March 13, 2024

Despite Outshooting Harvard 38-16 in ECACH Playoff, PU Men’s Hockey Edged 1-0 By Crimson to End Season

RUING THE DAY: Princeton University men’s hockey player Tyler Rubin, left, goes after the puck in a game last season. Last Friday, sophomore defenseman Rubin and the Tigers fell 1-0 at Harvard in a single-elimination ECAC Hockey playoff opening round contest. The defeat left the Tigers with a final overall record of 10-16-4. (Photo by Frank Wojciechowski)

By Bill Alden

In late December, the Princeton University men’s hockey team defeated visiting Harvard 5-2, making the most out of its opportunities as it outshot the Crimson 31-30.

Last Friday when the rivals met in a ECAC Hockey single-elimination first round playoff contest in Cambridge, Mass., Princeton built a 38-16 edge in shots and won 31 of 53 face-offs. more

Taking a More Serious Approach Down the Stretch, PHS Girls’ Hockey Advanced to Annis Cup Semis

TIP OF THE SPEIR: Princeton High girls’ hockey player Cassie Speir, right, chases down the puck in a game during the 2022-23 season. Junior star Speir scored 31 goals this winter to help PHS advance to the Annis Cup semis and go 3-11 (including 1-1 in two games against the Lawrenceville School JV). (Photo by Frank Wojciechowski)

By Bill Alden

As the winter unfolded, Christian Herzog urged the players on his Princeton High girls’ hockey team to take a more business-like approach when they took the ice.

“We had some talks at the end of the season, like ladies we can always come out and laugh it up and dance to music in between periods at the games, I would like to make this more serious,” said PHS head coach Christian Herzog. “I want us to lean towards a team that is more serious the whole game.” more

Building a Positive Culture Under New Coach Szeker, Hun Boys’ Hockey Paving the Way for Future Success

STICKING WITH IT: Hun School boys’ hockey player Brendan Marino, left, goes after the puck in a game last season. Senior forward Marino’s production was a bright spot for the Hun offense as the Raiders went 3-12 this winter. (Photo by Frank Wojciechowski)

By Bill Alden

In taking the helm of the Hun School boys’ hockey team this winter, Eric Szeker was looking to lay the foundation for something special.

“The biggest thing this year was trying to develop a culture and a way that we want to play every single day, whether that is practice or a game,” said Szeker, a 2013 Hun alum who served as the captain of the Raiders in his senior season and went on to play college hockey at Western New England University.

“It was having our Hun hockey identity rebranded to what I would like to see from it and what we want to see out of the long term. I think we were able to do that this year, which was one of our biggest successes.” more

With Players Showing Improvement Across the Board, Hun Boys’ Hoops Kept Growing as Season Unfolded

GAME TYME: Hun School boys’ basketball player Drae Tyme, right, heads to the hoops in a game this season. Junior forward Tyme, who also stars in football, gave the Raiders some rugged inside play this winter as they went 10-14 and advanced to the Prep A state semifinals. (Photo by Frank Wojciechowski)

By Bill Alden

For the Hun School boys’ basketball team, its run in the Prep A state tournament epitomized the up-and-down campaign produced by the squad this winter.

Hun defeated Peddie 86-60 in its Prep A opener on February 15 before falling 67-59 at Blair in a semifinal contest four days later to end the season with a 10-14 record.  more

Heartfelt Thanks to All Who Helped PHA Community After Recent Fire

To the Editor:

On behalf of the Princeton Housing Authority (PHA) Board of Commissioners, staff, and the tenants affected by the recent fire incident at Redding Circle Family, I want to express my sincerest gratitude to all of the people and agencies who responded and lent their invaluable support during this challenging time.

The prompt response and exceptional service provided by Princeton Fire Department, Princeton First Aid and Rescue Squad, Princeton Plasma Physics Lab (Mercer County Station 66), Plainsboro Fire Department, Hamilton Fire Department, Kingston Fire Department, and West Windsor Emergency Services were instrumental in extinguishing the fire swiftly and limiting further damage. I deeply appreciate the bravery and dedication demonstrated by all of the first responders in ensuring the safety of our residents and the preservation of their homes as well as the follow up with tenants to ensure they comply with fire safety strategies and protocols moving forward. more

March 6, 2024

Signs of Spring

Cheery daffodils and other flowers are popping up around town, heralding that spring will soon be here. (Photo by Sarah Teo)

Flu Numbers Remain High; COVID, RSV Decline

By Donald Gilpin

As spring and the likely end of the season for high numbers of respiratory diseases approaches, influenza activity locally and throughout the state remains high, but health officials are hopeful that this year’s numbers may have peaked in February.

“The trajectory for influenza has decreased in the past week,” wrote Penn Medicine Princeton Medical Center Epidemiologist David J. Herman in a March 5 email. “If this pattern holds, we may have seen the peak of this year’s influenza season.” He noted that flu activity remains high in all New Jersey counties, but he pointed out that a tripledemic — flu, COVID-19, and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) — “was not apparent, since all three viruses did not peak at the same time.”

He added, “COVID-19 cases continue in a slow decline both locally and statewide.” more

Hotel Construction Issues Keep Chambers Street One-Way Until May 16

By Anne Levin

Following a prolonged discussion, Princeton Council voted at its February 26 meeting to allow the Graduate Hotel to maintain the work zone on Chambers Street through May 16, which is more than two months longer than previously scheduled. That means the street will remain one-way going north until the hotel opens for business on that date.

Much anticipated, the hotel’s opening is delayed due to structural issues in the front part of the hotel, an existing building at 20 Nassau Street. Opening up the street to two-way traffic was not considered a viable alternative at this point, since it would likely entail periodic closures. more

Citizen’s Police Academy Registering Participants for its Second Season

LEARNING ABOUT LAW ENFORCEMENT: Last year’s participants in the Princeton Police Department’s Citizen’s Police Academy included Princeton Councilwoman Leticia Fraga, at far right. The group was immersed once a week, for eight weeks, in the methods and operations of the department.

By Anne Levin

At the beginning of the six-week Citizen’s Police Academy held by the Princeton Police Department last spring, one of the 16 participants — a man in his seventies — told Sgt. Dan Federico that he had never really trusted the police. By the end of the program, “I think we opened his eyes on a few things,” said Federico. “He actually referred three people for this year.”

Getting the Citizen’s Police Academy up and running was a goal of Chief Jon Bucchere when he took over the top spot in October 2022. The success of the inaugural program last spring has prompted the department to schedule a second series, which begins April 18 and runs on Thursday evenings through June 6. Spots are still available for the 20 slots. Participation is free. more

McCarter’s Production of “Dreamgirls” is About More Than Glitz and Glam

FROM OBSCURITY TO SUPERSTARDOM: The award-winning musical “Dreamgirls” is onstage at McCarter Theatre through March 24 in a production directed by Lili-Anne Brown. (Photo by Diane Sobolewski)

By Anne Levin

A video on McCarter Theatre Center’s website takes viewers on a behind-the-scenes tour of the set and costume shops as they prepare for the opening of Dreamgirls. With some 3,000 square feet of shimmer panels adorning the set, the musical, which is on stage at McCarter’s Matthews Theater March 6 through 24, is big on flash and glitz.

But there is more to Dreamgirls than glamour and sequins. “I love the story. I think it has a better book than it gets credit for,” said Lili-Anne Brown, director of the show, during a break from rehearsals this week. “I have always felt that while it was very glitzy and very much about that life, with really showy singing, that’s just one of the many parts of that story. It’s a generalized story about the music business, and also about womanhood and friendship, and how these things can be exploited in a business that’s supposed to be about people’s talent.” more

Visitors From Italy Bring Rich Culture, Education, Lasting Friendships to PHS

ITALY-PHS EXCHANGE: Laura Francolino, Princeton High School (PHS) Italian teacher and organizer of the recent PHS exchange visit with 35 students from Carpi, Italy, prepares for last month’s “History of Pizza in New Jersey” event, which took place at PHS for the students and their host families. (Photo courtesy of Princeton Public Schools)

By Donald Gilpin

Learning another language is a worthy endeavor, but Princeton High School (PHS) students who participated in an Italian exchange program — travel to Italy last fall and hosting a return visit last month by students from Italy and their teachers — were able to add several dimensions to the educational experience.

“I greatly appreciated the opportunity to stay with another family in Italy and to host two of my friends that I made on the trip here in Princeton,” wrote PHS eleventh grader Max Mazo in an email. “Living with an Italian family for a week gave me not only the opportunity to explore and learn the language, but also to temporarily integrate myself into the beautiful daily life and traditions of Carpi.” more

PU Public Affairs School Spotlights Children’s Health Equity and Justice

By Donald Gilpin

The photograph on the overhead screen showed a touching image of a loving parent and child, as Dr. Renee D. Boynton-Jarrett, a practicing pediatrician, social epidemiologist, Princeton University graduate, and associate professor at Boston Medical Center and Boston University School of Medicine, asked for responses from the overflow gathering of about 80 in the Princeton University School of Public and International Affairs (SPIA) Robertson Hall lecture room on Friday afternoon, March 1.

“It epitomizes a lot of what I’ve focused my career on,” she said. “How can we create a world where all children are safe and loved, with caregivers and families that feel supported by their environment, and their society provides this nurturing with warmth and safety?” more

“There Are Smiles” on Ring Lardner’s Birthday

By Stuart Mitchner

How can you laugh if you can’t cry?

—Ring Lardner (1885-1933)

Today is Ring Lardner’s birthday, spring training baseball is underway, and I’ve been reading You Know Me Al: A Busher’s Letters (Doran 1916), in which “living” and “having” are spelled “liveing” and “haveing,” and a series between two teams becomes a “serious.” After Lardner’s team, the White Sox, were branded the Black Sox for throwing the 1919 “World Serious,” he saw it as a betrayal, although five years passed before he said, “I have kind of lost interest in the old game, or rather it ain’t the old game that which I have lost interest in it, but it is the game which the magnates have fixed up to please the public with their usual good judgement.”

In her August 1, 1925 Saturday Review essay on “American Fiction,” Virginia Woolf surprised a great many readers, including no doubt Ring Lardner and his neighbor at the time F. Scott Fitzgerald, by observing that Lardner “writes the best prose that has come our way” and “often in a language which is not English. Mr. Lardner has talents of a remarkable order. With extraordinary ease and aptitude, with the quickest strokes, the surest touch, the sharpest insight, he lets Jack Keefe the baseball player cut out his own outline, fill in his own depths, until the figure of the foolish, boastful, innocent athlete lives before us. As he babbles out his mind on paper there rise up friends, sweethearts, the scenery, town, and country—all surround him and make him up in his completeness.”

As it happens, Woolf’s eloquent appraisal could be applied to another character who is allowed to “cut out his own outline, fill in his own depths” until he “lives before us” as he “babbles out his mind on paper,” with friends, girlfriends, enemies, a little sister named Phoebe, scenery (Central Park) and town (New York City) all surrounding him and making him up “in his completeness.”  more

Princeton University Orchestra Presents Concerto Competition Winners and World Premiere

By Nancy Plum

The annual Princeton University Orchestra Concerto Competition has always shown the depth of talent in the University student body. This year was no exception, with the Orchestra performing a showcase concert of the Competition winners this past weekend. Under the direction of PUO Conductor Michael Pratt, the Orchestra played three full and complex concerti featuring tuba, cello, and violin soloists. As a bonus, the ensemble presented a world premiere of a collaborative work with the University’s African Music Ensemble and the West African Dafra Kura Band.

The Concerto Competition winners were young this year, with three underclassmen displaying impressive technical dexterity in the music of Ralph Vaughan Williams, Robert Schumann, and Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky. Sophomore Wesley Sanders and the University Orchestra opened Friday night’s performance in Richardson Auditorium (the concert was repeated Saturday night) with Vaughan Williams’ Concerto for Bass Tuba. The first major concerto ever written for tuba and orchestra, the 1954 concerto packed within its three movements virtuosic requirements well illustrating the full capabilities of the instrument. more

Arts Council of Princeton’s Open Mic Events Continue

DON’T BE SHY: The Arts Council of Princeton’s monthly Story & Verse Open Mic invites emerging and established artists to take a turn in the spotlight starting March 21 with “Open Theme Night.” These events are free and open to all.

The Arts Council of Princeton (ACP) will continue its monthly Story & Verse Open Mic every third Thursday at their Paul Robeson Center for the Arts, 102 Witherspoon Street. The first in the series is March 21, “Open Theme Night.” The free events start at 7 p.m.

Since 2020, Story & Verse has provided a warm and welcoming spotlight for both emerging and established artists in the ACP’s Solley Theater.

“Story & Verse has really blossomed over the past few months”, said organizer and ACP Program/Marketing Manager Melissa Kuscin. “It’s diverse in every way possible, showing off the talent of every age group, every level of experience. In fact, we’ve been getting more beginners than ever, and we’re honored to host a space that makes everyone feel like it’s for them.” more

Orchestra from Ukraine On Stage at State Theatre

MULTIPLE PIANOS AND MORE: The Kyiv Virtuosi Symphony Orchestra brings a varied program to State Theatre New Jersey in New Brunswick on March 17.

State Theatre New Jersey presents the Kyiv Virtuosi Symphony Orchestra led by Chief Conductor Dmitry Yablonsky on Sunday, March 17 at 3 p.m. The program includes Myroslav Skoryk’s Melody; Mendelssohn’s Piano Concerto No. 1 in G minor; Mendelsohn & Moscheles’ Fantasie Brilliante & Variations; Ignaz Moscheles’ Les Contrastes Grand Duo Op. 115; Berliner’s Jacob’s Dream Cello Concerto; and Beethoven’s Symphony No. 8 in F Major.

Soloists in the program include pianist Alon Kariv, Dmitry Yablonsky on cello, and the MultiPiano Ensemble.

Years of friendship and collaboration between a group of talented Ukrainian musicians, laureates of international competitions, and  world-famous conductor and cellist Dmitry Yablonsky has grown into the creation of Kyiv Virtuosi Symphony Orchestra.

During the orchestra’s first season, the orchestra performed more than 120 concerts in Ukraine, Israel, Azerbaijan, Spain, Switzerland, and other countries.
 more

Princeton Pro Musica Concert Presents Mozart and More

Crystal Glenn

On Sunday, March 17 at 4 p.m. in Richardson Auditorium, Princeton Pro Musica (PPM) Chorus and Orchestra returns to Mozart’s Requiem, presented alongside a new companion work by Baltimore-based composer Jasmine Barnes, Portraits: Douglass & Tubman. This concert will also feature guest artists from the Glassbrook Vocal Ensemble, directed by Chaequan Anderson, performing a set of works by Vincente Lusitano, Margaret Bonds, and Nathaniel Dett, some of the most celebrated Black composers across the history of music.

It is well known that Mozart did not live to complete his Requiem. Though the version completed by Franz Süssmayer is more frequently performed, Princeton Pro Musica will present the edition by pianist and Mozart scholar Robert Levin. His alternate completion “observes the character, texture, voice leading, continuity, and structure of Mozart’s music. The traditional version has been retained insofar as it agrees with idiomatic Mozartean practice,” said PPM Artistic Director Ryan Brandau. more

Folk Music Society Presents Guitarist/vocalist Ruth Wyand

MUSICAL MIX: Multi-faceted singer and guitarist Ruth Wyand is known for her guitar virtuosity, ranging from original songs to instrumental arrangements of Doc Watson, Jimi Hendrix, and many others.

The Princeton Folk Music Society presents singer and guitarist Ruth Wyand at Christ Congregation Church, 50 Walnut Lane, on Friday, March 15 at 8 p.m.

Being diversified is Wyand’s specialty. Demonstrating guitar virtuosity with powerful fingerpicking, bottleneck slide and a warm alto voice, she plays a mix of Americana, jazz, blues, folk, and country, with a portion of Piedmont picking and bluegrass clawhammer thrown in. Her songwriting is universal, using a melting pot of styles with lyrics that are sometimes witty, sometimes serious, but always human and genuine. Wyand presents a mix of originals as well as instrumental arrangements of classics ranging from Doc Watson, Etta Baker, Jimi Hendrix, and Leo Kottke to Thelonious Monk and Nina Simone.

Tickets are $10-$25 ($5 for children 11 and under). Visit princetonfolk.org.

Arts Council Presents “Shifting Perspectives” Dual Exhibition

“AIR SPACE”: Watercolor paintings by Barbara Kaiser will be featured in “Shifting Perspectives,” her dual show with ceramicist Elisabeth Quatrano, on view March 16 through April 13 at the Arts Council of Princeton.

The Arts Council of Princeton (ACP) will present “Shifting Perspectives: Capturing Moments in Ceramics and Watercolor,” a dual exhibition by Barbara Kaiser and Elisabeth Quatrano, in its Taplin Gallery March 16 through April 13. A free gallery opening will be held on Saturday, March 16 from 3 to 5 p.m.

This collection of Kaiser’s watercolor paintings — created during a time touched by tragedy, uncertainty, and fear — explores remembrance, resilience, and hope. Through depictions of motion and upward-looking compositions and sharing the common threads of blue sky and flight, the works represent a shift from melancholy to brightness, possibility, and joy. The artist employs her signature use of bold color, thoughtful composition, and varied watercolor techniques throughout. more

Local Artist Awarded For Collage Work

“WILDEST DREAM”: Princeton artist Trudy Borenstein-Sugiura recently received a 2024 Finalists Award from the Mid-Atlantic and New Jersey State Council for the Arts for her work.

Longtime Princeton resident Trudy Borenstein-Sugiura has been awarded a 2024 Finalists Award from the Mid-Atlantic and New Jersey State Council for the Arts.

Borenstein-Sugiura’s collages explore issues of memory, time, cultural identity, ecological, and ideological concerns and are made entirely out of cut paper relating to the topic. Personal documents, brochures, textbooks, magazines and family photos are all worked into an image of a person, or, often, a bird.  more

Nature Quilt Exhibit at Tulpehaking Nature Center

“ON SENTRY DUTY”: This quilt by Deb Brockway is part of “Nature Captured in Fabric,” her solo exhibit on view through April 30 at the Tulpehaking Nature Center in Hamilton.

The nonprofit Friends for the Abbott Marshlands (FFAM) is hosting a new art quilt exhibit, “Nature Captured in Fabric,” at the Tulpehaking Nature Center in Hamilton through April 30. The solo exhibit features works by Deb Brockway, a volunteer and executive board member of Friends for the Abbott Marshlands. As stewardship chair, she is well known for her trail building skills, while her professional background is in education research and STEM education. more

Art at Night Party at Princeton Makes

ART AT NIGHT: Works by ceramicist Zohar Lavi-Hasson will be among those featured at an art party on Saturday, March 9 from 6 to 11:30 p.m. at the Princeton Makes Artist Cooperative in the Princeton Shopping Center.

Princeton Makes, a Princeton-based artist cooperative, will host Art at Night, an evening art making party, on Saturday, March 9 from 6:30 to 11 p.m. at its artist studios and art market in the Princeton Shopping Center.

The art party will feature creative activities for children and adults, open drawings of live models (dressed till 10 p.m., nude after 10 p.m.), artists working in their studio, refreshments, live music by Dharmasoul, and a raffle for artwork from Princeton Makes artists.  more

PSO Showcases Local Artist’s Work for Princeton Festival

Princeton Symphony Orchestra (PSO) showcases the artistry of Anandi Ramanathan, a member of the local art scene, with this year’s graphic design look for its June 7-22 Princeton Festival. Ramanathan’s studio is at Princeton Makes, an artist cooperative at Princeton Shopping Center on North Harrison Street.

Tapping into her knowledge of flowers and talent for rendering them vibrantly in watercolor, the PSO is decoratively applying her florals to Princeton Festival posters, flyers, and other marketing materials through a collaborative design process. Ramanathan reviews each design application along the way to ensure her work and artistry remain intact.  more

After Getting Sidelined by Hard Fall Against Columbia, Allocco Returns to Help PU Men’s Hoops Edge Cornell

ALL IN: Princeton University men’s basketball player Matt Allocco looks to pass the ball last Friday night against Columbia. Bouncing back from a knock that sidelined him in the second half of Princeton’s 84-70 win over the Lions, Allocco scored 19 points as the Tigers edged Cornell 79-77 a night later in Ivy League first-place showdown. Princeton, now 23-3 overall and 11-2 Ivy, plays at Penn on March 9 in its regular season finale. (Photo by Frank Wojciechowski)

By Bill Alden

As the Princeton University men’s basketball team hosted Columbia last Friday night, Matt Allocco got knocked out of the game late in the first half.

Princeton senior guard and co-captain Allocco crashed to the floor when taking a charge and didn’t return for the second half as he was treated by the program’s medical staff while the Tigers pulled away to an 84-70 win.

While Allocco’s status for Saturday’s regular season home finale and Ivy League first-place showdown against Cornell was unclear, he had no doubt that he would take the court for his Senior Night. more

PU Women’s Hoops Sweeps Harvard, Dartmouth As Mitchell’s Aggressive Play Makes a Difference

LEAVING IT ON THE COURT: Princeton University women’s basketball player Ellie Mitchell hits the floor to get a loose ball last Friday against Harvard. Senior star forward Mitchell came up big last weekend for the Tigers, scoring six points with nine rebounds as Princeton defeated Harvard 60-49 on Friday and then had six points along with six rebounds, one assist, and two steals in a 68-42 win over Dartmouth a day later. The Tigers, now 22-4 overall and 12-1 Ivy League, host Penn on March 9 in their regular season finale. (Photo by Frank Wojciechowski)

By Bill Alden

With the Princeton University women’s basketball team coming off a tough 67-65 loss at Columbia to end February, Ellie Mitchell sense that the Tigers were primed to get back on the winning track as they hosted Harvard and Dartmouth last weekend to start March.

“We know there was a lot we could improve on, hopefully there is a lot left for us in March,” said Princeton senior forward Mitchell. “We were excited to get back on the court and try to make a statement game with Harvard and then Dartmouth, one at a time.” more