On Saturday, November 14, at 3 p.m., a group of Long Island student musicians will take the stage at the Half Hollow Hills Community Library in Dix Hills to mark the 100th year since John Coltrane was born. A few miles away, the ranch house where he composed A Love Supreme is close to the end of a restoration that its caretakers expect will let the public walk through it in 2027.

The free program, called Force for Good Day, is in its third year. It is presented by The John & Alice Coltrane Home, the nonprofit that saved the house, as part of its yearlong centennial celebration. Coltrane was born on September 23, 1926.

What happens on November 14

Student musicians chosen through a competitive audition will play alongside a professional ensemble as the Coltrane Home Youth Ensemble. Saxophonist and educator Jeff Lederer will lead the afternoon around themes drawn from Coltrane's life: practice and hard work, individual expression, teamwork, improvisation, courage, humility, and music as a reflection of the society around it.

Students who played in earlier years are returning as mentors to the new members, which the Coltrane Home describes as the way the ensemble grows from one year to the next. Architectural renderings of the finished house will be on display.

The library's listing says no registration is needed and the program is open to all. It takes place at the library's Dix Hills building, 55 Vanderbilt Parkway. The program is funded through the Statewide Community Regrants Program of the New York State Council on the Arts, administered locally by the Huntington Arts Council.

The house on Candlewood Path

John and Alice Coltrane moved their family from Queens to a mid-century ranch house in Dix Hills, built in the early 1950s, and lived there from 1964 to 1967. According to the Coltrane Home, those were some of the most productive years of his career. He wrote A Love Supreme in an upstairs bedroom with a window looking out on the woods behind the property. The couple also built a soundproofed recording studio in the basement, where Alice Coltrane recorded her own work.

By the time preservationists located it, the house had sat empty for years and was decaying. The restoration notes published by the nonprofit describe a long process slowed by weather and by structural problems throughout the building. Support has come from the National Trust for Historic Preservation, Suffolk County, the Town of Huntington and donors around the world. In December 2023, Suffolk County presented the home with $1.75 million through its JumpSMART program.

Where the restoration stands

As of late 2026, the Coltrane Home says the exterior is nearly fully restored and work has moved inside, where the goal is to return the rooms to how they looked when the family lived there, down to the colors and fixtures. The organization says it expects to open the house to the public in 2027.

When it opens, the plan is for the rooms to serve as spaces for listening, learning and quiet reflection. The grounds are planned to include a meditation garden with winding paths and an outdoor area for classes.

If you go

Force for Good Day, Saturday, November 14, 3 p.m., Half Hollow Hills Community Library, 55 Vanderbilt Parkway, Dix Hills. Free, no registration. The house itself is not yet open for visits; updates on the opening and the rest of the centennial program are posted on the Coltrane Home's site.

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