first wednesdays at the Bronx library

June 6th “First Wednesdays at the Bronx Library Center”
presents
A Nordic Tapestry: Exploring Our Roots
An Afternoon of Scandinavian Song

The Bronx Library Center and the Bronx Council on the Arts (BCA), winds up the 2006-2007 season of “First Wednesdays at the Bronx Library Center” on June 6th with a free concert by award-winning soprano Elly Erickson. The program will take place on Wednesday June 6th at 12:15pm at the Bronx Library Center at 310 East Kingsbridge Road at Briggs Avenue in the Bronx. It is open to the public and admission is free. The center is wheelchair accessible.

June’s program, An Afternoon of Scandinavian Song, features Elly Erickson, an American soprano of Scandinavian descent and two-time BRIO award winner. The roots of the Bronx, originally settled by the Swede Jonas Bronck in 1639, lie in the Northern countries of Scandinavia. Weaving a musical tapestry of Nordic love, joy, and melancholy, soprano Ms. Erickson will perform a colorful afternoon of romantic songs by Grieg, Sibelius, Rangström, Sjöberg, Petersen-Berger, Backer-Grøndahl, and other breathtaking melodies by lesser-known Scandinavian composers. Anthony Greene, Director of Education for the Bronx County Historical Society, will give a special introduction before Ms. Erickson’s performance.

Passionate about her Nordic roots and cultural heritage, Elly has performed over twenty leading roles in operas and musicals to much critical acclaim, in addition to winning more than twenty awards from foundations and competitions over the last several years, and has featured the musical gems of Scandinavia in several concerts and recitals. As an American winner of the prestigious Jenny Lind Competition, she performed a concert tour in Sweden, including a performance at Skansen, the oldest open-air museum in the world. The award also led to concert performances with the P.T. Barnum Festival, Connecticut’s Playhouse on the Green, and the Greater Bridgeport Symphony Pops to an audience of over 5,000.

The BRIO program provides support for artistic development of individuals creating works of literary, media, performing, and visual arts in the Bronx. A total of 22 BRIO grants of $2,500 each are awarded annually to individual artists residing in the Bronx. An important and integral component of BRIO is ACE (Artists for Community Enrichment), which requires that each awardee presents a one-time public service activity within the one-year period of the award. This initiative was created to provide artists with additional visibility.

For over 45 years, the Bronx Council on the Arts, the borough’s officially designated cultural agency, has provided quality cultural services and arts programs to the Bronx’s multi-cultural constituency, both encouraging and increasing the public’s awareness and participation in the arts, while nurturing the development of artists and arts and cultural organizations. The Bronx Library Center, the largest public library in the Bronx, has extensive collections of print and non-print materials for adults, young adults, and children, and is home to the Latino and Puerto Rican Cultural Center. It additionally offers a training center, computer classes, lectures, and performances. Together, BCA and the Bronx Library Center have combined their energies to create this year-long series of free “First Wednesday” programming by Bronx artists for the Bronx community. Artists who took part in this series were all recipients of BCA’s 2006 BRIO (Bronx Recognizes Its Own) Award. Additional “First Wednesdays” sponsors include the NYC Department of Cultural Affairs and JPMorgan Chase.

For information about other programs and activities of the Bronx Council on the Arts, including the Bronx Culture Trolley, call 718-93109500 x33 or visit www.bronxarts.org. For information about The Bronx Library Center and its free events, call 718-579-4244, e-mail bronxlibrarycenter@nypl.org, or visit www.nypl.org/branch/local/bx/fdc.cfm.