Home Arts & Entertainment Piano Poet Stephen DiJoseph

Piano Poet Stephen DiJoseph

U.S. 1 Staff

January 31, 2001

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Auditions

Volunteer Alert

Participate Please

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This article was prepared for the January 31,

Piano Poet Stephen DiJoseph

Stephen DiJoseph makes "piano poetry," and it’s

an art he defines both as a noun: "a mind-bending musical

conversation

between hands on the piano keyboard;" and a verb: "to express

oneself through intricate overtones of piano speak." The

Philadelphia

composer and jazz pianist performs in concert at the Unitarian Church,

on Saturday, February 3, at 8 p.m. Admission is $8 at the door.

With four independent releases to his credit, DiJoseph’s latest solo

piano CD is titled "Artifactual / Piano Poetry." It features

nine tracks each marked by the warm, meditative sound of his

improvised

jazz piano. Working in the tradition of jazz titan Keith Jarrett,

DiJoseph won best instrumental CD in the JP Folks national music

awards

last year.

Had we met DiJoseph early in his life, we might not have predicted

that he’d be weaving the extended, melodic piano improvisations

featured

on "Artifactual." These include the three-minute

"Blackbird"

(based on the Paul McCartney tune) and a lovely "Scarborough

Fair"

in which he’s joined on penny whistle by Mary Kay Mann. The CD is

available at the Princeton Record Exchange.

Diagnosed with Tourette Syndrome at age 16, Di Joseph’s early years

were marked by the laborious and painful process of repeated

misdiagnoses.

From age 7 to 16, he says that he and his family were pretty much

in the dark as to why he was twitching and cursing and breaking

things.

DiJoseph characterizes this period of his life as a difficult yet

empowering time.

Through his musical ability and introspection, DiJoseph says he was

able to develop a "collaborative" attitude toward living with

Tourette’s. "In a real sense," he says, "I translate my

`synaptic adventure’ into music, into piano poetry! My life with

Tourette

Syndrome and my response to it as a musician culminate in my

music."

He has been featured as a notable "success story" in the

newsletter

of the National Tourette Syndrome Association.

Stephen DiJoseph, Unitarian Church, 50 Cherry Hill

Road, 302-655-3364. The composer, jazz pianist, and

multi-instrumentalist

in concert. $8 at the door. Saturday, February 3, 8 p.m.

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Auditions

Paper Mill Playhouse announces children’s auditions

Saturday,

February 10, for Rodgers & Hammerstein’s "Carousel," scheduled

to run from May 30 to July 15. They are looking for children and

teenagers,

ages 6 to 16, who can sing and move. Auditions will be held at the

theater with same day callbacks. Children with last names beginning

with A-L sign up at 9 a.m.; those with letters M-Z sign up at noon.

Call 973-379-3636, extension 2278, or visit www.papermill.org.

Villagers Theater announces auditions for Richard

Greenberg’s

"Three Days of Rain" on Monday, February 19, and Wednesday,

February 21, with sign-in at 7:30 p.m. Two men in their late 30s and

one woman in her mid to late 30s are needed. Readings will be from

the script. Show dates are April 6 to 21. Call 732-873-2710.

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Volunteer Alert

The Friends of The A.H. Holcombe House, a non-profit

organization

dedicated to helping with the restoration of the Holcombe House,

Lambertville’s

historic City Hall, is seeking volunteers to assist with its

fundraising

dinner. The benefit, "A Gourmet Grazing," Monday, March 12,

at the Fish House, will feature food from various area restaurants

coordinated by Jim Hamilton, owner of the Fish House and Hamilton’s

Grill. Proceeds will be used to purchase and install period style

gas streetlights for the historic building. The committee is

co-chaired

by John Hencheck and Stewart Palilonis, and includes Mary Sheppard,

Barbara Hencheck, and Robin Larsen. Call Hencheck at 609-397-2531.

Top Of Page
Participate Please

Princeton Garden Statesmen offers musical Valentines for

Valentine’s Day. A quartet will travel to a home or workplace, sing

two songs, and present your loved one with a card and a silk rose.

Cost is $50, with all proceeds donated to Heartspring, a residential

facility for children with learning and speech disorders. Call the

Harmony Hotline at 609-252-1515.

The Central New Jersey Chapter of the American Jewish

Committee

will hold its fourth annual interfaith conference for students in

grades 7 and 8 on Sunday, February 11, from 1:30 to 4 p.m., at McCosh

Hall of Princeton University. Conference chair Kathy Ales says the

conference will be known as the Ira Silverman Teen Interfaith

Conference

to memorialize a former executive vice-president of The American

Jewish

Committee. The conference will include a presentation of "The

Right to Dream," a blend of video and live theater about the

struggle

and sacrifice for civil rights in America. Facilitators from Princeton

High School will lead discussion of stereotyping and prejudice. Groups

interested in having teenagers participate may call Ales at

973-379-7844.

Professional Writers Alliance offers a new edition of

"Pens for Hire: The Directory of Professional Writers &

Editors."

It provides contact information, and biographies of more than 35

Mercer

County nonfiction writers and editors. To view "Pens for Hire"

online, visit www.trampsteamer.com/pwa/pens.html. For a hard

copy, E-mail recines@erols.com. For information on PWA membership,

call Robin Levinson at 609-584-9330.

The New Jersey Association of Beerwriters (NJAB) was

formed

last August as an association of Garden State beer writers. Its

mission

statement is "to promote quality craft beer brewed in New Jersey,

and to encourage its responsible consumption through education."

NJAB was organized by beer writers Gary Monterosso, Mark Haynie, Jim

Carlucci, Lew Bryson, and Kurt Epps. For more information go to:

kurt_epps.tripod.com/njab_index.

New Jersey National Teenager Pageant is accepting

applications

for the 30th annual state pageant Friday, April 27, and continuing