Join us on Sunday, March 9th, at 3:00 pm for Global Fusion and the Future of Jazz, the fourth and final session of the multipart concert/lecture series, The History and Evolution of Jazz in the 20th Century Through Performance hosted by Eric DiVito.  This session will focus on jazz as it was influenced by the diverse musical styles, characteristics and cultures throughout the world and what the future of jazz might look and sound like.

*This project is made possible with funds from Arts Alive, a regrant program of ArtsWestchester with support from the Office of the Governor, the New York State Legislator, and the New York State Council on the Arts.

Eric DiVito

New York area guitarist, composer and educator Eric DiVito has been performing throughout the greater NY area since 2003.  Either as a soloist or leading his own groups, he has performed at many of NYC’s renowned jazz clubs and live music venues as well as performances and festivals both domestic and abroad.  DiVito has recorded two studio jazz albums, Breaking the Ice (PJC Records, 2012) and The Second Time Around (PJC Records, 2013) and one solo classical guitar album, Soothing Classical Guitar Music (Inner Splendor Media, 2016).  He has also worked as a guitarist for Carnival Cruise Lines and the Bateaux NY.

As an educator, Mr. DiVito has taught classroom and instrumental music in the NYC public schools and Westchester public school districts since 2006.  He teaches as an adjunct lecturer of music at Dominican University in Orangeburg as well in his private guitar studio both in person and remotely.

DiVito is an Eastman guitar artist and has been published several times in Downbeat Magazine, RAE Magazine, PlayJazzGuitar.com and more.

He resides with his wife and three children in Pearl River, New York.

Join us on Sunday, March 2nd, from 3:00 – 5:00 pm for an opening reception for our Art Show of the Month- Julia Bertussi: That’s the Dream.  All are welcome!  The exhibition will be on display throughout the month.  

Julia Bertussi is an artist from Pearl River, New York. She is currently working as the Director of Education at One River School of Art and Design in Hartsdale. She graduated from Ithaca College in 2022 with a Bachelor of Arts in art education. Although she is passionate about art education in her daily life, Julia’s attachment to abstract art is undeniable. She specializes in oil painting and mixed media work, specifically focusing on soft pastels and ink combined in one piece. Her work tends to focus on an exploration of liminality and disturbed synchronicity, while also portraying psychological themes, personal narratives, and societal critiques. These themes emerge in colorful abstractions, specific linework, and representations of the human figure. She subconsciously, but consistently, explores the contradictory nature of everyday experiences through depictions of abstracted normalcy.

That’s The Dream describes the contradictory coexistence of organic, beautiful, peaceful nature within the restrictions of normal life. Nature all around us, as well as our own natural instincts, are disrupted by the rules and regulations of being a functioning, effective individual in our society. As we each navigate our daily lives, we recognize more and more how difficult it is to be career motivated and in tune with our natural instincts simultaneously. Just as the coexistence of nature and normalcy are contradictory, so is the concept of completeness in art. In each artwork, as I explore this contradiction, I also explore and combat the nature of completeness. Everything natural and unnatural is in progress, and the coexistence of nature and normalcy–that’s the dream.