Events

“Illuminations of Love and Justice”

Erik Rasmussen, tenor

Cullan Bryant, piano

LES ILLUMINATIONS, op. 18 — Benjamin Britten (1913–1976)

1. Fanfare
2. Villes

IIIa. Phrase

IIIb. Antique

1. Royauté
2. Marine
3. Interlude

VII. Being Beauteous

VIII. Parade

1. Départ

SONGS OF LOVE AND JUSTICE — Adolphus Hailstork (b. 1941)

1. Justice
2. Difficulties

III. Decisions

1. Love

Erik Rasmussen’s unique and colorful tenor voice has been described as, “youthful, amusing, and crowd- pleasing.” (Brooklyn Discovery) Hailing from Brentwood, New York, he has previously appeared in operatic and concert performances with Spotlight on Opera, the Arnold Schwartz Memorial Concert Series, SingThrough Central, Stony Brook Opera, SongFest, the Lake Junaluska Singers, the Western New York Chamber Orchestra, the Hillman Opera, Nickel City Opera, and the United States Army Field Band & Soldier’s Chorus. He is a recipient of the Lawrence Schauffler Scholarship, the Sol Schoenbach Memorial Scholarship, and the Semper Fidelis Award for Musical Excellence from the U.S. Marine Corps Youth Foundation. Erik holds a Bachelor of Music in Voice Performance from the Fredonia School of Music and is currently pursuing a Master of Music in Classical Voice Performance at the Aaron Copland School of Music, where he studies with critically acclaimed baritone Sidney Outlaw.

Website: www.erikrasmussentenor.com/

Cullan Bryant is among the most active chamber and collaborative pianists in New York City, maintaining a schedule of over 50 recitals a year. He has performed with such artists as Emanuel Borok, Misha Keylin, Oleh Krysa, Julia Lichten, Midori, Sviatoslav Moroz, Peter Rejto, members of the American, Arcata and Borromeo Quartets and has appeared in recitals with members of the New York Philharmonic, Metropolitan Opera Orchestra, the Orchestra of St. Luke’s, New York City Ballet Orchestra, New Jersey Symphony, Boston Symphony and the Detroit Symphony Orchestra in such venues as Weill Recital Hall, Merkin Hall, Alice Tully Hall, the Metropolitan Museum of Art and Detroit’s Orchestra Hall. Mr. Bryant made his Carnegie Hall debut in 1992 in recital with violinist Patmore Lewis.

The May selection for our monthly book club is The Nakano Thrift Shop by Hiromi Kawakami, read with us! Meeting date to be determined.

About the Book:

From the author of Strange Weather in Tokyo comes this funny, heartwarming story about love, life, and human relationships that features a delightfully offbeat cast of characters.

Objects for sale at the Nakano Thrift Shop appear as commonplace as the staff and customers that handle them. But like those same customers and staff, they hold many secrets. If examined carefully, they show the signs of innumerable extravagancies, of immeasurable pleasure and pain, and of the deep mysteries of the human heart.

Hitomi, the inexperienced young woman who works the register at Mr. Nakano’s thrift shop, has fallen for her coworker, the oddly reserved Takeo. Unsure of how to attract his attention, she seeks advice from her employer’s sister, Masayo, whose sentimental entanglements make her a somewhat unconventional guide. But thanks in part to Masayo, Hitomi will come to realize that love, desire, and intimacy require acceptance not only of idiosyncrasies but also of the delicate waltz between open and hidden secrets.

Animating each delicately rendered chapter in Kawakami’s playful novel is Mr. Nakano himself, an original, entertaining, and enigmatic creation whose compulsive mannerisms, secretive love life, and impulsive behavior defy all expectations.

Building Bonds through books and conversation. Our club reads a wide range of authors and genres. Books that Bind is the official Book Club of the Interchurch Center located in the Morningside/ Harlem area of New York City, NY. The club was established in 2011 to build bonds and friendship through a shared love of books among the various tenants of the building and neighbored. Due to the Pandemic the Club is currently meeting on Zoom until further notice.

New members are always welcome! Click here to join the club.

The June selection for our monthly book club is Here Comes the Sun by Nicole Y. Dennis-Benn, read with us! Meeting date to be determined.

About the Book:

Capturing the distinct rhythms of Jamaican life and dialect, Nicole Dennis-Benn pens a tender hymn to a world hidden among pristine beaches and the wide expanse of turquoise seas. At an opulent resort in Montego Bay, Margot hustles to send her younger sister, Thandi, to school. Taught as a girl to trade her sexuality for survival, Margot is ruthlessly determined to shield Thandi from the same fate. When plans for a new hotel threaten their village, Margot sees not only an opportunity for her own financial independence but also perhaps a chance to admit a shocking secret: her forbidden love for another woman. As they face the impending destruction of their community, each woman fighting to balance the burdens she shoulders with the freedom she craves must confront long-hidden scars. From a much-heralded new writer, Here Comes the Sun offers a dramatic glimpse into a vibrant, passionate world most outsiders see simply as paradise.

Building Bonds through books and conversation. Our club reads a wide range of authors and genres. Books that Bind is the official Book Club of the Interchurch Center located in the Morningside/ Harlem area of New York City, NY. The club was established in 2011 to build bonds and friendship through a shared love of books among the various tenants of the building and neighbored. Due to the Pandemic the Club is currently meeting on Zoom until further notice.

New members are always welcome! Click here to join the club.

Great news! Our book club was selected by BookClubz to have a discussion with author Tim Brady on his book Three Ordinary Girls: The Remarkable Story of Three Dutch Teenagers Who Became Spies, Saboteurs, Nazi Assassins–and WWII Heroes it is the astonishing true story of three fearless teenage resisters during WWII whose youth and innocence belied their extraordinary daring in the Nazi-occupied Netherlands.

We’ll be meeting Thursday, July 15th at 6:30 p.m. via Zoom, join us! Details TBA.