Annual Christmas Concert remembers Katharine Dunlop

AMENIA — The annual Smithfield Church Christmas Concert and Tea had been the brainchild of Amenia resident Katharine Dunlop, but with her death earlier this year, church members assembled their talents and presented the event on Saturday, Dec. 3, right on schedule.

Every detail had been looked after with the care that Dunlop would have specified. Musicians were gathered by Rob Murphy, concertmaster for The Smithfield Chamber Orchestra. The music was orchestrated for the 12 musicians over many months by Matt Finley of Pine Plains, director of the orchestra. The silver tea services had been polished. The community was invited using written invitations, posters and ads.

Katharine Dunlop had a vision and a sense of community, inviting folks to enjoy the historic Smithfield Church community. For this year’s concert, as before, the church was filled to capacity.

The concert was hosted by the Bang Family Concert Series, thanks to the generosity of Bill and Mary Ann Bang.

Their daughter, Susan Bang, spoke of the lead-up work. “It took a platoon to fill Katharine’s shoes, paired with a wonderful concert. We have honored her memory.”

“Katharine is gone, and this is her legacy,” said orchestra member Denise Jordan Finley during the tea that following the concert.

Speaking of Dunlop, pastor Douglas Grandgeorge recalled that she was invaluable for the church. She had been baptized, confirmed, and married at Smithfield. “Every time she sold a house, she told the new owners about Smithfield Church,” Grandgeorge said.

Local architect Darlene Riemer recalled coming to Amenia with her husband Robert, “Katharine was the first person I met when we came to Amenia looking for a house. We drove by the church and decided we wanted to live on Smithfield Valley Road, as near as possible to the church.” As it turned out, she said, “We do.”

Town board member Leo Blackman described Dunlop as a “village celebrity, larger than life.”

“Let’s have a really fancy tea party with silver tea service,” was Katharine Dunlop’s idea 19 years ago. And so, the church did, and soon added the feature of a concert to go with the tea.

This year’s concert event opened with Richard Machir’s “Child of the Bells,” music director Finley told the audience, “If you don’t like something, wait about a minute, and we’ll be playing something else.”

Finley had spent months orchestrating each of the 11 pieces to be performed, ranging from classical to jazz to Latin jazz to carols, and to what Finley said might have been a first in church, “Jazz Funk.” There was a rousing encore of “Sleigh Ride.”

Organist Nancy Brown recalled that 19 years ago, Dunlop had asked her to play for the first concert and tea, and Brown assumed that she was being asked to play the entire concert. She declined. In ensuing concert years, she came to understand that the request had been only for a single piece, and so relieved, she became one of the annual performers.

A plaque remembering Katharine Dunlop will be installed in coming weeks. The Christmas Concert and Tea will continue as an annual tradition.

The Reverend Douglas Grandgeorge welcomed the audience to the annual Christmas Concert and Tea at the Smithfield Church in Amenia on Saturday, Dec. 3. Photo by Leila Hawken

The Smithfield Chamber Orchestra, directed by Matt Finley, assembled to perform at the annual Christmas Concert and Tea at The Smithfield Church on Saturday, Dec. 3. Photo by Leila Hawken

The Reverend Douglas Grandgeorge welcomed the audience to the annual Christmas Concert and Tea at the Smithfield Church in Amenia on Saturday, Dec. 3. Photo by Leila Hawken

Latest News

Library on the ballot

Libraries have become the heart of many communities, serve to promote the health of the community through a growing number of varied programs and by offering communal space where people come together to work and play. On Nov. 5, three libraries in our region are asking for an increase in funding from voters to enable them to continue with a reliable source of funding — and remain cornerstones of social and intellectual life.

In Millbrook, it has been nine years since the Millbrook Library, which serves the Village of Millbrook and the Town of Washington, sought an increase. The Amenia Free Library is seeking an annual increase from the town to meet a continued demand for more services from those who use the library, not to mention pressure from operating expenses common to all institutions — utilities, salaries and supplies — to name a few. The NorthEast-Millerton Library is seeking a budget increase from taxpayers to secure additional funding that the Town of North East has been providing since 2007.

Keep ReadingShow less
Donors give Stanford $2 million for ambulance; $150,000 for park

The proposed Dot and Ira Burdick Park plan with funding donated by Gayle Bontecou in memory of her late husband Jesse, features among other things a berry patch, beehives, crab apple walk, benches, walkways, a pollinator meadow, split rail fence, a pavilion for field trips and historical society exhibits, a pond with a boardwalk over it, and parking.

Photo provided

STANFORD — When an ambulance arrives in the next three years to save a life in Stanford, it will be doing so largely thanks to the generosity of an anonymous donor who recently gave what Town Supervisor Wendy Burton describes as a “jaw dropping” $2 million to pick up the lion’s share of that service’s annual fee of $750,000.

When families build memories in the soon to be created Dot and Ira Burdick pocket park, named respectively after the former historian and town supervisor, their appreciation should go to Gayle Bontecou for the $150,000 donation she made in memory of her late husband Jesse — one of many they made over the years.

Keep ReadingShow less
Millerton Police receive $220,000 funding increase

MILLERTON — The Millerton Police Department has received $220,000 from New York’s Division of Criminal Justice Services to update infrastructure and aid in supplying officers with uniforms and firearms.

In July, Millerton’s Police Department requested an increase in funding to support the officers on duty.

Keep ReadingShow less