UMass Dartmouth College of Visual & Performing Arts Essential Partner in New Year's Eve Celebration Planned for City of New Bedford
As the City of New Bedford rings in the New Year tomorrow, Tuesday, December 31, 2013, several UMass Dartmouth students, faculty, and alumni will be part of the "City Celebrates! New Year's Eve 2013" festivities.
During the Opening Ceremony of the celebration, in front of New Bedford City Hall, UMass Dartmouth College of Visual and Performing Arts (CVPA) alumni Chris Cardaci and Lee Dias will pair together for a steel drum band duet performance. Notably, both have won the steel band Panorama world trophy in Trinidad and Tobago twice, a true rarity for Americans playing in Trinidadian bands.
UMass Dartmouth's Kekeli African Music Ensemble, featuring CVPA students Logan Amaral and Casey Snook, will perform at the State Pier, near the Ferry Terminal, beginning at 7:45 p.m.
Jazz quartet ensemble, Māngolassi, will feature students Al Nawrocki on drums, Evan MacLeod on upright bass, Miles Flisher on piano, Pat Mitchell on guitar, and Van Riley on saxophone. The group will perform at Gatlin's Framing & Photography starting at 5:00 p.m.
CVPA faculty members Dino Govoni (saxophone), Jim Robataille (guitar), and Chris Poudrier (drums), along with Dave Zinno (bass), will perform at 5:00 p.m. at the New Bedford Whaling Museum.
UMass Dartmouth's CVPA is an essential partner in the New Year's celebration, as well as, AHA! Night, which occurs the second Thursday night of each month serving as New Bedford's own monthly arts and culture celebration. As a further sign of that partnership, the CVPA Star Store campus' grand piano will be played as part of the celebration Tuesday night.
City Celebrates! New Year's Eve 2013 is organized and presented by AHA! and the City of New Bedford, and supported by Bristol County Savings Bank, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts, and Southcoast Health System as corporate sponsors. Attendees are encouraged to arrive early and stay late to ring in 2014, beginning at 4:30 p.m. with live music and performances, followed by fireworks over the harbor at 8:30 p.m. Fun for the whole family and you will still be home in time to watch the ball drop in New York City Times Square.