Heckscher Museum Celebrates “First Friday” With a Song

Last night Heckscher Museum continued it's "First Friday" musical series with a smooth, contemporary fusion of jazz, classical and Brazilian music to the delight of many.

The musical performance featured jazz guitarist Tony Romano and flutist Michel Gentile. The duo performed many of their own compositions with a few of their selections off their 2007 "Flesh & Steel" CD. Both men have been playing their chosen instruments for over 30 years and have played with such artists as Stanley Jordan, Dave Valentine and Randy Brecker.

"Music is such an expressive medium and we've been playing so long together, we don't need to each take a turn-we can be familiar with each other," Gentile said. For Romano, the choice to play classical guitar was basically inherited. "Everyone in my house played classical guitar; my mom, my sisters. So I stopped playing the trumpet and started to play the guitar," he said.

Many guests personally thanked the duo for the eclectic evening ofmusic after the performance including first time attendee Josephine Buttacy of West Babylon. "The music was so professional. Jazz on the flute-I love it!" she said.

The duo performed for an hour in front of a seated audience while some listened while mingling through the museum's current exhibits: Arcadia/Suburbia: Architecture on Long Island, 1930-2010 (until Apr. 11); Couples: The Art of Attraction (until Apr. 4) and Five Centuries of Art: Selections from the Permanent Collection (ongoing). The museum's Coordinator of Public Programs, Michelle LaPorte, said musicians enjoy bringing music to the museum. "Most of the musicians who play here come to us by word of mouth," she said.

If you are not familiar with "First Friday" at Heckscher, the museum extends its hours until 8:30pm with a musical performance scheduled at 7pm for one hour. Next month the museum will not host the "First Friday" since it is on Good Friday. But that does not mean there will not be any music to enjoy at the museum in the month of April. On Saturday, Apr. 17, international virtuoso guitarist Carlos-Barbosa-Lima will be performing at 7pm after giving a master class from 3pm-5pm, as part of the Gallery Recital Series. That event is made possible by a grant from the D'Addario Music Foundation with support from D'Addario and Company, Inc.

Art and music is not all that is offered thru Heckscher. On Saturday, Mar. 13, the Museum collaborates with the Cinema Arts Centre to to bring both movies and art together by holding a Brunch and Film at the Cinema starting at 10am followed by a Museum Tour at 12:30pm.

If you would like to learn more about last night's musical performers, please visit their website: gentileromano.com. For more information on all of the events at the Heckscher Museum, please call 631-351-3250 or visit their website.