Berkshire Children’s Chorus to offer holiday concert
Sheffield — The Berkshire Children’s Chorus (BCC) will present its annual holiday concert on Sunday, Dec. 11, at 4:00 at the Old Parish Church. The concert will feature the BCC Junior, Senior, and Coda choirs as well as area musicians Lee Dixon and Anne Voglewede Green on piano, Lucy Bardo on cello, and Eric Martin and Miriam Shapiro on violin. Artistic Director Julie Bickford and Junior Choir Director Karen Sovak will lead the choirs in traditional carols and other songs of the season. Admission is free, but donations will be accepted. For more information, contact BCC at (413) 229-2465 or voices@berkshirechildrenschorus.org.
–E.E.
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BCC Players to present absurdist theatre works
Pittsfield — Berkshire Community College (BCC) and the BCC Players will present the satires “Endgame” and “The Bald Soprano,” directed by Tommy Towne, on Friday, Dec. 9, and Saturday, Dec. 10, at 8 p.m. and Sunday, Dec. 11, at 2 p.m. in the Robert Boland Theatre.
The designation “Theatre of the Absurd” is for particular works of absurdist fiction written by a number of primarily European playwrights in the late 1950s, as well as the style of theatre that evolved from their work. The work focused largely on the idea of existentialism and expressed what happens when human existence has no meaning or purpose and communication breaks down. Samuel Beckett’s “Endgame” is a despairing play about hopelessness, heightened by the fact that the characters are not waiting for anything other than death. “The Bald Soprano” by Eugene Ionesco is a satire about the ordinary English middle class.
Tickets are $15 for general admission and $10 for seniors, students and BCC staff. For tickets and more information, see the Berkshire Edge calendar or contact Kevin McGerigle at (413) 236-4713 or kmcgerigle@berkshirecc.edu.
–E.E.
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Tickets to 2017 Solid Sound Festival to go on sale Friday
North Adams — Three-day tickets for Wilco’s Solid Sound Festival, which will return to MASS MoCA Friday, June 23, through Sunday, June 25, 2017, will go on sale Friday, Dec. 8, at 10 a.m. and be available through solidsoundfestival.com, massmoca.org and the MASS MoCA box office at (413) 662-2111. For a limited time, tickets will be offered at a reduced early-bird rate of $134. Three-day tickets for children ages 6–10 will be available for $50 and will be free for children under 6. Dec. 8 also marks the opening of campsite reservations for Solid Ground, the official festival campground. Campsite reservations can be made only by calling the MASS MoCA box office.
Conceived by Wilco and inaugurated in 2010, Solid Sound will present Wilco as hosts and headliners and will feature an eclectic, Wilco-selected musical lineup of indie, rock, jazz and more, as well as performances by Wilco members’ side projects. In addition to the expansive galleries of MASS MoCA, which will double its exhibition space to encompass over 250,000 square feet of galleries beginning in 2017, the festival includes a fully programmed comedy stage hosted by John Hodgman, naturalist/outdoor activities that exemplify the spirit of the Berkshires, a broad variety of family activities, local food, craft beer and cider, and more.
–E.E.
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Rev. Sheila Sholes-Ross at Berkshire Human Rights Speaker Series
Great Barrington — On Sunday, Dec. 11, at 2 p.m., the Berkshire Human Rights Speaker Series will present Rev. Sheila Sholes-Ross in a talk titled “The Big Talk, Part 2: The Experiences Connected to Community Blindness” at Hevreh of Southern Berkshire.
Building on her “Big Talk” presentation last season, Rev. Sholes-Ross will reflect on her recent visit to Baton Rouge during the Alton Jones killing by police and consider thoughts on what changes should be made so that history will not repeat itself. Said Sholes-Ross: “I want this Part 2 talk to instill a discomfort within all of us. None of us should be allowed to become complacent and satisfied with the painfully slow, forward movement regarding race relations. There will always be crises if talks and strategies are not in flux.”
Sholes-Ross is the first African-American woman to lead the First Baptist Church of Pittsfield. A passionate new member of the Berkshire community, she is on a mission to advocate for all women serving in the ministry while addressing issues of social justice.
For more information, call Hevreh at 413.528.6378
–E.E.
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‘Coping With Loss’ holiday program
Great Barrington — Fairview Hospital and HospiceCare in the Berkshires will present “Coping With Loss During the Holidays” on Tuesday, Dec. 13, at 4 p.m. in Fairview’s ground floor conference room. Following the presentation, Fairview will hold a celebration with cider and cookies for its Trees of Light, a tribute to those who have been remembered this year through memorial gifts to Fairview Hospital. Participants are invited to add their own stars to the tree at no charge. Call (413) 854-9611 to register or for more information.
–E.E.
