Arts Paper
As the editorially independent arm of The Arts Council of Greater New Haven, the Arts Paper seeks to celebrate, explore, and investigate the fine, visual, performing and culinary arts in and around New Haven.
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Top: Michael Mills (in yellow) with Derrick Skye, with Brian Jawara Gray and Perry So in the background. Bottom: The NHSO in action. Lucy Gellman.
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Matthew Fried Photos Courtesy of the New Haven Symphony Orchestra.
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John Romano, Jordan Cervantes and Dr. Thierry Thesatus, associate dean of Career and Student Success. Lucy Gellman Photos.
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Curtis Brown Photography, courtesy of Long Wharf Theatre.
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Photo by Matt Fried, courtesy of the New Haven Symphony Orchestra.
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Angel Dahfay and Kolton Harris. Abiba Biao Photos.
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Sweets & Sounds Founder Angel Dahfay at last year's Sweets & Sounds Con, held at NXTHVN in the city's Dixwell neighborhood. This year, Creative U takes place on Oct. 11 and 12 between the Canal Dock Boathouse and the Adanti Student Center at SCSU. Lucy Gellman File Photo.
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New Haven Adult & Continuing Education Center's graduation. Photos Kapp Singer. Wearing a royal blue robe and matching graduation cap, Miguel Loor grasped the microphone and launched into the national anthem. The audience stood, hands on their hearts. As he sang the final few bars of the song, Loor embellished on the classic melody, drawing impressed whoops from the crowd. The anthem kicked off the 2024 graduation ceremony of the New Haven Adult & Continuing Education Center (NHAEC), held Thursday morning in the auditorium of the John Lyman Center for the Performing Arts at Southern Connecticut State University (SCSU). Loor was one of the 145 students graduating from NHAEC. “Honestly, it was so much better than expected,” said Loor, who received his High School Credit (HSC) diploma through NHAEC. “Usually when you come into places like this, it feels like you’re giving up on regular school and you’re lowering your standards, but it’s not like that at all. You go in there and the teachers treat you like human beings, like actual adults.” Miguel Loor and his mother, Maria Clark. Loor and his mother moved to New Haven seven years ago from Madrid, and Loor enrolled in Betsy Ross Arts Magnet School. He initially focused on visual art, but after one teacher told him he had potential as a singer, began pursuing music. In 2020, after starting high school at the Sound School, he released his first EP, Wolfcat. Loor’s music gained a small online following and he began performing at venues in the greater New Haven area, including the State House and Space Ballroom. To focus on his art, Loor ended up taking time off school. “One of the big reasons why I ended up coming [to NHAEC] was that my music stuff got serious,” Loor said. Going forward, he said he hopes to continue his musical career, but he wanted to finish his senior year of high school first. “I came into this country for a reason, my mom brought me here for a reason,” he said. “The least I could do was get a diploma for her.” On Thursday, Loor not only performed the national anthem to open the ceremony, but with other members of Tony Maron’s instrumental music class at NHAEC, he played guitar and led a singalong of the Black Eyed Peas’s “I’ve Got a Feeling.” Dion Joefield processes into the ceremony. This year’s graduating class included students between 17 to 60 years old. They participated across NAEHC’s numerous programs, including the High School Credit Diploma, General Educational Development Program (GED), and National External Diploma Program (NEDP). Six of this year’s students, two of whom were at the graduation, passed the U.S. naturalization exam and received their U.S. citizenship. Others gained their Certified Nurse Assistant certification, granted by NAEHC in partnership with Northeast Medical Institute. “Today we gather to acknowledge the transformative power of education at any stage of life,” said Michelle Bonora, the principal of NAEHC. “All our graduates come with a different story, but they have all overcome obstacles.” Michelle Bonora. For Christine Stewart Davis, the ceremony was a celebration of overcoming several of those obstacles. She began at NAEHC in 2018 after being told by Gateway Community College, one semester in, that she had to go back to high school. She enrolled at NAEHC and immediately connected with GED teachers Maureen Ryan. “She provided me with the most immense support and gave me the drive to complete my GED,” Davis said in a speech on Thursday. However, in 2019, a year after beginning classes, Davis was diagnosed with breast cancer. She dropped out to take care of her health. As she went through her treatment, the idea of school faded from her brain. Then, much to her surprise, she received a call from Ryan. Christine Stewart Davis. “She was caring, and understanding, and I heard the strength in her voice which convinced me to re-enroll back in adult education classes,” Davis said. And for Lachell Hall, it was her math teacher, Cara Mortillo, who was particularly memorable. “She was the best, kind-hearted, loving teacher,” Hall said. Hall, who was in and out of school since the early 2000s, decided to enroll in NAEHC two years ago. She is not quite sure what life will hold for her moving forward, but for now she wants to take some time to relax and celebrate her accomplishment. “I’m just excited right now that I finally received my diploma at the age of 42,” she said.
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Maya Lwazi Rose dressed as the Mystery Machine. Photos Kapp Singer.
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NHPS' Ellen Maust, who will be retiring this year, receives recognition from NHSO Operations Director Jeremey Lombard. Lucy Gellman Photos.
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Destination Moon by Karen Hammer. Photos Kapp Singer.
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From left to right: ASA Member Joné Mwape, AfroMixer attendee Jeana Noel, and ASA Member Danielle Addy.
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Graduate assistants Brandon Iovene and David Perez, SCSU junior Jae'la Rivera, Sapphire Bills, senior Elijah Ortiz and Xiomarie LaBeija. Lucy Gellman Photo.
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Matt Fried Photos courtesy of the New Haven Symphony Orchestra.
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Elaine Kolb, Yi-Chun Tricia Lin and interpreter Alyssa Kurth from LifeBridge in Bridgeport. Danielle Campbell Photos.
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Perry So, one of four candidates for music director at the New Haven Symphony Orchestra, will conduct a concert on Sunday, March 10 at the John Lyman Center for the Performing Arts at Southern Connecticut State University (SCSU). He is pictured here in Wooster Square. Lucy Gellman Photo.
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Tania Miller Tuesday morning at Atticus. "One of the first things I believe is that music is for everyone," she said. "And that's really truly a passion for me. I think about myself as this young kid from a rural place, and I'm in love with classical music. I can translate the humble place that I started into this extraordinary world of expression, of art, of the highest art." Lucy Gellman Photo.
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On the left: Jamel Shabazz' "Father's Day" (1990) and "Honoring The Ancestors." Right: Katrina Goldburn's Lucretia Was Here, 1638 series.
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Donato Cabrera Tuesday morning at Kaiyden's. He is the first of four finalists to audition for music director at the New Haven Symphony Orchestra. Lucy Gellman Photos.
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“The argument now is like, human rights are debatable. I just don’t think that’s the case," Biao said. Lucy Gellman.
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Research papers on deadline. Running up against the clock while holding a part-time job. Rapid levels of anger boiling over as my anxiety reaches its stress limit.
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Isabel Chenoweth/SCSU Photos.
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The artist on SCSU's campus. Isabel Chenoweth/SCSU Photo.
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Alasdair Neale photographed downtown in February, when he was visiting New Haven for his audition concert. Lucy Gellman File Photo.
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Southern Connecticut State University’s first “social justice” president wants to know more about the community in which his university is located—and is asking the community to learn more about SCSU in return.
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Cunningham as Callie and Byron as Sara. SCSU Photo.
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