Remembering those we’ve lost
NORWALK ARTIST CREATES SCULPTURES FROM BONE
Last fall, Norwalk artist Miller Opie won the Jacobson sculpture award at the Silvermine Art Center’s annual A-One show for a pair of pieces fashioned primarily from moose bone. Yes, that’s right: moose, the antlered animal of northern forests.
Now, as a reward for winning the A-One prize, Opie has two more animal bone sculptures in Silvermine’s current new members’ show, running through March 13.
The smaller of the two, titled “Jete” after the ballet leap, also incorporates moose bone. This time, Opie has used a pair of surprisingly thin ribs. Set
vertically and slightly bowed on a block of hemlock wood, the ribs suggest striding legs arrested in forward motion.
The impression is heightened by feathers streaming from the front leg of this bony dancer.
Larger, heavier and more unsettling is Opie’s “Adaptation,” a nearly 5-foot-long spinal column suspended from the gallery wall just behind “Jete.”
Almost pure white, it looks like the intact, sun-bleached backbone of a single animal. But “Adaptation” is actually an amalgam of vertebrae from three deer and a calf, according to the label.
It too is bowed outward into the gallery, as if whatever creature it once belonged to had arched its back, perhaps to stretch. The bowing creates a second purely artistic effect. Under the gallery lighting it casts twin shadows on the wall.
“That’s something I discovered after the fact,” Opie said, soon after the exhibit opened. “It’s something I want to pursue. It’s beautiful to have something white cast shadow. It fleshes out the piece as more dimensional.”
As her first vertebrae sculpture, Opie wanted “Adaptation” to be recognizable, but not classifiable.
“I didn’t want to rebuild a deer,” she said. “I wanted people to question, What is this? Is it an animal? Is it an alien? I liked the idea to make it appear as if it was coming out of the wall.”
Both animal and alien work. In the two years since she made “Adaptation,” Opie has done a whole series of vertebrae sculptures. They may not shape shift, but they nevertheless manage to look like primordial life forms one moment and giant insect exoskeletons the next.
Last fall in a group exhibition at an abandoned brewery in Paterson, N.J., she put four vertebrae sculptures in ornate picture frames and mounted them on the factory’s exposed brick wall. The backbones didn’t fill the frames. Rather, in photographs, they appear to dangle from them, like invaders.
Opie understands the idea of working with bones can make people squeamish. But to her, bones are inherently fascinating and, though there is no reference to it in the Silvermine exhibit, her own bone is the inspiration for her lately discovered art.
“I hope I’m not grossing you out,” Opie said, telling how benign tumors, likely the result of her baby teeth failing to fall out on time, led her to have her jaw reconstructed as an adult.
It was a three-year process that began with an initial surgery in 2009 at a teaching hospital. She was working in Chicago then and remembers doctors standing behind her and her family when showing them photos of the surgery.
“They thought we would faint, but we didn’t because we were fascinated,” Opie said. “To be distanced from your mortality, or the fear of your mortality, maybe that was a seed of something, I don’t know.”
Her actual investigation of bone began once the jaw restoration was complete and while she was still in Chicago.
“I had to make something. I didn’t know what I was going to do,” recalled Opie, a 1990 Rhode Island School of Design graduate whose personal focus had been on jewelry design and who over the years scavenged all sorts of “treasures” like shells and bones.
“It just struck me that I wanted to cut the bones up with a handsaw,” she said. “It was just so unintentional. I’m not trying to sound dramatic. But it just happened. I just started to cut things up and put them back together. I realized what it was after I did it.”
Her first piece, titled “Reparation,” was jaw-like, constructed from a horse mandible, with agates for teeth and with one of her own baby teeth embedded in a sand dollar at the tip.
Working with bone is “similar to making jewelry,” she said. “It’s about scale. You grind and sand. But bone has a warmth (that) metal does not have.
“It can be colorful, too. Bones can pick up what they’ve been lying on, like the stain of grass or soil. Bone is also receptive to manipulation.”
She admits, however, “There is a gross factor sometimes. When I grind it, it can smell like a day at the dentist’s.”
Opie grew up in North Carolina, her mother a fabric artist. After graduating from RISD, she stayed in Providence to start her own jewelry design business. Then she held a series of corporate jobs.
One of the first was working as a designer for Martha Stewart, appearing on her television show when it was produced in Westport. In 2013, lured by a job at Ethan Allen Interiors in Danbury, she moved to Norwalk with her husband, David, an author/illustrator.
They had met at RISD and he proved to be a fellow bone collector.
Opie did not devote herself to sculpture full time until after leaving Ethan Allen in 2018. She now divides her time between her home in Norwalk and a studio her sister built for her on property in Shutesbury, Ma. It is surrounded by forest, where her dogs sniff out bones. Hunters also bring her material.
“Hunting season just ended. I was just gifted a couple of deer carcasses. It’s a little out of hand right now. I’ve got an enormous stash of bones. I can just crank,” she said, meaning she’s eager to put the bones to use.
Opie calls her growing bone portfolio “Deconstruction/Reconstruction.” She has a second sculpture series called “Whir of Wings” that combines found feathers with woody roots and branches.
She cleans donated bone herself, outdoors in Shutesbury. She scrapes off remaining tissue, then boils the bone in a giant pot. A long soaking in peroxide follows, drawing out the fat and leaving the bone creamy white.
She said she’s more comfortable working with bone than cooking meals with meat.
She traces most of her bone sculptures back to her surgery. Of the two prize winners in the A-One show, one was an outlier in that it was inspired more by movement.
Titled “Au Repos,” it nevertheless used moose bone. Snowshoe shaped, it has a moose scapula in the center connected to a frame of moose ribs by copper wire. Feathers provide a mesh.
The other piece, titled “Chainged,” looks high tech by comparison. U-shaped, it has braided wire chain leading to cylinders of moose tibia that are in turn joined by copper fixtures.
Opie said “Chainged” impresses her as softer and less linear than her vertebrae sculptures.
“I like the way it drapes,” she said. “The chain felt almost like a marrow that belongs inside the bone.”
BRIDGEPORT Comedy
Vinnie Brand, Bridgeport Stress Factory Comedy Club, 167 State St. March 11, 7:30 p.m., March 13, 7 & 8:30 p.m. $120-$40. Shows resume indoors with 50% capacity, and following all State guidelines for reopening. bridgeport.stressfactory.com
Tickled Pink-Pink Pledge Fundraiser with Vinnie Brand, online comedy show hosted by Bridgeport Stress Factory Comedy Club, March 12, 7:55 p.m. $15. Live, inperson Tickled Pink Pledge Fundraiser with Vinnie Brand takes place, 8 p.m. $320-$80. bridgeport.stressfactory.com
Music
“Mozart to Beethoven to Mahler,” virtual concert recorded at The Klein Memorial Auditorium, featuring Mira Wang, violin and GBS musicians, all socially distanced, under the direction of conductor Eric Jacobsen, available for at-home viewing beginning March 13. Tickets at gbs.org
St. Patrick’s Day
39th Annual Greater Bridgeport St. Patrick's Day Parade, watch the parade from the comfort of your home, March 17, noon. facebook.com/St.PatricksParadeBridgeport
Visual Arts
“Photorealism: Fixing the Fleeting Moment,” Housatonic Museum of Art on the Housatonic Community College Campus, 900 Lafayette Blvd. New exhibit on view through Dec. 2021; “The Roots of Abstraction,” exhibit on view through Aug. 31, 2021. An appointment to visit the museum is necessary, and visitors must be prepared to comply with social distancing rules and wear protective face masks. Housatonic Museum of Art will also make the exhibit available as a slideshow, virtual tour and as a print-on-demand catalog. 203-332-5052, housatonicmuseum.org
“DAZZLE: A Garden of Glass” exhibit of hand-blown glass by glass artist Peter Greenwood, Connecticut’s Beardsley Zoo Victorian Greenhouse, 1875 Noble Ave. On view through April 6. Open seven days a week 9 a.m.-4 p.m. Zoo admission: $15 adults, $10 children 3-11 and seniors over 62. Children under three are free. All the pieces in the show will be available for purchase at the end of the exhibit. Masks required, social distancing must be observed. Purchase tickets at beardsleyzoo.org
DANBURY Specials
Western Connecticut State University Office of the Provost will host a Scholars in Action program on Webex, March 16, 4 p.m. WCSU faculty members in a panel discussion about “Learning from Each Other: Collaborating with Students and Colleagues for a Better Educational Experience.” For more information contact Sherri Hill of the Office of University Relations at hills@wcsu.edu.
Visual Arts
“Abstractions: Shadows & Runes” photo exhibit by Joy Bush, Gallery at Still River Editions, 128 E Liberty St. Through March 26. Viewing in-person and virtually. Regular gallery hours: Mon-Fri 8:30 a.m.-5 p.m. Open to 1 or 2 visitors from the same household at one time, masks required. 203791-1474, stillrivereditions.com
DARIEN Visual Arts
Darien Arts Center’s Smartphone Photo Contest, “Pic Darien: Images of Hope, Heroes and Home.” Winners announced March 28. darienarts.org
FAIRFIELD Comedy
Dean Edwards, Fairfield Theatre Company Warehouse, 70 Sanford St. March 12, 8 p.m. $35 In-Person & $14.99 Live-stream; Judy Gold, March 13, 8 p.m. $35 In-Person & $14.99 Live-stream. fairfieldtheatre.org
Fairfield Comedy Club hosts Paul Virzi, J.B. Percival Co., 63 Unquowa Road. March 11, 6 & 8 p.m. $29. fairfieldcomedyclub.com
Music
Sphinx Virtuosi, self-conducted ensemble comprised of 18 top Black and Latinx classical soloists perform, “This is America,” virtual concert presented by Fairfield University’s Regina A. Quick Center for the Arts, March 14, 3 p.m. Tickets start at $10 and available at quickcenter.com. 203-2544010.
Visual Arts
“The Art of the Discovery,” Hollis Taggart Gallery, 330 Pequot
Ave. Through March 27. Masks required and all COVID protocols followed. Gallery hours: Wed-Sat 9:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m.; Sun 9 a.m.-2 p.m. Masks required and all State Covid protocols followed. info@hollistaggart.com, 212-6284000.
“Outside” show by Art/Place members, Fairfield Theater Company building, 70 Sanford St. On view in the gallery daily 11 a.m.-5 p.m. until futher notice. 203-3191404
“By Design: Theater and Fashion in the Photography of Lalla Essaydi” art exhibit featuring photos by Lalla Essaydi, 3-D virtual tour and audio guide, presented by Fairfield University Art Museum’s Walsh Gallery in the Quick Center for the Performing Arts, on view through the museum’s website, through May 21. thequicklive.com fairfield.edu/museum
GREENWICH Lectures
“Where Do We Come From? What Are We? Where Are We Going?: 2020, A Turning Point for Museums” with Laura D. Corey, PhD, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, virtual lecture presented by Greenwich Art Society on Zoom, March 16, 5:30 p.m. $45. Register by phone or at greenwichartsociety.org
Lecture on Newport’s Slave Trade: “God’s Little Acre-The Slave Trade in Newport” with Keith Stokes, kicks off Greenwich Historical Society’s Partnership with the Witness Stones Project. The presentation takes place on Zoom, March 16, 6-7 p.m. Lecture is part of a series of events designed to shine a light on the history, humanity and contributions of enslaved individuals who resided in Greenwich as early as the 1600’s through the Historical Society’s partnership with Witness Stones Project. $10 members, $15 nonmembers. Townwide Witness Stones Placement ceremony and reception, May 27. For information and to reserve visit bit.ly/3bVaawP
Visual arts
“Lost Landscape Revealed: Childe Hassam and The Red Mill, Cos Cob,” Greenwich Historical Society, 47 Strickland Road. Inperson exhibit on view through March 28. Tickets must be reserved in advance by visiting greenwichhistory.org. Museum Store open Mon-Fri 9 a.m.-5 p.m., Sat-Sun noon-4 p.m. Library and Archives open by appointment only. Guided Tour Site and Landscape Tours, Sat & Sun (weather permitting) and must be reserved in advance. The Bush-Holley House remains closed.
NEW CANAAN Visual Arts
“Sagerman and Clement: HighPerformance Color” paintings by Robert Sagerman and sculpture by John Clement, Heather Gaudio Fine Art, 66 Elm St. March 13-May 1. 203-801-9590, rachael@heathergaudiofineart.com. heathergaudiofineart.com
“Texture + Transparency,” virtual tours and online programming hosted by The Glass House, available on the website. theglasshouse.org
“Through Our Eyes IX New Canaan High School Art Exhibit,” Carriage Barn Arts Center, 681 South Ave. Through March 20. Exhibit will also feature a juried selection of work by NCHS Alumni. In gallery & virtually online. Gallery hours: Wed-Sat 10 a.m.-3 p.m.; Sun 1-5 p.m. Admission is free. Masks required. 203-5943638, carriagebarn.org
“The Golden Door,” Silvermine Gallery, 1037 Silvermine Road. Through March 13. In-person viewing, 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Galleries open Tue-Sat, 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Schedule in advance at 203-966-9700, ext. 3, silvermineart.org
NEW MILFORD Visual Arts
“Waiting for Spring” New Works by Gallery 25 Artists, Gallery 25 and Creative Arts Studio, 11 Railroad St. Through March 21. Gallery hours: Sat-Sun noon-3 p.m. gallery25ct.com
NORWALK Films
Maritime Aquarium at Norwalk IMAX Theater, 10 N. Water St. opens its new 4D Movie Theater. 3D glasses send the action spilling off the screen and over audiences, with additional sensory special effects, such as scents, bubbles, wind, mists and more. Two films: BBC Earth’s “Shark: A 4D Experience” at 15 minutes after each hour, and “Ice Age: No Time for Nuts 4D” at 45 minutes after each hour, weekdays, and on weekends & holidays, the movies will run alternatingly every 20 minutes starting at 10:20 a.m. 4D movie tickets: $7 per person, $6 members. Tickets optional in addition to Aquarium admission. Aquarium admission: $26.95 adults, $24.95 seniors (age 65+), $19.95 children (ages 3-12). COVID precautions include reduced capacity, physical distancing and required face masks. See the entire movie schedule, and reserve tickets at maritimeaquarium.org.
Outdoors
Maritime Aquarium at Norwalk, 10 N Water St. Winter Birding Cruise: March 13 & 27, 1 p.m. $26.50, $21.50 Aquarium members. COVID precautions include reduced capacity, physical distancing and required face masks. 203-852-0700, ext. 2206, maritimeaquarium.org $26.50, $21.50 Aquarium members.
Visual Arts
“A Slug’s Life: Facing the Climate Endgame,” Maritime Aquarium, 10 N. Water St. Through June 13. Exhibit features forms and adaptations of animals from ocean reefs, discover the important warnings they can tell us about climate change. The exhibit blends live marine animals with sculptures of a type of sea slug called nudibranchs by New Haven artist Gar Waterman, plus photos by divers from around the world. Limited guest capacity, masks required, ticket sales online with timed entries. $26.95, $24.95 age 65+, $19.95 ages 3-12. Free with admission. 203-852-0700, maritimeaquarium.org
“Spring Juried Show” taking place at Rowayton Arts Center from March 14-April 10. Opening reception, March 14, 4-6 p.m. rowaytonarts.org
City of Norwalk Parking Authority’s
Maritime Garage Gallery is holding a virtual exhibit entitled “Splash.” Featuring artwork with pieces that bring light and energy via bright colors and dynamic composition. The exhibit will run through March 14. Artists and the public are encouraged to participate via the Gallery’s social media. 203- 831-9063, norwalkpark.org/public-art
RIDGEFIELD Comedy
Christine O’Leary Comedy Graduation Showcase, Live and virtual show hosted by Ridgefield Playhouse, March 15, 7:30 p.m. $25. Christine O’Leary and her students will perform LIVE from The Ridgefield Playhouse stage with limited indoor seating. Ticket purchasers will be e-mailed a Zoom show link and given instructions the day of the show. Masks and Social distance required. 203-438-5795, ridgefieldplayhouse.org
Films
Great Art on Film Series: “Secret Impressionists,” Ridgefield Playhouse, 80 E. Ridge. March 11, 7 p.m. $12:50; “Church People,” March 13, 7 p.m. $12.50. Tickets must be reserved in advance. Masks and social distance required at all times. 203-438-5795, ridgefieldplayhouse.org
Lectures
ARTalk: “Metropolitan Museum of Art’s collection of Dutch Golden Age paintings by Frans Hals, Jan Vermeer, Rembrandt von Rijn, and others,” by Dr. Michael Norris, online lecture hosted by Ridgefield Library on Zoom, March 14, 2 p.m. Register at ridgefieldlibrary.org or call 203-438-2282.
Music
Pepsi Rock Series on Film: “Yesterday,” Ridgefield Playhouse, 80 E. Ridge. March 12, 7:30 p.m. $12; We Banjo 3-Livestream from Ireland, March 13, 5 p.m. $79-$20. Socially distanced, limited capacity performance. Face masks required at all times. Tickets at ridgefieldplayhouse.org, or visit or call the box office. 203-438-5795, ridgefieldplayhouse.org
Visual Arts
Ridgefield Guild of Artists CameraWorks 2021, Ridgefield Guild Of Artists, 34 Halpin Lane. Through March 28, noon-4 p.m. Tickets are free, but entry is by appointment through Sign-up genius on our website. 203-438-8863, rgoa.exhibitions@gmail.com
“Twenty Twenty” exhibit of works on paper that presents the work of seven artists whose work is based on photographic imagery, Aldrich Contemporary Art Museum, 258 Main St. Through March 14. In-person viewing but timed ticketing reservations required. aldrichart.org
STAMFORD Films
Avon Theatre, 272 Bedford St. In-Person screenings: “Test Pattern,” March 17, 7 p.m. $14.50, $9 Avon members. Open seven days a week, screening new releases with safety protocols in place. Tickets at avontheatre.org
St. Patrick’s Day
Ireland with Michael, virtual concert hosted by Palace Theatre, March 14, 6 p.m. Celtic show from the National Opera House in Wexford, Ireland. The never-beforeseen show features the Irish Concert
Orchestra, 2 choirs, singers, and musicians from all over Ireland, joining renowned Irish singer Michael Londra. Celebrate Irish culture, heritage, and music for Saint Patrick’s season. Visit website for ticket and streaming information. 203-325-4466, palacestamford.org
Visual Arts
“Welkom to Amsterdam et Vienna” online exhibit featuring Gayle Gleckler and Tony Woolner, Stamford Art Association Townhouse Gallery, 39 Franklin St. Through March 13. 203-325-1139, stamfordartassociation.org
“Global Garden: Resonant Beauty” Solo Exhibit of Orchid Paintings by Patricia Laspino, Museum & Nature Center’s Bendel Galleries, 151 Scofieldtown Road. Through March 21. 203-977-6521, stamfordmuseum.org
“Small, Smaller, Smallest,” Loft Artists Gallery, 575 Pacific St. Through March 21. In-gallery all member exhibit of small works. Gallery hours: Fridays 5-7:30 p.m.; Saturdays 1-4 p.m. Facemasks required. 203-247-2027, loftartists.org
WASHINGTON Lectures
Artist Lecture Series: “Rossiter’s Riverside Retreat” with author and historian Carol Santoleri, virtual event hosted by Gunn Historical Museum on Zoom, March 15, 6:30 p.m. Registration required at gunnlibrary.org/gunn-museum/ museumregistration-page/
St. Patrick’s Day
St. Patrick's Day Food: “Cupcakes,” virtual event hosted by Gunn Memorial Library & Historical Museum, March 13, 1 p.m. Decorate cupcakes with fun sprinkes, candies, frosting, and more. These charming cupcakes are easy to decorate and sure to delight the little leprechaun in your life. Call to request a kit for curbside pickup. Library is located at 5 Wykeman Road. 860- 8682310, gunnlibrary.org
Visual Arts
Washington Arts Association announces it’s latest exhibit, that will be on display in the Association’s three galleries: Gallery Three with “Post Pandemic;” Galleries One & Two: “Portraits of Front Liners,” “I Heard the News Today Oh Boy,” and “Quarantine 2020Through a Crow’s Eye.” Exhibit runs through March 28. washingtonartassociation.org.
Local artist Susan van Asch van Wyck’s exhibit in charcoal, graphite, gouache, and pastel, on display at the Gunn Memorial Library Stairwell Gallery, 5 Wykeham Road. Through April 10. Artwork available for show and sale. Library hours at gunnlibrary.org. 860-868-7586 or e-mail gunncirc@biblio.org.
WATERBURY Specials
Storytelling Series 2ND ACT with Joe Cappello, husband of the late Dr. Nancy Cappello, founder of the organization ARE YOU DENSE? INC., Palace Theater, 100 East Main St. March 16, 3 p.m. Learn how he is carrying on her legacy and saving lives continuing the important work of ARE YOU DENSE?. Limited tickets are available for $20 each and can be purchased online at palacetheaterct.org, by phone at 203-3462000, or in person at the Box Office, 100 East Main St. To insure safety of all during the presentation all COVID -19 safety guidelines will be adhered to, masks required.
WESTPORT
Visual Arts
Westport Book Shop’s Drew Friedman Art Place welcomes artist Norm Siegel as exhibitor for the month of March. The Bookshop is located at 23 Jesup Road. The exhibit is open to the public during business hours: Thu-Fri noon-6 p.m.; Sat-Sun noon-5 p.m. westportbooksales.org
“Vanishing Species Vanishing Murals,” outdoor gallery in downtown Westport. Murals on exterior walls visible to shoppers, diners, and visitors, and will depict a different endangered animal species. Locations: courtyard at Bedford Square; next to Jeera Thai on the back of Sconset Square; Post Road below Amy Simon Fine Art, and along the handicapped ramp at the front of Anthropologie. amykaplanartwork@gmail.com
“Say the Word,” Westport Library, 20 Jesup Road. Exhibit on view through March 31 in the South Gallery near the main entrance. Online exhibit, “Westport’s Suffragists-Our Neighbors, Our Crusaders.” westportlibrary.org
You could call it one of Connecticut’s biggest cultural exports: “Sunday Baroque,” a classical music program produced out of WSHU’s studios at Sacred Heart University that is heard every week by about a quartermillion people on about 230 radio stations nationwide.
As it marks the 20th anniversary of its syndication, the six-hour show featuring music from the Baroque era, roughly 1600 to 1750, has grown steadily in popularity and is today broadcast in 44 states as well as Guam and Puerto Rico.
Not bad for a program that started in 1987 as something of a lark. WSHU’s program director at the time needed to fill some Sunday morning air time and assigned the young, newly hired Suzanne Bona to program an hour and a half of Baroque music.
Why Baroque? He liked it, but he also wanted to forestall any ideas the eager, fresh-out-ofcollege music major might harbor about playing odd, off-the-wall music, Bona says. “It was less youth and inexperience than the dreaded music major he worried about,” she recalls with a laugh.
“It was very much a little bit of an accident,” continues the effervescent Bona, who remains the program’s host, producer and driving force. “That’s what became ‘Sunday Baroque.’ This is my baby and my child. I feel we have grown up together.”
A flutist, Bona didn’t count Baroque music as a specialty. She knew the period from her studies, but her performances focused on 19th and 20th century music, particularly from France.
Bona quickly grew to love the style, which she calls “highly embellished” and likens to a “beautiful gemstone.”
Baroque wasn’t just a musical epoch, she notes. It was also an artistic and architectural movement that produced over-the-top
churches and paintings dripping with ornamentation to the point of gaudiness.
She traces Baroque’s genesis to the increasing sophistication of Western music as it added harmonies and expanded its tonal range.
“If you think of music as an outfit, you put on an outfit, then you think a pendant would look nice, then you decide to fluff up the hair and put on earrings,” she says. “Music is like that — layers and layers. The logical next step in Baroque was OK, let’s go crazy.”
Janice Portentoso, WSHU’s communications director, says the show is one of the station’s most popular. In the late 2000s, WSHU decided to stick with classical music as most of its sister public radio stations switched to a talk and news format.
“Sunday Baroque” is a key part of the station’s lineup, attracting
devotees and donors nationwide, Portentoso says. She is also a fan.
“I love all of our classical music, but there’s something about Baroque,” she says. “It’s not only beautiful, it’s calming and serene.”
Some of the world’s most famous and beloved classical music, works by Johann Sebastian Bach, Antonio Vivaldi and Georg Friedrich Handel, was produced during the Baroque era. Those giants will always be a mainstay of “Sunday Baroque,” Bona says, but she also highlights the era’s lesser-known composers.
She is increasingly focused on finding and playing music by neglected female composers and musicians of color, Bona says. She cites as examples Isabella Leonarda, who entered a convent at age 16 there wrote a large body of music, and the contemporary Brazilian musician Vladimir Soares.
“For me, that’s such a win,
finding these intriguing, terrific musicians and composers who deserve to be heard,” Bona says. “That’s the kind of stuff I’m digging for. I have the opportunity, I have the mission to be able to share this music.”
Over the years, “Sunday Baroque” has evolved from 90 minutes of music on one radio station into a multi-platform extravaganza. The show has an extensive website from which it can be streamed that includes lists of every piece of music played on the program with a link to purchase a CD or digital file of the performance.
Bona also writes a blog where she posts daily music links and interviews musicians and experts for a podcast. She enthusiastically embraces whatever technology will help her share Baroque music, which she acknowledges is a little ironic given its age.
Bona grew up in Fairfield and loved music from an early age.
After earning her degree from the University of Connecticut in 1985, she began performing in Connecticut and New York but soon realized she needed a day job.
WSHU hired her as underwriting director to sell sponsorships, plus do a few hours on the air, which became the beginnings of “Sunday Baroque.” Not long afterward, the program director quit and the longtime station manager, George Lombardi, who retired in December, offered her the job.
“I had no business being the program director, but George saw something in me,” she says. “I was really smitten about everything about my job. I’m forever indebted to him. I’ve never looked back.”
About nine years later, Bona, who had grown “Sunday Baroque” into a staple of the station’s programming, was offered a position at WGUC in Cincinnati, another classical music station. Deeply torn, she tearfully informed Lombardi she was leaving, upon which he suggested she could continue to do “Sunday Baroque” from Cincinnati.
Bona took the job and took him up on his offer. Today, she splits her time between Cincinnati and a home in New Milford. She also performs as a flutist all around the country and traveling as far away as Guam.
Looking ahead, Bona, 57, is planning the next 20 years of “Sunday Baroque.” She hopes to spend more time visiting the show’s many partner stations and explore new technologies to further expand its reach.
“Anniversaries are nice, but I also feel personally and professionally that we are always in a state of growth and acknowledging where we are and where we are going,” she says.
Listen to “Sunday Baroque” on 91.1 WSHU from 7 a.m. to 1 p.m., and on 89.9 WSUF at 10 a.m. Stream it at wshu.org.
This article originally appeared in Connecticut Magazine. You can subscribe here or find the current issue on sale here. Sign up for the newsletter to get the latest and greatest content from Connecticut Magazine delivered right to your inbox. On Facebook and Instagram @connecticutmagazine and Twitter @connecticutmag.
S“and oon may the wellerman come, to bring us sugar and tea and rum one day, when the tonguing is done we’ll take our leave go” is a refrain many folks are familiar with thanks to the viral popularity of “Wellerman” on TikTok.
Since gaining new fame, “Wellerman” is often referred to as a sea shanty or tagged as being part of #shantytok, but here’s the thing ... it’s not actually a sea shanty.
Fear not, the song that has stolen hearts of listeners around the globe is a sea song or a maritime song and an absolute bop. It’s just not a shanty.
Sea shanty is often used as an umbrella term for maritime songs, but a true sea shanty is actually a work song, maritime musician and research historian Joseph Morneault said.
Morneault has been performing shanties and maritime songs for several decades as a member of The Jovial Crew, a Connecticut-based band that performed “songs of the sea and shore,” including pub songs, maritime music and shanties, on a weekly basis at the Griswold Inn prior to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“A sea shanty is specifically a work song. It’s a song that’s designed for purposes of a particular job aboard ship,” Morneault said. He added that many folk songs or drinking songs are mislabeled as shanties because they mention the sea or a ship.
David Littlefield, a former “chanteyman” with the Mystic Seaport Museum and a maritime musician and member of Forebitter, explained that a true shanty was used to maintain a rhythm while laborers conducted their tasks.
He also explained that shanties were not used on larger naval vessels, but were used specifically on smaller merchant and whaling ships.
“The main object is to provide a workable cadence, workable speed, in order to complete a task, so aboard ship that would be heaving or hauling,” Littlefield said.
He noted while the shanties could be entertaining, their primary function was to act as a “tool” and not entertain the sailors.
Morneault echoed Littlefield’s information, saying, “It’s not Hollywood. They weren’t sitting around all
day dancing and singing. It was a tool, it was a tool in the tool box.”
Sailors, of course, sang other diddies while at sea, but Littlefield clarified the songs sailors sang for entertainment would be considered “folk soul songs.”
Erik Ingmundson, the interpretation director at Mystic Seaport Museum, said the songs became prevalent because “merchant ships had relatively small crews and those small crews had to do a lot of heavy, difficult work, and in order to do that work more efficiently the use of call and response music became a way to synchronize their efforts and get the job done.”
Shanties originated in every corner of the world, Littlefield said, noting they were influenced by African working songs and minstrels, ballads and religious songs that would have been popular in the 19th century.
Ingmundson described shanties as having “multicultural” influences.
Shanties on ship were also performed very differently than they are performed today, Morneault explained that a shanty would have been sung slowly and deliberately, which was great for maintaining a rhythm while working, but wouldn’t be engaging for a contemporary audience.
“Most shanties that are performed by singers today are upbeat. There’s more of a growl involved, a lot of leaning on the choruses, where people are now singing rather intricate harmonies.”
Sailors would have been more focused on their labor than creating complicated harmonies while working the lines.
When talking about the maritime song “Wellerman” — all three men were quick to clarify it is not a shanty — Ingmundson said he thinks maritime songs and shanties have become popular during the pandemic because TikTok enables users to build onto other people’s videos.
“Part of the appeal of sea shanties right now in our current moment is that they were never meant to be sung alone. They are a communal form of singing, and they are meant to bring people together to do something,” he said.
Ingmundson also said he believes people look at 19th century sailing through a nostalgic lens.
“There’s always been a certain romance and nostalgia that people have for the age of sail, even though it was in fact a challenging time to be making a living from the sea and far from perfect, but I think it captures a lot of people’s imaginations,” he said.
“What’s interesting, too, is that although shantying as a tool for work fell by the wayside in the late 19th century when steam came about, it has lived on in folk music for generations.
“There are a lot of musicians who play folk music that is not necessarily true shanties, but it’s inspired by that art form, so people have carried on the tradition and interpreted it through music in different ways. So it’s endured.”
Morneault said he’s noticed an increased interest in shanties and maritime music in the last five years as people who have stumbled across the music through video games and Renaissance fairs have found their way to his band’s shows.
“These people feel like they’ve discovered something new that’s been under the nose all along,” he said. He hopes people who have found shanties and maritime music during the pandemic will continue to enjoy the music.
Littlefield added that he thinks shanties have “come into their own” during the pandemic because of their communal nature.
“Shanties are sung a cappella and there’s a beauty in that. I think that’s why they’re so attractive to people today, particularly young people during COVID, because if you can’t lead a shanty at least you can sing on a chorus.”
Connecticut has a long seafaring history and the state was home to a number of ports, Ingmundson noted. New London had a “thriving” port and Mystic functioned as a bustling shipbuilding center during the 19th century before wooden ships fell out of vogue.
While our sources weren’t aware of any shanties originating from Connecticut’s shores, Morneault said it was common for chanteymen to change the lyrics of a song at a whim, “particularly if there was a local event that happened or if they just left port from a particular town and he’s teasing one of the guys who got into some trouble.”
The adaptability of shanties is particularly useful, as Littlefield noted. Traditional lyrics weren’t politically correct by today’s standards and featured sexist and racist language.
He clarified that the language wasn’t used “maliciously” but was intended as more of a friendly banter within the diverse cultures represented on ship.
Morneault saidas a performer he adapts the songs to make them more “palatable” to his audience.
“We don’t go too far. There’s still the bawdy sound in some of the songs, which is rather titillating in various settings, and we leave those out when we sing more family-friendly venues.”
Blending rock, funk and reggae with indie sensibilities, the Light Warriors is a Connecticut-based band with members from New Haven, Stamford, Norwalk and Bridgeport.
On March 5, the band released “Book of One,” a new album-length single that includes nine different versions of its song “One,” with reinterpretations being contributed by international artists around the globe.
Among the countries represented are Diné Tribe (part of the Navajo nation), Ghana, Ethiopia and Jamaica.
Proceeds from sales of the album are being used to support the hunger nonprofit WhyHunger, founded by the late “Cats in the Cradle” singer Harry Chapin.
Guest artists on the album include Lyla June Johnston (Diné Tribe), Kwadjo Spiri (Ghana), David Culture, aka Ruff Scott, of Easy Star All Stars (Jamaica), Sydney Salmon (Ethiopia), Shane Digital (Brooklyn), Mistaish (Brooklyn) and Stenny Sten (Connecticut).
Erik Rabasca, Light Warriors’ vocalist and guitarist, explained these covers range in musical styles — from hip-hop, reggae and funk to trap, dub, dance and improvisation — and shouldn’t be considered remixes, but rather reconstructions sharing meditations on topics of unity, inter-spirituality, generational cycles, transformation and, of course, oneness.
“It’s as much audio essays on oneness as it is a unified musical statement from international artists calling for oneness,” he said.
Rabasca started the band in 2015 as a solo project, and it evolved into a full band in recent years. Today, the Light Warriors feature Steven Jean Baptiste on drums, Kris Brewer on saxophone, Angel Sanchez on bass, Liz Page doing backing vocals, Karen Johnstone on keyboards and Jamarr Jabari on percussion/rap.
“We all knew each other for a number of years and would jam in the local Connecticut music scene at all these open mics and random jam sessions,” Brewer said. “It wasn’t until 2019 when we came together as a band in full.”
According to Rabasca, the band played roughly 30 to 40 shows before last February, and then the pandemic hit.
“All our momentum went out the window, just like a lot of other artists out there,” Rabasca said. “Everyone had work, personal and family challenges, but we got through them and are on the other side of those challenges.”
By summer, the Light Warriors started revisiting the music. The song “One” originally was released on Juneteenth in the wake of George Floyd’s death and subsequent Black Lives Matter protests. Proceeds from sales of that single benefited the NAACP Legal Defense Fund and The Brotherhood/Sister Sol.
That original version of “One” has now been remixed and reworked, kicking off the nine versions on “Book of One.”
“During the summer, we started doing music again, but it’s tough because there are seven people in the band and everyone has jobs, so it’s sometimes tough to make it happen,” Rabasca said.
“I have connections to a good community of artists, so we started working to get other versions of the song.”
For instance, Baptiste did a hiphop version with his brother on vocals, and Brewer did a saxophone version of the song. He used four saxophones overall and built around that sound.
“This was a natural thing and something I felt I needed to get out of me,” Brewer said. “I think it worked and especially worked along with everyone else’s version. I looked at what that ‘one’ means to me. I’m in love with it.”
Next, Rabasca started started contacting musicians from around the world.
“I met Kwadjo Spiri out of Ghana and Sydney Salmon out of Ethiopia when I went on a trip to Ethiopia back in 2018, when I started an international peace delegation,” he said.
The whole process, he noted, was done very organically, with the sole purpose of everyone who committed to help to serve the music.
“In doing so, we are creating a little bit of a community here in a time of isolation and in a time of division,” Rabasca said.
Jabari has a long background with grassroots activism work and during the pandemic has served as community organizer director for the Waterbury nonprofit Life in My Days, which provides aid all over Connecticut.
“The verse that I laid on this project came from the heart as well, being someone who is from the marginalized community,” he said. “The power dynamics and the diversity in coalition, such as having people from Africa, really speaks volumes and should inspire anyone who listens to this type of music.”
The recording was done in Rabasca’s home studio under his own record label, Highest Frequency Records. Using the power of technology and file transfers, he was able to stitch everything together seamlessly.
“We sent the basic track to all of the artists and people would send back their verses,” Rabasca said. “I would rebuild their tracks with the help of the band, and take the instrumentation that these guys did and lay them in if we all couldn’t physically get together. Before we knew it, we had nine versions.”
The Light Warriors will be part of a live stream on March 21 called the Eco-Conscious Music Alliance and playing versions of the “One” song.
“Oneness is a little different than unity; it’s something that everyone can relate to,” Rabasca said.
“We are all for unity, but a lot of people don’t do the hard work of coming together in a way needed. Food is something everyone in the world needs, and you can’t get more aligned spiritually. We’re really building something interesting here.”
The band is hoping to do a follow-up recording in the next year with even more versions of the song and inviting other artists from around the world.
For more information about the Light Warriors and the “Book of One” recording, visit www.sonicbids.com/band/light -warriors.
THE LIGHT WARRIORS WILL BE PART OF A LIVESTREAM ON MARCH 21 CALLED THE ECO-CONSCIOUS MUSIC ALLIANCE AND PLAYING VERSIONS OF THE “ONE” SONG.