Come watch (and hear) a spoken word soundtrack made right before your eyes. In this hybrid lecture/performance,  Phylisha Villanueva, Westchester’s second official poet laureate, will perform original poetry as pianist Rocco Dapice improvises a soundtrack that perfectly compliments her words and tone. Between pieces, Rocco and Phylli will describe and demonstrate the healing power of music and the spoken word.

About the presenters:
Rocco Dapice is a pianist, teacher, writer, YAMAHA Performing Artist, and graduate of the Manhattan School of Music. He is on the faculty of the Manhattan School’s summer program and New Visions School for Advanced Math & Science; is a teaching artist for MSM’s Distance Learning center; and teaches privately. Rocco has performed widely in over 390 cities and is a member of ASCAP, the Jazz Education Network (JEN), and the National Assn. of Record Industry Professionals.

Phylisha Villanueva is a spoken-word artist, Belizean-American writer, author, educator, and advocate for community arts development, while serving as the second poet laureate of Westchester County. Born in the Bronx and raised in Yonkers, her work explores cultural storytelling themes. She currently runs The Yonkers Writing Group, plays with the Jazz and Poetry Choir Collective, and is almost done with her MFA in Poetry at Saint Francis College.