Friday, November 21 at 8:30 pm; and Wednesday, November 26 at 11:30 pm

STATEWIDE – This week’s episode of State of the Arts examines the history behind the stories of four individuals, adding depth to the narratives and revealing the motivation behind their success in the arts.  Backstories profiles Simone Dinnerstein, a young pianist who found her own way to stardom in the traditional world of classical music; Dr. Victor Parsonnet, whose love of music led to an enduring legacy in his involvement with the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra; and two art teachers who have found a way to combine their passion with their teaching.  Backstories airs on Friday, November 21 at 8:30 pm, with a rebroadcast on Wednesday, November 26 at 11:30 pm.  The program will be broadcast in high definition (HDTV), joining an increasing number of programs that may be viewed on NJN’s digital channel. 

• Simone Dinnerstein
Pianist Simone Dinnerstein has become, in her mid-thirties, a classical music superstar. State of the Arts producer Eric Schultz visits Dinnerstein and her family at her home in Brooklyn, NY, in the neighborhood where she has lived most of her life. Her father, the well-known painter Simon Dinnerstein, lives near by. Her husband Jeremy teaches fifth grade at the local public school only a few blocks away, where their seven-year old son Adrian also goes to school.  While pregnant with her son, Simone had lots of time to practice the piano, so she decided to tackle one of the most difficult and magnificent pieces ever written for the keyboard, Bach’s Goldberg Variations. Contrary to all predictions, her self-produced recording of the Variations became a classical hit.  In August 2007, Ms. Dinnerstein released her debut solo CD on Telarc.  Her recording of the Goldberg Variations went on to earn the No. 1 spot on the Billboard Traditional Classical Chart during its first week of sales and has remained highly ranked since then.  The disc appeared on “Best of 2007” lists including those of The New York Times, The Los Angeles Times, The New Yorker, Time Out New York, several radio stations, iTunes “Editor’s Choice Best Classical,” Amazon.com Best CDs of 2007, and Barnes & Noble's Top 5 Debut CDs of 2007.  State of the Arts follows Dinnerstein to the South Orange Performing Arts Center for an October 28th recital.

• Victor Parsonnet, M.D.
Victor Parsonnet, M.D.,is an extraordinary patron and leader of the arts in New Jersey, with a focus on Newark.  Recently, he stepped down after 17 years as the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra’s Chairman of the Board.  “Under Victor’s leadership, the NJSO has gone from a very fine state orchestra, to one of the finest orchestras in the world,” says NJPAC Executive Director Larry Goldman.  The innovations Dr. Parsonnet introduced at the NJSO have become a national model and the subject of several journal articles.  But Victor Parsonnet, a resident of White House Station, NJ, is extraordinary in other respects as well.  State of the Arts producer Eric Schultz profiles Dr. Parsonnet’s work as a world-renowned cardiologist and surgeon at Beth Israel Hospital in Newark, NJ, and a leader in the development of the pacemaker.  Schultz visits the doctor both in the operating room, and in performance with the NJSO.  The players of the NJSO gave Dr. Parsonnet – an accomplished amateur musician – the opportunity to perform a Mozart piano concerto as an expression of their love and appreciation when he stepped down as their Chairman of the Board.  As this State of the Arts profile makes clear, it is his love of the musicians and his respect for their artistry that come through more than anything else.

• Artist Educators
The demands of teaching art in a public school are great, but so are the rewards.  The ability of a teacher to refresh his or her own artistic practice can add greatly to the classroom experience, which is the theory behind the Geraldine R. Dodge Artist Educator Fellowships.  State of the Arts producer Christopher Benincasa meets two recent fellows, Fausto Sevila, an art teacher at Arts High School in Newark and Kelly Clark, an art teacher at Middlesex High School.  Benincasa visits their classrooms to see how the work they completed with help from the Dodge grants has translated into their classroom work.  Also interviewed for the story is the Executive Director of the Dodge Foundation David Grant and Virginia Fabbri Butera, Associate Professor of Art History at the College of Saint Elizabeth in Morristown.  Butera also is a curator of the 2008 exhibit “Inside and Out: Selections from the Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation Visual Artist/Educator Fellows” at the Therese A. Maloney Art Gallery at the College of Saint Elizabeth.

State of the Arts, the 29 time Emmy award-winning, half-hour arts magazine airs every Friday at 8:30 pm, followed by an encore presentation each Wednesday at 11:30 pm. Beginning with the fall 2008 season, all new State of the Arts programs will be broadcast in high definition (HDTV) on NJN’s digital channel.

The current episode of State of the Arts can be viewed online at www.njn.net.  Individual stories are available to view following their broadcast by visiting the program online at State of the Arts.  Selected State of the Arts stories can also be seen on YouTube (look for NJN’s Arts & Culture Channel).

Funding for State of the Arts is provided by the New Jersey State Council on the Arts and the Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation.  The series producer is Susan Wallner and the executive producer is Nila Aronow.

NJN - New Jersey’s only statewide broadcast television network and public service media resource - provides
New Jersey-centric news and public affairs programming; programs focusing on the arts, the environment, education, and history; access to enriched learning opportunities for K-12 and adult learners; and emergency
communications. NJN: community-based, community-focused, community-supported.

www.njn.net

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