October 2, 2013 THE VILLADOM TIMES I • Page 11 Area Japanese delegation visits Atlantic Stewardship Chamber performance set The New Friends of the Oakland Public Library will host the opening concert of the 2013-2014 Musical Concert Series on Oct. 20. “A Chamber Music Sampler” will be held at 4 p.m. at the Korean Presbyte- rian Church, 222 Ramapo Valley Road in Oakland. Highlighting compositions by Mozart, Brahms, Schumann, and others, the concert will feature performances by outstanding professional musicians, all of whom live in Bergen County. Returning for the fourth time are violinist Laurie Hamilton, prin- cipal associate concertmaster of the Met- ropolitan Opera Orchestra; cellist Lanny Paykin, who appears with the New York City Ballet and the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra; and clarinetist Mitchell Weiss, who played with the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra and the Orchestra of “Les Mis” on Broadway. All three are Oakland resi- dents. Appearing for the first time in the series is pianist Janet Montgomery, music direc- tor of the Community Church of Glen Rock and the choir director and accompanist at Barnert Temple in Franklin Lakes. Violin- ist Gabriel Schaff, teacher, historian, and author; and violist Shelly Holland-Mortiz, a member of the American Symphony and the Opera Orchestra of New York, will be returning to the Oakland stage. The New Friends Concert Series has brought outstanding musical talent to the community, free of charge, for the past three years. Programs have highlighted music of all types, including classical, jazz, cabaret, opera, and percussion. On Sept. 17, a 20-member Japanese community banking delegation visited the Atlantic Stewardship Bank in Wyckoff. The purpose of the visit was to learn about best practices and trends in community banking. Topics of discussion included strategies/ policies to integrate and connect with the local community, methods to successfully compete against and differentiate from national bank competitors in the region, Atlantic Stewardship Bank’s tithing pro- gram, innovative and unique products and services offered, and employee training and retention programs. The delegation was comprised of rep- resentatives from JA Bank Aichi Shinren. In addition to Atlantic Stewardship Bank, the delegation was scheduled to visit two community banks in California (Summit Bank in Oakland and Bank of Agriculture and Commerce in Stockton) and Citibank in New York. ASB President & CEO Paul Van Osten- bridge; Vice President & Regional Manager Raymond Santhouse; Assistant Vice Presi- dent & Wyckoff Branch Manager Karen Mullane; and Vice President & Business Development Officer Rich Powers were available to answer the delegation’s ques- tions regarding issues and topics relevant to community banking in both the U.S. and Japan. “We are honored to have the Japanese community banking delegation visit Atlan- tic Stewardship Bank,” Van Ostenbridge said. “It is a privilege to be selected as one of the banks that the delegation wanted to include in their study of community bank- ing best practices and trends.” Pictured: The Japanese delegation with Atlantic Stewarship Bank staff.