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April at Curry Public Library

World Class Musicians to Perform Recital at Curry Public Library

The community is invited to an important classical music performance at Curry Public Library. Musicians Alexandra Preucil, violin, and Teddy Abrams, piano, will give a recital at 6pm on Wednesday, April 20^th. The musicians will be introduced by Renia Shterenberg, new General Manager of the Britt Festival Orchestra. The recital is free, but space is limited and registration is required. To register, click here. This event was funded by a generous grant from the Tammis Day Foundation.

According to Curry Public Library Director Jeremy Skinner, “when the library was considering expanding its space, we couldn’t have imaged being able to sponsor musicians that typically perform in world class concert venues. For such a small community, this is a special opportunity.”

Alexandra Preucil was born in Atlanta, Georgia, and began the violin at the age of three. Former Assistant Concertmaster of the Cleveland Orchestra, Preucil currently resides in Vienna, Austria, leading and collaborating with ensembles around the world. She is currently an associate member of the Mahler Chamber Orchestra and a member of the Haydn Philharmonie. Other recent appearances have included performances with the Chamber Orchestra of Europe, Vienna Radio Symphony Orchestra, Vienna Chamber Orchestra, Kristiansand Symphony Orchestra, and the Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra.

Preucil’s festival appearances include the Sun Valley Music Festival, Britt Festival Orchestra, Mainly Mozart, Lockenhaus Chamber Music Festival, Festival de Febrero, and Santa Fe Chamber Music Festival. Dedicated to music education and community engagement, Preucil has created and performed programs for all ages. In addition to teaching and giving masterclasses, she was named Director of the Britt Festival Fellowship Program. Ms. Preucil graduated from the Cleveland Institute of Music with a bachelor’s degree in Music Performance and a minor in Dance. She plays on a 1744 Sanctus Serafin violin.

An unusually versatile musician, Teddy Abrams is the widely-acclaimed Music Director of the Louisville Orchestra and Music Director and Conductor of the Britt Festival Orchestra. A tireless advocate for the power of music, Abrams has fostered interdisciplinary collaborations with organizations including the Louisville Ballet, the Center for Interfaith Relations, Oregon Shakespeare Festival, the Speed Art Museum, and the Folger Shakespeare Library. Abrams’ work with the Louisville Orchestra has been profiled on CBS News Sunday Morning, NPR, and in The Wall Street Journal. Abrams was also recently announced as the Musical America 2022 Conductor of the Year. An accomplished pianist and clarinetist, Abrams has appeared as a soloist with a number of orchestras—including play-conducting the Ravel Piano Concerto with the Fort Worth Symphony in 2017 and the Jacksonville Symphony in 2013—and has performed chamber music with the St. Petersburg String Quartet, Menahem Pressler, Gilbert Kalish, Time for Three, and John Adams, in addition to annual appearances at the Olympic Music Festival.

Abrams was a protégé of Michael Tilson Thomas from the age of eleven, and studied conducting with Otto-Werner Mueller and Ford Lallerstedt at the Curtis Institute of Music, and with David Zinman at the Aspen Music Festival; he was the youngest conducting student ever accepted at both institutions. Teddy was a proud member of the San Francisco Symphony Youth Orchestra for seven seasons, and graduated from the San Francisco Conservatory of Music with a Bachelor of Music, having studied piano with Paul Hersh. Abrams is also a passionate educator.

Preucil is the Director of the Britt Festival Fellowship Program while Abrams is the Music Director and Conductor of the Britt Festival Orchestra. The Britt Music & Arts Festival provides diverse live performances, a classical festival, and an array of education programs that create a sense of discovery and community. Since its grassroots beginnings in 1963, the non-profit organization has grown from a two-week chamber music festival to a summer-long series of concerts in a variety of genres, including a three-week orchestra season, and year-round education and engagement programs.

For more information about the musicians and the Britt Festival, visit their websites below:
Alexandra Preucil
Teddy Abrams
Britt Music and Arts Festival

Haiku Contest Announced

Curry Public Library is hosting a Haiku Contest in celebration of National Poetry Month (April) and National Haiku Poetry Day (April 17). Community members of all ages are welcome to participate. Entries can be submitted online at the link below or in person at the library- look for the National Poetry Month display near the desk. The haiku may be about any topic or subject, but must be original, and must adhere to the 5/7/5 syllable rule. For all the details, or to submit a haiku online, click here.

Exploring Other Dimensions: Library Staff Book Recommendations – Part 2 of 3 - April 2022

During the past two years there is a good chance that you canceled your vacation plans, particularly if you planned to travel internationally. This has been the case for our library staff, and predictably we have tried to solve the problem through reading. Although reading has not eliminated our wanderlust, it has opened up new avenues for exploration that would not be possible with traditional travel. We have used books to travel to outer space, to historical events of the past, to fantastical worlds, and to secret archaeological digs. If you would like some guided reading in this vein, here is the second installment of our hand-selected recommendations for exploring other dimensions, which focuses on all things earthly, recommended by catalog librarian Jordan Popoff:

“Go West, young man.” This imperative sentence has been used since the mid-nineteenth century as a metaphorical and literal command to explore and expand. The books I am featuring represent a complete reversal of that admonition, while at the same time they ignited my own passion for exploration and personal expansion. Each of these books describe journeys, more specifically journeys on foot. As we travel this earthly dimension, we do so at walking speed. Please join me on a plodding tour of life.

THE WONDERFUL WIZARD OF OZ BY L. FLANK BAUM
Reading this classic children’s book sparked a nascent flame in my young heart. The story is of a practically-minded, unflappable girl who is carried away to parts unknown, obligated to travel first to the Emerald City, then to the land of the Winkies in the west, and finally to Glinda’s palace in the southern land of the Quadlings in order to find her way back home. Along the way, Dorothy meets new friends and faces danger with stoicism and grace. While many have cited this book as an allegory, Mr. Baum always insisted it was a “modernized fairy tale.” For me as a little girl, it was pure inspiration. I knew right then that I would travel, that I would walk, that I would meet interesting people wherever I found myself. If you have not read this book as an adult, or have only seen the movie, I encourage you to find a copy right now. You will be amazed at how effortlessly it speaks to adults, too, its message of adventure, friendship, forbearance, and home.

A WALK IN THE WOODS BY BILL BRYSON
While in high school, I discovered Bill Bryson who quickly became my favorite author. This is the first book of his I read. Even as a teenager I related to his writing voice, the voice of a middle-aged, grumpy man with an acute, wry sense of humor. But more than that I related to his desire, upon seeing the Appalachian Trail crossing through his northeastern town, to walk that trail. Within this book he chronicles his (not-quite) thru-hike accompanied by his unforgettable friend Katz, weaving in history of the trail, ecology of the regions they pass through, and descriptions of the people they meet along the way. Post graduation, this book is one of the reasons I chose to leave the Northwest and move east. I needed to experience myself this storied trail. When a book is capable of moving a person across the country, it is a powerful book. Experience the power: read this book. It could change your life, but it will most certainly give you a laugh!

THE SALT PATH BY RAYNOR WINN
Finally, let’s travel further east and cross the Atlantic to explore the southwestern corner of England. In a land of headlands, sea stacks, shale, and serpentine (sound familiar?), Raynor and her husband Moth sought healing and hope hiking the South West Coast Path after devastating loss of health and home. I discovered this book shortly after returning from this region of England, and knew immediately we needed this story in our library. While the walk in The Wonderful Wizard of Oz is about getting home, and the hike in A Walk in the Woods is about seeing our country from a new and slower perspective, this journey in The Salt Path is about inner transformation. It’s about a desperate situation of homelessness and terminal illness and the author’s mad idea to turn it all around by walking. You will have to read the book and the sequel, The Wild Silence, to find out if she did.

Stay tuned in May for the third and final installment of our series, otherworldly recommendations from programs librarian Rebecca Marcus.

Curry Library Directors Announce Title for their May Book Discussion

The Curry Library Directors' Book Club will meet for a virtual discussion of The Personal Librarian, by Marie Benedict and Victoria Christopher Murray on Thursday, May 26th at 6pm. Check out a copy of the book and start reading it now! The virtual book group featuring the directors from Chetco Community Public Library, Curry Public Library, and Port Orford Public Library, began meeting last year and will continue to meet on the last Thursdays of May, September, and January for future book discussions.

Tech Lab Offers Intro to Photoshop Series

The tech lab is offering an Introduction to Photoshop series, facilitated by David Haynes, Tech Lab Assistant and local artist. All four Intro to Photoshop programs can stand alone and be taken individually, or can be taken all four in sequence depending on the goals and experience of the participant. Registration required. To register, click the titles below.

Part 1- Setting Up Photoshop: Saturday, April 2 at 10am
Part 1 of the Intro to Photoshop series will cover configuring Adobe Bridge and Adobe Photoshop to a set of personal preferences. Some of the items that can be configured are the size and location of working windows, arranging menus for easy access to often-used items, showing / hiding / docking menus, saving and loading preferred Workspaces, etc.

Part 2- Developing Digital Photos: Saturday, April 16 at 10am
Part 2 of the Intro to Photoshop series will cover using Adobe Bridge and Adobe Camera Raw to “develop” digital photos – the steps taken prior to editing in Photoshop. Digital photos from any camera (smart phone, point and shoot, DSLR, etc.) can benefit from development and may, depending on the image quality and your intent, require extensive development. We will cover techniques to prepare photos for the web and/or sharing platforms and to prepare photos for additional edits in Photoshop.

Part 3- Basic Image Enhancement: Saturday, April 30 at 10am
Part 3 of the Intro to Photoshop series will cover using Photoshop to improve the quality of digital images. Most digital images can benefit from enhancements and may, depending on the original image quality and your intent, require extensive edits. We will cover basic techniques to improve image contrast, color, detail, and so forth. Also covered will be basic output options such as image size, format, mode, profile, etc.

Part 4- Converting a Photo into an Artwork : Saturday, May 14 at 10am
Part 4 of the Intro to Photoshop series will cover using Photoshop to turn a digital photo into a work of art. We will cover techniques specifically for “artwork” intent such as using Photoshop filter, third party plugins, layer masks, layer blending, and so forth.

Please contact techlab@cplib.net with any question and visit the Tech Lab Webpage for full calendar of weekly programs, hours, and available equipment.

The Magic of Meal Prep

Note: This program was originally scheduled for March, but was postponed to this day, Thursday, April 7.

Join Margie House from Oregon State University Extension Service for a free workshop on meal prep. Go home with inspiration, shopping lists, recipes, food safety tips, and more! The program will take place in person at Curry Public Library on Thursday, April 7 at 5:30pm.

Description: Do you want to learn how to save time and money, reduce daily stress, and put your health first? Of course you do! But that sounds like a lot of work, doesn’t it? With a little planning and a few hours of prep, you can set yourself up for success. Join us for this free session to keep your body fueled with the nutrition it needs to keep up with the hustle of life…and have time and money to spare!

Facilitator: Margie House
Outreach Program Coordinator
Oregon State University Extension Service – Curry County
4-H Youth Development | Family & Community Health

Image: Mists of a Buttermilk Sky

Fractured Beauty: Paintings by Morgan Burton Johnson On Display April-June

Fractured Beauty-Paintings by Morgan Burton Johnson will be on display April 1- June 30 on the second floor gallery at Curry Public Library. A public reception will be held on Thursday, April 14 at 5:30pm for the community to view the art, meet the artist, and ask questions. Refreshments will be provided.

Morgan Burton Johnson was born in Santa Monica, California, in 1952. He received his B. A. degree in Psychology from the University of California, San Diego, in La Jolla in 1974 after attending the Lycee du Universite au Dijon in Dijon, France, where he received a Certificate of Foreign Studies in culture in 1968. He has completed several murals, two of which are located at the UCSD campus in La Jolla, with one a competition design winner for Discovery Hall, Revelle College, 1971. He has been published in the San Diego Union (1971), the La Jolla Light (1976), the Advocate (1978), the Long Beach Tribune (1978, 1996), the Medford Tribune (1993, 2011), and the San Francisco Bay Times (1994).

Morgan Burton Johnson did not receive formal training in art, but has studied its styles, evolution, and history since the age of eight. He has mastered oil painting, watercolor, and encaustic media while investigating a wide variety of subjects while working through Realism, Impressionism, Pointillism, Abstract, and other styles. Currently, Johnson works in his own unique style called Fractionalism, which is a melding of both color theory, cubism, abstraction, and realism. His current work voices and reflects the reality in which we currently reside, what he sees as a fractured worlds, whether it’s digital units, light pulses, or sound bites.

Morgan Burton Johnson has been painting and displaying in public venues since the age of 16. To view the majority of his work, visit www.morganart.com. For a complete list of the artist’s awards and shows, visit https://morganj.com/home.

Siskiyou Mountain Club to Give Talk at Library

Join Gabe Howe, executive director of the Siskiyou Mountain Club for a talk on Thursday, April 28 at 5:30pm.

Twelve years ago, Gabe Howe started running week-long volunteer trips into the Kalmiopsis backcountry to restore a 26-mile network of trails that had disappeared from the landscape. He went on to start the Siskiyou Mountain Club, which has since then taken on landscape-scale projects, bringing back to life over 200 miles of trails that had been written off and forgotten. The Club now maintains over 380 miles of trails across five national forests and two states.

Come hear some of the stories and lessons learned from that journey. Howe will share more about his Club’s past projects, offer some 2022 hike ideas, and describe ways you can help.

Read more about the Siskiyou Mountain Club here: https://siskiyoumountainclub.org/

Celebrate Earth Week with Curry Public Library

Join us on Saturday, April 30 for a family-friendly event to celebrate the end of Earth Week. Drop in between 10am and 2pm for crafts, nature themed books, and more! All ages welcomed. If you signed up for a Neighborhood Forest tree, you may pick up your tree at this event.

LIBRARY & LOBBY HOURS
Monday-Thursday 10am-7pm
Friday-Saturday 10am-5pm
Sundays 12pm-5pm

APRIL LIBRARY CLOSURES
Sunday, April 17: Easter Closure

COVID-19 UPDATES

Masks are optional. We maintain a no-contact shelf in the lobby where patrons can easily pick up requested items. All returned library items are cleaned before they are returned to the shelves.

Questions or ideas for how we can serve you?
Please call us at 541-247-7246 or email currylibrary@cplib.net

LIBRARY & LOBBY HOURS
Monday-Thursday 10am-7pm
Friday-Saturday 10am-5pm
Sundays 12pm-5pm

FEBRUARY CLOSURES
President's Day: All day February 21st

The best way to stay up-to-date with Curry Public Library
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COVID-19 UPDATES

Masks are required for all library visitors. Our main library area, lobby, and restrooms are open to patrons and cleaned regularly. We maintain a no-contact shelf in the lobby where patrons can easily pick up requested items. All returned library items are cleaned before they are returned to the shelves.

Questions or ideas for how we can serve you at this time?
Please call us at 541-247-7246.