An Evening with the Dinnersteins

An invitation to a event at the Dinnersteins' is always a thrill, so when Renee Dinnerstein, a highly respected educator and former P.S. 321 kindergarten teacher, invited me to attend an at-home concert by her daughter, classical pianist Simone Dinnerstein, I said yes without a moment's hesitation.

Walking into the parlor of their brownstone home in Park Slope, which was set up concert style with folding chairs in front of a grand piano I immediately noticed well-lit paintings and drawings by Simon Dinnerstein (Renee's husband and Simone's father) an acclaimed painter and master draftsman. Pictured were familiar local faces who are favorite subjects of Simon's, including Wajid, the tall bearded Lebanese man, who is one of the owners of D'Vine Taste and Thomas Parker, a beloved barista at Connecticut Muffin.

Simon welcomed the audience of neighbors and friends. Dark haired Simone, wearing black shirt and pants, explained that this was a "a play-through" of her new project, "Night," commissioned by Duke Performances. She introduced Tift Merritt (tiftmerritt.com) a North Carolina-born singer-songwriter and recording artist, and explained that together they've created a musical program that crosses musical boundaries, an opportunity for both artists to leave their comfort zones and create a rich amalgam of their interests in classical, rock, folk and jazz.

Simone, who was born, raised and educated in Park Slope, attended Julliard. When she was pregnant with her son nine years ago, she learned Bach's Goldberg Variations and, without a record company, raised the money to record it.

These recordings landed her a record contract with Telarc and an  international following.  Released in 2007, the album ranked No. 1 on the U.S. Billboard Classical Chart in its first week of sales and was named to many "Best of 2007" lists including those of The New York Times, The Los Angeles Times, and The New Yorker.

In January 2011, Simone will release a new album, Bach: A Strange Beauty. It is Simone's first orchestral CD, and her first recording for Sony. Simone also runs Neighborhood Classics, a concert series open to the public and hosted by New York City public schools. The musicians performing donate their time, and ticket sales benefit the schools' Parent Teacher Associations.

This family of artists and educators is close-knit and eager to promote the each other's creative projects. Simon is currently working on The Suspension of Time, a book of essays about his painting "The Fullbright Tryptich." Renee is hard at work on her blog, Exploring Choice Time and is also writing a book on "developing literacy-rich and inquiry-based exploration centers in the kindergarten classroom."

In addition to recording for Sony, Simone likes to produce concerts and to constantly stretch her limits as an artist. When she heard Merritt perform her country inflected songs, Dinnerstein decided she wanted to accompany her on songs by Schubert and Schumann. In the process, Dinnerstein found herself performing on Merritt's songs and even playing a tambourine on the closer of the Night series, "I Can See Clearly Now." 

The duo are set to perform at Duke University, the University of California at Davis and at a music festival in Tallahassee.  In the summer, they hope to bring Night to a concert space in New York City.

The audience was delighted by the hour-long show, which included music by Bach performed by Simone, art songs by Schubert, Schumann, Faure, Cat Stevens, Billie Holiday, as well as Merritt, whose sultry voice and rock and roll style brought an air of serendipity and improvisation to the night. In attendance were two composers who were commissioned to create pieces for "Night." After the show, there was socializing over wine and cheese and guests were invited upstairs to Simon's studio.

Life is busy for the Dinnersteins. There's a new album to promote and a promotional tour (Simone); a blog and a book to write (Renee), more paintings and drawings to create (Simon). Clearly this creative family of Park Slope has something share.

From their stoop to the world.