June 19, 2008 Issue                                       

©2007 The Chestnut Hill Local

Local Life

Candace clicks with class
From Hawaii to Mt. Airy, with love (and weddings)
by PAMELA ROGOW

Candace and Virginia obviously love their work — and who wouldn’t on the beaches of Hawaii?

The talent pool that is Northwest Philly got notably deeper this season when Virginia St. Claire and Candace Freeland decided to leave the slice of nirvana they created in Kauai behind and join family members now in Mt. Airy.

Virginia, 62 and Candace, 55, are a striking couple with remarkable talents. During their nine years in Hawaii, they created a legacy…a piece of which they will be importing to Philadelphia.

To say that Virginia does spiritual counseling or that Candace is a wedding and portrait photographer does not do justice to their accomplishments. In Hawaii, they created a home — an estate, really — on three acres that combines bed-and-breakfast, wedding services, pre-nuptial and pastoral counseling and wedding photography. They and their team perform about 100 weddings and commitment ceremonies each year. About 25 percent are commitment ceremonies with same-sex couples.

Mt. Airy hero honored for service to the powerless
by AMY GARDNER CRANSTON

David Culp, attorney from Mt. Airy, holds up the award he was given for his decades of service to victims of all forms of discrimination.

When David Culp, 65-year-old Assistant Professor of Law at La Salle University, graduated fourth in his class from Kansas University School of Law in 1969, his academic success opened many doors to high-paying jobs in prestigious law firms. However, the long-time Mt. Airy resident chose a different path. For almost 40 years, Culp has dedicated his life as a civil rights lawyer to representing those who have been discriminated against and underserved.

“I did corporate litigation first with a firm in Kansas City,” Culp told the Local this week, “but I used to sit in the library stacks reading about civil rights litigation. That’s what I really wanted to do, and that’s why I then went to work for the federal government.”

In recognition of Culp’s dedication to service, he was recently awarded La Salle University’s Brother Scubillion Rousseau Justice Award. The award was developed to honor La Salle faculty or staff members who understand their roles in creating a more just world. Remembered as the “catechist of the slaves,” Brother Scubillion Rousseau dedicated the last 34 years of his life to educating the enslaved natives of the island Reunion in the Indian Ocean.

When Culp accepted the award, he said, “I am very touched by the honor; it is wonderful to know there are other kindred spirits who share your values and dedication to social justice.”

Local opera singer gets to kill her husband — legally
by LOUISE E. WRIGHT

Soprano Kate Quinn and her husband, bass-baritone John Rudolph. Will perform in a production of Planet Discord, a sci-fi fantasy musical which Quinn has written and composed, at 7 p.m. on both June 28 and 29 at the Rotunda, 4014 Walnut St. in University City. (Photo by Jimmy J. Pack Jr.)

Even the best of relationships endure rough patches when tempers flare and tension builds. Soprano Kate Quinn finds an outlet for those emotions when she performs the role of Odabella in Verdi’s Attila opposite her husband, bass-baritone John Rudolph. “I get to stab my husband at the end,” Quinn laughs. “It’s a good way to vent frustrations.”

This month the operatic couple lend their voices to a production of Planet Discord, a sci-fi fantasy musical which Quinn has written and composed.

Born in Abington, Quinn, 41, grew up in Germantown and now resides in East Falls with Rudolph and their four cats. From an early age, she demonstrated a talent for music, which her family encouraged. “I sang before I talked,” she jokes. Having started piano lessons at age eight, she also plays guitar and “diddles around with a dulcimer.” A self-taught composer, she wrote her first song when she was 10.

Quinn sang in the chorus at Oak Lane Day School and with the Madrigal Group at Settlement Music School. By the time she attended Philadelphia’s High School for the Creative and Performing Arts, she had decided on a career in opera and musical theatre. Shows like West Side Story, Funny Girl and Camelot captivated her. “My mom shared my passion,” she recalls. “We bonded over our love of musicals.”

Although Quinn studied voice and drama at the University of the Arts, she succumbed to the lure of rock ‘n’ roll and veered from her chosen path. She played clubs with the band Sandoz Lime, formed half of a duo and took a shot at a solo career. By 1996, however, her love of opera had reawakened, and she got in touch with Marianne Casiello, a former teacher and the artistic director of Bel Canto Lyric Opera Company.

‘Seeds for Learning’ harvested at Martin Luther King High
by BARBARA L. SHERF

Weavers Way Farm Educator David Siller (bending) shows (far left) State Representative Dwight Evans and a host of dignitaries the produce he and the Martin Luther King High School students have managed to grow in 12 weeks. The produce is being sold on Wednesday afternoons at City Hall. Eventually, it will be sold at a farm stand outside of Martin Luther King High School. (Photo by Sol Levy)

As groundbreaking ceremonies for the Seeds for Learning program at the Martin Luther King High School in Germantown got underway Friday, the “pop, pop, pop” sounds clearly drew the attention of attendees and an array of television crews, reporters and photographers.

“No, you don’t have to duck,” said Sherrine Wilkins, Executive Director, School Services, Foundations, Inc. as the audience jumped at the sound of the balloons popping due to the heat. “This is a new era at Martin Luther King High. You will see firsthand the growth here, the seeds of change through the Seeds for Learning program.”