Hi all, I hope you are having a great summer! There’s a lot going on in the next week or two, plus see #6 & #7 for some summer/fall reading – enjoy!
Susan H.

For a list of upcoming events, see: https://kingston-ny.aauw.net/calendar/
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1. Sun., 8/23, 2 PM
Il Matrimonio Segreto (The Clandestine Marriage)
by Domenico Cimarosa (1749-1801)
A fully-staged comic opera with orchestra
Altamura Center*, 404 Winter Clove Road, Round Top

2. Wed., 8/26, 4 PM
AAUW Kingston board meeting
Kingston Library, 55 Franklin Street, Kingston
Community Room, 2nd floor. All are welcome.

3. Sat., 8/29, 2 PM
Mario Lanza program by Warren B. at Irene’s**

4. Sun., 8/30, Bus trip to Kykuit

5. Tues., 9/1, 5 PM, Window on Pilates
A special, free demonstration by Maiya Greaves
Upstairs at the Stone Ridge Healing Arts Center
3457 Main Street (Route 209), Stone Ridge
If you need a ride or have questions,
contact ViVi (vvhlavsa@aol.com or 845-331-0155)

6. New book! In a brief email from the proud mama:
Subject: David Hlavsa’s book reviewed on Amazon
If you’re on Facebook, let’s get the word out.
The kid’s written a winner!  XO  ViVi

http://www.amazon.com/Walking-Distance-Pilgrimage-Parenthood-Repairs/dp/1611861861/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1439236409

7. AAUW Kingston book discussion***
Sept.-June, 3rd Tuesdays (2nd in Dec.) at 1 PM
Kingston Library, 55 Franklin Street, Kingston
Community Room, 2nd floor. All are welcome.
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* Where to Find Great Opera in the Catskills
The Altamura Center for the Arts, based in scenic Round Top in the Catskills, offers a variety of music and theater programs during the summer and fall and hosts the annual Summer Institute — Encounters with the Masters —  during which master teachers share their experience, knowledge, and traditions with aspiring singers. The distinguished list of teachers who have participated includes the late actress Celeste Holmes, opera stars Licia Albanese, Jerome Hines, Giovanna Canetti, Maria Bertolino, Virginia Zeani, and American maestro Anton Coppola.

If you love opera, you will not want to miss the truly professional and beautiful singing at the Altamura Center, right here close to home. Many of the singers, from all parts of the world, have gone on to the Met and La Scala after receiving the “polish” they get at this unique performing arts center.

For reservations, call 518-622-0070 (http://altocanto.org).
— Irene Miller
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** The Rise and Fall of Mario Lanza 
Saturday, August 29, 2 PM
Irene Miller’s home, 634 Pennsylvania Avenue, Palenville, NY 12463
RSVP: 518-678-3516 or imiller65@hvc.rr.com

Warren says:
When I was growing up, in the 1940s and 1950s, the tenor Mario Lanza was all over the place—he had his own national radio program, his record, Be My Love, was a million-dollar hit, and his movies,  like Toast of New Orleans and The Great Caruso made tons of money. Maria Callas allegedly called him “Caruso’s successor”.

But Lanza never sang at the Met. And near the end of his short life—he died at 38—he owed $200,000 in taxes. MGM fired him. He became angry and paranoid, even calling Ethyl Barrymore, his co-star in the movie That Midnight Kiss, “an old bitch for trying to steal my scenes! I’ll tell her where to get off!”

As Roland L. Bessette,  the author of one of the many Lanza biographies put it: “His was a glorious and natural voice, with one of the broadest and most powerful ranges ever recorded. The worlds of music and film had not seen his like before. If he ultimately failed or disappointed, it was only when measured against his own dazzling potential.”

The question is: What went wrong? He was dealt four aces and a king, and still managed to get wiped out.
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*** 2015-2016 Branch Book List (Judee Irwin, judeeirwin@gmail.com)
2015
September 15  The Complete Stories by Flannery O’connor
October 20       Cheyenne Autumn by Mari Sandoz
November 17   And the Mountains Echoed by Khalid Hosseini
December 8     Lila by Marilynne Robinson (2nd Tues., followed by branch holiday party)
2016
January 19     The End of Your Life Book Club by Will Schwalbe
February 16  The Warmth of Other Suns by Isabel Wilkerson
March 15       Gunnar’s Daughter by Sigrid Undset
April 19         Let the Great World Spin by Colum McCann
May 17          Old Filth by Jane Gardam
June 21         The Sparrow by Mary Doria Russell

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Friday, May 29, noon to 3 PM

Fun and Games and a Fabulous Lunch
Salads, desserts, drinks
Bridge, Scrabble, (better) UpWords*,…!

Kingston Library Community Room, 55 Franklin Street, Kingston

$10 per person for scholarships

Sponsored by AAUW Education Fund

Bring your friends and family.

Reservations are due ASAP; please call Dolores today (845-246-4507).

*The fun game that really stacks up!

Here’s your chance to meet our 2015 scholarship recipients! The women chosen for this year’s scholarships from the branch are:

– Jennifer Setterlund (Clintondale)

– Margaret Ruzzi (High Falls)

Both women are pursuing careers in nursing. Congratulations, Jennifer and Margaret!

Thursday, May 7
7 PM: Awards Ceremony in Quimby Theater
Reception in Vanderlyn Dining Hall follows

RSVP by Monday, May 4: 845-687-5293

Join us for an informative talk on opera and popular music

The Kingston Library (55 Franklin Street), welcomes Warren Boroson, a music teacher at Bard and Marist, to give a presentation titled Should Opera Singers Sing Popular Songs? on Saturday, April 25, at 2 PM.

Some opera singers call it “slumming” to sing the fetching songs of Gershwin, Berlin, Cole Porter, Jerome Kern, and so forth. In fact, there was a famous fight between the Met’s director, Rudolf Bing, and one of his singers, Helen Traubel, over whether she should also sing in nightclubs. Cecilia Bartoli, the great mezzo, still refuses to sing popular songs.

In this program, Boroson will review the pros and cons of such a practice. He’ll also announce who’s winning the fight, those who favor crossover or those against it, and he’ll play recordings of opera singers going “slumming.”

It’s Time to Act – We’re so Close!

April 14, 2015, is recognized nationally as Equal Pay Day – the symbolic day in 2015 when women’s salaries catch up to men’s earnings from 2014. That’s right – it takes women an extra three months to earn what men earned in all of 2014! The wage gap remains largely stagnant and discrimination in the workplace remains.

But there is something we can do about it. We must educate the public – and more importantly, let our legislators know that we are demanding action! This year, we have been working closely with our city and county governments to raise awareness about unequal pay.

That’s why we have designated the week of April 13 as the Equal Pay Week of Action . Click on the links below to go straight to the action.

Wednesday, April 8: Submit your Letter to the Editor (LTE)

• If you have not submitted an LTE already, use this link to customize an LTE for your local newspaper.
• Don’t forget to mention your Equal Pay Day proclamation if your local official has signed one.

Monday, April 13: Start Tweeting about Equal Pay Day

• Follow these hashtags: #EqualPayNow, #EqualPayDay, #NYEqualPayBill
• And follow these handles: @AAUWNY, @AAUW, @PowHerNY
• Use these sample tweets:

Un-equal pay is not okay. Pass the #NYEqualPayBill. #EqualPayNow http://bit.ly/1N41AMj @AAUWNY @PowHerNY

Women have been looking 4 pay equity since 1950s. NY women could buy 1.2 years of groceries if wage gap was closed #NYEqualPayBill @AAUWNY

We’ve been waiting 4 equal pay for a long time. NY women could afford 8 more months rent if #NYEqualPayBill was passed. #EqualPayDay @AAUWNY

It’s #EqualPayDay- wage gap 4 Latinas is 54% & 64% for African-Am women. Tell Congress we need #EqualPayNow. http://bit.ly/1CaMOsP @AAUWNY

If NY women had #EqualPayNow, we could buy 2,201 gallons of gasoline. Pass the #NYEqualPayBill and #PFA. @AAUW @AAUWNY @PowHerNY

It’s #EqualPayDay! Remind Congress that #PFA would mean $800K more in retirement savings for NY women. #EqualPayNow @AAUW @AAUWNY

Tuesday, April 14: Equal Pay Day

Participate in a local Equal Pay Day Event in your area, and don’t forget to wear RED because thanks to the wage gap, women are still in the RED financially!

• Ask people to sign your federal and state Equal Pay Day postcards – urging members of Congress to support the federal Paycheck Fairness Act and state legislators to pass the NY Equal Pay Bill.
• Mail or hand deliver the state Equal Pay Day postcards to your legislator before April 20 (the Assembly may be voting on the Equal Pay Bill that week).
• Plan a special delivery to the office of your Congressional delegation to share the federal Equal Pay Day postcards. Urge them to co-sponsor the federal Paycheck Fairness Act.
• Tweet and post your Equal Pay Day photos, proclamations, and stories in real-time! Tweet to @AAUWNY and post on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/AAUW.NYS. Let’s share our successes as broadly as possible!

Wednesday, April 15: Keep Sharing!

• Keep tweeting about the need for equal pay legislation at the state and federal level (use the sample Tweets above)
• Post your Equal Pay Day event photos on Facebook and Twitter
• Share your published LTEs on social media, with your branch and state, friends and family, and with AAUW national staff via the report-back form.
• Did you call or visit your elected officials to discuss the need for equal pay? What did they say? Share the details with Donna Seymour, AAUW of NYS Public Policy VP, seymour6985@verizon.net.

Thursday, April 16, and Friday, April 17: Say Thank You!

• If your local lawmaker signed an Equal Pay Day proclamation or participated in an event, write her/him a letter of thanks, and consider submitting your thanks as an LTE.
• Thank your Twitter and Facebook followers for helping to spread your message.
• Plan to share your Equal Pay Day stories at the AAUW-NYS Convention in Grand Island, NY April 17-19. We’ll see you there!

Thank you for your support! Sincerely, AAUW-NYS

From the research team who brought you Why So Few? Women in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics comes a deeper dive into engineering and computing, fields that offer 80% of STEM jobs but still

Send in your questions or comments for the panel and follow along with the discussion using the hashtag #addwomen on Twitter.

A panel of experts from the industry and academia, moderated by leading gender-in-science researcher Londa Schiebinger, will discuss the report’s findings and what they mean for anyone who cares about tapping the innovative solutions that half our population offers.

Our panel will include:
• Robin Bienfait, Executive Vice President and Chief Enterprise Innovation Officer, Samsung
• Aprille Ericsson, Ph.D., SBIR/STTR Program Manager, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center
• Elizabeth Gunn, Vice President of Service Delivery and Assurance – West, AT&T
• Jessica Lindl, Executive Director, GlassLab
• Scott McGregor, President and Chief Executive Officer, Broadcom

On Sunday, February 22 at 2 PM at Irene Miller’s, Warren Boroson, who leads music-appreciation classes at Bard and Marist, will present a program of famous opera stars singing songs by George Gershwin, Jerome Kern, Irving Berlin, Cole Porter, and Richard Rodgers.

Warren says, “many wonderful singers have been willing to go “slumming”, singing popular songs, and we’ll hear some of the best sing some of the best.”

The singers include Luciano Pavarotti, Renata Tebaldi, Jussi Bjoerling, Lauritz Melchior, Kiri Te Kanawe, Rosa Ponselle, Lily Pons, Samuel Ramey, and Renee Fleming.

Warren will also review the blazing controversy, which pitted the Met’s Rudolf Bing against singers Lauritz Melchior and Helen Traubel. (“Nobody,” confessed Bing, “knowns the Traubel I’ve seen.”)

Irene’s address: 634 Pennsylvania Avenue, Palenville, NY 12463

For more information and to RSVP, call 518-678-3516 or email imiller65@hvc.rr.com

AAUW Kingston, SSIP Kingston, & SSIP 209

Holiday Party

Tuesday, January 20, 2015

3:30 to 5:30 PM

Set up at 3 PM, clean up at 5:30 PM

Kingston Library Community Room, 55 Franklin Street, Kingston

Musical entertainment by Suzanne Zimbler, opera enthusiast and singer,
and Ann Osmond, singing a lovely selection of cabaret songs,
accompanied on the keyboard by Dennis Yerry. All are well-known
throughout the Hudson Valley for their cabaret performances.

Bring finger food and desserts to nibble.

  Coffee & tea provided.

Due to inclement weather, the 12/9 branch meeting and holiday party at the Kingston Library is cancelled. There is no snow date. Stay safe and warm. Happy Holidays!

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