Crossroads on the Road

Invite Crossroads to your next event

Being able to appreciate the most valuable expression of human creativity and freedom is a powerful enhancement of every dimension of life, regardless of any social, cultural, or personal condition. Often, in the wonder that occurs to us in front of a work of art or a great human achievement or discovery, we experience the sense that all of life points to something “beyond”, mysterious and great that, similarly to the vanishing point in a painting, gives perspective, profundity and substance to everything. We may or may not be able to give a name and a face to it. Even so, we cannot deny that when we feel this “beyond”, our humanity is improved.  We believe that the purpose of education is precisely the introduction to reality in its full dimension, so that this “vanishing point” may be recognized. And since one of the Crossroads’ main goal is to offer opportunities, open to everybody, for this education to take place, we have decided to… hit the road and to reach out.

Crossroads, in addition to organizing its own events, is happy to make available to other organizations, entities, cultural centers, schools and parishes, some of its speakers and theirs most enriching and successful presentations in art, music, Church history and theater. These 90-minutes presentations, which have been put together by experts in the various subject matters, can be easily take place at the premises of the requesting organization for a modest fee, are targeted to a non-specialized audience, and only require a minimum of equipment.

Here is a list of available presentations:

 

ART

Presenter: Henry Artis

  1. The Enticement of Things: The Art of René Magritte

    Have you ever looked - really looked - at an apple in a room? A comb on a bed? A pipe? A jockey? Or a man with a bowler hat? And what did you see? Many have looked at these things but few have seen what the Belgium artist René Magritte saw; and luckily for us, he recorded what he saw in paintings of extraordinary beauty. This presentation explores these ideas and images of René Magritte. 

  2. Seduced by Wonder: The Art of the Ordinary

    A glance in a mirror, a woman on a train, a mother and child, a room full of clothes – can these be heralds of Beauty? Few of us allow ourselves to be enticed by the wonder and awe of reality, but some did and they left us a testimony of that experience. This guided reflection looks at art by men and women of various times and places who discovered the extraordinary in the ordinary.

  3. Art and the Longing for God: The History of Art Clarified by the Lens of Faith

    Through guided reflection, participants will be lead to see how works of art from prehistoric art to Modern Art ( Lascaux, Giotto, Fra. Angelico, Raphael, Monet, Van Gogh, Giacometti, Pollack, etc.) express the human longing for God and how this depiction changes in different time periods. 

  4. Caravaggio: Witness of the Victory of Christ

    Throughout his life, the painter Caravaggio was linked with brawls, bordellos, homicides and robbery. Yet, despite his violentlife, very few artists could willingly or unwillingly witness to the truth and beauty of the Catholic Christian Faith. Through guided reflection, participants will be lead to see how Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio is one of the greatest witnesses of the victory of Christ.

  5. The Listening Eye: Seeing St. Paul

    A Presentation of Images of St. Paul with Commentary - Does Saint Paul have something to say to us today or is he simply an interesting figure of the past? Can images of St. Paul, which embody his witness, help us understand the Faith? Can images of Saint Paul tell us something about the exceptionality of Christ? Through guided reflection, participants will be led to see how St. Paul teaches us to give precedence to Christ.

    Download the Information Packet

    Biography:
    Mr. Artis, painter, sculptor and installation artist, is a graduate of the High School of Art and Design and the School of Visual Arts in NYC. He has exhibited his work in various venues, created artworks for various publications, and was the former Director and curator of the Visual Arts Museum at the School of Visual Arts.

    6. Honorarium: $200

    Equipment: Lap top with Power Point program, screen, pc projector, podium and microphone

 

MUSIC

Presenter: Jonathan Fields

  1. Beethoven and the Thirst for Life: An Introduction to the 5th Symphony

    A guided listening tour of Beethoven’s most famous work in which the composer redefines the symphonic form giving voice to the most pressing questions of his life. 

  2. Mozart and the Promise of Mercy: A Guided Listening to the Requiem

    Mozart composed this piece as he was dying and provides us with a deeply personal insight into his musical genius and deeply Catholic soul.

    Biography
    Jonathan Fields, composer, music teacher and lecturer, graduated first in his class from Mannes College of Music. Then, in 1982, joined David Horowitz Music Associates, where he hasbeen the award-winning composer of hundreds of television and radio spots. He has also composed a variety of musical works spanning multiple genres, including film scores, soundtracks for TV series, a mass, hymns and many others. An accomplished guitarist, he has played in several bands including The Michael Gordon Philharmonic, The Glenn Branca Ensemble, The Bay Ridge Band. In recent years he has been a frequent lecturer and musical educator, and the author of several publications aimed at introducing new audiences to the world of classical music, including some of the listener's guide in the Spirto Gentil series.

    3. Honorarium: $200

    Equipment: CD player or audio system that can be connected to an i-pod, podium and microphone

 

Presenter: Christopher Vath

  1. Music and the Desire of the Human Heart

    A selection of piano masterpieces from Bach to Schubert, from Beethoven to Rachmaninov, with commentary on the musical structure as well as the spiritual and religious undertones of the works themselves.. 

    2. Biography
    Christopher Vath attended North Texas State University, where he received a Bachelor of Music Degree in Piano Performance with Joseph Banowetz. After graduate studies at the Juilliard School with Martin Canin, he started teaching piano and working as a liturgical music director and is currently at Regina Pacis Church in Brooklyn. In 2005, in addition to his Weill Hall at Carnegie Hall debut, he gave a private performance for Pope Benedict XVI at the papal summer residence.

    Honorarium: $500

    Equipment: grand piano

 

THEATRE

  1. Maurice and Therese: Story of a Love

    A theatrical portrayal of the letters between a struggling seminarian and St. Therese of Lisieux.

    Maurice and Therese, is a Blackfriars Repertory Theatre production. It is based on the book by Bishop Patrick Ahern, it has been edited for theatrical presentation by Fr. Richard Veras and Kenneth and Naomi Genuard and is directed by Fr. Veras. Maurice and Therese has been performed in Boston, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Maryland, and in New York City, where it received Bishop Ahern’s enthusiastic endorsement. The Blackfriars Repertory Theatre is directed by Fr. Peter Cameron, O.P., Editor of Magnificat.

    2. Honorarium: $700

    Venue: The play is intended to be performed in a church or in a sanctuary.

    Equipment: Sound system, one dressing room; two wooden tables; two wooden chairs from which the letters will be read; a kneeler.

 

For more information or to request any of the above presentations, please contact our Events Coordinator, Rita Simmonds: info@crossroadsculturalcenter.org, or tele.: (347) 713-5146.

Date and times are subject to speaker availability. All honorarium are to be made payable directly to the party or parties offering the presentation and do not include traveling and lodging expenses if outside Manhattan.