Ventfort Hall Summer Concert Series to Include Members of BSO
![]() |
Prats studied in the Paris National Conservatory of Music with Michel Debost, Jean-Pierre Rampal, Alain Marion and Christian Lardé, and was awarded the Flute and Chamber Music First Prizes from the conservatory. He was awarded prizes at important international competitions: in Kobe (Japan) and the Maria Canais Competition in Barcelona and was unanimously voted first prizes in Flute and Chamber Music at the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musiqe et de Danse de Paris. He has worked with conductors as George Solti, C.M. Giulini, Pierre Boulez, Lorin Mazel, James Conlon, Kurt Sanderling, Wolfgang Sawallish, Daniel Baremboim, Seji Ozawa, and others. He has played as soloist with the National Chamber Orchestra of Poland, The Guildhall String Ensemble, Orchestre Nationale du Capitole de Toulouse, Orquesta Sinfonica de Galicia, Zagreb Soloists, Budapest Franz Liszt Orquestra, among others. He also teaches courses and master classes in countries the world over.
The July 29 performance will also feature: Keisuke Wakao, assistant principal oboist of the Boston Symphony Orchestra and principal ooist of the Boston Pops Orchestra; William R. Hudgins, prncipal carinetist of the BSO and the “Ann S. M. Banks Chair”, and Edmund Arkus, panist, who has performed solo recitals, piano solos with orchestras, and collaborated in many chamber music and sonata recitals for many years in the United States, Japan, and England to high critical acclaim. The program consists of "Trio Sonata in C Minor for Flute, Oboe and Piano" by Quantz; "Caprice on Danish and Russian Airs," Op. 79, and "Flute Sonata," both by Poulenc; "Carmen Fantasy for Flute and Piano" by Bizet, and other music for soloists.
The Ventfort Hall Summer Concert Series was spearheaded by Keisuke Wakao of the Boston Symphony Orchestra, who also organized the successful American-Japanese Cultural Exchange Concerts II at Ventfort Hall in May of this year. The concerts will feature friends and colleagues of Wakao including members of the BSO and other distinguished musicians. In addition, a concert organized in cooperation with the Chamber Music Foundation of New England and featuring The Young Russian Cellists and Jakov Jakoulov is part of the series.
Additional concerts in the series include: The Young Russian Cellists with Jakov Jakoulov accompanying on the piano, on Sunday, Aug. 1; and Keisuke Wakao and other members of the BSO on Aug. 9 and 16. All performances are at 7 p.m. and reservations are recommended for this intimate concert venue. A combined ticket for the four concerts is $100 or single tickets are $30 per performance. For reservations and more information, contact Ventfort Hall at 413-637-3206 or email info@gildedage.org Ventfort Hall is located at 104 Walker St.
An Official Project of Save America’s Treasures, Ventfort Hall Mansion and Gilded Age Museum offers tours of the historic mansion, as well as lectures, concerts, teas, theater and other programs. This elegant Jacobean-Revival Berkshire "cottage," listed on the National Register of Historic Places, is open to the public year-round and is available for private rental. Built in 1893 for George and Sarah Morgan (sister of the financier, J. P. Morgan), Ventfort Hall has undergone substantial restoration, which continues.

