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Roger shows his daughter Roxan the musical approach to grape stomping and wine making as he learned it in Chem 101 and in the Rutgers Glee Club.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

CONTACT:  Palmerton Area Library, 610-826-3424

Rutgers alumnus Roger Latzgo will bring Music from Roger’s Garden, his celebration of gardening and ecology, to the Palmerton Library, 402 Delaware Avenue, Palmerton Pa.  The performance will take place at 2:00 PM on Sunday, April 21, and is free and open to the public.  The Library will accept donations at the door.

Music from Roger’s Garden builds on generations of celebrating nature with song.  Roger will accompany his vocals on guitar and piano as well as some exotic instruments brought back from his travels.  His festive world music has playfully been called “ethnofunkology,” a jazz-influenced sound based on folk traditions.  The program focuses on songs of nature’s bounty, the conquering sun and our connections to them.  “I come from a family of farmers and winemakers so that’s how I relate to life — through the seasons of the garden,” said Latzgo. “What better way to share it than through song?”  Featured on the program will be his compositions “A Tomato Called Paulina”, a song about an heirloom plant, and “Hot Pepper Jelly”, a humorous look at a spicy condiment.  Much of this music can be found on his CDs Swing Bohemienne, New Wine In Old Bottles and Wild Nights.

Latzgo has been performing world music since 1968 on stages throughout the US and Europe.  “In my original compositions, I try to use metaphors such as wine, dance, nature and even heroism that appear in the folk music of my ancestors who arrived in Pennsylvania about 100 years ago” says the Rutgers alumnus.  Staying focused on these traditions is the unifying thread of Latzgo’s music.  “With it, I’m reaching out to audiences of today.  By honoring the ‘musical gems’ of my grandparents, I bring them to people of my generation and their kids who might have missed them.”

When not in his studio, Dr. Latzgo is an avid cyclist and an occasional open-water swimmer. In 2010 he swam the Hellespont, the legendary strait separating Europe from Asia. To accompany his musical interests, he is also an amateur vintner and beer-maker. He grows his vines and resides in Heidelberg Township with his spouse Rachel Roland and their daughter Roxan.  Dr. Latzgo designed and built their residence from recycled vintage materials.  Currently he is at work on a project based on his travels in Turkey and Greece: Reflections in the Wine Dark Sea.

www.rogerlatzgo.com

With their usual high spirits, eighteen members of the Rutgers Club of Lehigh Valley gathered at the Vintage Restaurant for the Third Annual Summer Send-off of students from Lehigh Valley schools.  While not all attended, the group celebrated the fact that 16 students from 11 different schools will join us as Scarlet Knights.  In addition to club members and students, two Student Ambassadors from Rutgers were present.

Monica Rivera (Pharm. ’08), Club Secretary, served as moderator for the event, introducing the members present including alumni from as far back as the 1950s.  Howard Nathanson (RC ’88) reflected on the non-academic opportunities and experiences that are an integral part of the Rutgers experience. The Student Ambassadors explored a wide range of topics from the transportation system to available tutoring services. Throughout the presentation club members filled in with their own special memories and anecdotes.

The highlight of the event was the presentation of the first Rutgers Club 1766 Scholarship.  Eric Zwick (Pharm. ’77,) a member of the Scholarship Committee made the presentation to Andrew H. Trinker, a graduate of Easton Area High School who served as valedictorian for the Class of 2011.  Andrew will enter Rutgers as a member of the College of Arts and Sciences.

The morning concluded with the traditional singing of the Alma Mater led by the Club’s legendary music expert, Roger Latzgo (RC, ’71.)  In his own wry way, Roger introduced the students to some of the history of the song including the now extinct tradition of requiring freshmen to wear the college tie and a red beanie, often called a dink.  Any freshman encountering an upperclassman, until the time of first hourly exams, could be commanded to sing the Alma Mater. It was not often pretty!

And a thank you …

Click to read full letter from our recipient!

One of the goals of the Rutgers Club of Lehigh Valley is to serve the local community through participation in service projects. Our spring, 2010 project with the United States Post Office and Second Harvest Food Bank was a fun and fulfilling event. In October of 2010 we tried to assist at the Lehigh Valley Health Network Marathon, but could not raise enough members to carry it off. Later in the year we had to forego another opportunity because of difficulty in finding participants. Our efforts at recruiting volunteers have been very time consuming. At this point we are trying to find a way to recruit while decreasing the number of emails and phone calls we need to make.

What is needed to assist the club in responding to requests in a timely manner is a list of members who will agree to be among the first contacts we can make when seeking volunteers for service projects. Being on such a list does not mean that the member is committed to participation in any given project. It only means that he or she will be available to be contacted if a project is proposed.

To this end, the Rutgers Club of Lehigh Valley is asking you to consider being identified as a likely participant in service projects in fulfillment of our commitment to the greater Lehigh Valley community.

If you are interested in such opportunities and willing to be placed on our primary contact list, please contact Emily Russell at 908-797-0026 or rsvp@rclv.org. Please include in your message an update on your email address and the phone number(s) at which you can be most readily contacted.

Thank you for considering participation in this effort. We will be waiting to hear from you.

Karol Strelecki
RCLV VicePresident

Tailgating anyone? If you’re attending the game tomorrow, look for Chris Taylor in the Blue Lot.

In other news, tonight’s Homecoming Festival has been cancelled. I’ve also posted all of our October events – hope to see you at some of them!