Composer John Harbison and the Boston Symphony Orchestra’s principal double bass Edwin Barker will join host Martin Bookspan for the “Joys of Tanglewood†at the Berkshire Museum on Tuesday, July 31, at 10 a.m. The topic will be the “2007 Festival of Contemporary Music and New Music for Double Bass.â€
The Joys of Tanglewood series, offered every Tuesday through August 21, is presented by the Berkshire Museum and the Boston Symphony Association of Volunteers. Tickets are $12 ($10 for Tanglewood Friends and Berkshire Museum members). Tickets are available by telephone at 413-443-7171, extension 10.
John Harbison’s principal compositions include four string quartets, three symphonies, the cantata The Flight Into Egypt, which earned him a Pulitzer Prize in 1987, and three operas including The Great Gatsby, commissioned by The Metropolitan Opera and premiered to great acclaim in December 1999. Recent works include his Requiem for the Boston Symphony Orchestra, Piano Sonata No. 2 for Robert Levin, String Quartet No. 4 for the Orion String Quartet, The Violists' Notebook, Four Psalms (commissioned by the Israeli Consulate for the Chicago Symphony to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the founding of the State of Israel), and Partita, a Minnesota Orchestra centennial commission.
Major revivals of The Great Gatsby took place at the Lyric Opera of Chicago in October 2000 and at the Metropolitan Opera in May 2002, Four Psalms was performed by the Cantata Singers of Boston in 2001, and by the American Composers Orchestra in New York in November 2002, and his opera Full Moon in March was presented in May 2003. As conductor, Harbison has led a number of leading orchestras and chamber groups including the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra, the Scottish Chamber Orchestra, the Los Angeles Philharmonic, the Boston Symphony, and the Handel and Haydn Society. For many years he has been principal guest conductor of Emmanuel Music in Boston, leading performances of Bach cantatas, 17th-century motets, and new music.
Acknowledged as an accomplished solo and ensemble player, Edwin Barker has concertized in North America, Europe, and the Far East. Barker has performed and recorded with the Boston Symphony Orchestra, Boston Symphony Chamber Players and Collage, a Boston-based contemporary music ensemble. He is also a frequent guest performer with the Boston Chamber Music Society at NEC’s Jordan Hall. He gave the world premiere of James Yannatos' Bass Concerto – written especially for him – with Alea III and subsequently performed it with Collage. He was the featured soloist for the New England premiere of Gunther Schuller's Bass Concerto, conducted by the composer, with the Boston Pro Arte Chamber Orchestra. Mr. Barker’s major teaching affiliations include the Tanglewood Music Center, Boston University and New England Conservatory. Mr. Barker’s solo CD recordings include Three Sonatas for Double Bass on Boston Records and James Yannatos’s Variations for Solo Contrabass on Albany Records. His other double bass teachers have included Peter Mercurio, Richard Stephan, and Angelo LaMariana.
Upcoming guests will be: orchestra manager Raymond Wellbaum, personnel manager Lynn Larsen, and archivist Bridget Carr on August 7; production trio Ira Siff, Michael Deegan, and Sarah Conly on August 14; and composer John Williams on August 21.
Series host Martin Bookspan is best known as “the voice of Lincoln Center,†a role he has had since the first Live from Lincoln Center in 1976. During his distinguished career in print and broadcasting he has worked with the BSO, the New York Philharmonic, classical station WQXR, and channels 7 and 11 in New York City. He is the author of 101 Masterpieces of Music and Their Composers and Consumer Reports Reviews: Classical Recordings.
The Berkshire Museum is located at 39 South Street on Route 7 in Downtown Pittsfield. The galleries are open Monday through Saturday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., and Sundays noon to 5 p.m. For more information, contact the Berkshire Museum at (413) 443-7171, ext. 10, or visit www.berkshiremuseum.org .
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Possible Measles Exposure at Boston, Logan
BOSTON — The Massachusetts Department of Public Health confirmed Wednesday that an out-of-state adult visitor who spent time in Boston and Westborough earlier this month was diagnosed with measles and was present in a number of locations.
This could have resulted in other people being exposed to measles virus.
The visitor arrived at Logan International Airport on American Airlines flight 2384 from Dallas-Fort Worth, Texas, on Dec. 11 at 2:39 p.m. They stayed at the DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel Boston-Westborough in Westborough and departed the state on Dec. 12 via Logan at 9:19 p.m. on JetBlue flight 117 to Las Vegas.
DPH is working with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and local partners to identify and notify those who may have been exposed to measles from this individual.
"Measles is a highly contagious, airborne disease, which has increased significantly in the United States because of the unfortunate decrease in vaccination rates. It is also a preventable disease," said Public Health Commissioner Dr. Robbie Goldstein. "This current situation serves as an important reminder of the critical role vaccination plays in protecting our communities. While Massachusetts has not had a measles case this year, 2025 saw the highest number of nationwide cases in more than a decade — nearly 2,000 in 44 jurisdictions, and sadly, three deaths.
"Fifteen years ago, measles had been considered eliminated in the United States, but that tremendous progress is at risk. Vaccines are one of the most important public health interventions ever — they are safe, effective, and lifesaving."
Measles is very contagious. However, the risk to most people in Massachusetts is low because the vaccination rate in the state is high. People who are not immune and visited any of the locations on the following dates and times may be at risk for developing measles.
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