LOCAL HISTORIANA WITH BARRY THOMSON

Notable historian, W. Barry Thomson will present a program on some of the prominent early Somerset Hills families on Sunday, April 12, 2015 at the Clarence Dillon Public Library.  The program will begin at 2pm.   His deeply researched history will feature information on the Schley and Pyne families.  The Schley family is closely connected with the founding of the Borough of Far Hills and the Pyne family was a prominent New York family who also lived in Bernardsville, NJ.  Both families still have descendants living in the area. 

W. Barry Thomson grew up in the Somerset Hills and is a frequent and popular lecturer on architecture and local history. He co-authored a book with the late John K. Turpin titled “New Jersey Country Houses: The Somerset Hills, Vol. 1 and 2,” that chronicles the country estates from 1870 to the end of World War II. 

The program will be held in the downstairs meeting rooms of the library.  Please register by calling the library at 908-234-2325 or by email at ref@dillonlibrary.org or in person at the circulation desk.  Admission is $5 which is payable at the door.

EYES OF THE WILD TRAVELING ZOO FAMILY PROGRAM

Eyes of the Wild will present their Traveling Zoo Program at the Clarence Dillon Public Library on Saturday, March 21, 2015 at 11:30 am.  The Traveling Zoo Program brings amazing animals to the library in a fun and educational presentation. The show mesmerizes everyone in the audience – from toddlers through adults.   

The program is free and will be held in the downstairs meeting rooms of the library.  Please call the Children’s Library at 908-234-2325 ext. 107 to register.  For more information please contact Helen Petersen, Children’s Librarian at 908-234-2325 ext. 107 or email hpetersen@dillonlibrary.org.

CLASSICAL MUSIC'S ROMANTIC PERIOD

Library Director Sandy Putnam will present a two-part lecture series on the Romantic Period in classical music.  The programs will be held on Sunday, March 8, 2015 and Sunday, March 15, 2015.  Both lectures begin at 2:00 pm.  The first program will examine the socioeconomic forces driving mid-19^th century music and an increasingly melodic and passionate genre.  The music and lives of Frederic Chopin and Robert Schumann will be explored and there will be live piano performances by two virtuoso young piano students from the local community.  The second program will focus on the great Russian composer Sergei Rachmaninoff.  His lush melodies and gorgeous orchestrations capped the Romantic Period and comprise some of the most beautiful music ever written. 

The programs will take place in the downstairs meeting rooms of the library.  Admission is free.   Registration is recommended but not required.   Please register by calling the library at 908-234-2325 or by email ref@dillonlibrary.org or in person at the circulation desk. 

GEORGE WASHINGTON LECTURE

Professor Edward Lengel of the University of Virginia will lecture on George Washington at the Clarence Dillon Public Library on Sunday, February 15, 2015 at 2:00pm.  Edward  Lengel is editor in chief of the Papers of George Washington and  is the author of several books, including General George Washington and This Glorious Struggle. A lecturer on Washington and the Revolutionary War, Lengel is also a historical consultant, advising on such works as the History Channel's own comprehensive documentary. He is a frequent radio and television guest—appearing on C-SPAN, CBS, and NPR, among others—and is a regular contributor to newspapers and magazines in the vein of military history and American heritage.

The program will take place in the downstairs meeting rooms of the library.  Admission is $5.00 which is payable at the door.  Registration is recommended but not required.   Please register by calling the library at 908-234-2325 or by email ref@dillonlibrary.org or in person at the circulation desk. 

GORDON CHANG TO SPEAK ON CHINA

CHINA EXPERT GORDON CHANG TO SPEAK AT THE CLARENCE DILLON PUBLIC LIBRARY ON SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 8, 2015

China author, columnist, and television commentator Gordon Chang will speak at the Clarence Dillon Public Library on Sunday, February 8, 2015 at 2:00 pm.  He will offer an insightful perspective on where China is headed and its influence on the world.  

Gordon Chang is the author of Nuclear Showdown: North Korea Takes on the World, released by Random House in January 2006.  Showdown focuses on nuclear proliferation in general and the North Korean crisis in particular.  His first book is The Coming Collapse of China (Random House, August 2001). He is a contributor at Forbes.com and blogs at World Affairs Journal and a resident of Bedminster, New Jersey. 

 His writings on China and North Korea have appeared in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, the Far Eastern Economic Review, the International Herald Tribune, Commentary, The Weekly Standard, National Review, and Barron's. 

 

He has spoken at Columbia, Cornell, Harvard, Penn, Princeton, Yale, and other universities and at The Brookings Institution, The Heritage Foundation, the Cato Institute, RAND, the American Enterprise Institute, the Council on Foreign Relations, and other institutions.  He has given briefings at the National Intelligence Council, the Central Intelligence Agency, the State Department, and the Pentagon.  He has also spoken before industry and investor groups including Bloomberg, Sanford Bernstein, Royal Bank of Scotland, and Credit Lyonnais Securities Asia.  Chang has appeared before the House Committee on Foreign Affairs and the U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission. 

  

He has appeared on CNN, Fox News Channel, Fox Business Network, CNBC, MSNBC, PBS, the BBC, and Bloomberg Television. He has appeared on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart and is a frequent co-host and guest on The John Batchelor Show.  

The program will take place in the downstairs meeting rooms of the library.  Admission is $5.00 which is payable at the door.  Registration is recommended but not required.   Please register by calling the library at 908-234-2325 or by email ref@dillonlibrary.org or in person at the circulation desk. 

MOZART AT NOON

Join Library Director Sandy Putnam for an engaging half hour program of classical musical focusing on some of the great composers.  Begins with Mozart on January 8, 2015 followed by Brahms (Jan. 15), Dvorak (Jan 22), and Tchaikovsky (Jan. 29.)  The programs begin at  noon  and are free and  no registration is needed. Held in the Cafe.

FRED MILLER DOES FRANK LOESSER

FRED MILLER AND THE MUSIC OF FRANK LOESSER

Pianist and raconteur Fred Miller will perform his popular ”Lectures-In-Song” program  on the music of Frank Loesser on Sunday, December 7, 2014  at 2:00 pm at the Clarence Dillon Public Library.  Fred Miller plays and sings beloved standards from the Frank Loesser songbook with his accompanying trademark blend of insight, anecdotes, and banter.  Frank Loesser was a versatile American composer of musical theatre and popular music. Besides composing the scores for the musicals “Guys and Dolls,” “The Most Happy Fella,”  and “How to Succeed in Business without Really Trying,”  he is well-known for countless classics like “Heart and Soul,” “Baby, It’s Cold Outside,” and “I Believe in You.”

Fred Miller is well-known for his “Lecture-In-Song” series on the American Popular Song.  He studied classical piano for many years, but upon hearing Ella Fitzgerald sing Cole Porter, he found his calling and life’s mission.  He studied acting for two years with stage and film legend Geraldine Page and vocal performance with Tony award winner Helen Gallagher.  He has appeared in television commercials and on the radio and has run the Copper Penny Players for many years.

The concert will take place in the downstairs meeting rooms of the library.  Admission is $5.00 which is payable at the door.  Registration is recommended but not required.  Please register by calling the library at 908-234-2325 or by email ref@dillonlibrary.org or in person at the circulation desk.

The Clarence Dillon Public Library (www.clarencedillonpl.org) is located at 2336 Lamington Road in Bedminster, New Jersey.