Bard SummerScape returns with live performances July 8–August 15
ANNANDALE-ON-HUDSON — Bard SummerScape returns to live performance with a wide-ranging and adventurous lineup this summer. Staged for limited in-person audiences, the 2021 season presents the 31st Bard Music Festival, “Nadia Boulanger and Her World,” which pays tribute to one of the most important female figures in classical music history; the first fully staged American production of “King Arthur” (Le roi Arthus), the only opera by Boulanger’s compatriot and near-contemporary Ernest Chausson; the world premiere of “I was waiting for the echo of a better day,” a new dance commission from Bard’s Fisher Center Choreographer-in-residence Pam Tanowitz and Sphinx Medal of Excellence-winning composer Jessie Montgomery; “Most Happy in Concert,” songs from Frank Loesser’s “The Most Happy Fella,” directed by Tony nominee Daniel Fish; Black Roots Summer, a two-weekend celebration of Black roots music curated by Michael Mwenso and Jono Gasparro; and a newly commissioned concert from Mx. Justin Vivian Bond. All programs will be staged July 8–August 15 in both the Fisher Center and outdoors at Montgomery Place. Select programs will also be livestreamed at UPSTREAMING, the Fisher Center’s virtual stage.
All SummerScape productions will be presented in adherence with strict COVID protocols and in accordance with CDC and NY State guidance and regulations. Learn more about SummerScape 2021 health and safety protocols.
Bard SummerScape 2021 highlights by genre:
31st Bard Music Festival: “Nadia Boulanger and Her World”
Nadia Boulanger (1887–1979) was a true musical polymath. A prize-winning composer, peerless composition teacher, and trailblazing conductor, organist, and scholar, she is “arguably … the most important woman in the history of classical music” (BBC Music magazine). “Nadia Boulanger and Her World” offers an illuminating series of concerts, pre-concert talks, and panel discussions. On August 6–8, Weekend One explores Music in Paris in the first half of the 20th century, and on August 13–15, Weekend Two addresses The 20th-Century Legacy of Nadia Boulanger. Twelve concert programs spaced over the two weekends explore such themes as Paris as the epitome of chic, the crosscurrents of influence between France and America, and the relationship between French Catholicism and spirituality.
Opera: Ernest Chausson’s “King Arthur” (first fully staged American production)
Ernest Chausson (1855–99) played a pivotal part in the development of French late-Romanticism. Set to his own libretto, Chausson’s sole completed opera, “King Arthur” (Le roi Arthus, 1886–95) depicts the tragic love triangle between the mythological English king, his wife Guinevere, and his trusted knight Lancelot. The production will be directed by Princess Grace Award-winner Louisa Proske, founding co-artistic director of Heartbeat Opera and designated associate artistic director and resident director of Germany’s Halle Opera. Singing the title role will be baritone Norman Garrett, who will be joined by Grammy Award-winning mezzo-soprano Sasha Cooke as Guinevere under the baton of Leon Botstein. “King Arthur” will run for four performances in the Fisher Center’s Sosnoff Theater on July 25, 28, and 30 and August 1.
Dance: World Premiere of “I was waiting for the echo of a better day” by Pam Tanowitz & Jessie Montgomery
SummerScape 2021 opens with the world premiere of “I was waiting for the echo of a better day,” a new commission from Pam Tanowitz, the Fisher Center’s inaugural choreographer-in-residence, in collaboration with Jessie Montgomery, next composer-in-residence of the Chicago Symphony. Set to new arrangements of Montgomery’s chamber music, along with material from her collaboration with Eleonore Oppenheim, “big dog little dog,” this large-scale work will be performed with live musical accompaniment. “I was waiting for the echo of a better day” will premiere in three performances July 8–10 at Montgomery Place.
Concerts at Montgomery Place: Most Happy in Concert
The legendary composer-songwriter behind “Guys and Dolls” and “How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying,” Frank Loesser accrued a string of honors including an Oscar, multiple Tony Awards, and a Pulitzer Prize. “Most Happy in Concert,” features his ebullient songs for a cast of seven female and non-binary vocalists with a 13-piece instrumental ensemble. Helming the concert is director Daniel Fish, whose Tony Award-winning revival of “Oklahoma!” debuted at SummerScape 2015 before traveling to Broadway, where it won the director his first Tony nomination. “Most Happy in Concert” will take place in three performances August 5–7 on the Stage at Montgomery Place.
Concerts at Montgomery Place: Black Roots Summer
Bard celebrates the uplifting spirit of Black roots music over two weekends, with Black Roots Summer, presented in association with Electric Root and curated by jazz vocalist Michael Mwenso and Jono Gasparro, former curator of Ginny’s Supper Club in Harlem. Both weekends take place at Montgomery Place, where Mwenso and the Shakes give two performances of their set Love Will Be the Only Weapon on July 23 and 24. They’ll take listeners on a journey through Black ancestral diasporic music and traditions by way of Fats Waller, Muddy Waters, James Brown and others.
On July 29, Mwenso leads a lineup of special guest vocalists in Genius Mother Mary: A Sonic Retrospective of Mary Lou Williams. A Black woman in the male-dominated field of jazz, Grammy-nominated American pianist, arranger, and composer Mary Lou Williams (1910–81) wrote hundreds of compositions and arrangements, some of them for Duke Ellington and Benny Goodman, as well as making more than 100 recordings and serving as a friend, mentor and teacher to Thelonious Monk, Charlie Parker, Miles Davis, Dizzy Gillespie, and many more.
On July 30 and 31, Bard presents The Sound of (Black) Music, featuring “Edelweiss,” “My Favorite Things,” “Do-Re-Mi,” and other songs from Rodgers and Hammerstein’s final musical, “The Sound of Music,” as reimagined through an Afrofuturistic lens by the 20-plus BIPOC vocalists and instrumentalists assembled by Mwenso and Gasparro.
Concerts at Montgomery Place: Mx. Justin Vivian Bond
SummerScape favorite Mx. Justin Vivian Bond has been heralded as “the greatest cabaret artist of this generation” (New Yorker). The recipient of an Obie, a Bessie, and a Tony nomination, they return to Bard for three performances of a new concert specially commissioned for Montgomery Place on July 15–17.
The Bard box office can be reached by phone at (845) 758-7900, Monday–Friday from 11 a.m.–4 p.m., or by email at boxoffice@bard.edu. Tickets are also available 24/7 on Bard’s website.
—A.K.
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BCC offers free courses for high school students, partners with Rural Recovery Resources
PITTSFIELD — Berkshire Community College (BCC) will offer free college courses to Berkshire County high school juniors and seniors this summer and fall. The wide variety of available courses includes acting, dance, music, math, conservation and ecology, computer programming, cooking and baking, accounting, history, philosophy, and many more. To view a full list of courses offered, and to complete a registration form, click here. Registrants must receive approval from their high school guidance counselors.
Accepted students can earn up to six credits in the summer and up to 15 credits in the fall. All tuition and fees will be waived. Juniors and seniors can place into college-level classes with a high school GPA of 2.7 or higher, or take BCC’s Accuplacer placement exam. Students who choose to take pre-calculus, calculus, or higher will be required to take the math Accuplacer. Students who currently have an IEP or 504 plan can contact Pamela Farron at pfarron@berkshirecc.edu.
“The Early College program allows students to challenge themselves by experiencing the rigor of a college course. As a bonus, they experience what it is like to be in a college classroom at no cost to their families,” said Elizabeth Lapierre, BCC coordinator of enrollment services.
BCC also announces that, on May 18, 2021, it began a series of five online training sessions called Foundations of Opioid Addiction and Recovery, designed for healthcare and social services professionals working in South Berkshire County. The training program was made possible with a $1 million Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) grant awarded to Rural Recovery Resources, a project created by the South Berkshire Opioid Consortium (SBOC). The SBOC consists of four funded partners BCC, The Brien Center, Fairview Hospital, and the Railroad Street Youth Project. BCC will conduct training sessions twice a year for the next three years.
The BCC training curriculum focuses on increasing knowledge and awareness of substance use disorders, reducing stigma, and helping to provide better screening, assessment, and referral services in South Berkshire County. The two-hour training sessions, running weekly through June 15, are titled “Overview of Addictions,” “Cultivating an Attitude of Hope and Curiosity,” “Addiction is More Than Just Drug Use,” “Multiple Pathways to Change,” and “The Invitation to Work Together as a Community.”
In addition to creating curriculum for healthcare and social services professionals, BCC and Rural Recovery Resources are also working together to train frontline health care providers such as phlebotomy technicians.
Rural Recovery Resources Project Manager Gary Pratt said, “This curriculum will improve the lives of those affected by substance use, reduce compassion fatigue in the workforce, and help us move toward more equitable treatment. The HRSA grant and the resources it provides will save lives.”
More than 130 people die every day from opioid-related drug overdoses in the United States. Those trying to make a difference in hard-hit rural communities like Berkshire County — where, according to the Commonwealth’s most recent data, 38 people died of opioid overdose in 2019 — have recognized that collaboration is the key to helping solve this crisis.
For more information about BCC’s Foundations of Opioid Addiction and Recovery training sessions, contact Elena Nuciforo at enuciforo@berkshirecc.edu. For more information about Rural Recovery Resources, contact Gary Pratt at gary@rsyp.org.
—A.K.
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Mahaiwe adds live performances to summer lineup
GREAT BARRINGTON — The Mahaiwe Performing Arts Center will offer live, limited-capacity indoor programming this summer with Pilobolus: Four@Play on Saturday, July 31 at 1 p.m., 4 p.m., and 7 p.m.; Broadway in the Berkshires with host Richard Kind on Monday, Aug. 2 at 7 p.m.; and Cecily Strong: This Will All Be Over Soon on Saturday, Aug. 7 at 4 p.m. and 7 p.m.
Tickets go on sale to Mahaiwe Members on Thursday, June 10 at Noon and to the public on Saturday, June 12 at Noon. Audience capacities will be limited to allow for distance between groups, programs will be run without intermissions, and ticket buyers are to wear facial masks to attend. For more information on safety and attendance guidelines, see mahaiwe.org.
Pilobolus: Four@Play is a rare chance to see Pilobolus return to its roots with a small, intimate group of four dancers in a “mixtape” of vintage favorites. Adults and kids alike will giggle at the hilarious antics of “Walklyndon,” feel goosebumps during the mind-bending imagery of “Alraune,” and marvel at seemingly-impossible physical feats. Tickets range from $31–$56.
For the return of Broadway in the Berkshires, producer and actor Deborah Grausman has assembled creative team including director Robin Levine, music director Laura Bergquist, writer/comedian Jason Salmon, and production stage manager Kat West. The lineup of Broadway performers includes Alyson Cambridge, Ali Ewoldt, Satomi Hofmann, Russell Arden Koplin, Raymond J. Lee, Laura Patinkin, Crystal Sha’nae, Mariand Torres, Michael Wartella, Carolyn Berliner, Lamont Brown, Deborah Grausman, Lauren Jelencovich, Keri Safran, Jared Trudeau, and child actor Violet Tinnirello.
Richard Kind is a Drama Desk Award winner and Tony nominee for the Broadway’s “The Big Knife.” He has appeared in the films Argo, Inside Out, A Serious Man, among others, and Broadway productions of “The Producers,” “Dirty Rotten Scoundrels,” “The Tale of the Allergist’s Wife,” and more. He plays recurring roles in the TV series “The Goldbergs,” “Curb Your Enthusiasm,” “Brockmire,” and “The Other Two,” and is known for his voiceover work in animated features and TV series. Tickets range from $50–$250.
“Saturday Night Live “(SNL) cast member Cecily Strong will offer an exclusive preview of her new memoir, “This Will All Be Over Soon” on Saturday, Aug. 7 at 4 p.m. and 7 p.m. SNL co-stars Heidi Gardner and Bowen Yang will moderate the event at 4 p.m. and 7 p.m. respectively. At the heart of the book is Owen, Cecily’s 30-year-old cousin who died from brain cancer weeks before the coronavirus pandemic changed our lives forever. Inspired by his unshakable positivity and the valuable lessons he taught her, Cecily spent the months in lockdown chronicling his memory as a reminder that, whatever challenges life might throw one’s way, they will be over soon. Cecily will discuss the challenges of beginning a relationship during the pandemic; the pain of losing family and friends; the pivotal events of her life that shaped her; and the importance of gratitude for each passing day. Tickets range from $33–$50. Every ticket includes a signed copy of Cecily’s memoir, provided by The Bookloft.
Once available, tickets will be sold exclusively in advance at mahaiwe.org or by calling the Box Office at 413-528-0100, Wednesday–Saturday, from 12–4 p.m. To access member sale dates or for more information about Mahaiwe Membership, click here or contact Membership & Special Projects Coordinator Melissa Canavan at 413-644-9040 x107 or melissa@mahaiwe.org.
—A.K.
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Jacob’s Pillow announces 2021 Dance Award recipient, Dormeshia
BECKET — Jacob’s Pillow announces Dormeshia as the recipient of the 2021 Jacob’s Pillow Dance Award. The Award, presented each year to an artist of exceptional vision and achievement, carries a cash prize of $25,000 which the artist can use in any way they wish.
Dormeshia is a dynamic tap dancer, choreographer, and instructor who has been lauded as the best of her generation, both by her peers and esteemed dance critics. Her performances have appeared on the Broadway stage, in films, and in choreography for artists including Savion Glover and Gregory Hines. Dormeshia will be honored at Global Pillow: A Virtual Gala, which will be streamed free online on June 12 at 7 p.m.
“Dormeshia is quite simply one of the greatest tap dancers of our time,” said Jacob’s Pillow Artistic & Executive Director Pamela Tatge. “[She] has made singular contributions to the tap world as performer, choreographer, collaborator, educator, and mentor. She is a radiant human being whose elegance, flair, and generosity of spirit draws us to new heights of what’s possible in the tap form.”
At the season-opening gala on June 12, Dormeshia will present a piece, which was filmed at Mount Vernon Performing & Visual Arts Magnet School with live piano accompaniment.
Dormeshia made her Broadway debut in the musical “Black and Blue” alongside Savion Glover, Lon Chaney, Ralph Brown, and Jimmy Slyde. She performed in the Broadway show and international tour of the Tony Award-winning musical “Bring in Da’Noise, Bring in Da’Funk.”
Over the course of her career, Dormeshia has won two Bessie Awards as a performer and choreographer, received a Princess Grace Dance Fellowship, and is a Statue Award winner. As an instructor, she has taught in tap festivals, dance schools, and other venues across the globe. Dormeshia was Michael Jackson’s tap coach for 11 years, and her choreography was featured in Jackson’s music video for “Rock Your World.” Her film credits include Spike Lee’s “Bamboozled,” “TAP” with Gregory Hines, “The Rise and Fall of Miss Thang,” and “The Rodger and Hart Story: Thou Swell, Thou Witty.”
—A.K.
