Interview with James Nicoloro, Television Producer and Director

A Collage of James Nicoloro selected  works



I was honored to have James Nicoloro a television, producer and director visit the show. We talked about his work with PBS on the Walking Tour programs, his distinquish career in television and his upcoming documentary projects: Alice Austen about a staten island turn of the century woman photographer and a doucmentray on Mark Twain years living in Redding Connecticut. James is a resident of Redding and  regularly walks the paths that Mark Twain once traveled on. In his blogs he has posted photographs  of those sacred spots that still exist today  His work behind the camera in video and still photography demonstrate his artistic talent and vision. I enjoyed editing some his beautiful photographs into the program.

The interview will air on Cablevision Channel 88 on July 10th at 9pm and July 12th at 5:30pm. It will play at onTuesdays and Thursdasy at the above times for the next three weeks.

ABOUT JAMES NICOLORO

Producer/Director

Producing is about taking an idea, exploring the possibilities and developing a plan. I have worked in many areas of broadcast television. I’ve produced or been involved in hundreds of projects from short segments to feature length documentaries.  I’ve managed large and small crews and have produced live and live-on-tape. I shoot and light on occasion and I’m comfortable editing on FCP or Avid.  I like to be involved in every aspect of production. I usually do most of my own effects using Photoshop and After Effects. I take music seriously and work well with composers. For my personal HD projects I use a Canon 7D and edit in Final Cut.
I’m currently working on a number of documentary proposals, including Alice Austen: A Photographic Life and Mark Twain’s last 22 months in Redding Connecticut. I'm in production on The Art Deco lecture with historian Barry Lewis

Nicoloro's Tumblr Blog
Nicoloro on Wordpress
Nicoloro on Flickr
Email James

Interview with Joanna Settle, Artistic Director of Shakespeare on the Sound




Poster for Shakespeare on The Sound's Production of Romeo and Juliet

 

Joanna Settle, Artisitc Director, Shakespeare on the Sound

A summer in Connecticut wouldn't be complete without Shakespeare in the Park. Joanna Settle, the artistic Director of Shakespeare on the Sound returns this season to direct and stage a production of Romeo and Juliet. She talked with me about the play and how she will make the familiar tale fresh and new. It is a must see.
The interview is being broadcast on CHRISTINA on Cablevision of CT.'s Channel 88, starting Tuesday May 29th at 9:00pm and Thursday May 31st at 5:30pm.  It will play on those days and times for the entire month of June.








This production is a fresh take on a Shakespeare’s most popular love story as friends sit down for an after-dinner reading of the play, only to be taken on a ride they'll never forget - straight into the heart of Romeo and Juliet.

On the evenings of June 26th-July 8th Romeo and Juliet will be performed at Roger Sherman Baldwin Park-100 Arch Street Greenwich, Ct and on July 18th-July 29th at Rowayton's Pinkney Park at 177 Rowayton Avenue: Shows begin at 7:30pm

Heidi Rodewald, Joanna Settle and Stew




Music and Songs by Stew and Heidi Rodewald, Choreography by David Neumann, Set Design by Laura Jellinek, Costume Design by Tilly Grimes, Lighting Design by Keith Parham, Sound Design by Obadiah Eaves, Sound System Design by Jessica Paz.



Audience for Shakespeare on the Sound in Rowayton


For more on Shakespeare's  Romeo and Juliet, checkout:

Library Programs - Adults

2012 Library Talk Schedule with Mark Schenker

Mark Schenker of Yale University will lead a lively discussion of Romeo and Juliet with a focus on a range of tensions in the play: between tragedy and comedy.            

Library Schedule:

Darien Library: Tuesday, June 5th - 7PM

Greenwich Library: Wednesday, June 6th - 7PM

New Canaan Library: Tuesday, June 19th - 7PM

Rowayton Library: Wednesday, June 27th - 7PM

Westport Library: Sunday, July 8th - 2PM


For more information go to:
http://www.shakespeareonthesound.org/



Vintage Show from 2002 on the TITANIC ARTIFACT EXHIBITION at the Maritime Aquarium in Norwalk

CURRENT CHRISTINA PROGRAM

                                                 

In honor of the 100th Anniversary of the Titanic on April 12th 2012, I am rebroadcasting a vintage show I produced early in the history of my show, CHRISTINA ( 2002 ). I interviewed Tim Gagne, then a publicist at the Maritime Aquarium's about the museum's exhibition,Titanic: The Artifact Exhibition produced by RMS Titanic's, Inc.  The focus of the exhibit was the salvaged artifacts from the Titanic's wreckage.  I filmed some of the wonderful amazing artifacts that were part of the exhibit, like the champagne bottle that still contained champagne after nearly a century of life under the sea.  I have always been fascinated by the Titanic story and found this exhibit and it's contents extraordinary and wanted to reshow them on the 100th Anniversary. The show airs on Tuesday April 3rd at 9:00pm and Thursday April 5th at 5:30pm.  It will play at the above days and times through out April. Below are photos of some of the Titanic Artifacts.

 

                                           

                                                                      
                                                                                       

                                                               

                                                                  



              



                                                                                                                                            

From the New York Times

The RMS Titanic, is the company with exclusive rights to the roughly 5,500 artifacts salvaged by eight expeditions to the wreck of the Titanic. The collection has been divided into temporary mini-museums set up across the country; eight will be in place by April, including one in Orlando, Fla., where on Saturday nights, one can, for $65, partake in a luxurious dinner party that recreates the one that George Widener, a wealthy Titanic passenger, gave for the Titanic’s captain just before the tragedy.

Thousands of artifacts salvaged from the Titanic’s watery tomb in the North Atlantic will be sold in a winner-take-all auction scheduled for April, the centennial of the luxury liner’s sinking, The Associated Press reported.
The estimated value of the 5,500 pieces of fine china, still-fragrant perfume bottles, ship fittings and more recovered by RMS Titanic Inc., a court-appointed salvaging company, is $189 million. The auction is scheduled for April 1 at Guernsey’s, the New York auction house

RMS Titanic owns the rights to discoveries and information that emanate from the salvaged objects for research, but not the artifacts or the wreck itself. Judge Smith ruled that RMS Titanic must make the artifacts available “to present and future generations for public display and exhibition, historical review, scientific and scholarly research, and educational purposes.”
Premier Exhibitions, RMS Titanic’s parent company, has organized an exhibition of the items, including a bowler hat, half-filled Champagne bottles and pieces of the grand staircase, that has been touring around the world.
The Titanic, celebrated as unsinkable, hit an iceberg on its first voyage and sank on April 15, 1912, 400 miles off the coast of Newfoundland; more than 1,500 of the roughly 2,200 people on board died.

Interesting youtubes to see more on Titanic's legendary history:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_xKDRmhp6lQ&feature=fvsr

Titanic Footage and Survivor Interviews

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8wTlureUMP8

Original Newsreel from 1912

http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=405725368277262178#editor/target=post;postID=5267829663635974941

From documentary by IMAX

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VfQlNdYDOPA&feature=related 

Some of the artifacts are being auctioned off see link on youtube:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZtsxZdKV9pM

 The original exhibit in 2002 also chronicled the stories of the passengers aboard the ship, those who survived and those who perished. It also had footage of interviews with aged survivors who recollect

the night to be remembered.

A wonderful article about the lure of Titanic's story.

http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2012/04/16/120416fa_fact_mendelsohn



Interview with John Turenne, Chef, President and Founder of Sustainable Food Systems, LLC.

CURRENT CHRISTINA PROGRAM

John Turenne

I am passionate about our need for fresh and safe food and I discovered my guest, John Turenne on the cover of the New York Times Sunday Magazine. His commitment to transforming the way we provide food service is setting a standard for the possiblility of great food at reasonable cost.  John Turenne, Chef, President and Founder of Sustainable Foods Systems, LLC is a leader in the movement to provide healthy sustainable food to institutions, such as, hospitals, universities and school districts.  John's interview will be broadcast on CHRISTINA, on Cablevision's Channel 88 on Tuesday, March 6th at 9:00pm and Thursday, March 8th at 5:30pm. It will play on susbequent Tuesdays and Thursday at the above times until the end of March.  





AliceWater, Author and Owner of Chez Panisse



More About John Turenne :

While creating food for Yale University, John met food author, Alice Waters. Her daughter was a student at Yale and she challenged the university to update it's food to a healthier menu. John met the challenge and  then went on to create his own company, Sustainable Food Systems. He is now insuring healthy food menus for schools and hospitals.



John Turenne in the Kitchen



John was chosen by Jamie Oliver to lead the behind-the-scenes team that made Jamie Oliver’s “Food Revolution”,  work in the Huntington, West Virginia school system. He’s one of nine chefs chosen to create the Chef Move to School program, part of Michelle Obama's"Let's Move" initiative to combat childhood obesity.For more information

http://www.sustainablefoodsystems.com




John Turenne, with  Jamie Oliver, at the Food Revolution in West Virginia

 
FOR  MORE INFORMATION:

http://www.sustainablefoodsystems.com/

http://www.jamieoliver.com/us/foundation/jamies-food-revolution/news-content/from-dollars-cents-to-common-sense-johnhttp

www.jamiesfoodrevolution.com

The Jamie Oliver Food Foundation (JOFF) is a California based non-profit public-benefit corporation, 501(c)(3) application pending.

  

Interview with singer, songwriter Lalie Madriguera

 CHRISTINA



Lalie Madriguera



  

 I felt a special kinship as I talked with singer/songwriter, Lalie Madriguera.Lalie's connection to music started in her childhood, living in a house with a famous talented showbiz parents. Her father, Enric Madriguera and his orchestra were very famous among the big bands during the swing years 1930 and 40'S . Her mother, Patricia Gilmore was a singer with a weekly radio show on NBC.  Enric's sister, Paquita Madriguera was a classical pianist who married the famous classical guitarist Andre Segovia.



 My parents were both dancers and  I could relate to her experience of growing up in a house with glamourous theatrical parents. My father, Harold Haskin was a ballet dancer with Ballet Theatre and my mother, Marie Hollingsworth, a modern dancer who traveled throughout Europe with her sister, Adah Hollingsworth. They performed in a sister team called the Holly Sisters. Adah went on to be a famous fashion model and one of Salvador Dali's favorite models.

 Lalie has a beautiful voice and her song, MOTHER'S SONG, is a moving reminder of how we must take care of mother earth. In addition to her musical talents Lalie's creative life includes the role of television producer. She created programs for Connecticut Public television.

The interview with Lalie Madriguera is  appeared on Cablevision's Channel 88, on Tuesday, February  21st at 9pm and Thursday at 5:30pm. It will play at the the above days and times through the end of February.. 

   

Lalie'a CD "Mother's Song" at CD Baby.com



 MORE ABOUT LALIE MADRIGUERA

LALIE (pronounced “Lolly”) Madriguera is a singer/songwriter, performer and creator of live music programs  for children, families, and adults including the elderly and ill.  “Flash!Bam!Alakazam! ™; “From Swing to Samba™ and “Heart to Heart™all  feature classic, American popular songs from the 1920s through the‘50s and include Latin rhythms.

Her newest programs are the inspirational “Earth is Our Mother” for children, and
“We Are One: Songs and Readings which remind us that We are all Connected,” for adults.
Both programs are based on the lyrics of “Mother’s Song,” Lalie’s first composition and include classic American popular songs interspersed with brief readings and stories.

“Mother’s Song” came into Lalie[s head one spring day as she was driving. Written in the first person, Earth, our Mother, asks each of us to love and take care of her and one another as, “we are one.” Lalie recorded it with accompaniment by the inimitable jazz guitarist, Gene Bertoncini.  One can hear it at www.sonicbids.com/lalie or purchase it as a download at www.cdbaby.com/motherssong or purchase it as a single CD’s at laliesings@gmail.com.

Noted personalities say about Lalie’s voice:  Margaret Whiting, big band vocalist wrote after hearing “Mother’s Song. “…how beautiful you sing…it’s a pleasure to hear a voice so simple and lovely” Jane Powell, singer and actress: “Your voice is so warm and rich.” Betsey Palmer, actress: “You have such a wonderful voice and heart.”

This April 4th Lalie performed “Mother’s Song” at Constitution Center in Philadelphia.  She’s performed in Central Park; at ECOFEST at Lincoln Center;’ for several Planet Heart Earth Day benefits in New York; for UN DAY in Westport CT and more.



 The late Barcelona born Enric Madriguera was a child prodigy of the classical violin. He crossed-over to popular music in the mid 1920s after falling in love with Cuban Ensemble music while in Havana. He formed an orchestra, brought it to New York and WNYC radio then to New York audiences at the Biltmore and Waldorf Astoria Hotels.  As Director of Import/Export for Columbia Records he popularized Latin music throughout the US. Lalie’s mother, the late Patricia Gilmore, a vocalist starred in  her own weekly radio show on NBC. Lalie’s late aunt, Paquita Madriguera, a child prodigy of the classical piano, married the pioneer of classical guitar, the late Andres Segovia.

Lalie's late father, Enric Madriguera

Lalie is passionate about performing to children and has given over 500 “FLASH! BAM! ALAKAZAM! ™” programs in libraries throughout NY and CT. “Flash! Bam! Alakazam! ™” is a one hour interactive, intergenerational music program for young people and families. Lalie sings dances and encourages children to join her while introducing them to a specially selected group of popular classic American songs which include Latin rhythms –the samba and conga.” Children no longer hear this music unless they are exposed to it at home as radio and television reflect the current popular music trends.” she says.  Her school workshops immerse children in this music.                                              



                                                                          


















Interview with Author/Professor Madge McKeithen

Madge McKiethen

Current CHRISTINA Program

I talked with Madge McKeithen about her creation of the One Page Poetry Circle at the Darien Library and about her love of poetry, writing and her book, Blue Peninsula. I met Madge when I joined, The One Page Poetry Circle. It was an enriching, memorable experience and it brought me back to how much I love poetry-the reading of it, the listening to it and the writing of it. In the group we formed friendships strengthened by our analysis of the poems we all brought. At the end of my interview with Madge,Dulcy Brainard and Olivia Just read their selected poems. The interview is being broadcast on Cablevision's Channel 88 in CT on Tuesday, January 10th at 9:00pm and Thursday January 12th at 5:30pm. It will continue to play at the above times until Thursday, Feburary 2nd. 2012. 

About Madge McKeithen

Madge McKeithen lived the first seventeen years of her life in North Carolina before going to the College of William and Mary and then to graduate school at Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies in Washington, DC. Thirty years later she returned to North Carolina four times in two years to study and write in the Queens low-residency MFA program.

Her first book, Blue Peninsula (Farrar, Straus & Giroux, 2006), now also on Kindle and NOOKbook, tells in fragments of her turn to poetry in the wake of her older son’s undiagnosed degenerative neurological disorder. Her work can also be read at these links—“Paul Newman On Sixth Avenue.” Lost and Found: Stories from New York (Mr. Beller’s Neighborhood Books, 2009), an essay about her father in her hometown paper, an essay about going public (library) with her love for poetry in Topograph (2010) and a dark true love story in TriQuarterly vol. 137, reprinted in Utne Reader (Nov-Dec 2010). Her essay “What Really Happened” will appear in Best American Essays, 2011 (October 2011, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt). Her review of a memoir by Kelle Groom was published in The New York Times Book Review in August 2011.

Madge lives in New York City and teaches nonfiction writing at the New School. In 2011-12, she is teaching in person at Tashkent International School, Tashkent, Uzbekistan, and online at the New School.

To find out more about Madge McKeithen go to  http://www.madgemckeithen.com/



Blue Peninsula



Interview with Maestro Eckart Preu, Music Director of the Stamford Symphony

 CHRISTINA Program

Maestro Eckart Preu, Music Driector of the Stamford Symphony, talked to me in the Founder's Room at the Palace Theatre in Stamford. The interview is now playing on Cablevision Channel 88 on Tuesday November 1st at 9:00pm and Thursday November 3rd, at 5:30pm. It will play on Tuesday and Thursdays at the above times until the end of November.

I enjoyed talking to Mr. Preu because he brings the same passion, full attention and animation to an interview as he does in his conducting of an orchestra.

About the Maestro:

Eckart Preu was named Music Director of the Stamford Symphony in 2005. He is also Music Director of the Spokane Symphony.
He was previously Associate Conductor of the Richmond Symphony and Resident Conductor of the American Symphony Orchestra and of the American Russian Young Artists Orchestra. His other former posts include Music Director of the Norwalk (CT) Youth Symphony and Principal Conductor of the New Amsterdam Symphony (NY). He was associated with the Bard Music Festival from 1997 to 2004 as both Assistant and Guest Conductor.
Eckart Preu served as Music Director of the Orchestre International de Paris from 1993-1995. He has appeared as a guest conductor with the Jerusalem Symphony, Radio Philharmonic of Slovenia, Hungary’s Pecs Philharmonic, Bulgaria’s Varna Philharmonic, and Germany’s Jenaer Philharmoniker, Hallesche Philharmonic, Thüringer Kammerorchester, and Landessinfonieorchester Gotha.
Career highlights include two Carnegie Hall performances, a performance at the Sorbonne in Paris, and a live broadcast with the Jerusalem Symphony in 2005. He also conducted the Stamford Symphony in the world and New York premieres of Clarinet Concerto no. 4 by William Thomas McKinley, with soloist Richard Stoltzman. He has worked with internationally renowned soloists including Sarah Chang, Anne Akiko Meyers, Jean-Philippe Collard, Vladimir Feltsman, Horacio Gutierrez, Leila Josefowicz, and Louis Lortie.
A native of Germany, Eckart Preu received early musical training in piano and voice. At 10, he joined the Boys Choir Dresdner Kreuzchor, and went on to become a soloist, rehearsal pianist, and the choir’s Assistant Conductor. He subsequently served as vocal coach with the Altenburg Opera and the Erfurt Opera House in Germany.
Maestro Preu studied at the Hochschule für Musik in Weimar, where he earned a masters degree in conducting, and at the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique in Paris. He came to the United States in 1996 as winner of the National Conducting Competition of the German Academic Exchange Service for graduate studies with Harold Farberman at the Hartt School of Music, where he also received the Karl Boehm Scholarship. In 1998, he took third place at the International Competition for Young Conductors of the European Union in Spoleto, Italy.
Eckart Preu has been a Visiting Assistant Professor at Bard College in New York, as well as a member of the guest faculty of the C.W. Post Chamber Music Festival