THIS SHOW HAS BEEN CANCELLED.

Music at CUUC presents its annual Jazz Fest concert to be held at Community Unitarian Universalist Congregation at White Plains (“CUUC”) on Saturday, September 23, 2023, at 8:00 pm.

The program will feature the legendary Jazz pianist Valerie Capers and her ensemble, bassist John Robinson and percussionist Doug Richardson, in an evening of Jazz standards transformed by Dr. Caper’s inimitable touch and style.  We invite music lovers of all ages to experience this one-of-a-kind artist in the acoustically resplendent architectural wonder of CUUC. 

Suggested donation is $20 per person; $10 for seniors and students; and $5 for children, and can be made at the door.  For directions and more information, or to donate online, visit cucwp.org/concert-series.

About Jazz Pianist Valerie Capers

Dr. Valerie Capers was born in the Bronx and received her early schooling at the New York Institute for the Education of the Blind.  She went on to obtain both her bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the Juilliard School of Music.  She served on the faculty of the Manhattan School of Music, and from 1987 to 1995 was chair of the Department of Music and Art at Bronx Community College of the City University of New York (CUNY), where she is now professor emeritus.

Three of Dr. Capers’ most noted extended compositions are Sing About Love, the critically acclaimed Christmas cantata produced by George Wein at Carnegie Hall; Sojourner, an “operatorio” based on the life of Sojourner Truth, performed and staged by the Opera Ebony Company of New York; and Song of the Seasons, a song cycle for voice, piano, and cello (which has been recorded several times), which was both commissioned by the Smithsonian Institute and premiered in Washington, DC, at the invitation of the Smithsonian, and was performed at Weill Recital Hall in New York City. 

Dr. Capers has recorded five albums: Portrait of Soul (Atlantic, 1966), Affirmation (KMA Arts, 1982), Come On Home (Columbia/Sony, 1995), Wagner Takes the “A” Train (Elysium, 1999), and her most recent, Limited Edition (VALCAP Records, 2001).  Her book of intermediate-level piano pieces, Portraits in Jazz, was published by Oxford University Press (OUP) in 2000.  OUP has also published an arrangement by Dr. Capers of the English carol, “It Came Upon the Midnight Clear” for mixed chorus a cappella.

She has performed with a roster of outstanding artists, including Dizzy Gillespie, Wynton Marsalis, Ray Brown, Mongo Santamaria, Tito Puente, Slide Hampton, Max Roach, James Moody, Paquito D’Rivera, and Jerry Weldon, among others.

For more information visit valcapmusic.wordpress.com

Musical Programming

The Music at CUUC concert series, in its 21st year, brings some of the finest performing artists in classical music, Jazz, choral repertory, and song to Westchester County.  In addition to our Jazz Fest concert, there are three more concerts scheduled through next spring.  Our next performance, Sunday November 12 at 12:30 pm, will feature pianist Adam Kent in a concert of Spanish music, honoring the famous Spanish pianist Alicia de Larrocha at 100!  CUUC’s Sunday morning worship programming regularly includes solo piano and choral music by composers of varied racial, religious, and national backgrounds, and compositions from popular and classical traditions.  We frequently enrich our services with chamber works, Jazz, and world music from guest performers.

About Community Unitarian Universalist Congregation at White Plains

Community Unitarian Universalist Congregation at White Plains (CUUC) is a liberal religious faith community founded in 1909. Our mission is to nurture each other in our spiritual journeys, foster compassion and understanding within and beyond our community, and engage in service to transform ourselves and our world.  We are a UUA “Welcoming Congregation” committed to affirming and purposefully including all regardless of age, race, ethnicity, national origin, disability, gender, gender identity or expression, and sexual or affectional orientation.  For more information, visit cucwp,org.