“Every time I meet someone new, I always ask two questions: Do you ever come to the New Marlborough Meeting House? And if not, what do we need to do to make you come?”
— New Marlborough Meeting House president Barry Shapiro
“I’m a great believer in the ‘but for’ way of viewing things,” Barry Shapiro begins. “‘But for’ the New Marlborough Meeting House, we would have a black hole in the center of our community. Instead, if you drove by the New Marlborough village green today, you’d say, ‘What a wonderful building!’”
“Now imagine a derelict building in its place,” he continues. “It would be tragic to lose a classic centerpiece of New England architecture, the Meeting House and Old Inn on the Green being two of the oldest buildings in town. Even more, you’d lose a focal point—the cultural center that hosts art and entertainment, as well as memorial services and weddings—a point of pride for the entire community.”
A history and structure worth preserving
The Meeting House, a classic Greek revival structure designed by Henry A. Sykes, was completed in 1839 but was preceded by two earlier buildings on the same site—one constructed in the 1740s and a more elaborate replacement in 1793. It was first used by the congregation of the prosperous farming community of New Marlborough. Beyond serving the congregation, the Meeting House has historical importance as the site where the people of New Marlborough Township assembled on July 11, 1774, to record their opposition to certain “unconstitutional and oppressive” acts of the British Parliament (namely, the infamous tax on tea).
During the late 1800s, the local economy of the village of New Marlborough began to slow down with the shift from farming to manufacturing. As a result, both the population and the religious fervor diminished, leaving the Meeting House congregation struggling. By the 1950s, religious services were held only during the summer, causing the Massachusetts Conference of Congregational Churches to transfer responsibility and (eventually) the building’s title to the New Marlborough Village Association. Since then, the association’s ongoing challenge has been (per its website) “to steward that responsibility, while utilizing the building in the best interest of the community.”
A cultural center and community space
Almost two hundred years later, the Meeting House is preserved and celebrated as a “sacred space vibrant with performances, speakers, community events, and a sense of place” (again, quoting its website). For decades, the cultural events were almost exclusively chamber music events (known as “Music and More”), but in recent years, the programming has undergone a significant shift, Shapiro explains, “expanding our offerings while staying true to our ongoing mission.” That mission includes preserving the public space; fostering appreciation for New Marlborough’s beauty, traditions, and heritage; and encouraging activities and events that enhance the community’s artistic, cultural, and civic life.
The nonprofit offers a broad range of performances (including chamber music, jazz, theater, and dance), gallery space (for art shows and events), and speaking engagements (authors, innovators, actors, and comedians) for New Marlborough and the surrounding communities.
A new president and a reimagined performing arts series
No stranger to boards or leadership positions, Shapiro chaired and served on numerous nonprofit boards near his home on Long Island over the years, promoting education, the environment, public television, and the arts. Since moving to the Berkshires full-time in 2010, he has become increasingly involved in local boards and organizations, including Shakespeare & Company, Mahaiwe Performing Arts Center, and New Marlborough Village Association.
He joined the Meeting House board 10 years ago and was elected president in 2023. “I felt deeply honored to be asked to continue the momentum that my predecessor, Ben Harms, had built,” he notes. Shapiro and his wife Marjorie started coming to the Berkshires in 1990 and have been faithful attendees of Meeting House events over the years. “The performing arts series that Harold Lewin began in 1991 did very well for a very long time,” Shapiro acknowledges. But the classical chamber music crowds slowly started to thin. “The Meeting House is unique in that it has a reasonably sized endowment, a small amount of which can be used each year for operating expenses. But we really needed the revenue from ticket sales, and the number sold was decreasing each year.”
As incoming president, he aimed to implement programming that appealed to a broader swath of the community, recognizing that multiple organizations and venues are competing for people’s time and money, especially during the tourist season. “I wanted to change what we were offering to fill the hall and generate more funds and enthusiasm,” he explains. To achieve that goal, the board added new members with fresh energy and ideas, nearly doubled its size, developed a plan to change the nature of the performing arts series, and committed to offering two free events each season. “In essence, lighting the old marquee and letting people know that a lot was happening at the Meeting House,” Shapiro says.
Making culture affordable and accessible
To keep ticket prices low, the board applied for more grants, increased its base and donations, and published a program book (which sold thousands of dollars in ads and sponsorships this year). “In the end, we had to raise the regular ticket price slightly ($35 for members, $40 for nonmembers) to strike the right balance between being affordable and accessible and being able to maintain the historic building and pay the artists, since talent (like everything else) is more expensive with inflation,” Shapiro notes. In addition to offering two free events, they participate in Mass Cultural Council’s Card to Culture program, so EBT, WIC, and ConnectorCare cardholders can buy tickets for $10; they also provide $10 Community Tickets for those who might not otherwise be able to attend.
Performances are nearly always held at 4:30 on Saturday afternoons during the summer and fall. While that may call you from a lake or a hiking trail, it also enables you to come to the Meeting House and still attend Tanglewood in the evening if you wish. “We try to make it a user-friendly experience,” Shapiro stresses. “You’ll find a board member with a name tag waiting to greet you at the door, sit in an idyllic space with old, wavy windows, and enjoy diverse, top-notch programming.”
Last summer, two events sold out—Tasting the World with Melissa Clark and Madhur Jaffrey” and the Harold Lewin Memorial Concert with pianist Simone Dinnerstein. An interview with actress, writer, and producer Karen Allen and a preview performance of comedian and novelist Alison Larkin’s touring show were also well attended.
A fresh new array of offerings for 2024
This year’s series kicked off with a community discussion of Edith Wharton’s “Summer,” an event offered in collaboration with The Mount. This past Saturday, they hosted Heard World Jazz, comprised of musicians and dancers passionate about “world music, jazz and improvising together to create irresistible grooves set in a unique sonic tapestry”—an event for all ages.
On July 20th, they’re partnering with Literacy Network of South Berkshires to feature six immigrants sharing stories, “Moth Radio Hour” style, about the challenges they’ve faced in moving to a new country. The storytellers, all of whom are working on their English skills through LitNet, have been practicing the art of storytelling in a series of workshops with local story coach and Berkshire Edge columnist Sheela Clary in partnership with their LitNet tutors.
LitNet executive director Leigh Doherty adds, “This project has been a wonderful way for our learners to practice their English speaking and pronunciation skills. Each of our learners has important stories about the challenge of learning a new language and culture or returning to education as an adult, and it feels incredibly important to get some of these stories out into the community.”
The free event will be followed by Latin music and Colombian pastries (made by LitNet learner Sandra Zarate of Obleas Bendito Capricho) on the green. “We want to reach out to the minority community and invite them to utilize our space,” Shapiro emphasizes. “And equally important, we want to help our traditional audience learn something about the immigrant experience. We hope it will be an inspiring, community-building experience for everyone.”
One of the highlights of the summer will be on August 3, when New Marlborough resident Taylor Mac and fellow performer Heather Christian will discuss their work in the theater, past collaborations, and their music theater creation in progress, “Clarence, in a Pause” (focused on Justice Clarence Thomas). Taylor Mac is an American actor, playwright, performance artist, director, producer, singer-songwriter, and Mac Arthur “Genius Grant” recipient. His “A 24-Decade History of Popular Music” was a 2017 Pulitzer Prize for Drama finalist and dubbed “one of the great experiences of my life” by New York Times critic Wesley Morris. Singer, playwright, and composer Heather Christian is a Drama Desk and (two-time) Obie Award-winning composer/performer.
Other upcoming highlights include:
Historian Eric Foner and author Kerri Greenidge discuss The Legacy of Slavery, moderated by Alice Kessler-Harris, on August 24.
From Mozart to Piazzolla: A Panorama of Musical Expression, with violinist Eugene Drucker, cellist Roberta Cooper, and pianist Gili Melamed-Lev in a “fast moving and fun-filled afternoon” on September 14.
ARKAI – Crossroads, an award-winning electroacoustic violin and cello duo blending classic ballads and exciting new music, on September 21. Arkai has inspired audiences around the world and recently opened for Oscar and Grammy winner Jon Batiste at New York City’s Javits Center.
Celebrity Interview: Joe Donahue! September 28 is your chance to hear WAMC’s legendary interviewer share his own background and engaging stories from his long career and countless celebrity talks.
Finally, in “Election 2024,” Simon Winchester will be in conversation with journalist Linda Greenhouse on October 5. (Unlike our candidates’ actual press conferences, there will be plenty of time for questions.)
See the calendar for more details.
Gallery openings, exhibits, and tours
Two local artists urged the New Marlborough Meeting House Association to consider renovating the basement in the 1990s so art classes and exhibits could be held there. The Meeting House Gallery is now widely acknowledged as one of the finest exhibit spaces in the region.
In 1998, the gallery hosted its first exhibit of works by New Marlborough artists—which has since become a longstanding tradition—and on Friday, August 30 (opening reception 5 to 7 p.m.), the gallery will host the 26th Annual New Marlborough Artists Show. This season, it hosted the inaugural artist Open Studio self-tour event, presented in conjunction with the New Marlborough Cultural Council. Featuring 12 talented artists from New Marlborough and Sheffield along with five guest artists, the event marked the beginning of a new annual tradition that provides insights into the artists’ creative processes. As Shapiro shares, “The Open Studio brought a lot of people from outside the community.”
Farm and Table runs July 26 (opening reception 5 to 7 p.m.) to August 25, celebrating the breathtaking landscapes of farms, fields, and animals and bucolic walking and hiking trails in New Marlborough. Twenty regional artists were invited to interpret this theme through their own artistic lenses, from painting and collage to pottery, clay and wood sculpture, to photography and video—and a percentage of all sales will support the New Marlborough Meeting House.
“Every time I sit and watch a great performance in the Meeting House, I think to myself, I just drove past open farmland with cows, pigs, and chickens. To live in a rural community and have the opportunity to hear and see top performers, musicians, and artists like these is an amazing gift,” Shapiro reflects. Now, in providing that gift to the community, he hopes to also serve as the poster child for being more inclusive. “I see myself and the board as the caretakers of the equity of our community,” he says—a responsibility they are all taking very seriously.
