Earlier tonight, a select group of YAAM members attended a World Premiere presentation of Toni Morrison’s Jazz at the Center Stage.  Adapted by Nambi E. Kelley and beautifully directed by Kwame Kwei-Armah, the love story was told in a series of flashbacks, with each character of the love triangle given a chance to offer their distinct viewpoints.

Gavin Witt (’89 BA), Associate Artistic Director of Center Stage, gave an extremely informative pre-performance talk discussing the challenges of adapting a book into a 90-minute play and greatly assisting our understanding of this fine adaptation. A huge thank you to Gavin and to Center Stage for hosting us.

The 9th annual Yale Day of Service activity in Baltimore was held at Blue Water Baltimore, hosted by Margaret De Cuevas (Yale College ’85). We had over two dozen alumni show up to help this amazing local organization. When rain prevented us from assisting Blue Water with urban tree planting and maintenance, we revised our plans and instead helped with some behind-the-scenes work sorting hundreds of pairs of gloves and doing routine maintenance on the organization’s equipment. We were also treated to a impassioned speech on the importance of urban tree planting and the work that we had helped support. A huge thank you to Margaret De Cuevas and to Paul White for organizing the event, and we look forward to participating in the 10th anniversary Yale Day of Service on May 12, 2018!

Dozens of Ivy League alumni gathered in the heart of the Mount Vernon Marketplace to unwind this evening. This new happy hour tradition, which has now been every three months since December 2015, moved to Mt. Vernon for the first time. The Mt. Vernon Marketplace was bustling, and the biggest problem of the evening was deciding which stall had the most appetizing food. It seemed as though everyone in attendance found friends – both new and old – with whom to enjoy the evening. We even managed to entice a few visitors up from DC and Annapolis!

Stay tuned for our next All-Ivy Happy Hour, which will likely occur in June.

Earlier today, over 30 Yale alumni gathered at the Baltimore Immigration Museum, cofounded by Yale alumnus Nick Fessenden. The museum is housed in what use to be an immigrant house, a place for people from many countries and many walks of life to stay while they oriented themselves in a new land. From the 1830s until World Ware I, Baltimore was the third-largest city in the United States, largely due to the Great Wave of immigration. During that period, the immigrants to Baltimore were mostly German, although later ships brought Polish, Czech, Lithuanian, and Italian immigrants; those Italian immigrants then settled our beloved Little Italy that lives on today. The BIM showcases the general history of immigration and also dives into the history of immigrant groups who built cultural neighborhoods throughout the city.

It can be easy to forget our tumultuous immigration history. As a country, we have imposed quotas and restrictions on immigrants in the past. At other times, though, we have let our doors wide open and allowed immigration to our country without restriction, both to grow our population in this new land and to help us fight our wars. Given our current political climate, Nick Fessenden’s history lesson was a timely reminder of what has happened before, giving context to what we see unfolding today.

Apologies to those who couldn’t get a ticket to this event! The BIM is a small space and we were certainly at capacity this weekend. If you want to explore the museum on your own, it is open on weekends and by appointment during the week. If you’d like to learn more about Baltimore’s immigration history, you can also sign up for the museum’s quarterly newsletter and/or visit one of the other immigration museums in Baltimore (e.g. the Irish Railroad Workers Museum).

Beautiful harmonies reverberated in the beautiful First and Franklin Church as the Yale Whiffenpoofs descended on Baltimore for an afternoon of a cappella magic. Representing a homecoming for Whiffenpoof Marylanders Solon Snider (Musical Director from Severna Park) and Zachary Johnson (from Huntingtown), the concert was beautiful from start to finish. The concert featured the camaraderie and humor typical of a Whiffenpoofs concert, but there was even more: the audience was treated to a special world premiere of a piece written specifically for this concert by Solon’s former music composition teacher and Yalie, Judah Adashi. Here’s a quote from Judah about the piece: “The new piece is called “For Martin,” and sets a short poem by my friend Keith Snipes, an actor, narrator, and writer who I fortuitously met in summer 2016. Keith and I share a passion for words and music connected to the Civil Rights Movement, past and present. I had nearly given up on finding the right text for this particular project when I happened upon this poem, which Keith wrote and posted to Facebook on Martin Luther King, Jr. Day this year.” The audience was treated to the musical stylings of Boh Re Mi, Baltimore’s premiere co-ed a cappella group (featuring Yalie and YAAM Board member Justin Lowenthal) to open the show. Special thanks to Terra Ziporyn Snider, Solon’s mother and an active member of YAAM, for organizing the performance and reception.

Earlier tonight, YAAM members old and new gathered for YAAM’s third annual reception with BSO Music Director Marin Alsop (YC ’72-’75; pictured, center right). At this year’s event, held in the BSO’s new Second Space Lounge, YAAM welcomed new BSO member Lachezar Kostov (YSM ’08AD; pictured, center left), who joined as Assistant Principal Cellist in 2016.

 

Continuing the annual worldwide tradition of celebrating the shortest month of the year, YAAM hosted its annual Feb Club Emeritus event at Heavy Seas Alehouse. Yale alum Mike Morris generously offered us space in this beautifully rustic location, provided specials on their delicious food and Heavy Seas craft beers, and ensured the availability of delicious concoctions mimicking the Mory’s red and gold cups. Yale alums, both young and young-at-heart, enjoyed catching up with one another and marking this Yale tradition in true Maryland fashion. We hope to see you next year!

An intimate group of alumni joined Earle Havens (a Yalie who is currently the curator of rare books and manuscripts for the Johns Hopkins library system) for a private tour of the Evergreen library this afternoon. The Evergreen house is one of several properties once owned by the prominent Garrett family and includes an incredible array of rare books and manuscripts collected by T. Harrison Garrett and his son, John Work Garrett. The collection includes the first, second, third, and forth folios of Shakespeare; documents from all of the signers of the Declaration of Independence (including Oliver Walcott, Yale class of 1747); some of Gutenberg’s earliest printed documents; and books from George Washington’s personal library. Earle brought these documents to life with stories and historical context, letting those of us less well-versed in rare manuscripts peek into this rich history. Around us, the house sat as though in wait for John Work Garrett, with filled cocktail glasses on the tables in the library and tea and cookies set out in the parlor. It was as though we had stepped back in time – and then stepped even further back – for an hour or two.

A huge thank you to Earle Havens for sharing his passion and knowledge with us. This tour was a rare treat.

To those who could not secure one of the spots on the tour, we encourage you to visit the Evergreen House. For more information, please visit: http://www.museums.jhu.edu/evergreen.php

 

To the 60-70 Ivy League alumni who joined us tonight for our All-Ivy Happy Hour, thank you for a great evening!  We packed Birroteca, talking and carousing late into the evening. This was one of our best happy hours yet, with members of all different schools getting to know one another. We hope to see you at our next happy hour in March!

 

Birroteca1

BALTIMORE, MD -- 10/18/12 --  Recently opened in Hampden,  Birroteca features a large selection of craft beer, wines and artisan pizzas on its menu.  A favorite is the Duck, Duck, Goose pizza featuring duck confit, fig onion jam, and duck egg.  Photo by Doug Kapustin

BALTIMORE, MD — 10/18/12 — Recently opened in Hampden, Birroteca features a large selection of craft beer, wines and artisan pizzas on its menu. A favorite is the Duck, Duck, Goose pizza featuring duck confit, fig onion jam, and duck egg. Photo by Doug Kapustin

More than 30 Yalies (past, present, and future) joined a friendly and spirited crowd of Harvard alumni to witness “The Game” 2016. Alumni and their friends and families enjoyed delicious food, discounted craft beer, and creative blue and crimson cocktails courtesy of our gracious hosts at Heavy Seas Alehouse (big thanks to Mike Morris and Riley Prendergast). The balmy November day allowed for cornhole, darts, and camaraderie on the cozy outdoor patio. Most importantly, the Yalies in the audience basked in an exciting 21-14 WIN by the good guys – the first in ten years! We are looking forward to many more Yale wins in the future.

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