Rochester

Since 2003 WXXI and the Al Sigl Community of Agencies have worked together to help break the ingrained stereotypes about individuals with intellectual and physical disabilities with its week-long initiative, Dialogue on Disability.  In honor of the on-air event, the Mystery Piece will shine a light on those who create music -- no matter what challenges they face.

Monday, January 20

Two young people from different backgrounds meet and fall in love -- and society tears them apart.  You may recognize that as "West Side Story."

Here's another story: Two young people from different backgrounds meet and fall in love -- and end up making music together all over the world. 

There is a hidden treasure in the walls of the Eastman School of Music that has been there since the 1920s. It's in Kilbourn Hall, and even if you have attended concerts there, you've probably never seen or heard it.

What’s the future of funding the arts in Rochester? Local artists, officials and event organizers gathered at the Visual Studies Workshop auditorium in the Arts and Cultural Council Center Friday evening to discuss ways to fund Rochester arts in the future. 

The meeting, organized by City Councilmember Elaine Spaull, attracted more than 80 people, including artists or staff members at local major arts organizations, including the Rochester City Ballet and Writers & Books. 

A ceremony commemorated the 100th anniversary of David Hochstein’s death Monday morning.

David Hochstein was born in 1892, later graduating from East High. He then got his masters in Europe with the help of George Eastman, and went on to play stages around the world, including Carnegie Hall.

After more than a year of construction, Nazareth College is getting ready to take the wraps of its new Jane and Laurence Glazer Music Performance Center.

The $15.5 million facility is located adjacent to the Nazareth College Arts Center, and it includes a 550-seat venue designed specifically for the acoustics of large instrumental ensembles.

Rita Mannelli is the Executive Director for the Arts Center.  She says having the new building is important because nearly 20 percent of the Nazareth College student body are in the Department of Music.

Eight years ago, Jessica Marten – Curator in Charge/Curator of American Art at Rochester’s Memorial Art Gallery – was poking around among the paintings in a museum storage space when a small piece caught her eye.

It was many things. The artist’s medium, egg tempera and gold leaf, suggested medieval paintings, and the illuminated manuscripts of monks. The extensive use of borders is what might be seen on a tapestry. And the central figure looked like an image from Frida Kahlo: A woman in pain, clutching her head. Her eyes are bleeding.

Producers of the KeyBank Rochester Fringe Festival call it the "Big Reveal," a rundown of the many performers and venues at the annual event, now entering its seventh year.

"Our Fringe will be different from last year because we have so much new talent, so many new ideas. It's going to be fresh, topical and lots of fun," says producer Erica Fee, noting that there are over 500 performances at more than 30 venues in the downtown area.

It's now the largest multi-genre arts festival in the state.

The Corn Hill Arts Festival is this coming weekend and it marks a milestone. 

It's the 50th year of the event.

Its humble beginning was August 23, 1969. The neighborhood wasn't even known as Corn Hill back then; it was Rochester's Old Third Ward, once one of the city's wealthiest neighborhoods.

In the summer of 1969, it was the target of Urban Renewal efforts. Nine hundred homes had already been demolished.