Slavic Sacred Music Hymns & Liturgical Songs of the Eastern Church
August 23rd, 2013 7:00 pm
Free Admission
(free will offerings will be accepted)
St. John the Baptist Byzantine Catholic Church 301 Cherry Street Pottstown, Pennsylvania
News of this free event comes to us from the founder of Theoria Chamber Choir, Andrew Skitko, a Pottstown resident and Hill School grad.
Greek for contemplation, “theoria” refers to a stage of spiritual illumination in Eastern Christian theology. Theoria Chamber Choir seeks to lead others in spiritual contemplation through a cappella choral music.
Theoria was founded by Andrew Skitko in 2010. Having grown up in the Byzantine-Ruthenian Church, his passion for the Eastern-European choral repertoire inspired the formation of an ensemble that could explore this music with other professionally trained singers, and share the repertoire of the Slavic sacred choral tradition. Theoria Chamber Choir consists of students and alumni of Westminster Choir College.
In addition to concert performances, Theoria Chamber Choir serves as the primary liturgical choir at The Assumption of The Virgin Mary Byzantine Ruthenian Catholic Church in Trenton, New Jersey (www.avmbcc.org).
Grumpy’s Handcarved Sandwiches is at 137 E. High Street in the heart of Pottstown. Their hours are 8 am – 6 pm, Tuesday Saturday. Eat in or take out by calling 610- 323-1232. They will be closed for vacation from Aug. 24th until after Labor Day!
This week’s specials include some yummy homemade dessert, veggies from the Community Gardens and more!
Victory Brewing Company has an amazing philosophy on brewing beer. They meld European ingredients and traditions with American creativity, and their beers feature the finest ingredients to achieve their exciting flavors. Go here to learn more: http://www.victorybeer.com/about/brewery/.
Victory is generously donating all the beer for this event!
Tickets are only $20 and include beer, hot beef sandwiches, great side salads, homemade desserts, and water and soda. Vegetarian wraps are available on request.
The Chesmont Astronomical Society is a non-profit amateur astronomy club. They are holding Starfest 2013 at Hopewell Furnace National Historical Site tomorrow, Aug. 10, starting at 7 p.m.
This annual star party includes speakers, door prizes, and a variety of telescopes to observe the night sky. When the sky is darkened, visitors can join society members at their telescopes trained on different types of celestial objects, such as planets, galaxies, nebulae, and star clusters.
The event is weather dependent, so if it’s cloudy or rainy, it will take place on Sunday, Aug. 11th. Check for updates at www.chesmontastro.org.
The schedule looks like this:
6 to 7:30 p.m.: Astronomy-related presentations
7:30 to 8 p.m.: Dark sky preservation talk
8 to 8:45 p.m.: Guest speaker
8:45 to 9 p.m.: Drawing for telescope prizes
9 to 11 p.m.: Stargazing
The event is free for all ages and free parking is available, but cash donations are appreciated. And there is a chance to win prizes, such as a 102mm Celestron refractor telescope with mount and eyepieces and a 80mm Orion telescope with mount and eyepieces, plus limited quantities of astronomy material.
Parental guidance for younger children is suggested due to thematic content.
Steel River Playhouse Presents FAME, Jr.
One Weekend Only, August 9th – 11th
Steel River Playhouse announces its summer camp production of FAME, Jr., four performances only on Friday, August 9th through Sunday, August 11th. The popular musical is a high-energy production with strong singing and dancing from a talented ensemble cast.
Set at New York City’s celebrated High School for the Performing Arts, the musical follows the bittersweet but inspiring story of a group of students committed to four years of grueling artistic and academic work in order to achieve their dreams.The students come to terms with life and relationships, and some are resilient, while others are not. With insight and humor, the show explores the issues that confront many young people today including prejudice, identity, self-worth, literacy, and perseverance. With its topical subject matter and contemporary pop score (including the hit title song), FAME Jr. is an exciting summer treat.
The summer camp production features 50 students actors from 8 school districts and 3 private schools. Steel River’s FAME, Jr. is directed by Robb Russ. The music director is Katherine Skrzat and the choreographer is Kelsey Riker. The musical will be presented on the Main Stage on the following dates and times:
Friday, August 9th at 7:00 pm
Saturday, August 10th at 3:00 pm and 7:00 pm
Sunday, August 11th at 3:00 pm
Tickets are $10 and may be purchased online at www.steelriver.org or at the door, space permitting. Parental guidance for younger children is suggested due to thematic content. Please note that children under 4 will not be admitted. Steel River Playhouse is located at 245 E. High St., Pottstown, PA 19464.
Do you have a child entering Pottstown School District kindergarten this year?The Pottstown School District Pre-K Counts partnership announces a new early learning opportunity for Pottstown students entering kindergarten.
Six free Summer Kindergarten Readiness Program classes will be offered at thePEAKcommunity early learning partner sites beginning August 12. To be eligible for the classes, students must be entering Pottstown School District kindergarten in September and meet income requirements. Family income cannot exceed 300% of the federal poverty level – for a family of four that is an annual income of approximately $70,000.
Spaces are limited – call now to register.The classes will be offered at Montgomery Early Learning Centers, Pottstown YMCA, KinderCare Learning Center, Warwick Child Care Center, YWCA Tri-County Area and Pottstown School District Pre-K Counts. A complete listing of the sites and contact information can be found on the PEAK web site at www.peakonline.org.
Due to the overwhelming success of the 2012 concert, voices from the Westminster Choir College return to Pottstown! I attended last year’s concert and it was outstanding.
A concert of sacred hymns and liturgical music of the Slavic tradition will be presented by the Theoria Chamber Choir at 7 p.m. on Friday, August 23rd, in St. John the Baptist Byzantine Catholic Church, 301 Cherry Street, Pottstown, Pa. The concert is free and open to the public; a free will offering will be accepted. Please note that the church is air-conditioned and handicapped accessible via the ramp in the rear parking lot.
The Theoria Chamber Choir features students and alumni of Westminster Choir College, Princeton, N.J. Westminster is a four-year music college and graduate school that prepares men and women for careers as professional performers and as music leaders in schools, universities, churches, and professional and community music organizations. Westminster choirs perform annually in venues including the Kimmel Center, Avery Fisher Hall at Lincoln Center, and Carnegie Hall, and various groups are professionally recorded as they perform well-known composers’ new and other arrangements.
Drew Skitko, Theoria Chamber Choir Director
Theoria Chamber Choir is directed by Andrew Skitko, a native of Pottstown, and graduate of The Hill School. Skitko also serves as the cantor and music director at The Assumption of The Virgin Mary Byzantine Catholic Church of Trenton, N.J., where Theoria Chamber Choir performs about once a month. Skitko also has been a cantor at St. John’s church.
In April 2012, the Westminster Slavic Choir, also under Skitko’s direction, performed at St. John’s church to a crowd that included many people who had never before heard the traditional Slavic music and asked Skitko to return to perform another concert. Due to keen interest, Skitko was eager to return to Pottstown with the Theoria Chamber Choir, a four-part group of powerful, professionally trained voices.
“Performing in Pottstown allows us to share this beautiful music with my hometown and support Pottstown’s growing, diverse arts presence,” said Skitko.
Joining Skitko, a baritone, will be Liesl McPherrin, soprano, Lauren Delfing, alto, and Brett Avery-Lawyer, tenor.
The concert will feature sacred liturgical choral works by composers including Bortniansky, Tchaikovsky, Vedel, and Hurko. Selections will be performed in English as well as Old Church Slavonic.
The concert is expected to last about one hour.
For further information, please contact Andrew Skitko, choral director
The Pottstown CARES Project will debut on October 25th as a new kind of community cleanup day in Pottstown’s core neighborhood. CARES stands for Community, Awareness, Responsibility, Empowerment, and Sustainability. It is being organized by The Hill School, Pottstown Borough, and Pottstown School District, and will include participation by students and staff from all organizations. Right now the organizers are seeking input from residents in the form of concerns and suggestions for doable spruce-up projects that will, nevertheless, make a positive impact on the neighborhood bounded by High Street, Hanover Street, Beech Street, and Edgewood Street.
Requests can be e-mailed to PottstownCARES@pottstown.org.
The types of projects that could be undertaken might include painting a fence, cleaning up alleys, getting pot holes filled in, or weeds pulled from gutters and along sidewalks. Even if all the suggestions cannot be completed on Oct. 25th, the plan is to follow up with other CARES project days and the building of collaborative relationships to strengthen neighborhood pride, safety and appearance.
Property owners and residents who would like work done on their property will have to sign a waiver to allow volunteers to come onto their property. For more details, see Evan Brandt’s post here on The Digital Notebook.
There has never been a better time to make the most of your money and to “clean-up” your credit. Learn the best ways to reduce your debts. Learn how to improve your credit scores. Make good decisions with your money. Learn what they never covered when you were in high school!
Genesis Housing Corporation, a 501(c)(3) non-profit community development corporation, is bringing the FREE class series back to Pottstown on Tuesday evenings, July 30th, August 13th and September 17thfrom 7:00 to 9:00 PM, at the Mosaic Community Land Trusts Offices, 10 South Hanover Street, Pottstown, PA 19464. The classes are offered every month in Norristown. This will be the second time this year to have the classes in Pottstown.
The classes are designed to help to:
Understand Credit — Information on credit scores, improving your scores, re-establishing credit, dealing with debt. Class participants can obtain a free credit report with scores from the three major credit reporting services (Tuesday, July 30, 2013).
Money Management – Information on preparing realistic budgets that are more than just monthly bills, prioritizing spending in tough times and understanding how current spending impacts your future financial options (Tuesday, August 13, 2013).
Home Buying Basics — Information the home buying process — finding a realtor, home inspections, Agreements of Sale, mortgages and first-time homebuyer grant programs (Tuesday, September 17, 2013).
Nikki Holcroft, an award winning and certified housing counselor, will teach the classes.Ms. Holcroft has more than twenty-five years experience working as a housing counselor, mortgage banker and community lender. Ms. Holcroft has worked with Genesis Housing Corporation since 2001 and teaches monthly classes on credit, money management and the home buying process. Ms. Holcroft also provides individual housing counseling sessions to help clients achieve their financial goals. Ms. Holcroft has worked with families to restructure their mortgages, avoid foreclosures and reduce their debts.
Reservations are recommended and can be made by calling Genesis Housing Corporation at 610-275-4357 or online at www.genesishousing.org.
The Pottstown classes are funded, in part, by National Penn Bank. Additional funding was provided by Montgomery County. National Penn Bank is a member FDIC. National Penn Bank and Genesis Housing Corporation are nonaffiliated entities.
Genesis Housing Corporation’s housing counseling programs provide free classes and individual counseling helping over 7,000 clients. Monthly classes focus on topics not taught in regular school including understanding credit, credit repair, money management, saving plans, grant programs and understanding the home buying process including selecting a realtor and finding the best mortgage.
Since 1994, Genesis Housing Corporation has served Montgomery County as a 501(c)(3) non-profit community development corporation and is dedicated to the development of affordable housing and educating consumers on housing and financial issues. Genesis Housing Corporation has been certified as a FannieMae Counseling Agency and is approved by PA Housing Finance Agency (PHFA) and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) for housing counseling. Genesis Housing Corporation is also an approved agency for many programs including the Montgomery County First-time Home Buyers Program and the Norristown First-time Home Buyers Program.
In addition, Genesis Housing Corporation has developed affordable housing by rehabilitating vacant homes and by building new homes for income eligible homebuyers. Renovated homes are currently available in Norristown and Pottstown. Genesis Housing Corporation also renovates existing owner-occupied homes for eligible families for the Montgomery County Homeowner Rehab Program and the Pottstown Homeowner Rehab Program.
Please check outThe Mercury’s recent article(partially re-printed below) about Pottstown’s Annual Sidewalk Sale, coming up this Saturday.
Summer is time for savings in downtown Pottstown, especially this Saturday, July 20th,
when the annual Sidewalk Sale takes to the streets from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.
According to Main Street Manager Sheila Dugan, the day will include offers from more than 40 downtown merchants, as well as face painting, a visit from Rainbow the Clown and collections of Pottstown School uniforms.
Demonstrations will be provided by CrossFit at 21 N. Hanover St. at 12:45, 2:45 and again at 4 p.m.
Also providing demonstrations at 307 E. High St. will be Red Cloud Kung Fu at 12, 1:30 and 3:30 p.m.
Positively Pottstown blog 