South Church Concert Series has been awarded $300
South Church Concert Series has been awarded $300 from the Pittsfield Cultural Council to help support its folk concert series. The Pittsfield Cultural Council is a local agency which is supported by the Massachusetts Cultural Council, a state agency. The concert series is now in its second year.Last year's initial concert in May 2008 featured folk singer/songwriter Bernice Lewis. This year's concert series opener will welcome back Ms. Lewis on Saturday, June 20th at 8:00 p.m. Bernice will be joined by members of the South Congregational Church choir, under the direction of Bob Blafield, for a portion of the concert and singing along will be encouraged. The concert will be held in South Congregational Church's Barrett Hall, 110 South Street, Pittsfield. Future concerts are in the planning stages, with plans for another concert in the fall of 2009.
Bernice Lewis is a regular on the coffeehouse circuit, contemporary-folk radio, and at major folk festivals. She studied vocal improvisation with Bobby McFerrin, guitar technique with Alex DeGrassi and Guy van Duser, and songwriting with Roseanne Cash and Cris Williamson and has been a featured performer on NPR's "Mountain Stage" program. Bernice has shared the stage with many renowned artists, including Dar Williams, the Dixie Chicks, Patty Griffin, Pete Seegar, Ellis Paul, John Gorka, Rory Block, Livingston Taylor, Odetta, Christine Lavin...it's a long list. She currently teaches songwriting at Williams College in Williamstown, Ma and Colorado College in Colorado Springs, Co, as well as camps and retreat centers. She was recently chosen to be an Artist-in-Residence for the National Park Service.
Concert series organizer Nancy Tierney hopes to revive the concert stage of Barrett Hall as a destination for area folk concerts, and plans to hold spring and fall concerts in this space. The Barrett Hall entrance is located on the south side of the church.. There is also a handicapped entrance to Barrett Hall at the rear of the church. South Church is the white church located across the street from the Colonial Theater.
Suggested donation ticket prices for the concert are $12 pre-concert and $15 the night of the show. A portion of the proceeds will go to the South Church Emergency Food Bank. Tickets may be purchased at the church office during office hours Tuesday-Friday from 9 a.m.-1 p.m. Please call ahead at 413-442-7357 to check availability. Tickets may also be purchased from Nancy Tierney by calling 413-442-9982 or email nrtierney@verizon.net. For further information on the concert series contact Nancy Tierney.
