Westchester Arts Council Kicks Off Concert Series

White Plains, NY - The Westchester Arts Council has received a $100,000 grant, with the help of State Senator Nicholas Spano, to fund the creation of a six month long festival of the arts.

This generous grant provides the Arts Council with the opportunity to collaborate with and showcase the extraordinary work of some of our best local performers and cultural organizations. From January to June, the Westchester Arts Council will be hosting more than 35 events in the spectacularly renovated Grand Banking Room space. The series, entitled LIVE @ the Arts Exchange, will feature the arts in a variety of forms—the schedule includes classical, jazz, folk and popular music, drama, dance and poetry— with something for everyone.

Performances take place surrounded by a series of colorful art exhibits. Tickets for the majority of events will be $10, ensuring that LIVE @ the Arts Exchange is accessible to all. A complete schedule of events is available on the Westchester Arts Council’s website www.westarts.com or by calling 914-428-4220 x223.

Following a preliminary series of Jazz Forum Arts Jazz Jams that began last October and continue on third Thursdays through March, the LIVE @ the Arts Exchange series officially kicks off on Friday, January 27 with the Westchester Philharmonic presenting Mozart’s Cabaret. Join us at 8 pm for a festive celebration in honor of Mozart’s birthday, featuring Paul Lustig Dunkel, flute, Jennifer Litwin, soprano, Stephen Buck, piano, Rachel Field, violin, and Jun Luke Foster, piano. Tickets are $25 including wine and cheese. Doors open at 8 pm and the concert will begin at 9 pm. Seating is general admission. For tickets, call (914) 682-3707 ext. 10, or visit www.westchesterphil.org.

The Arts Exchange is the county’s newest venue for the arts. In 1998, the Westchester Arts Council purchased the nine-story abandoned bank building from Chase Manhattan Bank, who subsequently forgave the mortgage. After acquiring Historic Landmark designation, renovation and restoration have transformed the old bank, and today the Grand Banking Room on the ground floor is a prime exhibition and performance space, featuring professional gallery lighting, fine acoustics and a state-of-the-art sound system. With the upcoming season of events, the Westchester Arts Council will fulfill its vision of bringing the arts to everyone.

Westchester Arts Council, founded in 1965, is the largest, private, not-for-profit arts council in New York State. Its mission is to provide leadership, vision, and support, to ensure the availability, accessibility, and diversity of the arts. In 1998, the Arts Council purchased 31 Mamaroneck Avenue, now known as the Arts Exchange, and has since developed the building as a multi-use resource for artists, cultural organizations, and the community.

What are people saying about mortgages today:

Rates on 30-year mortgages edged down last week to a seven-month low. Mortgage-giant Freddie Mac reported Thursday that 30-year, fixed-rate mortgages fell to 6.3 percent, down slightly from 6.31 percent two weeks ago. It put rates at the lowest level since they were at 6.24 percent the first week of March.

Bank of Hawaii, Central Pacific Bank, Territorial Savings Bank and Wells Fargo Home Mortgages all cut their 30-year mortgage rates to 5.75 percent this week.

Most people think of a mortgage as a means to an end. After all, you buy a house, not a home loan. But a mortgage is much more than the path to homeownership. It is a financial instrument that must be managed, just like any other financial investment.