Berkshire Opera Festival announces Artistic and Education Coordinator
Berkshire— Berkshire Opera Festival (BOF) has big plans for education and community outreach in 2024. Leading these initiatives is Geoffrey Larson in his newly expanded role as Artistic and Education Coordinator.
Geoffrey Larson has been working with BOF since 2017 as Berkshire Opera Festival’s Chorus Master and Assistant Conductor. He was on the podium for BOF’s production of Cipullo’s “Glory Denied” in 2021. In his newly expanded role as Artistic and Education Coordinator, Larson will bring insight into BOF’s world-class opera offerings to communities throughout the Berkshire region, starting with our first-ever Berkshire Opera Festival Chorus Community Sing-Along on January 27th.
At home on both the symphonic and operatic stage, Larson is the founding Music Director of the Seattle Metropolitan Chamber Orchestra. His adventurous, multi-genre projects have harnessed the storytelling power, rich variety, and universal relevance of orchestral and operatic music to engage new audiences. Passionate about equity of access and increased inclusion in classical music, Larson’s performances with the Seattle Metropolitan Chamber Orchestra each feature works by composers of under-represented groups, such as women and people of color.
In December of 2021, Larson was awarded second prize in the International Orchestral Conducting Competition “UAL” in Spain, after competing with 126 conductors from 26 countries. He was also named a semifinalist in the Arthur Nikisch International Conducting Competition and a finalist in the Lanyí International Conducting Competition. He has conducted orchestras such as the South Bend Symphony, Omaha Symphony, Spokane Symphony, Bainbridge Symphony, Northwest Mahler Festival, National Radio and Television Orchestra of Albania, and Pleven Philharmonic of Bulgaria.
In the world of opera, he has collaborated with artists such as Tamara Wilson, Sebastian Catana, Caroline Worra, and Daniel Belcher. Working closely with baritone Sherrill Milnes, he served as Assistant Conductor for Mozart’s “Don Giovanni” at the Estates Theatre in Prague, the site of the work’s premiere. He recently collaborated with soprano Laquita Mitchell and members of the Seattle Symphony for a new staging by Music of Remembrance of Tom Cipullo’s opera Josephine.
Larson is currently completing a doctoral thesis at the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music under the mentorship of Arthur Fagen and Thomas Wilkins. He has served as Assistant Conductor of IU Opera and Ballet Theatre, working with David Neely, Kevin Murphy, and Walter Huff. He previously studied with the late Robert Page at Carnegie Mellon University, where he conducted performances and recording sessions of the Carnegie Mellon Philharmonic. His recording with the Carnegie Mellon Contemporary Music Ensemble appears on NAXOS Records.
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Greylock appoints Brett Random to Board of Directors
Pittsfield— Greylock Federal Credit Union is pleased to announce the appointment of Brett Random to Greylock’s volunteer Board of Directors.
Brett Random is the Executive Director for Berkshire County Head Start and a certified parent educator. She earned a bachelor’s degree in Interdisciplinary Studies: Children, Families, and Society from MCLA; a master’s degree in social work from Westfield State University; and a certification in organizational leadership from Harvard Business School. Additionally, Random is a 2018 recipient of the 40 Under Forty Award from Berkshire Community College.
Random volunteers her time with various organizations, including the city of Pittsfield’s Advisory Council for the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA), Department of Transitional Assistance Advisory Committee, and the Department of Children and Families Advisory Board. She has previously served as a mentor for the Rites of Passage and the Empowerment Program (R.O.P.E.) and as a committee member for the Berkshire Compact for Education Committee.
“We are honored to have Brett join the board,” says Greylock Board Chair Peter Lopez. “Her professional experience and personal priorities will strengthen this board even further. Greylock is grateful for her dedication and shared commitment to the community.”
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Jacob’s Pillow welcomes Kim Chan as Associate Artistic Director
January— Jacob’s Pillow announced today that Kim Chan will join the organization’s curatorial and leadership team as Associate Artistic Director, an enhanced full-time staff position that begins January 22nd. In this role, Chan will oversee several administrative departments at the organization, with a program portfolio encompassing archives and preservation, audience engagement, community engagement, in-person performances, artist residencies, and The School at Jacob’s Pillow.
Chan will also serve on the curatorial team at Jacob’s Pillow, identifying artists to perform at the Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival and to participate in the Pillow Lab year-round residency program. Additionally, the Associate Artistic Director position will be responsible for integrating Jacob’s Pillow’s programming areas operationally and strategically with an eye to achieving the organization’s Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, and Access (IDEA) goals. Over the next five years, Chan will collaborate on facilitating a deeper digital integration of Jacob’s Pillow’s programming areas.
Chan said she is “thrilled and honored” to contribute to Jacob’s Pillow’s legacy in partnership with the Pillow staff and curatorial team. “Dance is a lifelong passion,” she said, “and Jacob’s Pillow has fed that passion throughout my career. I am also excited to participate in the leadership that the dance field brings to today’s cultural sector, and how the Pillow can further its mission by establishing and nurturing coalitions with artists and peers to shape our collective futures with equity, strength, and creativity.”
Kim Chan has worked extensively in New York City and Washington, D.C. as a producer, curator, presenter, marketer, and fundraiser of poetry, music, theater, dance, arts education, and literature. She is a board member for the MAP Fund, Mid-Atlantic Arts, Ping Chong + Company, and Pick-Up Performance Co(s). She has also served on the New York Dance and Performance “Bessies” Award Committee, on the boards for the Association of Performing Arts Professionals (APAP), Guillermo Gómez-Peña’s La Pocha Nostra, and Dance Place, on the advisory board at GALA Hispanic Theatre, and as a National Dance Project Hub Site.
Chan is the recipient of the Workforce Development Mentor of the Year Award from the National Independent Venue Foundation for her work at National Sawdust, the music incubator in Brooklyn; the Pola Nirenska Lifetime Achievement in Dance Award from Washington Performing Arts; and Outstanding Service Awards from the International Association of Blacks in Dance and the Chen Dance Center. Chan is also one of the volunteers with Make Us Visible NJ who helped organize advocacy efforts that made New Jersey the second state in the country to pass legislation requiring Asian American Pacific Island Studies be taught in K-12 school curriculums as a long-term approach to counter anti-Asian racism.
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2nd Street elects Lindsay Maynard as new Executive Director as outgoing director Jason Cuyler joins Berkshire County Sheriff’s Office
Pittsfield— The 2nd Street Board of Directors has elected Sergeant Lindsay Maynard as its new executive director following the departure of Jason Cuyler, who recently announced he has taken a position as Assistant Deputy Superintendent of Community Engagement at the Berkshire County Sheriff’s Office. Maynard will take the reins at 2nd Street on April 1st.
Maynard, a native of Lanesborough, is currently a corrections officer and corrections caseworker for the Berkshire County Sheriff’s Office. She holds a bachelor’s degree in rehabilitation and disabilities studies with a minor in psychology, along with a master’s degree in clinical mental health counseling from Springfield College. She is also a graduate of the Western Massachusetts County Correctional Officers Academy.
Maynard has been “an integral part of 2nd Street since its inception,” Gold said, noting that the organization works closely with the Berkshire County Sheriff’s Office to place referrals, facilitate aftercare case management, create workshops and other events, and help maintain a seamless transition between incarceration and reentry into the community.
“Gratitude fuels my excitement as I step into the role of Executive Director of 2nd Street. I’m grateful for the trust of Sheriff Tom Bowler and the advocacy of Mark Gold, and I give special thanks to Jason Cuyler for his leadership and guidance,” Maynard said. “I am ready to carry forward the community 2nd Street has created.”
Jason Cuyler said his experience at 2nd Street will help drive him forward at his new position “Working collaboratively with fellow Berkshire County community agencies and the 2nd Street support staff has been an honor, and I eagerly anticipate the opportunity to sustain these partnerships in my new capacity with the Sheriff’s Office,” Cuyler said. “Providing services and support for formerly incarcerated clients has been a rewarding journey, and I look forward to continuing this vital work for the betterment of our community.”
Sheriff Thomas Bowler praised both Cuyler and Maynard for their accomplishments. “I am extremely proud of the incredible work Jason Cuyler has done as executive director of 2nd Street. What started as a simple vision — to work collaboratively with community agencies to address the needs of the formerly incarcerated — resulted in the creation of something very special,” Bowler said.
“Jason proved to be the right fit at the right moment in time. The time has come, however, for Jason to take on an even bigger role within the Sheriff’s Office, “Bowler continued. “I could not think of a better person to assume his role than Sergeant Lindsay Maynard. Lindsay is extremely qualified and is respected by her clients and her peers. I am confident that she will continue what Jason has started with great success. Our community is blessed to have such talented individuals devote their lives to helping others in need.”
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The Mahaiwe Performing Arts Center has two new staff appointments
Great Barrington— The Mahaiwe Performing Arts Center has two new staff appointments.
The Mahaiwe has appointed Natalia Bernal to the newly created staff position, Education & Community Engagement Manager. Natalia has a degree in Music Business from Berklee College of Music, a degree in Contemporary Music from Escuela Moderna de Música in Santiago, Chile, and an extensive background in Education and Arts Administration. She is a vocalist and composer with 25 years of experience as a Latin Jazz and Andean Jazz performer. Originally from Chile, Natalia is a Spanish, Portuguese, and English speaker.
Josef Quirinale has joined the Mahaiwe team as the theater’s House Manager. Josef holds a degree in Theatre and Communications from UNH. Following several years as a children’s theatre director, Production Manager, and General Manager for regional theatre companies, Josef transitioned to food service as a Food Service Director for an amusement park, and later a living history village. As a General Manager for a prominent worldwide food service corporation, he was a Dining Services General Manager on several University and College campuses in New England.
