Poetry and music at the Priestly Chapel

The ninth season of the First Sunday Program of Words and Music at Priestley Chapel is underway at the Joseph Priestley Memorial Chapel, 380 Front Street, Northumberland (about half an hour from Bloomsburg).

Programs begin at 9:30 am and conclude at 10:10 am. Each program includes a poem from a Pulitzer winning book of poetry, music and a guest poet. Programs for the spring include:

• On Sunday, April 5, Hope W. Kopf will perform selections on the historic John Wind organ and chapel piano. Guest poet for the program is Raymond Cummings. Originally from Baltimore Raymond Cummings is the author of several books of poetry and commentary, including Crucial Sprawl, Assembling The Lord, and Class Notes; his newest book of poetry, Vigilante FLUXUS, has just been released. His writing has appeared in the Village Voice, MAGNET, and the Baltimore City Paper, among other publications. He lives and works in Lewisburg, Pennsylvania and is a regular participant at the Poetry under Paintings at Faustina’s Gallery in Lewisburg.

• On Sunday, May 3 David Levengood will perform piano selections. David is a student of Professor Barry Hannigan at Bucknell University. Guest Poet is Steve Olofson. Originally from Buffalo, NY Olofson now lives in Sunbury and works as an educator and trainer in the Geisinger Medical System. Last fall he published a digital book of holiday poems, Thoughts and Observations on the Holidays.

• On Sunday, June 7, guest musicians are Bill Calhoun on piano and vocals and Erik Wynters on guitar performing original songs and songs from the repertoire of the band, “The Derivatives”, based on humorous mathematics themes, such as being “touched by a tangent”. Both Calhoun and Wynters are professors in the math department at Bloomsburg University. The program features the poetry of Sharlene Gilman. Beginning while in high school she has published poems in many journals. Currently she is a frequent reader at the Poetry Under Paintings program held in Faustina’s Gallery in Lewisburg on the second Thursday of each month. Gilman is a Professor at Bloomsburg University. 

Priestley Chapel Associates is a secular, non-profit 501 (c) 3 corporation established in 1977 to care for and manage the Joseph Priestley Memorial Chapel, the beautiful memorial garden and the historic 1811 John Wind organ located in the chapel. This lovely country chapel was built in 1834 by descendants of Joseph Priestley and members of the Unitarian congregation in Northumberland. Currently, the chapel is open to the public the first Sunday of each month for a program of words and music. The chapel is also used for wedding ceremonies, memorial services, and community events. For more information call 570-473-1688 or visit: www.priestleychapel.org.