A Booming Summer Scene: Celebrating our Ruch Culture of Art, Music & History

As Rochesterians, we love the rich culture that our city has to offer and anticipate warm summer days during which we can get out in the community to explore history, meet local artists, and enjoy live music. July and August are booming with festivals and shows to highlight these city gems, featuring the many talented artisans that reside within. Meet three Rochester locals who pour their passion into their work, enriching our lives one page, song and visit at a time.

A Musical Story | Hanna PK

Talented blues musician, Hanna PK is a hidden gem in the Flower City. A soulful pianist and vocalist, she writes and plays a variety of genres such as jazz, blues, swing, and old school folk. Growing up in South Korea, Hanna was heavily influenced by her father who was also a musician and fan of various soulful styles, many of which are rooted in the blues. Much of what she learned from him has made its way into the music she creates and shares with the world today.

Hanna PK has always had a love for music and often turned to it in good times and bad. In fact, her favorite hobby is to just sit down at the piano and sing. Although she originally started out on what she refers to as a “more traditional” path, it was a happy accident that brought her back to music. Meeting many talented artists such as Rochester’s own legendary Hall of Fame blues musician, Joe Beard, reignited her love for music and inspired her to perform again.

In 2021, she released her debut album Blues All Over My Shoes with Kenny Neal and the VizzTone Label Group (Booga Music). Her music has been played all over the world and holds a top spot since debuting at #13 on the Billboard’s US Blues chart.

She moved to Rochester in 2007 and immediately fell in love with the community’s music scene, noting how grateful she is for her fans who feel like family and support her success. Although she loves performing at the area’s many festivals, for her, it is most meaningful when people come out to support her at the smaller, local gigs played at restaurants and venues throughout the area.

While her recorded songs are superb, those who follow Hanna say you have to see her in person to truly understand just how talented she is. “The audience is such a big part of the performance. As artists, we get fed by the energy and reactions in the room and instantaneously create a moment based on their vibe. You cannot truly experience that unless you are there,” shares Hanna.

Her music tells an age-old story with a fresh modern twist, writing about many things she has experienced in her own life, mixed with stories of those she hears around her. “I write about experiences that are real. Some of them are fun and others tell more of a story like you would read in my diary. I want what I write to be very natural and enjoyable at the same time.”

Music has always been such a big part of Hanna’s life, and she has built a great career while establishing herself as a musician. It is an inspiration simply to hear her talk about what music means to her, let alone to watch her perform.

To see Hanna PK and her band this summer, check out the list of upcoming shows on her website HannaPK.com or follow her on Instagram @HannaPKMusic

A Puzzling Archivist | Kirsten Feigel

Guest Services and Education Administrative Coordinator at RMSC Museum & Science Center, archivist and museum specialist Kirsten Feigel was once a Project Cataloger at The Strong. We sat down with her to learn more about the ins and outs of cataloging work – including some 7,500 puzzles.

Q: How did you first become interested in museum studies? "My interest sparked during my undergrad studies at the Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT). As a freshman, I joined the journalism program initially, and for one of my courses, I was required to take History of Journalism. I always did like American history, along with research and art. Around the third quarter of freshman year, I realized that journalism wasn’t for me and began looking into the Imaging Science and the Museum Studies programs. I started the museum program my sophomore year."

Q: How long have you been part of Rochester area museums? "I began work as an intern at The Strong in 2014 as part of my graduation requirements for RIT. When I first applied, it was for a Web Essay Writer, but I ended up being put in the collections department. I was asked back in for a temporary position twice after that, both of them grant-funded. The first lasted roughly two years, and the second lasted 11 months.

I have been at RMSC Museum & Science Center for four years this September, originally starting as a Guest Services Associate.

I’ve also volunteered a bit at the Genesee Country Village & Museum and at the John Wehle Gallery, along with volunteer and research work for my undergraduate thesis for the Rochester Historical Society at the Rochester Public Library."

Q: Okay, I think we need to talk about these puzzles now. 7,500?! "As part of one of my temp jobs in 2016 – and later volunteer work in 2018 – at The Strong, a generous donor funded my position of Project Cataloger not once, but twice in order to catalog part of her impressive jigsaw puzzle collection. The puzzles all came from local donor Anne D. Williams; she’s a jigsaw puzzle expert. Some of them came boxed, others assembled. My job was to take inventory and create metadata (data that gives information about other data) of the items that came in. For this collection in particular, Anne did her own cataloging: she had sheets within the puzzle boxes of her own research, including how many pieces, how big it was assembled, who created it, and what year it was dated. She had her own system of collecting that metadata, which was a huge help with inputting it into the database on my end. For a first-time intern, this was a great experience of what I’d be delving into, usually without help from a donor.

In the end, I personally catalogued roughly 1,500 of the 7,500 jigsaw puzzles."

Q: Impressive! Any interesting ones? "There were a ton of them made from different materials (wood, plastic, cardboard, foam, etc.) and in all shapes. The figural puzzles were some of the most interesting because the pieces were cut to resemble objects. One of the biggest things I remember about jigsaw puzzles in general is that they were first introduced as an educational tool to teach geography."

Q: Aside from puzzles, were there any other materials that really caught your eye? "While working on a contract as part of the International Center for the History of Electronic Games (ICHEG) department, I came across an orange floppy disc. At the time there were so many donors I don’t recall exactly who it came from, but my supervisor would take any mediums like that to check them for content. I didn’t think much of it until he came back down the next day, excited, and told me that I’d found a demo for a Super Mario Bros 3 game. The game is now stored safely in the archives."

Q: As a whole, how important do you feel the work of cataloging and archiving is? "Incredibly important. Cataloging, archiving, and managing collections are what make a museum a museum. It’s inventorying what you have in your collection, where it’s housed (storage, archives, on exhibit) and giving items backstories about where they came from, who gave it to the museum, etc. Not only that, but it’s sharing with the public the history of the world with primary documents. Without proper care, storage, archiving, and management, you risk losing them forever."

Q: What’s most exciting about what you do now? "As Guest Services and Education Administrative Coordinator, I schedule field trips, birthday parties, scout groups, camp registration… you name it, I probably cover it! I’m also a member of the After Dark team, where we brainstorm ideas for adult programming.

The Museum & Science Center is an education-based museum with a lot of live presentations, and we have our summer camps running from July 5th to August 26th— plus, with summer finally here, the RMSC Strasenburgh Planetarium has expanded hours for shows. We also have our RMSC Cummings Nature Center in Naples, which is great for getting outside and experiencing some new classes!"

A Magical Journey | Larissa Juliano

Local author, Larissa Juliano takes children on a magical journey through stories that spark their imagination. Being a mom, former teacher, and Rochester native, Juliano is often inspired by life’s simple moments, transforming them into mystical fantasies. Her passion is to help children use their imagination and to transport them into worlds beyond their own backyards, inspiring them to dream big, explore new things and embrace curiosity. Her first book, Gracie Lou, tells the story of a little girl who gets whisked away by a shooting star to explore magical lands with music, dinosaurs and even cupcakes! Each adventure sparks the character’s five senses while readers delight in the vivacity of Gracie Lou’s imagination.

Juliano has always been passionate about writing and has spent more than 13 years as an elementary school teacher in Williamson Central School District. Much of her work is inspired by her children and her students’ reactions to books they read. “Reading many stories to children throughout the years, I love noticing what captivates a child, takes them to another place and inspires them to think of new ideas on their own,” shares Juliano.

She wrote her first manuscript when on maternity leave and has slowly built a robust portfolio from there. Her work includes a series of STEAM holiday books (Sourcebooks Jabberwocky) with catchy titles such as How to Build a Leprechaun Trap and How to Build an Elf Trap. She also created a set of board books in collaboration with Clever Publishing which highlight the beautiful memories made with a child’s grandparents in Nana’s Garden, Nana’s Kitchen and Grandpa’s Workshop. These books are particularly special to her as she drew inspiration from the experiences her own children had with their grandparents. These tales combine her love for poetry and colorful language with beautiful illustrations that bring the stories to life.

Born and raised in Brighton, Juliano now resides in Webster with her husband and three children who continue to inspire her work through ordinary, yet beautiful moments – from a simple task like putting on sunscreen to a surprise raincoat that landed in her garage – each part of everyday life becomes an adventure for her to tell.

She is incredibly grateful for how welcoming and supportive the Rochester community has been and is a huge fan of supporting locally-owned businesses throughout the area. In addition to writing, Juliano can often be found holding storytime at local schools and shops throughout the community and even attending local vendor fairs to showcase her books. Juliano writes a teaching column called Story Monsters that inspires kids to think about and discuss topics that spark their imagination.

To catch Larissa Juliano this summer and see the line-up of local events she will be attending, follow her on Instagram @LarissaJulianoAuthor or visit her website LarissaJuliano.com.