The Mattatuck Museum’s TGI Third Thursday on September 20 will feature the Red Satin Band’s keyboardist, Rufus “Baby Grand” Davis and vocalist, Valerie Rogers.
Connecticut based musicians, The Red Satin Band, are an accomplished and versatile group who have performed throughout New England. At their September Third Thursday performance, Davis and Rogers, who have both received rave reviews as accomplished entertainers, will show why they are among the region’s top jazz and swing bands. The Red Satin Band’s performance should not be missed!
Valerie Rogers has toured with the USO overseas and throughout the US. Her five-woman show wowed military personnel and their families at venues including military bases, Air Craft Carriers, New York City Fleet Week and USO Woman of the Year for Barbara Bush.
A native of New London, CT, Rufus “Baby Grand” Davis toured the country with the National Theater for the Performing Arts and has performed at the Coast Guard Academy for special government service events. He has assisted in rehearsals for both the London Symphony Orchestra and the Eastern Connecticut Symphony Orchestra. He is also the resident pianist for Foxwoods Resort & Casino.
This performance is in conjunction with the Mattatuck Museum’s exhibition Art for Everyone on view until February 5, 2013. During the Depression, Franklin D. Roosevelt and his administration set up the Federal Arts Project to create jobs. As a result of this project, 169 Connecticut artists created over 5,000 works of art many of which disappeared. The Mattatuck Museum and the Connecticut State Library have been working together to collect and catalogue both known and unknown works. Art for Everyone examines art produced for the Federal Art Project in Connecticut. Ralph Boyer, Beatrice Cuming, James Daugherty, George Marinko, Spencer Baird Nichols, Joseph Schork and Cornelia Vetter are among the artists represented in this exhibit of more than 50 works. This exhibition is the culmination of a multi-year, multi-part project that was instigated in 2007 by the work of Amy Trout, Connecticut River Museum, and draws upon the archives and data base of Works Progress Administration artists at the Connecticut State Library. It is supported by the Connecticut Humanities Council and Connecticut Community Foundation.
TGI Third Thursday is a great way to meet up with friends, network with business associates and enjoy live music. To purchase tickets in advance, call Cathy Filippone at (203) 753-0381 ext 10 or go to the website, www.mattatuckmuseum.org, for more information and to register online. Admission is $7 for museum-members, and $15 for non-members. Join the museum or renew your membership on TGI Third Thursday and get in free! This program is generously supported by the Connecticut Humanities Council.
Visit www.MattatuckMuseum.org or call (203) 753-0381 for more information on all of the museum’s adult and children’s programs, events and exhibits. The Mattatuck Museum is operated with support from the Department of Economic and Community Development/Connecticut Office of the Arts, and is a member of the Connecticut Art Trail, a group of sixteen world-class museums and historic sites (www.arttrail.org). Located at 144 West Main Street, Waterbury, the museum is open Tuesday through Saturday 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., and Sunday noon to 5 p.m. Free parking is located behind the building on Park Place.