Bethlehem Library Notes for Wednesday, November 13, 2019

Now in its 18th year, the Bethlehem Public Library’s annual winter concert series, A Little Sunday Music, opens its 2019-20 season on Sunday, Nov. 17, at 3 p.m. with a performance by the Adirondack Baroque Consort, one of the oldest early music groups in the United States.

“The Songs & Poems: A Claire Loux Centennial, 1919-2019,” will feature the poetry and songs of Loux, a lifelong resident of Delmar. Please note that, unlike other concerts in the series, this one will start at 3 p.m.

The music of the recorder is a good fit for Loux’s poetic style, and along with vocals and keyboard, the program will present a centennial sampler of her musical and literary creations, memorializing familiar places in the Capital District.

A chance meeting at the Austerlitz Post office between Loux and poet Edna St. Vincent Millay led to friendship, with Millay encouraging the young Loux’s poetry. Loux’s collected works, “Far Horizons, The Poems & Selected Songs,” was published posthumously by Dovehouse Editions. Poet Laureate Carl Sandburg and the late jazz pianist Marian McPartland were among Loux’s correspondents later in life.

A Little Sunday Music continues Dec. 8 at 2 p.m. with the Etude Club of Schenectady, which was founded in 1925 to provide an opportunity for women musicians to meet and perform for one another.

After a short break in January, the concert series resumes Feb. 9 at 2 p.m. with Melanie Chirignan, a flautist known for musicality and versatility of repertoire accompanied by accomplished local pianist Michael Clement. A performance by the Musicians of Ma’alwyck rounds out the series on March 10 at 2 p.m.

Concerts are free and open to the public. A Little Sunday Music is sponsored by the Friends of Bethlehem Public Library.

News to you

Join us Monday, Nov. 18, at 7 p.m. for a presentation by Times Union Editor Rex Smith titled “Ethical Journalism in Challenging Times.” Smith will share his insights on the challenges journalism faces in the digital era and with the current political climate. All ages welcome!

On-demand streaming with Kanopy

Use your Bethlehem library card to access Kanopy streaming video. Kanopy offers a catalog of more than 30,000 indie films, documentaries, and hard-to-find foreign films.

In addition, Kanopy provides access to an excellent selection of The Great Courses, college-level video courses on a number of topics including economics, fine arts, music, history, literature, philosophy, science, mathematics, social sciences, professional development and better living.

Films may be streamed from any computer, television, mobile device, or platform by downloading the Kanopy app for iOS, Android, AppleTV, Chromecast or Roku. To get started, click on the eContent graphic on the library’s home page at www.bethlehempubliclibrary.