Events

“…Hoggard’s reach is extensive, full of down-home groove and essential jam, balladry as evocative as the paths he forges to get there.” Scott Yanow, LA Jazz Scene

Jay Hoggard has recorded 23 albums as a leader and has participated in more than 50 as a collaborator. His most recent recording is HARLEM HIEROGLYPHS. Noted jazz writer Owen McNally recently declared in his Jazz Corridor column for WNPR.org: “ Hoggard has created a triumphant jazz album, a dramatic showcase for his diverse composing skills… While the standards get royal treatment, Hoggard’s originals are the album’s crown jewels. Among these are the celebratory rent party special, “Harlem Jazzbirds Swingin’ and Swayin’”; “Sonic Hieroglyphs,” an ode to jazz’s sophisticated sonic semiotics, signs and symbols expressing the sweet and bittersweet mysteries of life, and Disposable Consumption, landscaped with brilliant corners and a mysterious motif of sharp consciousness morphing in and out of an edgy, subconscious dream state… “

Jay’s other recordings on the JHVM label, THE RIGHT PLACE, SONGS OF SPIRITUAL LOVE, SWING ‘EM GATES, SOULAR POWER, CHRISTMAS VIBES ALL THRU THE YEAR, and SOLO FROM TWO SIDES, give listeners an opportunity to experience the many sides of this significant and vital musician.

Jay Hoggard has been commissioned as a composer in various contexts. His most recent collaboration was STORIED PLACES, premiered at the Wesleyan Center for the Arts in April 2016. This powerful collaboration featured dance and spoken word by choreographer Nicole Stanton and writer Lois Brown. In 2009, Jay was commissioned by dance troupe Sankofa Kuumba and the Hartford Symphony Orchestra to write THE OTHER SIDE OF THE OCEAN and LET ME MAKE IT CLEAR, which later were incorporated into the multimedia performance JOURNEY OF EMANCIPATION in 2012.

Previously, Jay collaborated with choreographer Cleo Parker Robinson by composing THE WISDOM OF THE BAOBAB TREE commissioned by Lincoln Center Out of Doors. He was commissioned by the Hartford Festival of Jazz to compose LA TIERRA HERMOSA, dedicated to Tito Puente. He was commissioned by Wesleyan University to compose JOYFUL SWAMP and CROSSING POINT for Max Roach and percussion ensemble, and VIBARIMBALA for symphonic and jazz orchestras. As a performer, Jay has toured the globe to rave reviews, performing throughout the United States, Africa, Europe, South America, the Caribbean and Asia. He led a quintet on an extensive tour sponsored by the US government to North Africa, the Middle East and India. He has performed nationally and internationally on television radio, and in premier performance venues with Lionel Hampton, Milt Jackson, Tito Puente, Kenny Burrell, Billy Taylor, Dizzy Gillespie, Max Roach, Bobby Hutcherson, James Newton, Oliver Lake, Bennie Maupin, Sam Rivers, Anthony Braxton, Muhal Richard Abrams, and Hilton Ruiz. Jay Hoggard is a tenured Full Professor of Music at his alma mater Wesleyan University, where he has been the director of the Wesleyan Jazz Orchestra and has taught and mentored hundreds of students for the past 26 years.

“The Music of Bret Williams has it all: fantastic playing, great recording quality, and compositions that will please classical, jazz, and general listeners alike.” –ThisIsClassicalGuitar.com. Classical Guitar Magazine profiled his work as “alluring” and “accomplished.” Tony Morris of NPR’s Classical Guitar Alive! praised his music for it’s “energetic, warm and polished sound.” Soundboard Magazine credits him with “wonderful precision.”

This year’s literary tea party will be a celebration of Classic Children’s Literature (Winnie The Pooh, Anne of Green Gables, Beatrix Potter, Alice in Wonderland, Wizard of Oz). Join us for a delightful afternoon of food, games, prizes, and fun. The event is free but those who bring a new unwrapped children’s book for our toy drive will be entered for a chance to win a basket of book related goodies.

Registration will begin on October 17^th at http://bit.ly/3Rhthnx

The Gospel Choir offers a range of styles spanning both traditional and contemporary Gospel music.

Calling All Vocalists

Become an Interchurch Center Gospel Choir Member!

If you have a spirit of praise and a song in your heart, The Interchurch Center Gospel Choir is looking for you.

The Gospel Choir offers a range of styles spanning both traditional and contemporary Gospel Music. Although sight-reading skills are not necessary, some choral experience is desirable, given that the rehearsals are relatively short.

Rehearsals are on Tuedays from 12PM to 1PM. All rehearsals and most performances are at the Interchurch Center Chapel. For more information contact rrivera@interchurch-center.org.

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Join us for the 2023 Week of Prayer for Christian Unity

Join the Friars and many faithful from Christian denominations around the world for the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity, Jan. 18-25, 2023.

Our theme for 2023 is “Do Good, Seek Justice.” The theme is inspired by Isaiah 1:12-18, which laments a lack of justice among the People of God. Yet it also promises redemption by encouraging acts of justice. Like Isaiah, we hope to inspire a renewed desire and effort for justice among the Christian peoples around the world.

The Week of Prayer for Christian Unity began as an eight-day period of prayer called the Church Unity Octave at Graymoor and was established by founders of the Society of the Atonement, Mother Lurana White, SA, and Servant of God Father Paul of Graymoor.