Berkshire Botanical Garden presents ‘Floraborealis’
Stockbridge— Berkshire Botanical Garden announces its featured summer art exhibition, Cynthia Wick’s “Floraborealis,” on display in the Leonhardt Art Galleries from June 30th through August 27th.
“Floraborealis” features complex joyous, incandescent paintings exploring Wick’s memories of color, light and beauty. Wick’s deeply felt love of nature is undeniable as flowers, star-filled skies, and bodies of water merge into distant, twinkling city lights. Her materials are acrylic paint and painted paper collage. The artist also adds found objects like metallic cocktail umbrellas, glitter, and Japanese paper.
“The back and forth with paint and collage is a kind of call and response,” Wick explains. “A tiny bit of torn yellow paper chatters with a delicate, glaze-y, violet paint stroke. I’m learning at all costs to trust the painting to tell me what it needs. The uncertainty in that makes painting endlessly exciting to me, like a wild ride.”
“Floraborealis” is Wick’s second show at Berkshire Botanical Garden, following her 2019 exhibition, “The Shape of Color”.
The opening reception for ‘Floraborealis’ is Friday, June 30th from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. at Berkshire Botanical Garden on West Stockbridge Road in Stockbridge. Gallery hours are seven days a week, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. For more information, visit Berkshire Botanical garden online.
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Summer Stage at Ski Butternut presents ‘The Breakers: A Tribute to Tom Petty with The Eagles Experience’
Great Barrington— On Saturday, June 8th at 7:30 p.m., Summer Stage at Ski Butternut presents “The Breakers: A Tribute to Tom Petty with The Eagles Experience”.
The Breakers are a no frills rock band who meticulously encompass the Tom Petty sound and musically establish an emotional connection with the crowd that’s palpable, providing the most genuine sounding Petty experience in the country.
The members of the Breakers all come from a background of recording and touring with original bands and perform the music of The Heartbreakers with the same passion and dedication. They have paid tireless attention to detail to each and every song which appeals to both casual and diehard Tom Petty fans alike.
Gates open at 4 p.m. There are earlier performances by New Rising Sun at 4:30 p.m. and the Eagles Experience at 5:45 p.m. The Breakers take the stage at 7:30 p.m.
The concert is on Saturday, June 8th on the Summer Stage at Ski Butternut on State Road in Great Barrington.Tickets are $32 in advance and $38 on the day of the concert. A family friendly event, attendees are invited to bring their own chairs and blankets. No outside food or beverages allowed. The concert will happen rain or shine. Tickets are available online.
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Close Encounters with Music presents the Season Finale Gala Concert, Schubert’s “Trout’ and ‘Schumann Piano Quintet’ at the Mahaiwe Performing Arts Center
Great Barrington— On Sunday, June 11th at 4 p.m., Close Encounters with Music presents the Season Finale Gala Concert, Schubert’s “Trout” and “Schumann Piano Quintet”, at the Mahaiwe Performing Arts Center.
Bubbly, like fine Champagne, Schubert’s “Trout” Quintet is one of the most joyous pieces ever written. A landmark of classical music, it weaves a net of enchantment with its catchy melodies and fresh exuberance. This piece has it all – elegance, beauty, and irrepressible good humor. This piece written from the pen of a 22-year-old prodigy was inspired by the tragic-comic death of a fish that captures the glories of nature!
The program also features Schumann’s miraculous “Piano Quintet in E-flat Major”, the first work ever conceived and written for this combination of instruments. An all-star ensemble that joins artistic director Yehuda Hanani includes returning Van Cliburn Gold Medalist Yekwon Sunwoo who has been called a “superbly assured pianist” by BBC Music, and violinist Giora Schmidt, who was called “impossible to resist, captivating with lyricism, tonal warmth, and boundless enthusiasm” by the Cleveland Plain Dealer.
The Gala concert is on Sunday, June 11th at 4 p.m. at the Mahaiwe in Castle Street in Great Barrington. Tickets are $28 to $52. Tickets and more information can be found by visiting Close Encounters with Music online.
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The Adams Theatre presents ‘Shadows of Forgotten Ancestors: An Immersive Musical Homage to the Spirit of Ukraine’
Adams— On Saturday, July 1st and Sunday, July 2nd at 7 p.m., the Adams Theatre presents “Shadows of Forgotten Ancestors: An Immersive Musical Homage to the Spirit of Ukraine”.
Locally rooted musical collective Floating Tower, working with Berkshire artist Joe Wheaton, will fill The Adams Theater with a unique, poignant musical tribute to the people of Ukraine. With an immersive installation that will transform the theater into an ancient Ukrainian forest, “Shadows of Forgotten Ancestors: An Immersive Musical Homage to the Spirit of Ukraine” centers around a classic Ukrainian art film of the same name. Using the film as a starting point, composer Mátti Kovler, a former Tanglewood Fellow, has brought together Ukrainian musicians and the artists in Floating Tower, all who have their own immigration and refugee stories.
Floating Tower’s mission is to create music and theater experiences that transcend the boundaries of language, geography or genre. The company’s core collective comprises immigrant and refugee actors and musicians based in the U.S. They also operate an artist retreat in North Adams, where they workshop immersive performances and host immigrant and refugee musicians for artist residencies.
The immersive experience is on Saturday, July 1st and Sunday, July 2nd at 7 p.m. at the Adams Theatre on Park Street in Adams. Tickets range from $20 to $70. Proceeds from the performance will be donated to benefit Razom for Ukraine, an organization supplying aid to vulnerable communities in Ukraine. Tickets and more information can be found online.
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Oblong Books in partnership with the White Hart Inn and Scoville Memorial Library presents ‘White Hart Speaker Series: Mary Beth Keane, ‘The Half Moon’’
Salibury— On Thursday, June 8th at 6:30 p.m., Oblong Books in partnership with the White Hart Inn and Scoville Memorial Library presents White Hart Speaker Series: Mary Beth Keane, ‘The Half Moon’.
“The Half Moon” is from the bestselling author of “Ask Again, Yes”, a masterful novel about a couple in a small town who must navigate the complexities of marriage, family, and longing.
Award-winning author Mary Beth Keane’s new novel takes place over the course of one week when Malcolm learns shocking news about Jess, a patron of the bar, who goes missing while a blizzard traps everyone in place. With a deft eye and generous spirit, Keane explores the disappointments and unexpected consolations of midlife, the many forms forgiveness can take, the complicated intimacy of small-town living, and what it means to be a family.
The reading is on Thursday, June 8th at 6:30 p.m. at the White Hart Inn on Undermountain Road in Salisbury. Registration and more information can be found by visiting the Scoville Memorial Library online.
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Berkshire Children’s Chorus presents final concert of the season featuring original artwork, performances on ukuleles, and musical explorations of three different ‘circles of life’
Pittsfield— On Sunday, June 11th at 4 p.m., the Berkshire Children’s Chorus invites the public to its final concert of the season featuring original artwork, performances on ukuleles, and musical explorations of three different “circles of life”.
Drawing inspiration from the simple geometric shape, Berkshire Children’s Chorus will present a concert that explores various circles of life: creation, the cosmos, and community.
This semester, the chorus welcomed an artist-in-residence, Elizabeth Nelson, who led monthly workshops with the singers to develop mandala-inspired artwork. This original artwork, which visually represents the music from the concert program, will be on display in the Common Room during the concert.
The Circles concert will also be the culmination of two ukulele-focused programs offered by the Berkshire Children’s Chorus in collaboration with Berkshire Music School and Sheffield-based instrument manufacturers The Magic Fluke.
The concert is on Sunday, June 11th at 4 p.m. in the Common Room at Zion Lutheran Church on First Street in Pittsfield. Admission is free, although donations made at the door are greatly appreciated. More information can be found by visiting the Berkshire Children’s Chorus online.
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The Sandisfield Arts Center is pleased to announce the 2nd Annual Daniel Manacher Prize for Young Artists
Sandisfield— Friday, June 30th is the deadline to apply for the 2nd Annual Daniel Manacher Prize for Young Artists.
The Sandisfield Arts Center is pleased to announce the 2nd Annual Daniel Manacher Prize for Young Artists. Three artists will be selected as finalists and each will receive $350 in support of their art practice, as well as a group show of their work at the Sandisfield Arts Center on August 19th.
The prize was created by Adam Manacher and Carol Birnbaum, the parents of Daniel Manacher, in memory of their son and his passion for art. “Daniel worked on different surfaces, always hand-drawn,” said his father, Adam Manacher. “He loved interacting with people in their love for art. We hope, with the Daniel Manacher Prize for Young Artists, to inspire other young artists and to assist them as they reach for their dreams.”
Eligible artists are those 17 to 26 years of age living or attending school in Berkshire County. There is no fee associated with the application and all entrants will be judged based solely on the merit of the work presented. Past winners are not eligible to apply. This year, applications will be accepted from those working in painting, drawing, mixed media, sculpture, digital paintings, and digital drawings.
The entry deadline is Friday, June 30th. The applications will be reviewed by a jury and artists will be notified no later than July 17th. To apply, visit Sandisfield Arts Center online.
