Performances are a highlight of the Central Pennsylvania Festival of the Arts and First Night State College. Although seeing a performance on a screen isn’t the same as being there in person, it’s becoming our new normal, as we all strive to keep certain traditions alive in these unprecedented times.
In addition to live performances scheduled for July 8-10, we also have fun instructional videos, from how to make sticky buns to mixing craft cocktails, as well as museum visits, artist interviews and studio tours.
So grab a snack and a beverage, scroll down to check them out and enjoy!
Texas native Kristi Jean brings her acclaimed country-infused twang to bear on a collection of feisty songs that reflect the moment in time when country and rhythm and blues begat rockabilly and rock ‘n’ roll. Like her heroes, Kristi was raised on traditional country music played through an AM radio; but her independent spirit drove her to musical rebellion: experimenting with rock n’ roll, pop, and even musical theatre. With her Ne’er-Do-Wells at her side, Kristi has come full-circle to her country roots – with her firery spirit not far beneath the surface.
Andy Tolins is a guitarist, bassist and vocalist, who also plays dobro, mandolin and table steel. He is an accomplished songwriter, bandleader, producer and all around good guy.
Ned has served as the Director of Music Ministries at State College Presbyterian Church–a church known for its robust musical program–since 1994. He holds a Bachelor of Music in Church Music and Master of Music in Choral Conducting from Shenandoah University in Winchester, Virginia. In addition to serving as the congregation’s organist, he also directs or supervises the Chancel Choir, Handbell Choir, the Candlelight Choir and Orchestra. In this recital, he plays some tunes that are favorites of organists and audiences alike.
The State College Presbyterian Church’s organ was installed in 1967 by the M. P. Moller Company of Hagerstown, Maryland. It consisted of about 1800 pipes (27 ranks). In 2012, the pipe organ was completely rebuilt and revoiced. A new digital console and 35 digital stops were added by the Walker Technical Co.
Kim Cook has performed as a soloist in 30 countries and has toured as Artistic Ambassador for the U.S. State Department. Fanfare Magazine praised her “glorious sound”, and Gramophone critics described her playing as “eloquent”. Her recordings include 10 concertos, a CD of solo premieres for NAXOS and four solo sonatas. A graduate of Yale and the University of Illinois, Cook was principal cellist of the São Paulo Symphony and taught at New Mexico State prior to her appointment at Penn State, where she is Distinguished Professor of Music. She lives in State College with her husband Peter Heaney, Professor of Geosciences.
Instruments that play the bass parts are often the unsung heroes of the symphonic band. The public can name famous trumpeters and flutists, but it’s pretty difficult to name a famous euphonium player, or even spell euphonium for that matter. The members of Below Centre might just change that, as they create a melodic bass presence during this holiday season.
The Penn Sax Saxophone Quartet was formed in the fall of 2020. The group is made up of four music majors from the Penn State School of Music. The group performs jazz selections, saxophone quartet standards, seasonal songs, and of course some Penn State favorites.
Since its first performance at the Festival in 2006, the Essence of Joy appearance has come to be a highlight of the Festival. Founded by Dr. Anthony T. Leach, Essence of Joy, and its progeny, the Essence of Joy Alumni Singers, and Essence II, Ltd., perform sacred and secular music from the African and African-American tradition. Essence II, The Second Edition, was organized in August 1999 to provide an additional opportunity for Penn State students and residents of Central Pennsylvania to perform African American choral music. The Essence choirs have performed throughout the United States and has undertaken international tours in South Africa, Poland, and the Czech Republic.
Members of Vancouver, British Columbia’s Phoenix Chamber Choir offered up this updated take on Billy Joel’s 1984 hit, The Longest Time. Founded in 1983, Phoenix Chamber Choir recently concluded its 37th season as one of Canada’s finest vocal ensembles, renowned for diverse and eclectic programming from the Renaissance to the contemporary, commissions from Canadian and international composers, and North American premieres of significant new works. 
Students at Boston’s Berklee College of Music were among the first to release a video of individual performances blended into an online choir and orchestra. And they did it with a complex Burt Bacharach and Hal David number! A great performance of a great song: two thumbs up kids! 
The members of The Stay At Home Choir are singers from all around the world who come together to rehearse with their favorite artists. The King’s Singers are a British a cappella vocal ensemble founded in 1968. They are named after King’s College in Cambridge, England, where the group was formed by six choral scholars. 
John Rutter is an English composer and conductor whose larger choral works are widely performed around the world. Many of his shorter pieces such as The Lord Bless You and Keep You, For the Beauty of the Earth, and All Things Bright and Beautiful have become ‘standards’. Here the choir of Westminster Abbey sing The Lord Bless You And Keep You during a service to celebrate the 60th wedding anniversary of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip in 2010.
Like Ina Garten, the Barefoot Contessa, State College resident Jill Lillie has been cooking and baking for years. Unlike Ina Garten, Jill Lillie doesn’t have a TV show and ten zillion followers on Instagram. Nevertheless, Jill is a wonderful baker, cook, and occasional caterer. Here she makes sticky buns, a holiday tradition in her family, and also at the First Night State College office, where Jill volunteers.
One of the most requested cocktails at Big Spring Spirits, the Lavender Petal Pusher is made from lavender and mint syrups, freshly squeezed lemon juice, and gin. This refreshing quaff is perfect for spring, fall, summer, or winter. Here master mixologist Brandon Wagner shows how it’s done at the distillery. Hint: it’s done just the same at home–just mix, chill, and enjoy!
Diane Bloom, the Festival’s former Director of Development is not only a great friend of the Festival, but also a great cook. No matter if you’re having a tailgate party, backyard barbecue, sit down dinner for twelve, when Diane says, “May I bring something?” the default answer should be yes–it’ll be delicious. In this video she makes a pizza roll that–no matter how you slice it–is just plain delicious.
Brandon Wagner, of Bellefonte’s Big Spring Spirits, creates one of the distillery’s signature cocktails, the Centrepolitan. A riff on the ubiquitous Cosmo made famous by Sex in the City, this version uses Tait Farm cranberry shrub instead of cranberry juice to give it a little extra complexity. It’s flat out tasty.
Boxwood, the evergreen shrub, can easily transformed into wreaths, sprays, miniature trees and lots of other tasteful holiday decorations. In this video, Allen Baney of State College’s 
State College resident Soha Nabil Aboelsoud, a native of Cairo, makes Egyptian style moussaka, the eggplant-based dish. This variant includes ground beef, a version that is common in the Balkans and the Middle East.
Edgar Degas was a French Impressionist painter known for his pastels, particularly of dancers. The National Gallery of Art’s Degas at the Opera exhibition had just opened when the gallery was forced to close due to the COVID-19 pandemic. While a virtual tour isn’t the same as being there in person, it does allow us to forego the nightmare of driving and parking in Washington, DC.
With visual arts, performing arts, and new media, the Smithsonian Institution’s National Portrait Gallery introduces you to the people who have shaped the country.
In the 1960s, activist Chicano artists forged a remarkable history of printmaking that remains vital today. Many artists came of age during the civil rights, labor, anti-war, feminist, and LGBTQ+ movements and channeled the period’s social activism into assertive aesthetic statements that announced a new political and cultural consciousness among people of Mexican descent in the United States. ¡Printing the Revolution! explores the rise of Chicano graphics within these early social movements and the ways in which Chicanx artists since then have advanced innovative printmaking practices attuned to social justice.
David Hockney (b. 1937) is one of the master draftsmen of our times. Drawing lies at the heart of his studio activity and has consistently underpinned his work. From early pen-and-ink drawings and photocollages to more recent experiments with watercolor and digital technology, Hockney’s inventive visual language has taken many stylistic turns. Inquisitive, playful, and thought provoking, his drawings reflect an admiration for both the old and modern masters, from Rembrandt to Picasso.
Fallingwater is a weekend home designed in 1935 by renowned American architect Frank Lloyd Wright for the family of Pittsburgh department store owner, Edgar J. Kaufmann, Sr. in the Laurel Highlands of southwestern Pennsylvania. A UNESCO World Heritage site, Fallingwater is one of Wright’s most widely acclaimed works and best exemplifies his philosophy of organic architecture: the harmonious union of art and nature.
Greg and Donny are two buddies from a Johnstown, Pennsylvania, and although Greg is often technologically challenged, he and Donny were early adopters of what would come to be known as Zoom chats. Played by Johnstown natives Jeff Skowron and Matt Yeager, they’re joined online by Greg’s wife Gina (Kim Cea) and sometimes their friend Missy (Tamera Gindelsperger-Fisher). Their offbeat comedy is well suited for the short video format. They are a particular favorite of the Festival staff.
Greg and Donny do a mashup of It’s a Wonderful Life and A Christmas Carol. Artwork for the opening credits was done by CPFA Rules & Jurying chair Anni Matsick.
Mechanical engineer Richard James of Hollidaysburg, Pennsylvania invented the Slinky by accident. In 1943, he was working to devise springs that could keep sensitive ship equipment steady at sea. After accidentally knocking some samples off a shelf, he watched in amazement as they gracefully “walked” down instead of falling. Along with his wife Betty, James developed a plan to turn his invention into the next big novelty toy. Betty combed the dictionary for an appropriate name and came up with “Slinky.” James designed a machine to coil 80-feet of wire into a two-inch spiral. The couple borrowed $500 to manufacture the first Slinkys. Initial sales proved sluggish but soared after Gimbels Department Store in Philadelphia allowed demonstrations for Christmas 1945. The first 400 Slinkys sold within minutes.