Activities will include:

• Fall Wreath-Making Workshop
• Musical performance by The Humanosity Project
• Fall Seasonal beer tasting with Space Cat Brewery
• Delicious food from Aux Délices
• Seasonal Cookies from Rebel Daughter Cookies in Norwalk

Bruce Museum Store Sip and Shop Holiday Preview
Saturday evening November 1st 4PM-8PM
Get a jump on your holiday shopping!
Free gift wrapping

The Humanity Project

David Brandon Ross holds a Bachelor of Music degree from Berklee College of Music Boston, MA as well as a degree in mechanical design from SUNY Corning, NY. He studied theater with Charles Combs at Berklee and also trained at Dell'arte school of physical theater in Blue Lake California. Dave played the lead role of Blues guitar great Lonnie Johnson in the 2023 production of “Blues in my soul” a smash hit play for Passage theater co. Trenton, NJ. He also composed the full score for the 2025 off broadway production of “Freedom’s last stand” for Peculiar works theater co. NYC. Dave has been composing, performing and recording in the NYC avant garde music scene since 2002 releasing numerous albums as a leader or side man. Dave has performed with Henry Grimes, Warren Smith, JD Parran, Marshall Allen, William Hooker, William Parker, P funk, Jackson Krall, Jason Kao Hwang and many others. He is a recipient of a Boston grammy award “Best live Funk band” with the band CHUCK in 1992. Dave has played concerts and music festivals throughout the US, Canada, Europe, South Africa and venues including Lincoln Center, Kennedy Center for the Arts in Washington, DC and Vision Festival, NYC. Dave is the author of 2 US patents and has designed and built many unique instruments including the patent pending Outar.

Matt Lavelle (b-1970) has been active in the New York City music community since 1990 and moved to Philadelphia in 2021. Lavelle plays flugelhorn, bass, alto, and piccolo clarinets and is a composer. He began his music career with Hildred Humphries, a swing era veteran saxophonist who played with Count Basie and Billie Holiday. He has played in ensembles led by Sabir Mateen since 2002. In 2005, Lavelle began study with Ornette Coleman. He was a member of the Bern Nix quartet from 2010 until 2017. He was instrumental in the return of Giuseppi Logan leading to a recording in 2010. In 2011 he created the 12 Houses Orchestra. As a leader Lavelle has recorded 15 albums, and has been on 40 recordings as a sideman. His solo alto clarinet album is the first one in jazz history. He has performed hundreds of times in New York, and toured Europe 5 times, headlining the Umea festival in Sweden in October 2011, as well as playing in Italy, Germany, Scotland, and Prague. Lavelle is also a painter and a writer. His thesis Ornette Coleman and Harmolodics has been downloaded more than 5,000 times. He is the author of the Substack No sound Left Behind. Lavelle has played and collaborated with Ornette Coleman, William Parker, Warren Smith, Henry Grimes, Eric Mingus, Bernard Purdie, Julian Priester, Sabir Mateen, Roy Campbell, Daniel Carter, Jemeel Moondoc, Mat Maneri, Ras Moshe, Hilliard Greene, Steve Swell, Matana Roberts, Bern Nix, Charles Downs, Tom Cabrera, Francois Grillot, Giuseppi Logan, William Hooker and many others.

Julius Masri is a Philadelphia based multi instrumentalist, and performer/composer for the city's dance community at large. His music focuses on improvisatory methods and syncretic / linguistic exchanges within various musical languages including Jazz, Metal, Afro-Cuban, Experimental Noise, and Arabic music. Born in Tripoli, Lebanon, he moved to the States in 1990 and picked up drumming a year later. He studied with Philadelphia instructors Carl Mottola, Elaine Hoffman-Watts, and as an undergraduate at Bard College, with AACM's Thurman Barker, Richard Teitelbaum, and Joan Tower. Julius plays drums, circuit modified Casio keyboards, Oud, Kamancheh (aka Rabab, Spike Fiddle), and various other instruments. He currently performs in groups such as grind/crust metal bands Night Raids, Nomad War Machine, free jazz groups Spectral Forces, Dromedaries, Humanosity Project, trombone and synth duo Superlith, Mephisto Halabi, and more. He has performed with Henry Grimes, Jamaaladeen Tacuma, Bobby Zankel, Thurman Barker, Jaap Blonk, Randi Potoppidan, and members of the Sun Ra Arkestra. Festivals performed include near eastern studies festival at Princeton University (2024), Sonic Circuits DC (2013, 2016), High Zero Baltimore (2016), Maryland DeathFest (2015, 2017), Shadow Woods Metal Festival(2017), The Outsiders Improvised & Creative Music Festival (2016, 2018). Julius is a Recipient of the 2022 White-Flowers Fellowship for Composition at the Yaddo Artist Residency in Saratoga Springs NY, the 2022 University of the Arts' Creative Research and Innovation Grant, and project funding via Pew Center for Arts & Heritage, as well as Swarthmore College and the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.

Pete Dennis is a bassist, improvisor, composer, and computer programmer. They live in West Philadelphia where they are constantly inspired by their vibrant Artistic Communities. Pete is deeply impacted by the music of John Coltrane and Aphex Twin, their time studying with William Parker, the fiction of Samuel Daleny, and their partner Abigail. They perform in groups such as Spectral Forces, Humanosity Project, St. John’s Wort, as well as with their good friend my tâm. Pete has made a number of improvised acoustic albums and is currently working on making electronic music with text-based programming languages.

Shlomit Oren

A multi-generational person-centered expressive arts therapist, somatic therapist, owner of Gleeful Wellness LLC, a multi-faceted artist, physical actress, dancer, and clown. She has a BA in theater, a BS in psychology, and MS in clinical mental health counseling. She is a certified sound healing meditation guide. Shlomit specializes in uplifting communities through creative arts. She is passionate about accompanying individuals in their personal growth journey through the art making process and the mind-body connection. She offers retreats, 1:1 therapy sessions, sound baths, Women's Empowerment (WE) Circles, and expressive arts psychoeducational workshops for kids, adults, and seniors.

Rakefet Krochmal

A multidisciplinary artist, educator, and children's book author (debuted coming soon on Amazon). Rakefet holds a bachelor's degree in education, a master's degree in environmental studies, and over 15 years of experience working with women and children. She loves igniting her student’s curiosity through imagination. Rakefet is passionate about blending humor, art, and nature to spark creativity and empowerment in communities.

Nina Jordan Griffith, Waiting in the Shade, pastel on paper, King School, sophomore, iCreate 2025

Bruce After Hours is Generously sponsored by The Giving Bee.