WESTFIELD — The Westfield Memorial Library has announced that it will provide an evening of the music of Paris and the French countryside.
On Wednesday, June 5, at 7 p.m., acclaimed International Concert Violinist David Podles, Ph.D., will showcase and perform music of French classical composers and French waltzes, as well as French movie music and instrumental versions of the “chanson” style that is definitive of French music culture, such as works by Edith Piaf and Charles Aznavour. Audience members will be brought on an enchanting musical journey through the cafes in Paris as well as the inviting French countryside.
Dr. Podles, of Riga, Latvia, is laureate of three prestigious international competitions and graduated from Music Conservatory in Riga, Latvia, obtaining a Ph.D. in music. He has performed in symphony, chamber, opera and ballet theater orchestras — solo, in orchestra and on tour — across Europe, Russia and Central Asia, including The Bolshoi in Moscow and Kirov in Ukraine. In the United States, Dr. Podles has performed at Lincoln Center, Carnegie Hall, the 92nd Y and at the Top of the Rock at Rockefeller Center.
On Thursday, June 13, at 8 p.m., the library will host another livestreaming of a virtual author: “Psychological Thrillers and the Queen of Twists” — a Talk with Freida McFadden.
Ms. McFadden will join viewers to chat about writing psychological thrillers, her mega-bestselling hit “The Housemaid” series, and in particular her forthcoming (June 11) third installment, “The Housemaid Is Watching.”
The next installment is full of twists and tension as it continues to follow Millie Calloway. She used to clean other people’s houses — now, she can’t believe this new home is actually hers. The charming kitchen, the quiet cul-de-sac, the huge yard where her kids can play. She and her husband saved for years to give their children the life they deserve.
She is wary of their new neighbor, Mrs. Lowell, but when the latter invites them over for dinner, they accept the invitation. Mrs. Lowell’s maid opens the door wearing a white apron, her hair in a tight bun. Millie knows exactly what it is like to be in her shoes. But the maid’s cold stare gives her chills.
The Lowells’ maid is not the only strange thing on their street. Millie is sure she sees a shadowy figure watching them. Her husband leaves the house late at night. And when she meets a woman who lives across the way, her words chill to the bone: “ Be careful of your neighbors.” Millie wonders: Did they make a terrible mistake moving their family here?
# 1 New York Times, Amazon Charts, USA Today, Wall Street Journal, Sunday Times, and Publisher’s Weekly bestselling author Freida McFadden is a practicing physician specializing in brain injury who has penned multiple bestselling psychological thrillers and medical humor novels. Freida’s work has been selected as one of Amazon Editors’ best books of the year, she is the winner of the International Thriller Writers Award for best paperback, and she is a Goodreads Choice Award winner. Her novels have been translated into over 30 languages.
Freida lives with her family and black cat in a centuries-old threestory home overlooking the ocean, with staircases that creak and moan with each step, where nobody can hear you if you scream.
Registration is required to receive the Zoom link.
Visit the library’s website at wmlnj.org to register for these programs, sign up for a library card, or learn more about the library’s resources. The library is located at 550 East Broad Street.
