Bits & Bytes: Lydian String Quartet at Music & More; Aaron Lanksy, Yiddish Book Center; Jon Rubin at WCMA; Behold! New Lebanon tours; Steely Dan tribute concert

Lydian String Quartet to perform at Music and More

The Lydian String Quartet.

New Marlborough — Music and More welcomes back the acclaimed Lydian String Quartet (Daniel Stepner and Judith Eissenberg, violin; Mark Berger, viola; Joshua Gordon, cello) on Saturday, September 26, 4:30 p.m. at the New Marlborough Meeting House, 154 Hartsville-New Marlborough Rd.

The Lydians will perform a program of classical and contemporary quartets featuring Mendelssohn’s Quartet in E Flat, Op. 12; Quartet No. 5 by Philip Glass; and Quartet in C Minor, Op. 51, No.1 by Johannes Brahms.

Tickets for the concert are $25. A pre-concert talk will be given at 3:30 p.m. and a reception will follow in the Meeting House Gallery. For ticket information call (413) 229-2785.

–E.E.

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Aaron Lansky: Yiddish Book Center’s next great adventure

Yiddish Book Center founder Aaron Lansky.

Great Barrington — On Friday, September 25, Hevreh of Southern Berkshire will host Aaron Lansky, founder and president of the Yiddish Book Center, who will deliver a talk titled “What To Do with What We’ve Found: A Blueprint for the Yiddish Book Center’s Next Great Adventure.” The program, presented by the Jewish Federation of the Berkshires, will begin at 10:45 a.m. and will be followed by a catered lunch.

Lansky will offer an exciting preview of the 35-year-old museum’s latest plans, which include an audacious strategy to place the greatest Yiddish library ever assembled at the fingertips of every computer, tablet, and smartphone user on the planet. Other initiatives include a plan to train young people to translate the 98 percent of Yiddish books currently inaccessible to English readers, plus educational programs designed to deepen, re-energize, and re-imagine contemporary Jewish culture.

This Knosh & Knowledge program begins at 10:45 a.m. and is open to the public. Admission is $11, which includes the lunch. Participants may attend the program only for $5. Advance reservations are required.

To make the required advance reservations, call the Jewish Federation of the Berkshires at (413) 442-4360 x10 or email jfb.officemanager@verizon.net

–E.E.

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Jon Rubin lecture on Contemporary Art at WCMA

Williamstown — Williams College Museum of Art (WCMA) will feature artist Jon Rubin as the annual Plonsker Family Lecturer in Contemporary Art. The lecture will take place on Saturday, September 26, at 3 p.m. in WCMA’s Lawrence Auditorium. This event is free and open to the public.

Rubin is an interdisciplinary artist who creates interventions into public life that re-imagine individual, group, and institutional behavior. His projects include a radio station in an abandoned neighborhood that only plays the sound of an extinct bird, a restaurant that produces a live video talk show with its customers, and another restaurant that only serves cuisine from countries with which the United States is in conflict. Rubin’s works have been featured in exhibits ranging from the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art to Parkingallery in Tehran, Iran. Rubin is a Creative Capital award recipient and a finalist for the International Award for Participatory Art. He is an associate professor in the School of Art at Carnegie Mellon University and Head of the Contextual Practice area.

For building locations on the Williams campus, consult the online map.

–E.E.

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Behold! New Lebanon rural guide tours

Flying Deer Nature Center director Josh Wood. Photo: Uli Rose.

New Lebanon, N.Y. — Behold! New Lebanon, the living museum of contemporary rural American life, has announced its schedule of programs for Saturday, September 26. The programs include:

Homesteading 101: chicken processing workshop – In this workshop with Paul Rix and Anna Duhon, participants will experience all aspects of processing a chicken from start to finish.

Animal Tracking – Join Flying Deer Nature Center Director Josh Wood in the woods and meadows of New Lebanon and learn to identify animals by their tracks.

Corkscrew Choo! Choo! – Take a leisurely stroll along the Wyomanoc Creek following the footprint of the once famed Rutland Railroad with Joe Ogilvie, President of the Corkscrew Rail Trail Association.

Rescuing an historic house – Join historic preservationist Deborah Gordon, founder of the Phoenix Project of Eastern NY Inc., on a tour of a historic New Lebanon building built c. 1800, which her company has saved and is the preserving and reusing for the community’s benefit.

Tickets are $15 per program and advance ticket purchase is recommended. Family discounts are available; ages 12 and under are admitted free when accompanied by an adult. More information is available from the Berkshire Edge calendar, by calling (518) 720-7265, and by emailing info@beholdnewlebanon.org

–E.E.

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All-star rock group to pay tribute to Steely Dan

Hudson, N.Y. — An all-star group of rock ‘n’ roll talent — including Jules Shear, Gail Ann Dorsey, Rick Marotta, Jerry Marotta, and Scott Petito — will pay tribute to the Hudson Valley’s most famous rock group in “Reelin’ in the Years: The Music of Steely Dan” at Club Helsinki Hudson on Saturday, September 26 at 9 p.m.

Other band members include Jonny Rosch of Blues Brothers fame, Todd Rundgren guitarist Jesse Gress, Peter Primamore, Matt Finck, Erik Lawrence, and Chris Pasin. The outfit also promises some special unannounced guests.

For more information see the Berkshire Edge calendar or call the club at (518) 828-4800.

–E.E.