20 YEARS OF COFFEE HOUSE

Circles: a coffee house turns 20

By Bill Jacob P ’06, Creative Arts Department Chair

The Circles: A Coffee House tradition may have celebrated a landmark 20th anniversary in January, but the Coffee House tradition at Brimmer and May School goes back even further. Former Creative Arts Chair Martha Donaldson regularly sponsored Coffee Houses throughout the 1980s and 1990s, sometimes more than once a year. They were more spontaneous events in those days, often thrown together when the Arts Department felt the community needed a lift or a break from the winter doldrums. Following Martha’s departure, the Coffee House events lapsed for a time, until Upper School History Teacher Ted Barker-Hook P ’23 initiated their return. He dreamed up the name Circles: A Coffee House with the added parenthetical, A Celebration of Community, Reunion, and Peace.

Enlisting the support (and equipment!) of me and former Music Teacher Landon Rose, it was Barker-Hook’s idea to pin the Coffee House date on the first Thursday back from winter break. His thinking was that recent graduates would still be home from college and able to attend, and in the early days of these Coffee House events, there were often more alumni than current students in attendance. Over time, though, word of the Coffee House vibe began to spread, and attendance has grown every year. There is still an element of spontaneity in the event; hosts are often chosen at the last minute and rosters of performers are tweaked on the fly. Sadly, our documentation of the early events was spotty. But everyone who attended those first Coffee House evenings remembers them fondly. Watching the Barker-Hook children grow older with each passing Coffee House, witnessing the performance art of former Administrative Assistant Virginia Beech and her collaborators, and gathering with friends old and new in the dead of winter have made Circles: A Coffee House a truly unique community celebration in the Brimmer Creative Arts calendar. ■

community flocks to circles 20

Rachael Rosenberg ’27, Journalist for The Gator

The following article was written this winter for The Gator, Brimmer’s student-run newspaper.

The Hastings Dining Commons overflowed with enthusiastic attendees as the School celebrated the 20th anniversary of its beloved Circles: A Coffee House event on Friday evening.

Initiated by co-organizers Ted BarkerHook P ’23 and Creative Arts Department Chair Bill Jacob P ’06 two decades ago, Circles evolved into a cherished tradition, embodying its slogan of “a celebration of community, reunion, and peace.”

Alex Mael ’08, the event’s host, had not returned to a Circles gathering since his college days. During the event, he entertained the crowd with a parody of “What a Wonderful World,” originally by Sam Cooke, playfully incorporating the names of his former teachers.

“To be asked 15 years later to come in and host was pretty cool,” Mael said. “When you think about it, 20 years is a long time to be doing something. This time, it was nice having my daughter there.”

Over the years, Circles has served as a platform for students, faculty, and their families to showcase their talents and foster a sense of community here. Faculty and students from all divisions of the School graced the stage with their performances.

“We’ve never had more people attend, and we’ve never had more people perform,” Barker-Hook said. “A record number of alums and former faculty and staff came back to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the event with us, and current students showed up in a big way. And the conversion of the Dining Commons to a warm Coffee House feel was smoother and more successful than I’ve ever seen it. The night was wonderful in every way.”

Current student Kyle Terino ‘24 expressed his admiration, saying, “I thought the Coffee House was really, really awesome and I appreciated all of the performances—especially from new students who hadn’t performed before.”

Upper School Senate President Baden Howard ’24 was equally enthralled by the event. “It was fantastic to see a lot of people show off their talents,” Howard said. “The alumni element made for a really unique experience, and the slideshow was a great look at the past.”

Upper School Senate President Baden Howard ’24 was equally enthralled by the event. “It was fantastic to see a lot of people show off their talents,” Howard said. “The alumni element made for a really unique experience, and the slideshow was a great look at the past.”

Reflecting on the journey of Circles over the past two decades, Barker-Hook said that some performances over the years stand out to him for different reasons.

“Of course, the first Circles was special because we got this idea of ours off the ground and received a wonderful response from the community, which started us on the two-decade journey we celebrated last Friday,” Barker-Hook said.