Berkshire Bach to present trumpet and organ concert
Pittsfield – On Saturday, April 9, at 6 p.m., the Berkshire Bach Society will present “New Directions for Trumpet and Organ – A 350-Year Span,” featuring organist Peter Sykes and trumpeter Robinson Pyle, at the United Methodist Church of Pittsfield. The program for Berkshire Bach’s annual organ concert will include, among other works, Johann Friedrich Fasch’s Trumpet Concerto; Kent Kennan’s Trumpet Sonata; and Bach’s Prelude and Fugue in E Minor, BWV 548 (“The Wedge”).
As part of its mission to present a well-rounded season of the works of Bach and his contemporaries, the Berkshire Bach Society’s annual organ concert often includes a brass component, but the pairing of trumpet and organ was not common until the 20th century. “New Directions for Trumpet and Organ, A 350-Year Span” brings the trumpet and the organ together in works transcribed or arranged from original settings to the combination of the “king of instruments” and the heraldic nature of the trumpet.
Organist Peter Sykes serves as associate professor of music and chair of the historical performance department at Boston University where he teaches organ, harpsichord, clavichord, performance practice, and continuo realization. He is also music director of First Church Cambridge and principal instructor of harpsichord at the Juilliard School in New York City. He also performs and records with Boston Baroque and Aston Magna.
Trumpeter Robinson Pyle performs extensively in the Boston area on both modern and historic instruments. He is currently a principal with Boston Baroque, teaches in the historic performance department at Boston University, and is a faculty member in the Wellesley Public Schools. He holds a degree in trumpet performance from the Oberlin College Conservatory of Music.
Tickets are $50 for preferred seating, $30 for the general public, $25 for Berkshire Bach members, and free for students with ID. For tickets and more information, see the Berkshire Edge calendar or call (413) 528-9555.
–E.E.
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BHS Kitten Shower
Pittsfield — Berkshire Humane Society (BHS) is holding its second annual Kitten Shower from though Saturday, April 30.
Although BHS has made great strides in decreasing the number of homeless cats through its low-cost spaying and neutering programs, the shelter cared for almost 300 kittens during last year’s kitten season. To help prepare and care for this year’s litters, BHS is asking the community for donations for its annual Kitten Shower.
Suggested items include kitten replacement milk, canned pate kitten food, clay cat litter, litter boxes, cat toys, cat carriers, baby wipes, fleece baby blankets, small stuffed animals, high-efficient laundry detergent, bleach, paper towels, heating pads, non-pine floor cleaner, and hand sanitizer. Gift cards and monetary donations are also appreciated.
Donations can be dropped off at the Kitten Crib in the BHS lobby. Each donor will also be able to suggest a name for a kitten. Kitten Shower donations will also be accepted at Benson’s Pet Center, 457 Dalton Ave., and BHS’ Humane Heroes will collect supplies at Stop & Shop on Saturday, April 30, from 10 a.m. – 2 p.m.
For more information about BHS’s Kitten Shower, contact Lizzy Brown at (413) 447-7878 x129 or ebrown@berkshirehumane.org.
–E.E.
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William Moomaw to discuss COP21 climate agreements
Williamstown – Williams College will present William Moomaw ’59, professor emeritus of international environmental policy at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University at the First Congregational Church on Sunday, April 10. Moomaw will give a talk entitled “Exceeding Expectations: Beyond the Climate Agreements at COP21” at 11:20 a.m., following the church’s regular Sunday morning service.
The lead author or coordinating lead author of five U.N. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change reports, Moomaw attended COP21 in Paris last December. At Tufts he was the founding director of the Center for International Environment and Resource Policy and the Tufts Climate Initiative, and co-founder of the Global Development and Environment Institute. Moomaw was an author of the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment on nitrogen and serves on the Integrated Nitrogen Committee of the EPA Science Advisory Board. He was the first director of the Climate, Energy and Pollution program at the World Resources Institute, and directed the Center for Environmental Studies at Williams, where he taught from 1964 to 1990. Moomaw currently serves on the board of directors of the Climate Group, Clean Air-Cool Planet (which he co-founded), Earthwatch Institute, Center for Ecological Technologies, and the Consensus Building Institute. Moomaw graduated from Williams in 1959 and holds a Ph.D. in physical chemistry from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
For building locations on the Williams campus, consult the online map or call the Office of Communications at (413) 597-4277.
–E.E.
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Registration open for Litchfield Jazz Camp
New Milford, Conn. — Litchfield Jazz Camp is accepting registration for its 2016 summer season. The four week-long sessions will be held at Canterbury School; will begin on Sunday, July 10; and will culminate in the Litchfield Jazz Festival on Saturday, August 6, and Sunday, August 7. Litchfield Jazz Camp features one- to four-week stays; instruction for instruments and voice, courses in jazz theory as well as fitness and life skills, and a variety of performance opportunities.
The camp is suitable for students ages 12 and up. There is no pre-audition and the camp provides some support to students with financial need. For more information call (860) 361-6285.
–E.E.
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Mac-Hadyn Theatre auditions
Chatham, N.Y. — The Mac-Haydn Theatre has announced its auditions for the upcoming season. Auditions for adults ages 16 and older will take place on Saturday, April 9; children ages 15 and under will audition on Saturday, April 16. All auditions will be held at the Mary E. Dardess Elementary School from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Adults will be auditioning for spots in the professional performing company for the summer, as well as roles or ensemble casting in one or more shows. A boy and girl ages 8 to 12 are needed to play the Polynesian children in “South Pacific” and a precocious pre- to young teen boy is featured as Pugsley in “The Addams Family.” Children will also be chosen to be in one or more of the Mac-Haydn Children’s Theatre shows.
Adults are asked to prepare a song and a short comedic monologue, and to bring sheet music in their key as well as shoes and clothing appropriate for a short dance/movement call. Children should prepare a song and also bring the sheet music in their key plus shoes for the dance/movement exercise.
The Mac-Haydn Theatre’s 2016 season includes “My Fair Lady,” “Nice Work if You Can Get It,” “South Pacific,” “Chicago,” “Into the Woods,” “Sister Act,” and “The Addams Family” and runs mid-May through mid-September. Call the Theatre for more information at (518) 392-9292.
–E.E.
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Kids 4 Harmony students selected for national orchestra
Pittsfield — Berkshire Children and Families’ Kids 4 Harmony–an El Sistema-inspired, intensive, classical music model for social change–has announced that five students will participate in the national Take a Stand Festival at Bard College in Annandale-on-Hudson, N.Y.
Hannah Beckington, Gerdlie Jean Louis, Gerdrose Jean Louis, Leila Paredes, and Johan Serrano participate in Kids 4 Harmony’s program at Morningside Community School and will attend the five-day Youth Orchestra of the East camp, focusing on musicianship and leadership and culminating in a concert conducted by Bard president and American Symphony Orchestra music director Leon Botstein.
–E.E.
