Press

A free jazz concert and Earth Day celebration are among the many activities planned at the New York State Museum during school-break week April 18-25th.

The New York State Museum, in partnership with the Albany Musicians' Association 14, AFM and the Recording Industries Music Performance Fund (MPF) will celebrate the Great American Music called Jazz with a concert featuring the Nate Phipps Quartet on Wednesday, April 20th from 2 to 3:30 p.m. Nate Phipps, a jazz pianist originally from Newark, N.J., will be joined by local drummer Joe Sorrentino, Peter Toigo on bass and Paul Couch on flute, clarinet and saxophone.

Phipps has spent most of his professional career playing in New York City and New Jersey. He has led several jazz groups that featured performers who went on to become jazz celebrities including Wayne Shorter, Chris White, Woody Shaw and others. He has also played as a sideman in groups led by jazz greats such as George Benson, Booker Irving and Rahassan Roland Kirk.

Earth Day activities will be featured Friday, April 22nd from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Visitors will be able to see Smokey the Bear, an earth friendly Eco Car and see plants, bugs and other wildlife specimens. There also will be various educational programs, demonstrations and hands-on activities presented by scientists and educators from the New York State Museum, Junior Museum of Troy, the state Department of Environmental Conservation, Hudson River Estuary Program, Cornell Cooperative Extension and Saratoga and Thacher State Parks. A complete schedule and map can be picked up at the main desk in the Museum lobby.

As part of the Museum's Spring 2005 Film Series there will be a film Wednesday at noon in the Museum Theater on Jasper Johns, an artist whose work is featured in Extra-Ordinary: The Everyday Object in American Art, Selections from the Whitney Museum of American Art in the Museum's West Gallery.

There also will be arts and crafts activities from 1 to 3 p.m. Monday through Thursday. Scheduled are:

· April 18 - "Stained Glass Flowers" and "Something Fishy is Going On!"

· April 19 - "Make Your Own Nine Spotted Lady Bug" and "Bee Buzz"

· April 20 -- "Something Fishy is Going On!"

· April 21 - "Egg Carton Tulips" and "Spring Flowers"

Throughout the week there also will be Scavenger Hunts and Exploration Stations, as well as rides on the
Museum's historic carousel. Discovery Place also offers hands-on learning from 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. every day.

The State Museum is a cultural program of the New York State Department of Education. Started in 1836, the museum has the nation's longest continuously operating state natural history research and collection survey. The museum is located on Madison Avenue in Albany. Further information is available by calling 474-5877 or visiting the museum website at www.nysm.nysed.gov.

The New York State Museum is located on Madison Avenue in Albany. It is open 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. seven days a week throughout the year except on Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year's Day. Further information about programs and events can be obtained by calling (518) 474-5877 or visiting the museum website at www.nysm.nysed.gov.