Clarion Concerts: Astonishing Accordion
Saturday October 12 | 5:00 p.m. | PURCHASE TICKETS: HERE
This concert features the first accordionist to ever join the roster of Young Concert Artists in its fifty-seven years of existence, Hanzhi Wang, who will dazzle us with her virtuosity.
The program will include:
J.S BACH Arr. Busoni
Chaconne in D Minor, BWV 1004
SCARLATTI
Sonata in A, K323L 95
Sonata in F, K378: L276
Sonata in E, K162: L21
RAMEAU
Selections from Piece du Clavecin
L’ Egyptienne
La Livri
Le rappel des oiseaux
SCHNITTKE
Revis Fairy Tale
GRIEG
Holberg Suite
Prélude
Sarabande
Gavotta
Air
Rigaudon
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Rebels with a Cause: A Provocative Lecture Series
The Great Barrington Historical Society and Saint James Place Saturday Afternoon Lecture Series
Saturday October 5 | 2:00 p.m.
Shay’s Rebellion in the Berkshires: Enduring Legacies & Questions
For tickets and sponsorship opportunities, please call 413-591-8702. Tickets may be purchased at the door for $20 or on www.gbhistory.org (please indicate series or specific lectures). Programs include lecture, tour of Saint James Place, and refreshments. Free parking available at Berkshire Community College South. Seating is limited.
To reserve seats ($20 per lecture), mail your check, payable to Great Barrington Historical Society with “Rebels with a Cause” and the specific lecture(s) you would like attend in the memo line to:
Great Barrington Historical Society
P.O. Box 1106
Great Barrington, MA 01230
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Clarion Concerts: Elegantly Classical
Saturday September 21 | 5:00 p.m. | PURCHASE TICKETS: HERE
This concert features the fabulous Manhattan Piano Trio, with our Artistic Director Eugenia Zukerman playing trios and rare classical works.
The concert will include:
Andante and Rondo for Flute, violin, cello and piano – Franz Doppler
Dumky Trio – Anton Dvorak
Trio No 1 – Felix Mendelssohn
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Crescendo’s A Due Stromenti
17th Century Italian Music with Two Instruments
Saturday September 7 | 4:00 p.m. | PURCHASE TICKETS: HERE
The season opening concert explores rarely-heard, exquisite repertoire for theorbo and harpsichord by Johann Hieronymus Kapsberger, Giovanni Pittoni and Bellerofonte Castaldi, and keyboard works by Girolamo Frescobaldi and Claudio Merulo. The theorbo is the largest member of the lute family of instruments that was developed around the end of the 16th century primarily to accompany small vocal and instrumental chamber ensembles as well as solo vocal music. Its use as a solo instrument was an afterthought, but innovators on theorbo left behind a small repertoire of high quality. Rarer still was its use as an obbligato instrument in chamber music.
Hideki Yamaya, theorbo and tiorbino, and Christine Gevert, harpsichord and organ
$60 (Premium) / $35 (General) / $10 (under 18 years)
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Aston Magna: Schubert and Beethoven
Saturday Aug 3 | 6:00 p.m. | PURCHASE TICKETS: HERE
Schubert’s “Die schöne Müllerin”
Beethoven Horn Sonata Op. 17
Schubert’s “Auf dem Strom”
Frank Kelley, tenor; Joshua Rifkin, fortepiano
Todd Williams, natural horn
Tickets $40 in advance, $45 at the door. Pre-concert talk 45 minutes before program.
Concert followed by “Meet the Artists” wine and cheese reception.
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Close Encounters with Music: “Souvenir de Florence,” – Music from High Peaks Festival
Sunday July 28 | 5:00 p.m. | PURCHASE TICKETS: HERE
Tchaikovsky’s own musical souvenir of his visit to Italy as he recovered from a disastrous marriage and developed an infatuation with the city that spawned the Renaissance. Florence worked its magic on Tchaikovsky, and the result is one of the most delightful and charming pieces in the repertory, for string sextet. Metropolitan Opera soprano Danielle Talamantes Soprano Danielle Talamantes sings favorite coloratura arias that typify the bravura of Italian vocal tradition (Puccini, Verdi, Rossini). Violinist Miranda Cuckson performs Salvatore Sciarrino’s technique-stretching Caprices that inject Niccolo Paganini’s demonically difficult violin caprices (1819) with a 20th century vocabulary and timbral palette and otherwise startling innovations. And no Italian showcase would be complete without Vivaldi’s Double Concerto for two violins!
Peter Zazofsky and Miranda Cuckson, violin; Michael Strauss, viola; Yehuda Hanani and Sae Rom Kwon, cello; Danielle Talamantes, soprano; Mikael Darmanie, piano; The High Peaks Festival Chamber Orchestra
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Aston Magna: Pachelbel, Bach, Vivaldi, and Villa Lobos
Saturday July 27 | 6:00 p.m. | PURCHASE TICKETS: HERE
Pachelbel’s Canon and Gigue
J.S. Bach:
Brandenburg Concerto No. 4, BWV 1049
Cantata for Soprano: “Non sa che sia dolore,” BWV 209
Vivaldi’s Concerto for sopranino recorder in A Minor
Villa Lobos’ Bachianas Brasileiras No. 5
Daniel Stepner, Edson Scheid and Danielle Maddon, baroque violins
Christopher Krueger, baroque flute and recorder; Laura Jeppesen, baroque viola;
Loretta O’Sullivan, baroque cello; Peter Sykes, harpsichord
Tickets $40 in advance, $45 at the door. Pre-concert talk 45 minutes before program.
Concert followed by “Meet the Artists” wine and cheese reception.
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Aston Magna: The World of Henry Purcell
The Seasons, Squabbling Couples, Sleep Aids, Comical Duos, Vocal Quartets, and Trio Sonatas
Saturday July 20 | 6:00 p.m. | PURCHASE TICKETS: HERE
Daniel Stepner and Julie Leven, baroque violins
Laura Jeppesen, viola da gamba; Catherine Liddell, theorbo; Michael Sponseller, harpsichord
Kristen Watson, soprano; Deborah Rentz Moore, mezzo-soprano Jason McStoots, tenor; David McFerrin; baritone
Tickets $40 in advance, $45 at the door. Pre-concert talk 45 minutes before program.
Concert followed by “Meet the Artists” wine and cheese reception.
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Aston Magna: Music in the Age of Peter Paul Rubens
With Projections of Rubens’ Paintings
Saturday July 13 | 6:00 p.m. | PURCHASE TICKETS: HERE
Music from Holland, Italy, England, and Spain
By Caccini, Frescobaldi, Marin, Arañes, and others
Dr. Richard Savino, Guest Director
Daniel Stepner and Danielle Maddon, baroque violin
Richard Savino, guitar and theorbo; Catherine Liddell, guitar and theorbo;
Laura Jeppesen, viola da gamba
Jennifer Kampani, soprano; Deborah Rentz-Moore, mezzo-soprano
Tickets $40 in advance, $45 at the door. Pre-concert talk 45 minutes before program.
Concert followed by “Meet the Artists” wine and cheese reception.
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Aston Magna: The Birth of the String Quartet
Castello, Caldara, Purcell, Telemann, Richter, Mozart, and Haydn
Saturday July 6 | 6:00 p.m. | PURCHASE TICKETS: HERE
Daniel Stepner and Julie Leven, violins
Jason Fisher, viola; Jacques Lee Wood, cello
Tickets $40 in advance, $45 at the door. Pre-concert talk 45 minutes before program.
Concert followed by “Meet the Artists” wine and cheese reception.
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GhostLit Repertory Theatre Company: Peter and the Starcatcher
Wed June 26 – Sun June 30 | Dates & Times Below | PURCHASE TICKETS: HERE
Closing out GhostLit Repertory Theatre Company’s season will be the regional premiere of the Tony Award®-winning play Peter and the Starcatcher!
Based on the book Peter and the Starcatchers by Dave Barry and Ridley Pearson, this play, with a book by Rick Elice and music by Wayne Barker, upends the century old story of how a miserable orphan boy becomes Peter Pan. The show follows the young orphan boy and his mates as they are shipped off from Victorian England to a distant island ruled by the evil King Zarboff. They know nothing of the mysterious trunk in the captain’s cabin, which contains a precious, otherworldly cargo. At sea, the boys are discovered by a precocious young girl named Molly, a Starcatcher-in-training who realizes that the trunk’s precious cargo is starstuff, a celestial substance so powerful that it must never fall into the wrong hands. When the ship is taken over by pirates – led by the fearsome Black Stache, a villain determined to claim the trunk and its treasure for his own – the journey quickly becomes a thrilling adventure.
Caitlin Teeley, Director
Harrison Lang, Assistant Director
Jackson Teeley, Music Director
Natalie Sala, Choreographer
Olivia Willcox, Fight Director
Athena Nakrosis, Stage Manager
June 26th at 8pm – June 27th at 8pm – June 28th at 8pm – June 29 at 2pm & 8pm – June 30th at 8pm
Original logo design by Caitlin Teeley and Jackson Teeley
Original poster design by Caitlin Teeley
Photos by EKRWCreative: First photo features Corey Bryant (Boy/Peter); Second photo features Caroline Fairweather (Molly Aster)
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Berkshire Pulse: “Moving Life Stories”
Sunday June 16 | 3:00 p.m. | FREE; SUGGESTED $10-$20 DONATION AT DOOR*
*All donations will assist Pulse to further launch and foster educational workshops and events for the YCI.
If interested in attending, please RSVP to berkshire.pulse@gmail.com
The culmination of an intergenerational collaboration where senior residents of Kimball Farms, the retirement community in Lenox, worked together with teen dancers in Pulse’s Young Choreographers Initiative (YCI) to create pieces that combine poetry, prose, and dance to tell the seniors’ life stories.
The YCI is an empowering project for young people that builds confidence, inspires collaboration, encourages creativity and fosters free expression. It gives young people a voice and a forum to express their concerns and viewpoints through movement, encouraging them to become ambassadors of the art form, their generation, and their community. The YCI launched in summer 2016 with workshops led by director Susan Quinn and teaching artist Ian Spencer Bell, and has since expanded into a year-round program featuring weekly dance making classes, annual performances of works-in-progress, collaborations with area artists and organizations, and special workshops with renowned choreographers.
This year’s program matched 7 senior writers with 7 young choreographers. The process began in December with writing workshops with the seniors led by Bell and continued with Quinn and Bell guiding the process of each team working together throughout April and May. “This project reminds me that no matter where you are, no matter the stage of life, you are not solo,” said Bell. “You have your body, the stories of your life, you have the stories of others. You have imagination.”
The YCI is supported in part by a grant from the YouthReach program of the Massachusetts Cultural Council.
About Berkshire Pulse: A dynamic nonprofit dance, world music and movement arts education center located in downtown Housatonic, Berkshire Pulse’s year-round programming provides children, teens and adults with the opportunity to engage in the joy of movement and music while learning the rewards of commitment, community involvement, and the vast benefits of artistic expression.
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Crescendo: The Mystical 16
The 1616 Settings of Psalm 116, and Contemporary Versions
PURCHASE TICKETS: HERE
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Rebels with a Cause: A Provocative Lecture Series
The Great Barrington Historical Society and Saint James Place Saturday Afternoon Lecture Series
Saturday May 11 | 2:00 p.m.
Elizabeth Freeman’s Case for Freedom: The End of Slavery in Massachusetts & the Effects on the Black Community in the Berkshires
For tickets and sponsorship opportunities, please call 413-591-8702. Tickets may be purchased at the door for $20 or on www.gbhistory.org (please indicate series or specific lectures). Programs include lecture, tour of Saint James Place, and refreshments. Free parking available at Berkshire Community College South. Seating is limited.
To reserve seats ($20 per lecture), mail your check, payable to Great Barrington Historical Society with “Rebels with a Cause” and the specific lecture(s) you would like attend in the memo line to:
Great Barrington Historical Society
P.O. Box 1106
Great Barrington, MA 01230
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TheatreFest at Saint James Place
Thursday – Saturday May 2 – 4 | SUGGESTED $10 DONATION AT DOOR*
Saint James Place, in partnership with Berkshire Playwrights Lab/Berkshire Voices, GhostLit Repertory Theatre Company, and New Stage Performing Arts, are proud to present three exciting days of new, original works and works-in-progress from local playwrights and emerging companies. Each presentation will feature staged readings, followed by interactive Q&A with the creative teams.
Please note that all of the performances below will take place in Great Hall, and each are staged readings.
*Tickets are FREE but please note that seating is extremely limited. Tickets may be reserved in advance by following the links below, but attendees MUST be present no later than 30 minutes prior to performance time in order to guarantee a seat.
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Ghostlit Repertory Theatre Company presents “PTERODACTYLS” by Nicky Silver
Thursday May 2 | 7:00 p.m.
An absurdist black comedy about the demise of the Duncan family, and, by extension, the species. Emma Duncan, a hypochondriac with memory problems, and her orphaned fiancé, Tommy, confront her mother, Grace, with the news of their intended marriage.
Get Tickets
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Friday May 3 | 7:00 p.m.
New Stage Performing Arts presents “DIAL IT BACK” by Nicki Wilson
A zany farce about a divorcing couple’s rivalry to win control of their failing theatre. Pandemonium ensues when an aspiring actor and a sassy ex-stripper want a piece of the action too!
Nicki Wilson (Playwright, Director)
Gray Simons (Larry Jacobs)
Julie Webster (Candy Kane)
Deann Simmons Halper (Megan McCabe)
Gregory Boover (Henry Clarkson)
Alex Reczkowski (O.S. Fineman, Stage Directions)
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Saturday May 4 | 2:00 p.m.
Berkshire Voices (Berkshire Playwrights Lab) presents:
“THE SISTERHOOD” by Anne Undeland
When Candy taps her old friend Cookie to become a middle-aged superhero, a member of “The Sisterhood”, what’s really at stake?
“OUR LADY OF BROAD STREET” by Jane Denitz Smith
Now checking in for an indeterminate stay: The Virgin of Guadalupe. On the eve of an iconic NYC hotel’s grand re-opening, an ambitious young architect discovers what happens when pragmatism collides with blind faith.
“PALE BLUE DOT” by Samantha Cullen
A young woman must turn her home into an Air BNB after a sudden breakup. Meanwhile, she joins a 12-step recovery group to address some of her behavioral patterns.
“LUNCH WITH DAD” by Michael Brady
A trip home threatens painful and unexpected consequences for an aspiring singer and her devoted high school music teacher.
“ASKING FOR A FRIEND” by Michelle Joyner
Looking for connection in all the wrong places.
Get Tickets
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Saturday May 4 | 7:00 p.m.
Berkshire Voices (Berkshire Playwrights Lab) presents:
“DANSE MACABRE” by Steven Otfinoski
There comes a time when event the downtrodden must take a stand. DANSE MACABRE is the story of the elaborate dance the artist enters into with a tyrant in a world of chaos and fear. The artist is Soviet filmmaker Sergei Eisenstein. The tyrant, Joseph Stalin.
“THE EMBRACE” by TAMIR
G. is dying embracing the unknown, stepping into other realms consciously while her daughter rages against the night.
“THE SIXTH” by Joshua Briggs
In The Sixth, an idealistic, young congressional candidate collides with the calculating, opportunistic, and downright idiotic world of the political establishment. Or maybe a naïve fool must confront the reasoning of seasoned experts. Or maybe no one knows what they are talking about.
“FIRST DATE TRILOGY” by Jessica Provenz
Dating in the modern era is like mining for gold— even if you are armed with all the tools at your disposal, you’re going to strike out 99 times out of 100. But you keep going, because it just takes 1 time to hit pay dirt.
Tested by Michael Brady presented by Berkshire Voices in the Great Hall at Saint James Place. Pictured: KD McTiegue, Ryan Winkles, Anne Undeland, McConnia Chesser, Caitlyn Teeley, and James Occhio.
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The Art of Costume Design in Opera
Presented by Berkshire Opera Festival
Saturday April 27 | 2:30 p.m.
Costume designer Charles Caine has been bringing opera characters to life through his inspired designs for major opera companies throughout the world, including the Metropolitan Opera, for many years. Join Berkshire Opera Festival as Charles leads us on an exploration of his illustrious career, reflecting on his encounters with some of opera’s greatest directors, singers, and productions. Sketches, projected pictures, and actual costumes and jewelry will offer insight into the important contribution costuming makes to the overall concept and characterization of an opera. Be prepared for an exciting and lively interactive discussion with this amazing creative artist.
Please note that this event takes place in the East Room, as part of ArtWeek: April 26 – May 5.
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BERKSHIRE PLAYWRIGHTS LAB/BERKSHIRE VOICES present a staged reading of “The Last Days of the Contract Player” by Andy Reynolds
Monday April 22 | 7:00 p.m. | SUGGESTED $10 DONATION*
Please note that this reading takes place in Great Hall, not the Sanctuary.
Lizzie has family trouble. Her nineteen-year-old son has vanished into the wilderness of upstate New York. Her movie-obsessed brother arrives unexpectedly to offer dubious aid while needing a lot of help himself. Her estranged daughter judges from afar. THE LAST DAYS OF THE CONTRACT PLAYER is a funny and mysterious exploration of love, of stargazing while living in the real world, and of the possibility of connection in the vast expanse of space we create around ourselves.
Tested by Michael Brady presented by Berkshire Voices in the Great Hall at Saint James Place. Pictured: KD McTiegue, Ryan Winkles, Anne Undeland, McConnia Chesser, Caitlyn Teeley, and James Occhio.
*Tickets are free, but seating is open and limited so we recommend that you make a reservation by calling the BPL office at 413-528-2544. Please leave your name, phone number, and the number of requested tickets, and your call will be returned to confirm your reservation.
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Crescendo: Prince of Light and Prince of Darkness
Motets and Madrigals by Monteverdi & Gesualdo
PURCHASE TICKETS: HERE
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BERKSHIRE PLAYWRIGHTS LAB/BERKSHIRE VOICES present a staged reading of BREAKWATER by Jim Frangione Directed by Kelly Galvin
Featuring: Caroline Calkins, Anne Undeland, Leigh Strimbeck, Ryan Winkles
Monday March 11 | 7:00 p.m. | SUGGESTED $10 DONATION*
It’s 1992 on Cape Cod and Bobbi Herring is a combustible, thirty year-old female taxi driver struggling to overcome the deep wounds of her past. If she can only conjure her hero, JFK, maybe he can help solve her life’s biggest question.
Tested by Michael Brady presented by Berkshire Voices in the Great Hall at Saint James Place. Pictured: KD McTiegue, Ryan Winkles, Anne Undeland, McConnia Chesser, Caitlyn Teeley, and James Occhio.
Please note that this reading takes place in Great Hall, not the Sanctuary.
*Tickets are free, but seating is limited so we recommend that you make a reservation by calling the BPL office at 413-528-2544. Please leave your name, phone number, and the number of requested tickets, and your call will be returned to confirm your reservation.
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Close Encounters With Music Mid-Winter Fireside Concert
Haydn Seek
Humor in the Works of Papa Haydn
Saturday February 23 | 6:00 p.m. | PURCHASE TICKETS: HERE
A limited number of tickets will also be sold at the door starting at 5:00 p.m.
What constitutes a musical—or any other kind of—joke? Humor explodes our expectations and takes us by surprise. Three Haydn string quartets, including his “Joke” Quartet, provide an evening of ambiguous beginnings and fake-out endings; mismatched dialogues between instruments, misunderstandings, musical pratfalls and pretend memory lapses and digressions. What about those embarrassing long pauses, that daring modulation, that unexpected excursion into strange tonalities….? It’s all intentional and part of the fun! From the composer of the “Surprise” Symphony who wrote a cat’s meow into another comes a slightly tipsy “high” as well as “low” program of subversive humor. The audiences of Haydn’s day loved the kinds of things he put into his music, and so will you. Yehuda Hanani and colleagues will lead us through this night of musical comedy with their expert playing as well as comments. Call it a master class in musical humor. .
Hagai Shaham and Xiao-Dong Wang, violin; Dov Scheindlin, viola; Yehuda Hanani, cello
This concert is included in a season subscription purchase!
Purchase tickets online and find more information HERE.
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Crescendo: Concerto delle Donne – Consort of Ladies
Revolutionary Italian Vocal Music of the Late Renaissance
Saturday February 16 (Snow Date February 22)| 6:00 p.m. | PURCHASE TICKETS: HERE
In 1580 in Ferrara, Italy, an ensemble of professional female singers–probably the first one of their gender–became renowned for their technical and artistic virtuosity. This ensemble, the ‘Concerto delle Donne’, performed formal concerts for members of the inner circle of the Ferrara court and important visitors, and revolutionized the role of women in professional music.
Sopranos Catherine Hancock, Rebecca Palmer and Jennifer Tyo, accompanied and directed by Christine Gevert on the organ and harpsichord, will perform works by the Ferrara court composer, Luzzascho Luzzaschi, as well as early Italian Baroque arias and duets by Monteverdi, Barbara Strozzi and others.
Please note that this concert takes place in Great Hall, not the Sanctuary.
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The Multicultural Bridge Presents:
Being Black in the Berkshires
Alfred K. Enchill-Moderator and Panelists-Shirley Edgerton, Dr. Eden-Reneé Hayes, Dr. Frances Jones-Sneed, and Dennis Powell
Monday February 11| 6:30 p.m. | FREE – Everyone Welcome
Please join us for a panel discussion of what it means to be ‘Black in the Berkshires’. As we celebrate the role of W.E. B. Du Bois in the rich history and culture of the Berkshires it is timely
to think about how many of us are aware of the influence of African Americans on local history. What are the stories that are not being told, the voices that are not being heard? Remembering the past, assessing the present, and planning for the future – please be part of this important community conversation.
Alfred K. Enchill is the District Aide in the Berkshire County Office of Senator Adam Hinds.
Shirley Edgerton, M.Ed., is a Cultural Competency Coach, the Founder and Director of Rites of Passage and Empowerment Program (ROPE), and the director of the Youth Alive Step Dance and Drum teams.
Dr. Eden-Reneé Hayes, Ph.D., Associate Professor, Psychology, is the Dean of Equity and Inclusion at Bard College at Simon’s Rock. An expert in the social psychological factors related to bias, and the intersecting identities of race, class, and gender, she has presented papers on her research at a number of conferences.
Dr. Frances Jones-Sneed, Ph.D., is a professor of history and former Director of Women Studies at Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts in North Adams, Massachusetts. She is co-director of the Upper Housatonic Valley African American Heritage Trail, a former board member of MassHumanities, and is presently a member of the Samuel Harrison Society.
Dennis Powell is president of the Berkshire County Unit of the NAACP. Dennis currently serves on the Pittsfield Licensing Board, the Pittsfield School Committee, the Steering Committee of the Four Freedoms Coalition, and the Steering Committee of the W.E.B. Du Bois Educational Series in Great Barrington, and is Board Vice-Chair of the Clinton Church Restoration Project.
For more information, please contact Jane Burke at janesburke@gmail.com
Please note that this concert takes place in Great Hall, not the Sanctuary.
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Berkshire Playwrights Lab Presents:
3rd Annual Radius Playwrights Festival
Featuring staged readings of six short plays from local playwrights performed by local actors
Fri Feb 1 – Sat Feb 2 | PURCHASE TICKETS: HERE, at the door, or by phone at 413-528-2544
Friday, February 1st 7:00 p.m.
Saturday, February 2nd 2:00 p.m. and 7:00 p.m.
Chris Tucci and Kevin O’Rourke, The Audition, Berkshire Playwrights Lab
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Crescendo: Sublime Love
The Life of the Mexican Nun, Sor Juana Ines de la Cruz in 17th Century Latin American Music, Poetry and Images
Friday December 28 | 6:00 p.m. | PURCHASE TICKETS: HERE
Called ‘The Tenth Muse’ and ‘Mexican Phoenix,’ the nun Sor Juana Inés De la Cruz is considered one of the finest poets of the Spanish New World Golden Age. She was also a philosopher, scholar and composer. Her life will be depicted through music, artwork and poetry readings.
Crescendo collaborates with “El Fuego,” an early music ensemble from North Carolina, in a program designed by their Artistic Director, Salomé Sandoval. The program features a selection of sacred and secular cantatas from the 1600s New World Colonies, featuring vocal compositions by Tomás de Torrejón y Velasco and his contemporaries.
Performers are the Crescendo Vocal Ensemble, Salomé Sandoval (voice, baroque guitar and archlute), Malina Rauschenfels (voice and violoncello), and Christine Gevert (organ and direction).
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Berkshire Lyric: The First Noel
Sunday December 16 | 3:00 p.m. | PURCHASE TICKETS: HERE
The Berkshire Lyric Chorus
Melodious Accord
The Blafield Children’s Chorus
Andrea Bargabos, soprano
John Demler, baritone
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Roger the Jester presents: SOLFESTNUHKWANZMAS
Saturday December 15 | 11:00 a.m. & 3:00 p.m.| TICKETS $5 FOR ALL AGES
Berkshire County’s own madcap master of mirth presents a very special holiday potpourri of magic, manipulation and musical mayhem
Roger the Jester has spread laughter and smiles since 1973 throughout 25 countries. His eclectic improvisational blend of honed skills of juggler, magician musician and silent performer is guaranteed to please all ages. From the streets of Europe to circus to the Broadway stage with Mummenschanz to festivals and functions of all sorts, he truly is a master of mirth.
11:00 a.m.
3:00 p.m.
Come early or stay late to shop and enjoy the Great Barrington Holiday Arts Market, Saturday-Sunday, Dec. 15-16 at Saint James Place!
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GBAM: Delightful & Delectable Holiday Market
Fri Dec 14 – Sun Dec 16 | More Details HERE
Announcing the return of the Great Barrington Arts Market (GBAM) annual Delightful and Delectable Holiday Market, a unique holiday sale featuring the best of the Berkshires handmade gifts and delicious giftable treats. GBAM’s mission is to provide revenue for Berkshire based/ local artists and offer locally made products to consumers in a holiday market venue.
The Delightful and Delectable Holiday Market will coincide with special holiday programming in the Sanctuary at Saint James Place (see other events listed here: Roger the Jester, and Berkshire Lyric). This collaboration will offer attendees a unique experience to peruse and shop a beautifully curated market before a weekend of festive musical performances.
Preview Party:
Friday, December 14th 5:00pm-8:00pm:
$10.00 Admission | Food, Wine, and Live Music by The Lucky 5
FREE Market Hours:
Saturday, December 15th 10:00am-5:00pm
Sunday, December 16th 10:00am-4:00pm
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Berkshire Pulse: Young Choreographers Initiative
Sun December 9 | 3:00 p.m.
Berkshire Pulse—the dance and performing arts education center based in downtown Housatonic—will host a works-in-progress performance of choreography created by teen students in the Young Choreographers Initiative (YCI) at Saint James Place (352 Main Street, Great Barrington). The presentation will feature group and solo works, including improvisations and in-the-moment choreography involving audience participation. The work explores issues that matter most to the students, including sexual assault, consent, and explorations of gender.
Admission is free, with a suggested donation of $10-$20. All donations will assist Pulse to further launch and foster educational workshops and events for the YCI.
Further details about this and other Berkshire Pulse events can be found HERE.
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Crescendo: The Sound of the Trumpet
Celebrating Life in England & New England
Saturday November 10 | 6:00 p.m. | PURCHASE TICKETS: HERE
This program features two “Requiems” and two “Jubilates” of different eras. From the 17th century: Henry Purcell’s “Funeral Sentences and Music for the Funeral of Queen Mary” and Purcell’s “Jubilate Deo,” also written for Queen Mary the year before her death. From the 20th and 21st centuries: composer Scott Perkins’ “A New England Requiem,” his “Jubilate Deo,” and Sir John Taverner’s “A Song for Athene,” that was performed at Lady Diana’s funeral.
The Crescendo Chorus and Vocal Ensemble will be joined by soloists including internationally-renowned countertenor Nicholas Tamagna, period brass, strings, basso continuo and organ. Christine Gevert conducts.
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Aston Magna Chamber Players: A Baroque Concert for a Fall Afternoon
Sunday October 28 | 4:00 p.m. | PURCHASE TICKETS: HERE
Sonatas by Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750)
Wilhelm Friedemann Bach (1710-1784)
Dietrich Buxtehude (1737-1807)
Plus excerpts from J.S. Bach’s “A Musical Offering” (1747)
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38th Annual E.F. Schumacher Lecture
Towards a New Reconstruction: Land, Racism, and Economic Emancipation
Saturday October 27 | 1:00 p.m. | PURCHASE TICKETS: HERE
On Saturday, October 27th, Leah Penniman and Ed Whitfield will deliver the 38th Annual E. F. Schumacher Lectures celebrating the 150th anniversary of the birth of W. E. B. Du Bois. The talks will take place at Saint James Place in Great Barrington, Massachusetts, at 1:00pm.
W. E. B. Du Bois was born in Great Barrington on February 23, 1868. He would become a figure of international importance—the first black man to receive a Ph.D. from Harvard University, a tireless advocate for the rights of marginalized people everywhere, a founder of the Niagara Movement and the NAACP, and the author of countless influential works of scholarship.
Du Bois believed that racial justice was inseparable from economic justice and that economic inequality was the engine and not simply the consequence of a deeper social inequality. Speakers Leah Penniman and Ed Whitfield are doing work that builds on the legacy of W. E. B. Du Bois— his commitment to black economic development, cooperative structures, and fair access to land.
Penniman, co-founder of Soul Fire Farm, is working to end racism in the food system. The title of Penniman’s talk is “Farming While Black: A Legacy of Innovation and Resistance.”
Whitfield, co-founder and co-managing director of the Fund for Democratic Communities, has written and spoken extensively on non-extractive finance, reparations, and building investment structures that support community self-determination.
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Berkshire Music School Faculty Members
Celebrating Leonard Bernstein to honor the 100th anniversary of his birth
Sunday October 14 | 4:00 p.m. | PURCHASE TICKETS: $20 in advance (413-442-1411); $25 at door
An afternoon concert of music by or inspired by Leonard Bernstein, in honor of the 100th anniversary of his birth. Selections will include works from West Side Story, On The Town, Mass and other song cycles. Performers are Berkshire Music School voice faculty members Sherri James Buxton, Marjorie Dix and Keith Spencer; piano faculty members Rahima Hohlstein and Jean Stackhouse; flute faculty member Tari Wheeler Roosa; and cello faculty member Beth Craig.
Berkshire Music School is a nonprofit organization providing quality music instruction since 1940. It has 35 professional musicians/educators as faculty members and a student body of 300 of all ages and levels of abilities. The School is located at 30 Wendell Avenue in downtown Pittsfield. For more information, visit the website at berkshiresmusicschool.org or call 413-442-1411.
Please note that this concert takes place in Great Hall, not the Sanctuary.
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Clarion Concerts: Leaf Peeper Concert Series
The Amernet String Quartet
Saturday October 13 | 5:00 p.m. | PURCHASE TICKETS: HERE
Beethoven: Piano Sonata Pathetique, arr. for String Quartet by Jeff Briggs
Friedrich Kuhlau: Andante from Flute Trio, Op. 51, No. 1 in D Major (1823)
Alberto Ginastera: Impresiones de la Puna, for Flute and String Quartet (1934)
Beethoven: String Quartet No. 15 in A Minor, Op. 132 ‘Heliger Dankgesang’ (1825)
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Clarion Concerts: Leaf Peeper Concert Series
The Neave Piano Trio
Saturday September 29 | 5:00 p.m. | PURCHASE TICKETS: HERE
Josef Haydn: Piano Trio in D Major, Hob. XV:16 (1790)
Dale Trumbore: “Another Chance,” for Piano Trio (2018) – World Premiere
Leonard Bernstein: Piano Trio (1937)
Johannes Brahms: Piano Trio in C Major, Op. 87 (1882)
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Shakespeare Unchained: Playlets, Parodies and Punditry
written by Steve Otfinoski
Sunday September 23 | 3:00 p.m. | PURCHASE TICKETS: HERE
Four comic Skits; Five Actors; Costumes, and a very funny evening of what might have happened to Will Shakespeare and his plays. “Groundlings”, “My Horse, My Horse”, “Waiting on Will”, and “It’s a Tragedy”
Performed by The Sandisfield Players; Directed by Ben Luxon and Jesse Howard
Since making the move to Sandisfield, author Steven Otfinoski has had his plays performed in the Berkshire Playwrights Lab’s first Radius Playwrights Festival, two BPL Writers’ Workshop Showcases, Ventfort Hall in Lenox, and most recently at the International Playwrights Festival at the Warner Theatre in Torrington, Connecticut. Steve divides his time between the Berkshires and Stratford, Connecticut, where some twenty of his short plays have been performed with the playwrights group Squarewrights, in their “Quickies in the Stacks” series. Steve reviews theater in the Berkshires for the New England Theatre Journal and teaches composition and creative writing at Fairfield University in Fairfield, Connecticut. He is also the author of more than 190 Young Adult (YA) books.
Please note that this concert takes place in Great Hall, not the Sanctuary.
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Fanna-Fi-Allah: Sufi Qawwali Music from Pakistan & Northern India
Friday August 31 | 8:00 p.m. | PURCHASE TICKETS: HERE
Fanna-Fi-Allah continues to carry on the ancient wisdom of Sufi Qawwali in their music, a wisdom that is not only heard, but is profoundly felt. They embody a universal message of devotion and tolerance that is crucial to our time.
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Crescendo: Summer 2018 Chamber Music Concert
Melancholy, Desire & Joy – The Sonatas of Corelli, Bach & Handel
Friday August 24 | 6:00 p.m. | PURCHASE TICKETS: HERE
Please note that this concert takes place in Great Hall, not the Sanctuary.
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Berkshire Opera Festival: Meet Joe Green
Featuring the music of Giuseppe Verdi
Wednesday August 15 | 7:30 p.m. | RESERVE FREE TICKETS: HERE
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Olga Dunn Dance Company: A Dance, Song, and Art Festival
Friday July 27 | 7:30 p.m. | TICKETS AT THE DOOR
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Curtis on Tour: The Nina von Maltzahn Touring Initiative of the Curtis Institute of Music
Wednesday July 25 | 7:00 p.m.
Mozart: Duo in G major, K. 423
Shostakovich: Quartet No. 8 in C minor, Op. 110
Ravel: Quartet in F major
Pre-Performance Lecture at 6:00 p.m.
Curtis on Tour with Roberto Diaz and Students
Get Tickets
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Aston Magna: Beethoven Septet, Mozart Quartet, Bernhard Romberg Trio
Saturday July 14 | 6:00 p.m. | PURCHASE TICKETS: HERE
Eric Hoeprich, classical clarinet
Daniel Stepner, baroque violin
Jacques Lee Wood, baroque cello
Anne Trout, bass
Todd Williams, natural horn
Andrew Schwartz, baroque bassoon
Pre-Performance Lecture at 5:00 p.m.
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Aston Magna: Brahms: The Sonatas for Piano and Violin
Saturday July 7 | 6:00 p.m. | PURCHASE TICKETS: HERE
Robert Levin, 1869 Streicher pianos
Daniel Stepner, violin
Pre-Performance Lecture at 5:00 p.m.
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Lucien Aigner: Journalist, Photographer, Favorite Son
Photographic Collection
Mon June 25 – Sun July 8 | 12:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m. Daily | MORE INFO: HERE
Showcase of over 50 of Aigner’s most iconic photos and backstories (some never seen by the public). Special display of the Leica cameras similar to those used by Aigner.
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Aston Magna: Dueling Violins, Genial Gambas
Music of Leclair, Stradella, Caldara, Marais, Ste. Colombe, Couperin
Saturday June 30 | 6:00 p.m. | PURCHASE TICKETS: HERE
Edson Scheid and Daniel Stepner, baroque violins
Sarah Cunningham and Laura Jeppesen, violas de gamba
Michael Sponsellor, harpsichord
Catherine Liddell, theorbo
Pre-Performance Lecture at 5:00 p.m.
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Aston Magna: Bach and Burtzos
Dominique Labelle, Soprano
Saturday June 23 | 6:00 p.m. | PURCHASE TICKETS: HERE
J.S. Bach: Brandenburg Concerto No. 5
“Ich habe genug,” Cantata No. 82
Handel: Two German Arias
Telemann Sonata for Violin, Bassoon, and Continuo
Burtzos: The Hourglass Equation, a new work on period instruments, commissioned by Randolph and Cynthia Nelson
Pre-Performance Lecture at 5:00 p.m.
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GhostLit Repertory Theatre Company: The Tempest, A Musical
Thurs June 14 – Sun June 17 | Times Below | PURCHASE TICKETS: HERE
Text by William Shakespeare – Music by Jackson Teeley – Directed by Caitlin & Jackson Teeley
Thursday June 14th 8:00pm
Friday June 15th 8:00pm
Saturday June 16th 2:00pm & 8:00pm
Sunday June 17th 1:00pm & 7:00pm
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Berkshire Children’s Chorus: 2018 Spring Concert
Featuring Junior & Senior Choirs, and Coda
Sunday June 10 | 4:00 p.m. | PURCHASE TICKETS: HERE
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Crescendo: Laudate Pueri Dominum – Praise the Lord, Ye Children
Saturday June 2 | 6:00 p.m. | PURCHASE TICKETS: HERE
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Crescendo: Dixit Dominus – The Voices of Order Over Chaos
Saturday May 5 | 6:00 p.m. | PURCHASE TICKETS: HERE
Masterworks By Two Baroque Giants: Handel and Vivaldi. Soli, Crescendo Chorus with Baroque period instrument orchestra.
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Crescendo: Songs of the Soul – Sensual & Spiritual Renaissance Voices
Saturday March 16 | 6:00 p.m. | PURCHASE TICKETS: HERE
Josquin des Prez’s Mass L’Homme Armeé and Leonhard Lechner’s The Song of Solomon. Crescendo Vocal Ensemble, organ, dramatic recitation, and dancers.
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Close Encounters with Music: Mid-Winter Fireside Concert
Saturday February 24 | 6:00 p.m. | PURCHASE TICKETS: HERE
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Crescendo: Three Wise Kings Follow a Star
Saturday December 29 | 6:00 p.m. | PURCHASE TICKETS: HERE
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GBAM: Delightful & Delectable Holiday Market
Fri Dec 15 – Sun Dec 17 | DETAILS BELOW
A unique holiday sale featuring the best of the Berkshire’s handmade gifts and delicious giftable treats.
Friday December 15th from 5:00pm-8:00pm: Preview Party. Food, drinks, and music by The Lucky 5.
Saturday December 16th 10:00am-6:00pm
Sunday December 17th 10:00am-4:00pm
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Berkshire Children’s Chorus
Saturday December 9 | Concert begins after Holiday Stroll
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Close Encounters with Music: The Politics of Opera
Sunday November 12 | 3:00 p.m. | PURCHASE TICKETS: HERE
Join Author and Scholar Mitchell Cohen for this intimate seminar in SJP’s Great Hall. Your next night at the opera won’t be the same!
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Crescendo: Through Truth We Triumph – From Martin Luther to J.S. Bach
Saturday October 28 | 6:00 p.m. | PURCHASE TICKETS: HERE
Music by Bach, Telemann, Schütz, Luther and others. Honoring the Reformation’s 500th Anniversary. Crescendo Chorus with Chris Belluscio, natural trumpet, and Baroque period instruments.
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Clarion Concerts: Leaf Peeper Concert Series
Saturday October 21 | 5:00 p.m. | PURCHASE TICKETS: HERE
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Aston Magna: Bach: Father & Son & Their Peers
Saturday October 7 | 7:00 p.m. | PURCHASE TICKETS: HERE
Pre-concert talk at 6:00p.m. with Artistic Director Dan Stepner. Tickets: $40 in advance; $45 at the door. Discounts for students and patrons under 30. Children free with ticketed adult. Visit Aston Magna’s website for more specific concert information HERE
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Green Fire Press: Book Launch for Second Edition of Writing Fire
Sunday September 24 | 3:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m. | FREE
This event is happening at Saint James Place’s Great Hall, located in the back of the building. Join Green Fire Press as they celebrate the new and expanded edition of their celebrated anthology, featuring the voices and visions of more than 75 women of all ages, from many walks of life. Listen to their stories and stay for a celebratory reception.
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The Hoping Machine: Hurricane Harvey Relief Benefit Concert
Thursday September 14 | 7:00 p.m. |SUGGESTED MIN DONATION OF $20 AT DOOR
The recipient of this concert’s funds will be the Houston Food Bank. Performers will be Reggie Harris and Greg Greenway, The Hoping Machine, John Kirk and Trish Miller, Bernice Lewis, the Beeline Ramblers, and Graham and Barbara Dean. This concert is sponsored by The Hoping Machine and Saint James Place. Please call 413-528-0248 for more information or visit The Hoping Machine’s Facebook Page. Doors open at 6:15pm. Reception to follow.
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Clarion Concerts: Leaf Peeper Concert Series
Saturday September 9 | 5:00 p.m. |PURCHASE TICKETS: HERE
This first concert of the Leaf Peeper 2017 Season, features members of the award winning Imani Winds in collaboration with Latin Jazz Grammy winning pianist Alex Brown and Leaf Peeper’s own Music Director and flutist, Eugenia Zukerman.
Leaf Peepers is proud to have commissioned a world premier from the Imani Winds’ flutist, Valerie Coleman.
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Great Barrington Land Conservancy: Riverside Trails Seminar with Peter Jensen
Saturday September 9 | 10:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. | Coffee & Registration 9:45 a.m.
Explore the complexities of riverside trail development through the lens of Great Barrington River Walk where 30 years of community volunteerism and vision have resulted in community access along a stellar National Recreation Trail and rehabilitated river bank.
Renowned trail builder, Peter Jensen will illustrate the key components to sound riverside trail development at this workshop which will include an indoor presentation and guided tour of River Walk , please dress for the weather. Morning refreshments will be provided. Space is limited. Registration is required, please email info@gbtrails.org to save your spot today.
For More Information on GBLC, visit their website HERE
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Berkshire Playwrights Lab: Some Old Black Man
August 10 – 27 | Thurs-Sat 8:00 p.m. | Sat-Sun 3:00 p.m. | PURCHASE TICKETS: HERE
When College Professor, Calvin Jones, moves his 82-year-old doggedly independent, blue collar, ailing, southern father, Donald Jones, from Greenwald, Mississippi into his Harlem penthouse, an argument over what to eat for breakfast turns into a generational clash over race, opportunity, and a decision that Calvin made years ago.
Previews: August 10-12 ($20) *Preview price for August 12 is for 3pm matinee*
Opening: August 12, 8:00pm – Join BPL for a reception after the show! ($55)
For More Information on Berkshire Playwrights Lab, visit their website HERE
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Berkshire Opera Festival: Gods & Monsters: A concert featuring cast members of Ariadne auf Naxos and the Berkshire Opera Festival Chorus
Tuesday August 8 | 7:30 p.m. | PURCHASE TICKETS: HERE
For More Information on Berkshire Opera Festival, visit their website HERE
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Berkshire Playwrights Lab: 2017 Staged Reading Series
3 Wednesdays: June 28, July 12, July 26 | 7:30 p.m. | PURCHASE TICKETS: HERE
For More Information on Berkshire Playwrights Lab, visit their website HERE
Coming in August: Some Old Black Man
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Aston Magna Music Festival
6 Saturdays: June 17 – July 22 | 6:00 p.m. | PURCHASE TICKETS: HERE
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Berkshire Playwrights Lab: 10th Anniversary Celebration
Friday June 9 | 7:00 p.m. | PURCHASE TICKETS: HERE
Join Berkshire Playwrights Lab for a one-night-only party and performance!
-Delicious drinks and nibbles by Simon’s Catering, including a refreshing signature cocktail
-A fun auction with items from local businesses and beyond
-Performance featuring some of our best plays from past Galas
-Mingling with artists and all of your Berkshire friends right here at Saint James Place
Performance contains some mature language and content. Cast subject to change.
For More Information on Berkshire Playwrights Lab, visit their website HERE
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Bach on Parade: Voices, Strings and Keys
with Mendelssohn Glee Club String Quartet and Soloists Gene Wisoff, conductor
Saturday May 20 | 7:30 p.m. | PURCHASE TICKETS: HERE
The Berkshire Bach Society’s upcoming spring concert rolls out a musical parade of some of Johann Sebastian Bach’s most beloved works, showcasing both choral and chamber works, and highlights the program with dramatic vocal, string and keyboard solos. The many dimensions of this program offer the listener the opportunity to marvel at the scope and depth of Bach’s genius.
For More Information: BerkshireBach.org
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Curtis on Tour Presents FiddleFest in Partnership with Saint James Place
April 14, 2017 | 7:00 p.m. | PURCHASE TICKETS: HERE
Curtis on tour – The Nina von Maltzahn Global Touring Initiative of the Curtis Institute of Music – Photo by Pete Checchia | Curtis.edu
Ida Kavafian and student violinists visit venues in the northeast performing a creative program of music featuring the violin. This unique program showcases classic works and virtuosic showpieces, all composed for ensembles featuring only violins.
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April 1, 2017 | 3:00 p.m. & 7:00 p.m. | PURCHASE TICKETS: HERE
