Ekphrastic Poetry and Music: Connecting to Rivers

Join us for a special performance featuring flutist Adam Ray and word artists Marcus John and Ann van Buren, who will explore the themes in Rivers Flow / Artists Connect and map their response to the art with original music and words. Coming from diverse backgrounds and life experiences but with roots in the Hudson Valley, they will embody the metaphor of the river as a pathway for unity in their performance with audience participation. Recommended for all ages.

Ann van Buren is a poet, writer, and educator from the Hudson Valley. Her poems, reviews, and interviews have been published by The Columbia Review, The Rumpus, Crack the Spine, The Westchester Review, and the Katonah Poetry Series. Ann has taught at various colleges and high schools in the US and abroad. Since 2007 she’s led ekphrastic poetry writing workshops for the Greenburgh Library and at nature centers along the East Coast.

Marcus C. John is a poet and musician born and raised in Yonkers of Grenadian descent. Marcus has been writing since the age of 8. In 2019, he released his first solo work titled The Book of John: Poem, Rhymes, and Songs by Marcus C. John. In 2020, he was featured on PBS as a reader for the Dr. King birthday tribute. A former HRM Teaching Artist-in-Residence (Spring 2015), Marcus currently tours with his book and serves as a board member for Yonkers Arts.

Adam Ray, Yonkers flutist and HRM Junior Docent alumnus, has distinguished himself as a talented musician with extended technique, great versatility, and insight. Currently, Adam is the Flute/Piccolo player for The Yonkers Philharmonic Orchestra, and Principal Flutist of the Lehman College Symphony Orchestra and The Bardekova Ensemble.

Support provided by Art Bridges.