supply using tanker trucks.
The blaze was extinguished quickly. Kent firefighters were back at the firehouse by 5:30 p.m. The cause of the fire has yet to be determined.
Fire departments from Gaylordsville, Sherman, Warren, Cornwall, Northville, New Milford (Water Witch), Dover and Wassaic responded to assist at the scene.
“Even Pawling ended up at our firehouse,” Sneller said of the team effort.
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Legal Notices - August 6, 2026
Lakeville Journal
Aug 05, 2026
NOTICE TO CREDITORS ESTATE OF GARY R. CUNNINGHAM, late of Sharon (26-00318)
The Hon. Jordan M. Richards, Judge of the Court of Probate, District of Litchfield Hills Probate Court, by decree dated July 27, 2026, ordered that all claims must be presented to the fiduciary at the address below. Failure to promptly present any such claim may result in the loss of rights to recover on such claim.
The fiduciary is:
John W. Ongley
c/o KEVIN F NELLIGAN,
THE LAW OFFICES OF,
KEVIN F. NELLIGAN, LLC,
194 ASHLEY FLS RD POB 776,
CANAAN, CT 06018
Jordan Bergs
Clerk
08-06-26
NOTICE TO CREDITORS ESTATE OF OLIVIA MARIE KRAVETZ, late of Norfolk (26-00259)
The Hon. Jordan M. Richards, Judgeof the Court of Probate, District of Litchfield Hills Probate Court, by decree dated July 22, 2026, ordered that all claims must be presented to the fiduciary at the address below. Failure to promptly present any such claim may result inthe loss of rights to recover on such claim.
The fiduciary is:
Corinne Kravetz
c/o CHARLES HOULIHAN,
HOULIHAN LAW OFFICES,
75 WEST ST., P.O. BOX 582,
SIMSBURY, CT 06070
Jordan Bergs,
Clerk
08-06-26
NOTICE TO CREDITORS ESTATE OF SHARRON LEE SMITH, Late of Sharon (26-00233)
The Hon. Jordan M. Richards, Judge of the Court of Probate, District of Litchfield Hills Probate Court, by decree dated July 13, 2026, ordered that all claims must be presented to the fiduciary at the address below. Failure to promptly present any such claim may result in the loss of rights to recover on such claim.
The fiduciary is:
Neil Smith
70 State Road
Great Barrington, MA 01230
Jordan Bergs
Clerk
08-06-26
NOTICE TO CREDITORS ESTATE OF TAMMY MARIE MAENDEL, Late of Norfolk (26-00271)
The Hon. Jordan M. Richards, Judge of the Court of Probate, District of Litchfield Hills Probate Court, by decree dated July 22, 2026, ordered that all claims must be presented to the fiduciary at the address below. Failure to promptly present any such claim may result in the loss of rights to recover on such claim.
The fiduciary is:
Kate Stedman
c/o ROBERT ARTHUR HEINIMANN,
LAW OFFICE OF ROBERTA HEINIMANN, JR. LLC,
649 AMITY ROAD,
BETHANY, PO BOX 185744,
HAMDEN, CT 06518
Jordan Bergs
Clerk
08-06-26
SHARON ZONING BOARD OF APPEALS LEGAL NOTICE
To Whom It May Concern, notice is hereby given that on Monday, August 10, 2026 at 6:00PM, at the Sharon Town Hall, 63 Main Street, Sharon, CT, the Zoning Board of Appeals will hold a public hearing on the following Appeal: Appeal #195 of Leslie M. Murray for a variance to place a shed with a front line setback of 30 feet where the Regulations require 50 feet, Article IV. The property location is — Assessor Map 12 Parcel 48, 1 Jackson Hill Road, in the Rural Residence Zone. At this hearing interested persons may be heard and written communication received. The application is on file at the Selectmen's Office, Sharon, CT. Dated at Sharon, CT this 24th day of July 2026.
William Trowbridge,
Chairman
Sharon Zoning Board of Appeals
07-30-26
08-06-26
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Brass band concert draws audience to Hunt Library lawn
Patrick L. Sullivan
Jul 30, 2026
The Berkshire Resilience Brass Band brought lively brass and jazz-inspired music to the lawn at the David M. Hunt Library on Friday evening, July 24.
Patrick L. Sullivan
FALLS VILLAGE — The Berkshire Resilience Brass Band brought lively brass and jazz-inspired music to the lawn at the David M. Hunt Library on Friday evening, July 24, drawing about 30 people at the start of the outdoor concert and more as the evening progressed.
Led by trumpeter Shamu Sadeh, the band’s lineup shifts from performance to performance. Friday’s group included Charlie Kiel on trombonium, Sam Earnshaw on percussion, Eric Loffswold on baritone saxophone, Dathalinn O’Dea on alto saxophone, David Rogers on tenor saxophone, and Peter Peirce on trombone.
Audience members became part of the performance as well. During one number, the horn players switched to percussion, while a basket of rattles and other handheld instruments was available for audience members to play along. Sadeh and O’Dea encouraged several young children to shake along with the music.
The audience continued to grow throughout the evening, including a family who stopped after hearing the music while driving by.
Although the band’s performances sound spontaneous, they begin with a shared musical framework.
“We start with a tune or arrangement,” Rogers said. “Then we do or don’t follow it.”
Rogers estimated that any given performance is at least half improvisation.
It’s not left entirely to chance. O’Dea said the group rehearses once a week, on Sundays.
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