Artist of the Month

When the Bellefonte Community Band lifts its instruments on August 13 in Talleyrand Park, it will celebrate four decades of sharing music with listeners throughout the county.  “Talleyrand is our home base, of sorts,” according to Band Director Meg Pedlow Smith. “Concerts always feel special there.” Consisting of eighty-some members, the band formed in 1983,…

By Elonie Ward When six women met on April 20, 1983, they had one thing in mind, and that was to form a National Quilting Association Chapter right here in central Pennsylvania. The founding members were Cindy Houlch, Cindy McNab, Jody Crust, Dorothy Milhelic, Jean Smith, and Gloria Braun, as well as Violet MacMillan, who…

As Judy Hyman tells the story, Gus Tritsch and his mother arrived at the Elk Creek Café in Millheim in 2008 to watch Hyman’s band, The Horse Flies, at soundcheck. Tritsch was four at the time and had recently started taking violin lessons from her. As she would soon learn, Tritsch was not like any…

[To see all the photos mentioned below, pick up a print copy of April Town&Gown or view the complete online edition at townandgown.com.] Go on a walk with photographer Laurie Roffol, and you’ll find yourself making frequent stops. She’s always on the lookout for subject matter that speaks to her. Few others would have noticed…

Essence 2 Ltd. has delighted audiences for 23 years.  “Our focus is on the music from the African and African American choral traditions that includes sacred and secular music,” says the choir’s conductor and founder, Anthony T. Leach, emeritus professor of music at Penn State. “It includes music from various African countries. As far as…

Through The Giving Box, Amanda Werner focuses on the art of creating the perfect gift for each individual. She curates wooden gift boxes full of locally sourced items. She came up with the concept for her Lemont-based business in 2016. It was simple, she says. “It was like a game of Tetris to me,” Werner…

Some may know 81-year-old Jack Eggert from when he played with the Tarnished Six band in the early 1980s—or from later on, when he founded the Dixieland Jazz Band that played local venues for 14 years. Others may know him as having been a producer/director of instructional television at Penn State until 2006, when a…

By Hannah Pollock Where a homeowner may see a mess to clean up, Steve Strouse sees an opportunity to create meaningful art. He finds his canvases in what many consider to be disposable fallen trees, transforming them into boxes, kitchen tools, clocks, and more. Strouse is a woodworker who shares Centre County’s history through salvaged…

Over the past 31 years, the Central Pennsylvania Youth Orchestra has been a place for young musicians in the region to come together and seriously develop their skills. By bringing in talented players from all around Centre and surrounding counties, the program—which was established with the support of the Penn State University School of Music…

Page Powell was in third grade when her grandmother gave her a great gift—teaching her how to sew. Sewing became Powell’s passion, and she has spent the past eight years honing her skills. Now 16, she has turned that passion into a small business, Lazanya Sunwear, whose name in part pays homage to her late…