Bits & Bytes: Emmanuel Ceysson at Music & More; theater critics’ panel; ‘Restoration: Anti-Semitism in France’; Berkshire Feile; conflict workshop

Music & More to present harpist Emmanuel Ceysson

New Marlborough — The New Marlborough Village Association’s Music & More series will present Emmanuel Ceysson, first harpist of the Metropolitan Opera, Saturday, Sept. 14, at 4:30 p.m. at the New Marlborough Meeting House, 154 Hartsville-New Marlborough Road. A reception will follow in the Meeting House Art Gallery.

Born and raised in France, Ceysson was admitted unanimously as a student of the Paris Conservatoire when only 16, and then managed to collect the highest international distinctions and prizes in the course of 10 years, thus securing an acclaimed solo career. He was chosen as the Principal Harp of the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra among 75 others in a blind and anonymous audition process. He moved to New York from Paris in 2015, leaving the harpist chair of the Opéra National that he had won at age 22. He has performed as recitalist in major concert venues around the world. He has performed as a soloist with such ensembles as the Bavarian Radio Orchestra, Deutsche Symphonie Orchester, RAI Orchestra Torino and others. He has taken part in music festivals including the Cartagena Music Festival, the Mecklenburg Vorpommern Festival and Hong Kong Premiere Performances. As a recording artist, his discography covers solo, chamber music and concerto harp repertoire with labels such as Naxos Records, BR-Klassik, Naïve Records and Aparte Music.

Tickets are $20 for members, $25 for nonmembers, $10 for students, and free for youth ages 18 and under. For tickets and more information, see the Berkshire Edge calendar or contact the New Marlborough Village Association at (413) 229-2785 or contact@newmarlborough.org.

–E.E.

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Area theater critics to discuss Berkshire summer 2019

J. Peter Bergman

Pittsfield — The Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at Berkshire Community College will present a panel discussion of the 2019 Berkshire summer theater season Friday, Sept. 13, from 10:30 a.m. to noon at the Berkshire Museum.

Dan Dwyer

The panel will include Edge contributors J. Peter Bergman and Dan Dwyer; Jeffrey Borak of the Berkshire Eagle; and Macey Levin and Barbara Waldinger of Berkshire on Stage. The critics first came together in April of this year as part of OLLI’s annual Berkshire Performing Arts Preview course, which looked ahead to the summer cultural season. Both the audience and the critics enjoyed the discussion so much, it was decided that an encore session would take place after the season was over. Naomi Spatz and Nancy Vale of OLLI’s Performing Arts Initiative will co-moderate the discussion.

The discussion is free and open to the public. For more information, contact the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at Berkshire Community College at (413) 236-2190.

–E.E.

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Temple Anshe Amunim to host dramatizations of anti-Semitism in French history

Jesse Waldinger. Photo: Amber Bauhoff

Pittsfield — On Sunday, Sept. 15, at 2 p.m. Temple Anshe Amunim, in collaboration with Congregation Knesset Israel, will host “Restoration: Anti-Semitism in France,” a double bill of staged readings of “The Esterhazy Draft” and “The Finaly Affair” by playwright Jesse Waldinger, who specializes in historical dramas. The actors who will be performing in the staged readings are Lora Lee Ecobelli, Andrew Joffe, Annette Miller and James Occhino.

Waldinger, a retired attorney, is the author of numerous plays that have been seen locally as well as in New York, New Hampshire, Pennsylvania, New Jersey and California. His interactive Biblical drama “The Trial of Aaron” enjoyed two readings at TAA, most recently in 2016. A collection of four of his short historical pieces was mounted under the rubric “Created Equal” at TAA in 2017. He is co-director of the Hudson, New York-based play development group Plays in Progress.

A discussion following the reading will include two guest speakers. Suzanne Vromen fled Nazi-occupied Belgium as a child and attended school in a convent in the Belgian Congo. She is professor emerita of sociology at Bard College and founded its women’s studies program. Joyce Block Lazarus is the author of “In the Shadow of Vichy: The Finaly Affair,” the book used by the playwright as a resource when researching the story.

There is a suggested donation of $20; admission is free for students. For more information, contact Temple Anshe Amunim at (413) 442-5910 or templeoffice@ansheamunim.org.

–E.E.

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Breffny Irish Dancers to hold second annual Berkshire Feile

The Breffny Irish Dancers. Photo courtesy Terpsichore Dance Center

Pittsfield — The Breffny Irish Dancers of Terpsichore Dance Center, under the direction of Jennie Darby, TMCRN, will hold their second annual Berkshire Feile Saturday, Sept. 14, from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the Elks Lodge.

The 30 dancers aged 5-16 will be joined by other dancers and their families from Irish dance schools throughout New England, Pennsylvania and Ohio for this full day of open-platform competition. The Berkshire Feile is registered, sanctioned and governed by the rules of Cumann Rince Náisiúnta and adjudicated by Tina Rothwell, ADCRN, of Dublin, Ireland.

Tickets are $5 per person and the public is welcome to attend the full day or any part of the competition. For more information, contact the Terpsichore Dance Center at (413) 443-5392.

–E.E.

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Coleman to offer workshop on dealing with conflict

Sharon Coleman, Ph.D.

Great Barrington — Psychologist, workshop leader and coach Sharon Coleman will offer a free introduction to her workshop series “Conflict as a Doorway to Radical Connection” Tuesday, Sept. 17, at 5:30 p.m. at the Mason Library. The workshop series is based on the nonviolent communication and living compassion work of Coleman’s teachers Marshall Rosenberg and Robert Gonzales, and is also inspired by the mindfulness practices of Thich Nhat Hanh as well as Coleman’s years of counseling and training in the corporate sector and in private practice. For more information or to register, contact Sharon Coleman at sharoncolemanphd@gmail.com.

–E.E.