New Hyde Park residents don’t normally associate village hall with sounds of jazz fusion, but that’s exactly what they heard at a concert in the William Gill Jr. Theatre on Saturday night.
The New Hyde Park Village Board kicked off its opening series of live events and movie nights last weekend with a concert by Nexus, a local jazz quartet. It was actually the third event over the past several months in the newly renovated theater space.
Last month, a children’s play, “The Prince Who Wouldn’t Talk,” featuring local actors was staged there.
Next up, a local duo called Sister Act will perform contemporary tunes in the space on June 5 at 2 p.m. as the trustees seek to schedule events at the theater on a regular basis.
The Saturday night concert drew a crowd of nearly 100 people to hear the two-hour concert that included arrangements of tunes spanning a range from jazz virtuoso Thelonious Monk to pop music star Stevie Wonder.
The quartet features Frank Merenghi on drums, Jaime Sepe on bass, Ken Wooten on sax and on guitar, Vinny Marquart, who is the band teacher at the New Hyde Park Road School.
The audience responded enthusiastically, and Village of New Hyde Park Trustee Donald Barbieri declared the evening a success.
“They really did a nice job,” said Barbieri, who is overseeing the scheduling of events with the village cultural commission. “The acoustics in the room are wonderful. It has a real sweet sound to it.There was an opening event featuring an a capella singing quartet early this year, but Barbieri said the village cultural commission is planning to stage a grand opening event for the theater in the near future. He said that may take the form of an “American Idol” type music competition.
“These are the kind of special things that create memories for our children and members of the community,” he said.
Barbieri said the cultural commission is hoping to stage events in the space monthly, including movie nights, live musical performances and more children’s theater events.
The refurbishment of the theater has been project in progress over the past year, with former Village Clerk Pat Farrell overseeing the work.
