Former Public Defender Uses Her Experience to Inspire a Novel
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Local author Reyna Marder Gentin has just published her third book, Both are True, and will speak at the Scarsdale Library on Thursday night March 10 at 7:30 pm. Register here:
Gentin is a lawyer who left her practice as a criminal appellate attorney in the public defender’s office in 2014 and decided to try something new. She enrolled in a writing class at The Writing Institute at Sarah Lawrence College and used her work as a public defender to inspire her work. She published her first novel, Unreasonable Doubts, followed by My Name Is Layla. Now with Both Are True, Reyna has returned to women’s fiction, the law, and New York City.
About her life in town Gentin says, “My husband and I moved here 25 years ago, when we were expecting our first child. One of our favorite parts about living here is the small-town feel of our neighborhood. Across from our house is a small pond situated on a grassy green, and I love when the weather warms up and the ducks return. Our children looked forward every year to the annual picnic in the spring, where the streets are closed off and a neighbor leads the kids in relay races, a tug of war, and an egg toss. One year there was a thunderstorm right in the middle of the picnic, and we sheltered the neighbors on our front porch until the rain passed. Now that the kids are grown and living on their own, we all look back so fondly on the time we’ve spent together here.”
We asked Gentin if we could share a preview of Both Are True with our readers and here is what she shared. Explaining the story she said:
Judge Jackie Martin's job is to impose order on the most chaotic families in New York City. So how is she blindsided when the man she loves walks out on her?
Jackie Martin is a woman whose intelligence and ambition have earned her a coveted position as a judge on the Manhattan Family Court-and left her lonely at age 39. When she meets Lou Greenberg, Jackie thinks she's finally found someone who will accept her exactly as she is. But when Lou's own issues, including an unresolved yearning for his ex-wife, make him bolt without explanation, Jackie must finally put herself under the same microscope as the people she judges. When their worlds collide in Jackie's courtroom, she learns that sometimes love's greatest gift is opening you up to love others.
In this scene, we see Jackie on the bench as she presides over a case where a mother is charged with neglecting her children.
Here is an excerpt from the book:
“What’s on tap, Angela?” Jackie perused the docket sheet, but she was never good with names. The list was a long litany of abandonment, abuse, domestic violence, drugs, neglect, juvenile delinquency. Only once in a while did Jackie preside over something happy, an adoption or a family reunification. In the short time she’d been in the job, she’d come to recognize that although she did her best to discern the underlying dynamics of each situation, to be decisive and fair, much of the time she had little idea what was really going on. And even less ability to fix the problems. It was a state of affairs that would make any control freak’s skin crawl.
“All continued hearings on cases you’ve already seen,” Angela said. “Only one new matter, Clark. A neglect. Here’s the petition.” She pulled it up on Jackie’s monitor.
The charges named only the mother, Darlene Clark. The fathers were often missing in action, as though these troubled families had sprung from a vast maternal pool without any male input. Jackie had calculated the percentage of her docket that involved single moms and it was staggering, although the cause and effect wasn’t clear. Were the children neglected or turning to crime because they had no male role models, or did the fathers abandon ship when the situation at home became unsalvageable? Either way, the mothers were often left holding the diaper bag.
This mom, Darlene Clark, was accused of neglecting her two daughters, ages seven and five. According to the Department of Social Services, Clark had failed to ensure the girls’ attendance at school, not taken them for routine medical care and inoculations, and not fed them sufficiently. The allegations were serious but didn’t rise, yet, to the level of abuse. Maybe with intensive court-ordered support and education, Ms. Clark could turn this around. Jackie hoped so.
She disposed of the first few cases quickly. When her chief court officer, Mike, called the Clark case, Jackie looked up from her computer screen. She motioned to Angela, who was immediately by her side.
“What are those kids doing in here?” Most of the children who appeared before Jackie were of the teenage juvenile delinquent variety, boys and girls 14 or 15 years old who would’ve faced real time in a real prison if they’d been a year or two older and prosecuted as adults. Jackie hardly ever saw the children who were the subjects of the neglect or abuse cases. They were either already in protective custody, or, if it was safe for them to remain living at home while the case proceeded, they were waiting in the daycare on the second floor while the mothers appeared in court. There was no reason to drag them here. Yet here they were, two girls carefully dressed for the occasion in matching denim shorts and purple t- shirts. They looked underweight, but not alarmingly so. Jackie watched as Mike gently led them away from their mother and seated them in the back. He handed them each two chocolate kisses from the glass jar Angela kept on her desk.
“Potential in-court removal. Imminent risk of harm,” Angela said, leaning over to speak in Jackie’s ear.
“Excuse me?” Jackie had seen a lot during her brief time on the bench, but this was something new.
“I spoke to the caseworker from Child Protective Services after the petition was filed this morning. She said that when the school nurse called in the neglect, the agency tried to evaluate the children and assess the situation. The caseworker went to the home on three separate occasions. Each time the mother claimed the kids weren’t home and wouldn’t let her in to look for them.”
“So, what are the kids doing here?” Jackie asked.
“Sometimes, instead of involving the police right away when the parent is uncooperative, the caseworker gives the mother a final chance and directs her to bring the children to court. The mother gets scared and usually complies. Depending on what the caseworker finds when she sees the kids, she has the authority to remove them into protective custody. Here, in the courtroom,” Angela said. “You’ll still have to determine if the removal is indicated down the line. This is a temporary, emergency measure.”
“You’re telling me it’s possible that we’re going to ambush this mother and take her children from her right in front of Ms. Lopez from the Judicial Review Panel?” Jackie swallowed hard, willing herself to stay calm.
“Afraid so, Judge.”
“This can’t be happening…”
As she spoke, the caseworker, flanked by two additional court officers who appeared out of nowhere, escorted the Clark children from the courtroom in stunned silence. Darlene Clark, who may not have completely understood the legal ramifications of what was happening, understood enough. She let out an ear-splitting wail, a blaring distress signal emanating from the deepest core of her being.
That keening—so unnatural and otherworldly—sent Jackie back to her parents’ house on Long Island . . .
She’s ten years old and it’s springtime. On top of a bush that abuts the front porch, a robin has built a nest. The eggs are blue. She understands why the color is called robin’s egg blue, because it has an intensity of identity and a purity she’s never seen anywhere else. Before and after school Jackie checks on the nest, watches the mother sitting protectively on the eggs. A couple of weeks pass and miraculously the tiny baby birds hatch. Now both mother and father go back and forth to the nest, sustaining the young with worms. Jackie loves the birds like they are the pets her mother has never allowed.
One afternoon, Jackie is inside playing the piano. Over the sound of her oft-practiced but never perfected Fur Elise, she hears the most piercing, grief-filled sound. That keening. When she races to the window, a hawk is inches from the nest. The mother bird is inconsolable. It’s a sound that Jackie never would have thought the bird capable of making, a howling so profound. Jackie bangs on the window and flails her arms, shouting at the hawk, “Drop the baby bird, drop him!” The hawk flies away, baby bird in its mouth, while the robin’s death knell continues. In another moment, the mother bird quiets and turns back to the nest. Jackie imagines her finding the strength to comfort the babies that are left after a loss that is unfathomable. The father, attentive when times were good, is nowhere to be seen.
And now this woman in her courtroom was making that same sound.
Sign up to hear Gentin on Thursday night March 10 here, or buy the book on Amazon here or or from Bronx River Books.
Hoff-Barthelson’s Celebration of Music from 1750 - 1950
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Hoff-Barthelson Music School’s Spanning the Centuries Music Festival, celebrating music composed between 1750 and 1950, takes place Friday, March 12, 2022, through Saturday, March 19, 2022. The Festival, featuring music of the great Germanic composers – Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven, Schubert and Brahms – as well as masters from other lands, includes student recitals and instrumental and choral ensemble concerts.
Spanning the Centuries is part of the School’s “Festivals in Style” that introduces students to music from specific periods of music. Students enjoy the opportunity for detailed study of period solo and ensemble works and are invited to audition to participate in recitals. Auditions are adjudicated by faculty panels. “Experiencing the audition process is an important learning experience for every music student, thus Spanning the Centuries provides vital opportunities for students at all levels to become acquainted with the rigors of auditioning – a character building experience second to none!” said Executive Director Ken Cole.
On Saturday, March 13, and Sunday, March 14, 2024, at 7:00 pm, student performances will take place at the Community Unitarian Universalist Congregation, 468 Rosedale Avenue, White Plains. Ensembles scheduled to perform include the Festival Orchestra (Jun Nakabayashi, director); Suzuki Strings (Barbara Berg, director); Flute Clubs (Donna Elaine and Joseph Piscitelli, directors); Symphonette and Chamber Orchestra (Robert Schwartz, director); Wind Ensemble (Joseph Piscitelli, director); Beginner Voices (Yuki Hiruma, director); and Junior Voices (Jennifer Tibbetts, director). Admission is $20. HBMS students may attend free of charge.
Reservations are required and can be made by visiting www.hbms.org, e-mailing hb@hbms.org or by calling 914-723-1169.
Student recitals are scheduled at the Music School throughout the Festival. Visit the School website – www.hbms.org – for dates and times. These recitals are free of charge.
(Photo Credit Steven Schnur)
Exhibition of Artwork by Lori Kapner Hosp at the White Plains Library
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Apricots in the SunA collection of original paintings, entitled “Visions of Home Lands”, by local artist and Hearts & Homes for Refugees Board member Lori Kapner Hosp will be on exhibition at the White Plains Library Museum Gallery from April 3 through May 27, 2022.
Proceeds from the sale of paintings will go to Westchester-based Hearts & Homes for Refugees an organization that welcomes, assists and advocates for refugee families in the region.
“My paintings are an homage to the bravery, kindness and exuberance of our new neighbors who bring so much to our communities. Each piece in the ‘Visions of Home Lands’ collection offers a narrative about the people, traditions or culture of the country it represents, and celebrates the beauty and richness of the worlds from which many of us come”, Hosp explains.
More information about Hosp and her artwork is available at www.LoriKapnerHosp.com.
Hosp began painting for personal enjoyment but in recent years undertook new works with a specific purpose: to assist refugees and asylees in our communities to become self-sufficient in their new homeland. Both the refugee families and the dedicated volunteers whom she has met, through her work as a volunteer and Board member of Hearts & Homes for Refugees, inspired and informed this work.
Hopeful
An opening reception will be held on Sunday April 3, from 1:00 to 4:00 pm. The reception and exhibit are free and open to the public.
Hosp’s style is a mix of traditional and contemporary to reflect the subject of each piece and its place of origin: Malaysian wau bulan kites, Vietnamese basket boats, Senegalese pirogues, Iranian salt mountains, portraits of people from Afghanistan, Peru, Japan, Iraq, Jamaica…and more.
“We are absolutely blown away by Lori’s generosity and talent as seen in these beautiful works of art that celebrate the countries and cultures our new neighbors so bravely left behind to rebuild their lives,” said Kathie O’Callaghan, Founder and President of Hearts & Homes for Refugees. “As we resettle refugee families and look once again toward a more welcoming tone in our country, we are thrilled to give people the opportunity to support our work in this unique way.”
Hosp’s previous series entitled “Glimpses of the Places They Called Home” was the focus of a successful online auction in 2020 to raise funds for refugees in our region who were hard hit by the pandemic. Her art has been included in exhibitions at Pelham Art Center in Pelham, NY and in the Beaux Arts Exhibition in Dobbs Ferry, NY.
Hatted Peruvian Boy
In addition to her involvement in Hearts & Homes, Hosp is a member of the Board of Trustees for Scarsdale Synagogue in Scarsdale, NY and has served as a member of the Board of Directors of New York Women In Communications, Inc. (NYWICI) and as Co-Chair of Development for the organization’s prestigious Matrix Awards.
Hosp is a 25-year communications industry veteran with expertise in global brand strategy and business development. Throughout her career she worked for several international branding consultancies including her own firm. A native of Great Neck, Hosp lives in Scarsdale with her family.
Malaysian Melange
Hosp credits her sculptor mother's encouragement and love for art as the impetus behind all that she has created. She thanks her husband Walter for his generous spirit and support of all her endeavors; her children for their love, enthusiasm and creative insights; and artist/teacher Eleanor Grace Miller for her inspiration and guidance.
Hoff Barthelson Faculty Concert Friday February 18 at 7:30 pm
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The 2021-2022 Hoff-Barthelson Music School HB Artist Faculty Performance Series continues Friday, February 18, 2022, at 7:30 pm in the School’s Joan Behrens Bergman Auditorium, 25 School Lane, Scarsdale, New York.
The concert will feature performances of Manuel Infante’s exciting Danses Andalouses and Moisés Simons’ El Manisero for two pianos; solo works for guitar by Dušan Bogdanović, Fernando Sor and Carlos Rivera, and will conclude with Samuel Barber’s delightful Souvenirs Suite for Two Pianos.
Faculty performers are pianists Eleonora Rotshteyn and Vered Reznik, and guitarist Andrew Marino. Joining the faculty is guest artist Elke Velazquez, piano.
Admission
Admission to the concert is $20 general admission and is free of charge to students under 18 and adult HBMS students. Tickets may be purchased in advance at Eventbrite at https://bit.ly/3r4rSFL, by visiting the School’s website (www.hbms.org), bcalling 914-723-1169, or e-mailing hb@hbms.org.
Important Notice regarding COVID-19
Seating is limited to 60 individuals. Please note the following health and safety requirements: Masks are always required in HBMS facilities. All guests must provide proof of vaccination. Students between the ages of 5 and 11 must have received at least one dose of their vaccination in order to attend. No one under age 5 admitted.
About the HB Artist Faculty Concert Series
Hoff-Barthelson faculty comprises some of the nation’s most distinguished performers and educators. Many hold chairs in prominent New York orchestras, are members of world-class chamber ensembles, perform in major Broadway productions, and are in international demand as solo artists. Others teach at leading conservatories including The Juilliard School, Manhattan School of Music, and Mannes College of Music. “Hoff-Barthelson prides itself on providing access to these outstanding artist-educators in the heart of Westchester,” says HBMS Executive Director Ken Cole. “Our superb faculty has contributed to the Music School’s national recognition for unsurpassed leadership in music education, performance and community service. Hoff-Barthelson is proud to present these distinguished performers on our annual Faculty Concert Series.” Held in Scarsdale, these concerts guarantee riveting music making of the highest caliber, in an intimate setting, at prices far below those in New York’s major concert halls.
About the Faculty Artists
Pianist Vered Reznik has performed throughout Europe, Israel and the U.S. in solo and chamber music recitals. She was a founding member of the Amber Trio which debuted at Vienna’s Konzerthaus and took the first prize at the 1994 Jeunesses Musicale international competition. Her festival appearances have included Bayreuth, Janacek, Abu Ghosh, and the Israel Festival. In 2012, she gave a debut performance at the Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall.
Ms. Reznik is a graduate of the New England Conservatory and the Rubin Academy of Music in Jerusalem. She has studied chamber music at the Musikhochschule in Vienna with the Alban Berg Quartet and currently studies with Sophia Rosoff in New York City.
Pianist and composer Eleonora Rotshteyn is a winner of the National Young Pianist Competition, the World Piano Competition, and Leschetizky Society competition. She has made piano appearances in Russia and the US in various venues, some of which include Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall and New York’s and New Jersey’s Steinway Halls. Ms. Rotshteyn’s works have been commissioned and performed by the Mannes Orchestra and numerous other chamber ensembles. Ms. Rotshteyn holds two degrees in both Piano Performance and Composition from Mannes College of Music, as well as a degree in Music Education from Queens College, CUNY.
Guitarist Andrew Marino holds the degree of Doctor of Musical Arts in Guitar Performance from the Peabody Institute of the Johns Hopkins University where he studied with renowned guitarist and pedagogue Julian Gray and taught the Guitar Methods course. Andrew has performed extensively throughout the East Coast and beyond and won prizes in State University’s GuitarFest Competition, SUNY Potsdam’s Chamber Music Competition, and the Philadelphia Classical Guitar Competition. Chamber music performances include the Sowebo Music and Arts Festival and the H.L. Mencken House in Baltimore, the International Day of Latin and Iberian Art Song, and the Classical Guitar Society of Upstate New York.
For complete faculty artist biographies visit https://hbms.org/faculty/
About Hoff-Barthelson Music School
Hoff-Barthelson Music School has achieved national recognition as a premier community music school for its unsurpassed leadership in education, performance, and community service. With a faculty drawn from the region’s most talented teachers and performers, Hoff-Barthelson has long been one of Westchester County’s most cherished cultural resources. At Hoff-Barthelson, students find a warm, friendly music school dedicated to the highest standards of education, performance, and community service. Students of all ages, aptitudes, and levels of interest enjoy a supportive, joyful learning environment; a focus on the whole person; exceptional teaching; and a multifaceted curriculum.
Hoff-Barthelson Music School is proud to be a grantee of ArtsWestchester with funding made possible by Westchester County government with the support of County Executive George Latimer. Programs are made possible, in part, with support from the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Kathy Hochul and the New York State Legislature.
Photo credits: HBMS Faculty members guitarist Andrew Marino. Photos provided by the artist
Orchestra Online: The Challenge of Teaching Music Virtually at SHS
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Though it’s nearly two years since Scarsdale High School was initial closed down due to COVID-19, the ramifications of the virus are still shaking the school. With a recent spike of the Omicron variant in New York, many students have had to quarantine or isolate and miss valuable days of school. Students are now able to Zoom into class like they were able to last school year.
Nonetheless, learning online, whether it be for one student or the entire school system, has its drawbacks. Most teachers developed effective virtual learning techniques through 2020 and the first half of 2021. Math teachers displayed cameras on whiteboards or pieces of paper and taught similarly to how they would if the students were in class. English teachers photocopied documents and allowed more time for online submissions for writing assignments to stay on pace with the curriculum. Spanish, history, and science teachers (like most teachers) used Google Classroom to send work and keep students up to speed. However, one class is nearly impossible to replicate virtually.
“The challenges are innumerous,” explained Amedee Williams, the orchestra director/teacher at Scarsdale High School when describing the learning-via-Zoom experience, “because we can’t play together.”
Of course, having orchestra classes via Zoom is better than having to cancel orchestra altogether. The orchestra indeed met virtually while all other classes were also virtual, and the Zoom option was still available during the 2020/21 school year for kids who did not return to in-person learning. In some scenarios, Zoom can be a positive for the orchestra, but for the most part, it is a drawback. “Zoom works one on one quite well,” Williams claimed, “but when you get to be 30, 40, or 50, it’s bad news.”
Williams continued, “Being able to hear each other well is also a challenge. Even when someone is playing by themselves, it gets cut off and you can’t really hear. And for an orchestra class, there are so many students that managing everybody in a group is a challenge.”
When asked about whether there are effective adjustments that could be made if an all-virtual schedule had to be returned to, Williams admitted, “There’s not much we can do in terms of change. Cornell and Yale, for their orchestra classes, they changed from playing music to music history when virtual. But, for a class of our size and what our class is meant to be, that is far from optimal.”
For now, the hope is that school will remain open and that orchestra class can carry on as usual. The first-semester concert was a success, and the hope is the second-semester concert will build on that progress. The planned orchestra February trip had to be postponed for a second consecutive year, though 2023 will ideally be the year to put the orchestra’s traveling plans back on track.
Some music is better than no music at all, but there is no question that virtual learning for an orchestra class can be detrimental to an individual – and group’s – progression as musicians. Individual talent can be improved upon, though improving as a cohesive musical unit is impossible when one violinist is three miles away from their stand partner.
