Tag Archives: Grunin Center

Get To Know Us!

Get To Know

Get to know us…

In 2014, The Jay & Linda Grunin Foundation announced a $5.75 million donation to Ocean County College to establish The Jay & Linda Grunin Center for the Arts on the College’s Main Campus in Toms River.

So who are Jay and Linda Grunin, and why did they want to start an arts center here?

Jay and Linda met and fell in love as two promising law students at NYU in the sixties. They established a thriving law practice right here in Toms River, NJ, and decades later chose to pursue one of their lifelong passions: philanthropy. Thus their foundation was born.

The Jay & Linda Grunin Foundation is a family-run philanthropic fund with three distinct areas of focus: healthcare, education, and the arts. As long time residents of the Jersey Shore, Jay and Linda knew it was the natural destination for their philanthropic endeavors. Their desire is to make Toms River “the regional template for quality of life and strong economic health.” To that end, the main campus at Ocean County College was considered the perfect location for the arts center, due to its centrality and significance within the Ocean County community.

A Cultural Hub is Born

The center is built on the belief that a thriving arts culture is vital for community involvement and economic opportunity. It includes a 464 seat theatre, as well as an additional 90 seat black-box theatre, and is home to a variety of inspiring and entertaining performances and lectures season after season. In 2017 it was announced that a 53,000 square foot performing arts high school would be built adjacent to the theatre on the Ocean County College campus administered by the Ocean County Vocational Technical School system. The performing arts high school is expected to open in 2019 and is poised to become one of the best performing arts academies in the country, where students can earn associates degrees alongside their diplomas.

There are so many ways that we at the Grunin Center work to keep the arts alive and thriving at the Jersey Shore. Here are just a few of the highlights of our 2017-2018 season:

  • The world renowned Vienna Boys Choir
  • An Evening with Todd Frazier, Major League Baseball player and hometown hero
  • Chrissy Metz, Golden Globe and Emmy-nominated star of critically acclaimed This Is Us
  • Two-time Grammy winner Rickie Lee Jones

We are also pleased to provide quality programming through our “Schools ‘n Stage” initiative, geared specifically toward providing educational and engaging experiences for local students, and we are proud supporters and hosts to both the Ocean County and New Jersey Teen Arts Festivals. At The Jay and Linda Grunin Center for the Arts, we are committed to nurturing a love of arts and entertainment not only in our own generation but in those to come.

We hope you feel as though you can get to know “us,” and in future posts will be sharing even more about our staff, outreach programs, venue, and more!

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COUNT BASIE THEATRE, GRUNIN CENTER FOR THE ARTS ANNOUNCE AREA TEENS TAPPED FOR PERFORMANCES OF BRUNDIBÀR AND FRIEDL

Performances set for the weekend of August 19th in Red Bank and Toms River; cast culled from Basie Performing Arts Academy camp with famed Los Angeles Opera director Eli Villanueva and musical director Jason Tramm.

(RED BANK, NJ | JULY 12, 2017) The Count Basie Theatre Performing Arts Academy has revealed the names of cast members studying under Los Angeles Opera director Eli Villanueva for a pair of performances in collaboration with the Jay and Linda Grunin Center for the Arts at Ocean County College.

The students, part of a two-week intensive headed by Villanueva, will perform Brundibár and Friedl, a pair of dramatic presentations set in Germany’s Theredienstadt concentration camp during World War II. Villanueva will be joined by musical director Jason Tramm, an assistant professor and director of choral activities at Seton Hall University.

Tickets for the Count Basie Theatre performance at 8PM on Saturday, Aug. 19 and the Grunin Center performance at 2PM on Sunday, Aug. 20 are on sale now by clicking through or visiting the venue box offices. All tickets are priced at $20.

Brundibár and Friedl tell important stories of a part our history that we cannot forget or allow to happen again,” said Adam Philipson, President and CEO, Count Basie Theatre. “The stories demonstrate how even under the direst of circumstances, the arts can be transformative.”

“I believe that our performances, made up of some of the most talented young vocalists in Monmouth, Middlesex and Ocean counties, will convey the important messages of the need to overcome injustice and forge a path of tolerance and mutual understanding.”

The following young vocalists have been named to the Brundibár and Friedl casts:

Brundibár: Lauryn Boyle (Wall, chorus); Lev Brewer (Tinton Falls, chorus); Catherine Creed (Highlands, chorus); Cakie Dym (Rumson, chorus); Frances Forte (Rumson, ‘Little Joe’); Amir Kamal (East Brunswick, chorus); Jack Kelly (Toms River, chorus); Olivia Lee (Manahawkin, chorus); Isabella Lee (Manahawkin, chorus); Lydia Lu (Red Bank, chorus); Olivia Marino (Toms River, chorus); Regina Messenger (Toms River, chorus); Isabella Moitoso (Holmdel, chorus); Alejandra Morales (Bayville, ‘Milkman’); Amanda Philipson (Little Silver, ‘Bird’); Andreas Psillos (Toms River, ‘Policeman’) Camille Pugliese (Red Bank, ‘Ice Cream Vendor’); Abigail Pukin (Holmdel, ‘Annette’); Sofia Ranucci (Interlaken, ‘Baker’); Francesca Ranucci (Interlaken, chorus); Nevaeh Sickles (Ocean, chorus); Mia Spallina (Manahawkin, chorus); Grace Sweeney (West Long Branch, chorus); Claire Taylor (Ocean, ‘Dog’); Ria Kiafoulis (Middletown, chorus); Alexandra Pennington (Middletown, chorus); Skylar Yannello (Holmdel, ‘Cat’); Nick DiBlasi (Holmdel, chorus); Trinitee Smith (Red Bank, chorus); Eli Fisch (Elberon, chorus); Alicia Henderson (Manalapan, chorus); Amaya Love (Lakewood, chorus); Nevaeh Love (Lakewood; chorus)

Friedl: Lauryn Boyle (Wall, chorus); Lev Brewer (Tinton Falls, ‘Jerry Rind’); Catherine Creed (Highlands, ‘Tella’); Frances Forte (Rumson, chorus); Amir Kamal (East Brunswick, ‘Josef Novak’); Jack Kelly (Toms River, ‘Ivo Keo Kaytz’); Olivia Lee (Manahawkin, chorus); Isabella Lee (Manahawkin, chorus); Lydia Lu (Red Bank, ‘Ruth’); Olivia Marino (Toms River, ‘Ela’) Isabella Moitoso (Holmdel, chorus); Amanda Philipson (Little Silver, ‘Anita’); Andreas Psillos (Toms River, ‘Peter Ginz’); Camille Pugliese (Red Bank, chorus) Abigail Pukin (Holmdel, ‘Helga’); Sofia Ranucci (Interlaken, ‘Eva’); Nevaeh Sickles (Ocean, ‘Maria’); Mia Spallina (Manahawkin, ‘Flaska’); Claire Taylor (Ocean, ‘Friedl’); Ria Kiafoulis (Middletown, ‘Lilly’); Alexandra Pennington (Middletown, chorus); Skylar Yannello (Holmdel, chorus); Nick DiBlasi (Holmdel, chorus); Trinitee Smith (Red Bank, chorus); Eli Fisch (Elberon, chorus); Alicia Henderson (Manalapan, chorus); Amaya Love (Lakewood; chorus).

Brundibár, by Jewish Czech composer Hans Krása, tells the story of a brother and sister who join forces with a sparrow, a cat and a dog to outwit an evil organ grinder named Brundibár. Brundibár was performed by the children of Theresienstadt concentration camp in occupied Czechoslovakia, and has since been staged around the world to symbolize the plight of people joining forces to fight intolerable situations. “It was performed at the camp 55 times, providing distraction and perhaps a small respite from the misery,” according to the New York Times. “But it was also exploited by the Nazis for propaganda purposes in their attempts to present Theresienstadt as a comfortable environment.”

Friedl tells the story of Theresienstadt prisoner Friedl Dicker-Brandeis, a teacher from Prague who, like all prisoners, were permitted to carry just 50 kilos of personal belongings. While most prisoners understandably chose to pack valuables and personal belongings, Dicker-Brandeis used her allowance to carry art supplies. “Upon arrival in Theresienstadt, children were forcefully separated from their parents and family and sent to live alone in overcrowded children’s houses,” according to the World Holocaust Remembrance Center (www.yadvashem.org), “The starvation, illness and brutality of Theresienstadt, along with lack of stability and structure, put an enormous strain on the coping mechanisms of these children. They desperately needed direction and purpose, and Friedl was there to give them that.”

The Basie’s inaugural opera camp season is sponsored by OceanFirst, and Brundibár is presented by arrangement with Bote & Block Berlin and Boosey & Hawkes, Inc.

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