Mount Greylock High Hosts Music, Environment Residency

WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. —  Mount Greylock Regional High School will host singer and songwriter Ted Vigil in the "John Denver: Art, Music, and Environmental Awareness" Project on May 20-22.

The residency of the John Denver tribute artist will bring together both middle school and high school performers in a multimedia event.

A joint venture between the environmental science, art, and music departments, it is coordinated by choral director Kate Caton and supported by faculty members Ouisa Fohrhaltz-Burbank, Jane-Ellen DeSomma, Rebecca Green and Mary MacDonald.

Vigil was born in Seattle and raised in the Olympia, Wash., area. He has been performing since the age of 10 in concert, symphonic, and jazz bands as a drummer and singer. He won Talent Quest 2006 and Komo TV 4's NW Afternoon Celebrity "Look Alike." He currently performs nationwide and has played for Denver's Windstar Foundation in Aspen, Colo., and last year, he won the Rising Legend Award given by the National Traditional Country Music Association.

During the residency, Vigil will lead a master class and concert for students and will play with the school orchestra and both choirs in a May 22 evening concert. The performance will include Denver's "Legacy of Song," with a slideshow display, depicting images related to the work Denver did concerning the environment, nature and the Berkshires. Mount Greylock science classes will create narratives that relate to each song as well.

"This residency and collaboration is a tremendous opportunity for our students and school community and represents the first of its kind here at Mt. Greylock," said Caton. "We are thrilled that Ted Vigil will be here and grateful to the Williams Community Fund for their help in funding this three-day residency."

Nonprofit Center of the Berkshires Honors Leaders, Volunteers

By Breanna SteeleiBerkshires Staff
09:07AM / Sunday, May 24, 2026

Liana Toscanini presented the Founder's Choice Award to Smitty Pignatelli for his years of support as state representative. 

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — The Nonprofit Center of the Berkshires held its ninth annual nonprofit awards last week honoring the contributions of those who have helped the community in their own way.

 

The gathering at the Country Club in Pittsfield on Tuesday included the introduction of new nonprofit Executive Director Samantha Anderson, who steps in for retiring founder and director Liana Toscanini. State Reps. Tricia Farley-Bouvier, John Barrett III and Leigh Davis attended the event.

 

Toscanini, who created NPC in 2016, was honored at the conclusion of the evening to mark her decade leading the organization. 

 

"Founders don't just lead organizations, they are the organization in the deepest sense," said NPC Board President Emily Schiavoni. "Their relationships, their instincts, their fingerprints are on everything, and when someone has poured a decade of herself into building something from the ground up, the act of stepping back is not a simple handoff, it's an act of extraordinary trust and courage that brings me to what Leanna actually built." 

 

NPC became something of a chamber of commerce for nonprofits under Toscanini's guidance, creating a hub of support for leadership and networking for the small and large nonprofits that fuel much of the activity within the Berkshires. 

 

She developed more than two dozen programs, including Get on Board, which helps connect community members with nonprofit boards, and a giving-back guide, volunteer fairs, and a resource directory.

 

Schiavoni described Toscanini as a great mentor who has had a big impact in strengthening local nonprofits.