By Anne Levin
When the news broke last month that the American Boychoir School (ABS) was closing its doors after eight decades, an idea that had been percolating among administrators of the Princeton Girlchoir suddenly began to take shape. It wasn’t long before an announcement was made that a Boychoir division was being formed for the Girlchoir’s 2017-2018 season. more
On Saturday, September 16 at 8 p.m. and Sunday, September 17 (waiting list only) at 4 p.m., the Princeton Symphony Orchestra (PSO) opens its 2017-18 season with Beethoven’s 9th, featuring Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 in D Minor, Op. 125 “Choral” and Tchaikovsky’s “1812 Overture.” The performance will include a collaboration with Westminster Symphonic Choir led by director Joe Miller. PSO Music Director Rossen Milanov conducts. The performances will be held at Richardson Auditorium. For tickets, call (609) 497-0020 or visit princetonsymphony.org. (Photo Credit: Westminster Choir College of the Arts, Rider University)
TOP JAZZ DRUMMER: Jazz drummer Shirazette Tinnin will perform with her band Sonic Wallpaper at Tavern on the Lake in Hightstown on Friday, September 15 at 7:30 p.m. Doors open at 7 p.m. for the 7:30 first set. Drinks and dinner can be purchased. The cost of the concert is $25. (Photo Credit: Bex Wade)
Jazz drummer Shirazette Tinnin will perform with her band Sonic Wallpaper at Tavern on the Lake in Hightstown on Friday, September 15 at 7:30 p.m. Doors open at 7 p.m. for the 7:30 first set. Drinks and dinner can be purchased. The cost of the concert is $25. more
Mary Barton (Photo Credit: Richard Termine)
American Repertory Ballet (ARB) opens its 2017-2018 season with a full evening of works celebrating 15 years of Mary Barton’s choreography by showcasing three of her most recognized works in a program entitled Woman of Dance: Celebrating the Work of Mary Barton, on Friday and Saturday, September 22 and 23, at 7:30 p.m. at Rider University’s Bart Luedeke Center Theater in Lawrenceville. more
CAT QUICK: Princeton University field hockey player Nicole Catalino controls the ball last Friday as the Tigers hosted North Carolina in their season opener. Junior defensive midfielder Catalino played well in a losing cause as Princeton fell 2-0 to the Tar Heels. The Tigers, who lost 5-3 to defending national champion Delaware on Sunday to fall to 0-2, host Rutgers on September 8 and Penn State on September 10. (Photo by Frank Wojciechowski)
By Bill Alden
Nicole Catalino resembles the Energizer Bunny in her spot as a defensive midfielder for the Princeton University field hockey team, constantly on the move as she tracks the ball all over the field.
Junior standout Catalino relishes being in the middle of the action. “I have more influence on the rest of the players through experience and just the role I play on the field,” said Catalino. more
ONE-TWO PUNCH: Princeton Day School girls’ soccer defenders Madison Coyne, right, and Becca Kuzmicz control the ball in a recent training session. PDS will be depending on senior co-captains Coyne and Kuzmicz to anchor the back line the fall. The Panthers open their 2017 season by playing at the George School (Pa.) on September 8. (Photo by Frank Wojciechowski)
By Bill Alden
Months before the 2017 season began, the Princeton Day School girls’ soccer team was hit with adversity.
Due to academy system rules promulgated by the U.S. Soccer Federation that prevent players from competing for both high school and club programs, PDS lost the services of three of its top returning players, senior goalie Grace Barbara, senior midfielder Damali Simon-Ponte, and junior midfielder Madison McCaw. This trio helped the Panthers share the state Prep B title and advance to the Mercer County Tournament final last year on the way to posting a 17-1-4 final record. more
RELIEF PITCHER: Princeton High quarterback Jake Renda passes the ball last Saturday as PHS opened its season by hosting Hamilton. Freshman Renda came off the bench after senior quarter Vince Doran was injured in the first quarter and played well, completing 11-of-24 passes for 133 yards in a losing cause as the Little Tigers fell 39-0 to the Hornets. PHS plays at Pemberton (1-0) on September 9. (Photo by Frank Wojciechowski)
By Bill Alden
Hosting Hamilton past Saturday in its season opener, the Princeton High football team came out roaring.
After kicking off to the Hornets, the PHS defense gave its guests a rude welcome, sacking the Hamilton quarterback on first down and then picking up a turnover two plays later when Isaac Webb leaped up for an interception. more
STICKING WITH IT: Princeton Day School field hockey player Sasha Sindhwani, right, goes after the ball in a recent scrimmage. Defending state Prep B champion PDS is counting on junior star Sindhwani to provide production again on the front line this fall. The Panthers open their 2017 season when the play at Stuart Country Day School on September 7. (Photo by Frank Wojciechowski)
By Bill Alden
Last fall, the Princeton Day School field hockey came out of nowhere to emerge as a powerhouse.
After going 6-13-1 in 2015, PDS produced a brilliant 16-4 campaign a year ago, winning the state Prep B title and advancing to the Mercer County Tournament final. more
During the service this past Sunday at Nassau Presbyterian Church, Pastor David A. Davis urged worshippers to contribute funds for victims of the disastrous, record-breaking flooding in Texas. At the Jewish Federation of Princeton Mercer Bucks, an e-blast asking for contributions this week got an immediate response. At SAVE, A Friend to Homeless Animals in Skillman, discussions were ongoing Tuesday about how best to assist the rescue of dogs, cats, and other animals left to fend for themselves in the ongoing storm. more
A middle school oceanography course and a Diverse Educators Recruitment Day are just two of the many ways that Princeton Public Schools (PPS) have been working this summer to fulfill PPS’s strategic goal to “promote equity and access in ways that effectively eliminate the ‘achievement’ or opportunity gap.”
Designed to engage and excite students who are under-represented in more advanced science courses, the oceanography class ran from August 7-18 for four hours each day. Fifteen John Witherspoon Middle School students attended the course, which was sponsored by the Princeton Area Community Foundation. more
A lawsuit filed by AvalonBay against the town of Princeton has been settled with the municipality agreeing to pay the developer $50,000. Princeton Council passed a resolution at its meeting last week to end the dispute, which was over charges to the escrow account created by AvalonBay during construction of the rental complex on Witherspoon Street where Princeton Hospital once stood. more
PASSION FOR PETS: Heather L. Achenbach has joined SAVE, a Friend to Homeless Animals, as its new executive director. “It is truly an honor to be offered the opportunity to carry on the great work that SAVE does in support of our community and the plight of homeless pets,” she said. (Photo Courtesy of SAVE)
The resemblance is striking. Heather L. Achenbach, the director of SAVE, A Friend to Homeless Animals since June, looks so much like former director Piper Burrows that people frequently mistake her for her predecessor.
“Piper and I did spend a little time together after I started here,” said Ms. Achenbach, who worked for 20 years in the pharmaceutical industry. “We didn’t know each other but had spoken on the phone. When we met, she said, ‘Oh, this is weird.’ People say our personalities are similar, too.” more
Volunteering is second nature to Jeremy Perlman. The 28-year-old grew up watching his father and grandfather serve on the boards of local nonprofit organizations. He recalls, as a child, going with his sister to interact with residents at the Greenwood House senior living facility in Ewing, and helping out at other places as well.
So it makes sense that Mr. Perlman, who grew up in Lawrenceville and Princeton, wants to make a difference in his community. Focusing on fellow millennials, he recently organized the NextGen Giving Circle at the Princeton Area Community Foundation (PACF), an organization he knows well through his family’s participation over the years. more
The Princeton Regional Chamber of Commerce will hold its annual Toast to Tourism Awards on Tuesday, September 19 at The Boathouse at Mercer Lake in Mercer County Park, West Windsor, from 8 to 10 a.m. more
Singer-songwriters Lyle Lovett and John Hiatt will perform at McCarter Theatre on November 18 at 8 p.m. This is a rare opportunity to hear them together. Both artists have broadened the definition of American music incorporating elements of country, swing, jazz, folk, and gospel. Master lyricists and storytellers, Lovett and Hiatt’s songs range in topics from redemption and relationships to growing old and surrendering (on their terms). To purchase tickets, call the Box Office at (609) 258-2787 or visit www.mccarter.org.
On the age-old problem of how to begin, what better guide than John McPhee? In his new book Draft No. 4: John McPhee on the Writing Process (Farrar, Strauss and Giroux $25), he says “a lead should not be cheap, flashy, meretricious, blaring. After a tremendous fanfare of verbal trumpets, a mouse comes out of a hole blinking.” He goes on: “The lead — like the title — should be a flashlight that shines down into the story.” And then: “A lead is good not because it dances, fires cannons, or whistles like a train but because it is absolute to what follows.” more
PLAINSBORO ARTS FESTIVAL: Local artist Nelly Kouzmina, center, demonstrated the art of felt making at last year’s Arts Festival at the Plainsboro Public Library. Ms. Kouzmina and many other artists will be on hand for this year’s festival, to be held on Saturday, September 16 from noon-4 p.m.
Local artists will take center stage at the Plainsboro Public Library on Saturday, September 16, when the library holds its annual Arts Festival from noon — 4 p.m. The festival will feature resident artists and members of the Plainsboro Library Artists’ Group. In addition to showing their work in a variety of media, they will also demonstrate their techniques and will help visitors develop their own artwork to take home. more
“PRECIOUS”: This photograph by Andrew Wilkinson won Best in Show, Mercer County Photography 2015. This year’s juried competition will take place October 26 through December 8 at the Silva Gallery of Art at The Pennington School.
Attention, photographers! “Mercer County Photography 2017,” a juried competition, will take place October 26 through December 8 at the Silva Gallery of Art at The Pennington School. more
The Center for Contemporary Art’s fall schedule of art classes and workshops begins September 11 and runs through December. There are over 45 classes and workshops for adults and over 15 classes for children ages 5 through teens. Classes are offered for artists with all levels of expertise in a variety of media including oil and acrylic paint, watercolor, drawing, photography, and ceramics. more
FRENCH THEATER FESTIVAL: “Seuls en Scène” French Theater Festival begins with Nicolas Truong’s “Interview,” featuring Judith Henry and Nicolas Bouchaud, on September 15 and 16 at 8 p.m. at the Matthews Acting Studio, 185 Nassau Street. (Photo by Mathilde Priolet)
Princeton University’s Lewis Center for the Arts, Department of French and Italian, and L’Avant-Scène will present the sixth annual Seuls en Scène French Theater Festival, which will take place from September 15 to 30 at venues across the University’s campus. Some performances will be in English, while others will be in French with English subtitles; all are free and open to the public. more
HUB HOLLOW: Daniella Fischetti and Tim Ryan of Hub Hollow will lead the Bluegrass Jam at Hunterdon County World Music Day in Flemington at Deer Path Park from noon to 6 p.m. on October 1. Attendees are encouraged to bring blankets and chairs. Food trucks will begin serving at noon. This festival is free. Learn more at www.HCWorldMusicDay.org.
The second annual World Music Day in Hunterdon County will take place from noon to 6 p.m. at Flemington’s Deer Path Park on October 1. The free music festival is organized by the Hunterdon County Cultural and Heritage Commission in partnership with the Hunterdon County Division of Parks and Recreation. more
MAC ATTACK: Princeton University field hockey player Ryan McCarthy follows through on a shot in a 2016 game. Senior striker McCarthy, who scored 14 goals last year on the way to earning first-team All-Ivy League honors, should be the go-to finisher for the Tigers this year. Princeton opens its 2017 season by hosting North Carolina on September 1 before playing at Delaware on September 3. (Photo by Frank Wojciechowski)
Although it fell just short of winning its 12th straight Ivy League title, the Princeton University field hockey team didn’t let that disappointment keep it from turning 2016 into a season to remember, producing a stunning run in the NCAA tournament.
Getting into the tourney through an at-large bid, Princeton proceeded to advance to the Final 4 where it lost a 3-2 nail-biter in the semifinal to eventual national champion Delaware. more
