February 11, 2014 - ChaddsFordLive.com

Chelsea Szczepkowski of Kennett Square

Chelsea Szczepkowski, 22, of Kennett Square, died suddenly Friday, Feb. 7.

Born in Wilmington on July 11, 1991, she was the daughter of Richard Szczepkowski of Wilmington and Robyn Scarlett of Kennett Square.

Chelsea was a 2009 graduate of Kennett High School. She also attended the Chester County Intermediate Unit program where she studied pre nursing.

She loved spending time with her brother, being outdoors, visiting the shore with friends and family, and assisting her mother with projects and catering.

She is survived by her mother and father, brother Hunter of Wilmington, her maternal grandmother Jeanie Scarlett Allenby and great grandmother Margaret Davenport both of Kennett Square; paternal grandparents, Frank and Veronica Szczepkowski of Willmington, and several loving aunts, uncles, cousins, and friends.

Her time with us was too short and she will be missed by all the hearts she touched.

You are invited to visit with Chelsea’s family from 6-8 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 13, and from 9-10 a.m., Friday, Feb. 14, at the Kuzo & Grieco Funeral Home Inc. (610-444-4116) 250 W. State St. Kennett Square PA 19348. A ceremony in celebration of her life will follow at 10 a.m., Friday, at the funeral home. Interment will be held privately. In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to The Herren Project PO Box 131 Portsmouth, RI 02871.

To view Chelsea’s online tribute and to share a memory with her family, please visit www.griecocares.com

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Chadds Ford resident joins BNY Wealth Management

Business

BNY Mellon, a global leader in investment management and investment services, has hired H. Belin Robertson as senior director for business development in the firm’s Philadelphia wealth management office. He reports to Managing Director Garrett Alton.

The newly created role is part of a two-year effort to increase the firm’s sales force nationally, including a substantial increase in the Philadelphia region. Robertson comes to BNY Mellon Wealth Management from Merrill Lynch where he was a financial advisor focused on serving high net worth clients. Before that, he led business development efforts for Neuberger Berman in several Western and Midwestern markets.

Robertson earned a bachelor’s in history from Lehigh University, and a master’s in business administration with a concentration in finance from the University of Southern California’s Marshall School of Business. He is nationally licensed in insurance and mortgage sales. Before beginning his professional career, he spent five years as a competitive Formula Ford 1600cc car racer. He is a resident of Chadds Ford, Penn.

BNY Mellon Wealth Management also recently hired three senior portfolio managers in its Philadelphia regional office: Renzo Cerabino, Carolyn Melzer and Clark Stossel. Combined they bring more than 40 years of financial services experience and all report to Managing Director Mark Haslam.

BNY Mellon Wealth Management is a leading wealth manager with more than two centuries of experience in providing services to clients who today include financially successful individuals and families, their family offices and business enterprises, planned giving programs, and endowments and foundations. It has more than $185 billion in private client assets, as of December 31, 2013, and an extensive network of offices in the U.S. and internationally. BNY Mellon Wealth Management, which provides investment management, custody, wealth and estate planning and private banking services to clients, conducts business through various operating subsidiaries of The Bank of New York Mellon Corporation. For more information go to bnymellonwealthmanagement.com or follow us on Twitter @BNYMellonWealth.

BNY Mellon is a global investments company dedicated to helping its clients manage and service their financial assets throughout the investment lifecycle. Whether providing financial services for institutions, corporations or individual investors, BNY Mellon delivers informed investment management and investment services in 35 countries and more than 100 markets. As of December 31, 2013, BNY Mellon had $27.6 trillion in assets under custody and/or administration, and $1.6 trillion in assets under management. BNY Mellon can act as a single point of contact for clients looking to create, trade, hold, manage, service, distribute or restructure investments. BNY Mellon is the corporate brand of The Bank of New York Mellon Corporation (NYSE: BK). Additional information is available on www.bnymellon.com, or follow us on Twitter @BNYMellon.

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Irene World Premiere Ballet

Arts & Entertainment

Irene, First State Ballet Theatre’s vampire-themed world premiere, bows at the Grand

World premieres aren’t an every day (or every year) occurrence in Wilmington, so First State Ballet Theatre’s world premiere of Irene, the company’s Vampire Valentine to Wilmington, will be a very special night and a performance to remember.

Irene is the brainchild of Wilmington-based guitarist, teacher and composer Shaun Dougherty, who composed the music and libretto for the full-length work. FSBT dancer and choreographer Alex Buckner—who choreographed the company’s Delaware premiere of A Midsummer Night’s Dream and whose work was featured at the 2011 Delaware Arts Summit—has set the piece on FSBT’s 22-person professional company.

FSBT President and Executive Director Robert Grenfell said, “When Shaun proposed this collaboration, we saw immediately that its edgy, sophisticated, urban vibe could add a younger demographic—teens through 30-somethings—to our typical audience. Since a key component of our mission is to educate the Delaware dance audience of the future, we jumped at the chance to work with Shaun. And the concepts we’ve developed in our production meetings have been fantastic.”

“To broaden our audience, we’ve invited some of Wilmington’s best known culturati to take walk-on roles in the ballet’s ballroom scene,” Grenfell said.

An all-Delaware production, Irene will feature a live pit band, including a 12-person string section drawn largely from members of the Delaware Symphony Orchestra, a percussion section, pianist, Dougherty on guitar and a conductor. The music is vibrant and rock-inspired, the staging will be dark and mysterious and the choreography will feature Buckner’s blend of classical and contemporary technique infused with humor and pathos.

The Irene production team encourages everyone to bring their Valentine to the Grand for an evening of drama, suspense and passion. One performance only, Irene debuts Friday, February 21 at 7:00 p.m. on the main stage of Wilmington’s Grand Opera House. Tickets—adults $28-$48, students 18 and under 50-percent off and seniors, groups and military $5 off—are on sale now at 1-800-37-GRAND or online at www.ticketsatthegrand.org. Discounts are not available online.

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The First State Ballet Theatre is a 501(c)(3) corporation, founded in 2000, whose mission is to present professional ballet performances to audiences throughout Delaware, to provide superb ballet training and performance opportunities to aspiring Delaware dancers and to educate the Delaware dance audience of the future.

The company’s statewide season features performances in major theater in all three counties from Wilmington to Selbyville.

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Chadds Chat – First State Ballet Theater

Chadds Chat

Last Saturday my wife and I banished the winter blues by attending a magnificent performance of “Up Front with First State Ballet Theatre” in the intimate setting of Studio 1 at Wilmington’s Grand Opera House. These performances are limited to 100 patrons and a catered reception with FSBT’s dancers, staff and board follows the performance.

The evening’s ballets were an eclectic mix of classical ballet choreographed by Chopin, Vainonen, Petipa and Fokine.

Also, included in the program was an excerpt from the company’s Delaware premiere of Cinderella, choreographed by First State Ballet Theatre’s own Alex Buckner. Emily Shenaut and Justin Estelle performed the grand pas de deux brilliantly. Buckner joined First State Ballet in 2010 and has choreographed full-length ballets and contemporary pieces for the company.

Mary Kate Reynolds shone in Chopiniana and The Dying Swan.

The Gypsy Dance from Don Quixote was danced enthusiastically and energetically by Aubrey Clemens and Alex Buckner.

The Le Corsaire pas de trois, danced by Rie Aoki, Leonid Goykhman and Edward Personondek, was a tour de force.

Included in the evening’s performance was the grand pas de deux from the Nutcracker danced beautifully by the company led by Andrea Olazagasti.

Peter S. Wells

Chadds Ford, PA