In honor of Black History Month, Branford Arts and Cultural Alliance (BACA) board member Mary Pont is thrilled to invite the community to experience “The Blues and Beyond” on Thursday, March 2, at 7 p.m., a BACA collaborative event with Walsh Intermediate School (WIS) and Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Heritage Foundation, featuring student performances and more in the WIS auditorium. Admission is free.

“The Blues and Beyond” experience speaks to the African American story through music, narrative, video, and still images, highlighting both historical and musical legacies. BACA and Branford-based Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Heritage Foundation are helping to support the school’s participation in a six-week, 12-course program for WIS students in grades 5 and 8 to learn and prepare.

Based on a music and history curriculum first piloted in 2020 and now available nationwide, “The Blues and Beyond” (https://thebluesandbeyond.com) program aligns with BACA’s efforts to enrich Branford with cultural opportunities and educational experiences through the arts.

Eric Finland, a classical and jazz pianist who holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts in music performance from Berklee College of Music (Boston), is the creative director of “The Blues and Beyond.” The program teaches history by and through the African American musical journey and culminates with each student writing their own blues songs.

As described on the event flyer, “... this engaging and entertaining program will leave students profoundly affected and with a new appreciation of how far we’ve come as a country, and how far we still have to go.”

Mary is a new BACA board member and mom of two Branford Public School students, including Tommy, a WIS eighth grader, and Zu-Zu, a Branford High School (BHS) sophomore. Mary joined BACA with the hope of helping to increase arts and cultural experiences for Branford students and the greater community.

When she’s not lending her time to assist BACA or as a realtor with William Pitt Sotheby’s Realty (Guilford), Mary’s backing her husband, David Strong, a stage 4 colon cancer survivor, by rallying family and friends for Smilow’s annual Closer to Free Ride.

Through their husbands’ cancer experiences, Mary met BACA board member Jeanette Mobeck.

As a mom to a WIS student (who will now participate in “The Blues and Beyond”) and a BHS student artist; as well as the wife of an architect/designer; and as a photography enthusiast herself, Mary was instantly interested in learning more from Jeanette about BACA and its mission. She soon signed on as a board member.

“BACA started out in 2014, and since that time, has been bringing so many exciting events to the community,” says Mary. “Now, BACA has the gallery, where the public is welcome and can experience all of the different types of mediums on display and events that take place there. And now, we’re starting to bring culture to the community through doing events with the schools.”

The BACA Art Gallery is located at 1004 Main Street. Mary also notes BACA committees work to provide the Branford community with additional arts and cultural outreach by collaborating with community groups, including the Shoreline Chamber of Commerce, Shoreline Arts Trail, and Branford Historical Society.

Through all of these efforts and more, “... we’re truly going to evolve into an arts and cultural alliance,” she says.

Mary sees her role as a BACA board member who can help to further BACA’s efforts to create cultural enrichment for the Branford community by collaborating with its educational community.

For the WIS project, Mary is grateful to the program committee members for their assistance, including Cinda Cash and Mary Fitz-Perry, both members of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Heritage Foundation, and Linda Giordano of BACA. At WIS, music teacher Theresa Madrid and WIS Social Studies instructional coach James Carlson have been working on “The Blues and Beyond” student program.

Mary says the program has received tremendous support from the WIS community.

“The Walsh teachers and [principal] Raeanne Reynolds have done an amazing job,” she says.

Mary also notes that, as part of the March 2 program, WIS select choir, Cantare, will start the evening with a gospel music piece. Cantare members (grades 6 through 8) are Mira Abbas, Angelina Brown, Gabriela Higney, Nadya Jones, Sungjin Lee, Carol Mathews, Kamilah Matos, Llovana Medina, Paityn Nelson, Claire Newlan, Joseph Schettino, Alessandra Torre, and Savanna Traca.

“The Blues and Beyond” is BACA’s first cultural collaboration with WIS. Mary’s also excited to share that, this spring, BACA will team up with BHS students for a gallery event.

“It’s so exciting that we’re able to do all of these creative collaborations and bring cultural events to our students and to the community.”

The public is invited to attend “The Blues and Beyond,” an educational and interactive performance honoring Black History Month, on Thursday, March 2, at 7 p.m. at the Walsh Intermediate School auditorium, 185 Damascus Road. Admission is free.