Hotchkiss School to present Quink
Lakeville, Conn. — The Hotchkiss School’s Hotchkiss Concert Series will present the Dutch vocal ensemble Quink on Friday, February 12, at 7 p.m. in the Katherine M. Elfers Hall of the Esther Eastman Music Center. Quink will be joined by pianists Fabio and Gisele Witkowski. The evening’s program will include works by English Romantic composers, Clara Schumann, and Johannes Brahms. The concert will be free and open to the public.
Quink is comprised of Dutch singers soprano Marjon Strijk, mezzo-soprano Elsbeth Gerritsen, tenor Harry van Berne, and bass Kees Jan de Koning. The ensemble’s vast a cappella repertoire includes compositions from the early Renaissance period to contemporary arrangements. Following its successful debut at the Holland Festival, Quink quickly emerged on the world stage, making a New York City debut at the Kaufman Music Center’s Merkin Hall and touring the United States in 1985. Quink is regularly invited to internationally acclaimed music festivals. The group has an extensive recording history with the labels Etcetera, CBS, Vanguard Classics, Ottavo, and Telarc International including collections of Italian and English madrigals, Christmas carols international folksongs, and contemporary Dutch a cappella music.
Brazilian pianists Fabio and Gisele Witkowski have been sharing stages around the world as the Witkowski Piano Duo. Accomplished pianists and dedicated educators, the Witkowskis are admired for their vibrant and dynamic four-hands-and-two-pianos performances. They have delighted audiences in settings such as the Gardens of Villa Rufolo in Ravello, Italy; the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C.; and Carnegie Hall in New York City as well as at recitals in the United States, South America, South Korea, Hong Kong, China, and Europe. Beyond performing they also are busy academics, both teaching at the Hotchkiss School where Mr. Witkowski is the head of the Department of Visual and Performing Arts and the director of the music program.
For more information call (860) 435-4423.
–E.E.
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BBG to present Anna Pavord in its winter lecture
Great Barrington – Berkshire Botanical Garden (BBG) will present best-selling author of “The Tulip” and recipient of the Royal Horticultural Society’s prestigious Gold Veitch Medal Anna Pavord in a talk entitled “Creating Your Own Garden Style” at Monument Mountain Regional High School on Saturday, February 13, at 2 p.m.
Pavord will provide a fresh perspective on garden design and will explain what garden style is and how to create a garden of one’s own. She will also share images of distinctive gardens.
Tickets for the winter lecture are $45 for non-members and $35 for members. A cocktail party with Pavord will take place on Friday, February 12, at 5:30 p.m. in West Stockbridge. Call the Garden for more information at (413) 298-3926.
–E.E.
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Junk Music™ with the Junkman™ at Berkshire Museum
Pittsfield — On Saturday, February 13, and Sunday, February 14, the Berkshire Museum will offer Junk Music™ with the Junkman™, two exciting days of innovative music-making, science, and fun with the Junkman™, the world-renowned original recycled materials percussionist from Vermont. The Junkman™ will present three diverse interactive programs for kids of all ages with and without prior music experience. All programs will be included with regular Museum admission.
Junk Music™ with the Junkman™ will be presented Saturday, February 13, 10:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Sunday, February 14, 12:30 p.m. to 5 p.m., with a snow date of Monday, February 15, 10:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Each day will include a number of components, beginning with an interactive concert that also will be repeated midway through the afternoon. The Make & Take activity will allow visitors to build an original wind chime with reused materials. During the JunkjamTM, everyone will grab a stick and a junk object and jam out! The Interactive Eco-Music Workshop will explore the science behind junk music. The Make & Take activity will have limited seating and spots will be reserved on a first-come, first-served basis. For more information or to make reservations, call (413) 443-7171 x360.
Junk Music™ with the Junkman™ is part of Berkshire Museum’s Ten Days of Play and the 10×10 Upstreet Arts Festival.
–E.E.
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Jewelry trunk show at Lauren Clark Fine Art
Great Barrington – Lauren Clark Fine Art will present a Valentine’s jewelry trunk show with Pola Oslo Design Friday, February 12, from 5 p.m. – 8 p.m.; Saturday, February 13, from 1 p.m. – 7 p.m.; and Sunday, February 14, from 11 a.m. – 3 p.m. at the Gallery.
Pola Oslo Design owner and artist Magdalene Teigen Story received her M.F.A. from San Francisco Art Institute and spent her early career exhibiting her work in galleries throughout the San Francisco area. With an interest and talent in working with surface and textile designs, she is a successful textile designer who works for some of the most prestigious companies in the U.S.
Call the Gallery for more information at (413) 528-0432.
–E.E.
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GBRSS to present student science fair
Great Barrington – Great Barrington Rudolf Steiner School (GBRSS) invites the community to its bi-annual Middle School Student Science Fair and Open House, Thursday, February 11, at 7 p.m. and Friday, February 12, at 9 a.m. in the school’s auditorium.
Leading the Science Fair this year is experienced Waldorf math and science teacher Lynn Arches, a seven-time Who’s Who Among American Teachers honoree whose research on the metabolic process of the female Denning polar bear and desalinization led her to collaborate with leading polar bear researchers. Nearly 45 GBRSS seventh- and eighth-graders will demonstrate projects on diverse topics including many that concern conservation and “green” solutions to everyday problems, providing a firsthand opportunity to explore the phenomenological way students learn science at GBRSS.
An open house will follow the science fair on Friday. For more information or reservations to the open house, contact Robyn Coe at admissions@gbrss.org or (413) 528-4015 x106.
–E.E.
