Lenox Library to Host Searching for Columbus

Print Story | Email Story
LENOX, Mass. — On Saturday, Jan. 14, 2023 at 2:00 p.m., Lenox Library will host Searching for Columbus, a multi-media presentation given by Lenox resident Leo Mahoney.
 
According to a press release, in 1851, a traveling menagerie started its trek, leaving North Adams headed to Stockbridge. Disaster struck in Adams when Columbus the elephant fell through the wooden Center Street bridge, plunging into the rocky bed of the Hoosic River. Severely injured, the elephant was forced to continue the walk to Stockbridge. When Columbus got to Lenox he collapsed from pain and exhaustion. His handlers managed to get him into a near-by barn where he died 10 days later. Columbus was buried and then forgotten for 171 years. 
 
Many children who grew up in Lenox know about the legend of Columbus, though his exact burial site has remained a mystery. Schermerhorn Park, Church on the Hill, Canyon Ranch, and the Bishop Estate are a few of the locations on which the grave is said to be located. After years of research, Leo Mahoney is convinced he has identified the area where Columbus rests. His talk will cover the elephant's history as well as future plans to more succinctly locate the grave site. 
 
The presentation is free and open to the public and will take place in the main reading room of the Library, located at 18 Main Street, Lenox. Please visit https://lenoxlib.org or the Library's Facebook page for more information.

Tags: lenox library,   

If you would like to contribute information on this article, contact us at info@iberkshires.com.

Prima Music Foundation To Perform at Ventfort Hall

LENOX, Mass. — Prima Music Foundation returns to the Berkshires with a series of summer concerts at Ventfort Hall.

The first concert in the series will take place on Thursday, June 27 at 4 pm with. There will be a cash bar serving beer and wine and will open one half hour before the concert.

Join Artistic Director, Anastasia Dedik, and the Prima Music Foundation who will present Piano Extravaganza with piano works by J.S. Bach, F. Chopin, C. Chaminade and S. Prokofiev performed by pianists Victor Rosenbaum, Anastasia Dedik, Visha Nguyen and Anna Shelest.

According to a press release:

Anastasia Dedik, born in St. Petersburg into a family of distinguished musicians, holds degrees and honors from the St. Petersburg Conservatory, Oberlin Conservatory, and The Juilliard School. Anastasia’s transformative experience at Oberlin as a female Russian immigrant inspired the creation of the Prima Music Foundation—a non-profit dedicated to nurturing and showcasing talented pianists. Through PMF, Anastasia offers performance opportunities and educational guidance, including master classes with esteemed instructors. The annual Rising Stars Piano Camp in Berkshires is held at BMS from June 22 to the 29. The Camp provides an exceptional learning environment, fostering the growth of young artists. As the Artistic Director of the Summer Concert Series at Ventfort Hall in Lenox, Anastasia showcases both established and emerging talents, with ticket proceeds supporting scholarships for the Camp. PMF's primary focus is providing scholarships to those in need.
 
American pianist Victor Rosenbaum has concertized widely as soloist and chamber music performer in the United States, Europe, Israel, Brazil, Russia, and Asia in such prestigious halls as Tully Hall in New York and the Hermitage in St. Petersburg, Russia. Recently retired from the faculty of New England Conservatory in Boston where he taught for more than fifty years, he chaired its piano department for more than a decade, and was also Chair of Chamber Music.
 
Nguyen Visha was born in Vietnam and holds a PhD from Moscow State Conservatory. She is the laureate of international competitions, including 1st prize at the Rubinstein international competition (Paris, 2008), 1st prize at the Russian Scriabin Conservatory (Paris, 2009), 2nd prize at the International Olympic of Art (Moscow, 2011) and 3rd prize at Scriabin’s International Competition in Moscow (2012). Due to the war in Ukraine she had to move to the USA with her husband, a renowned Russian pianist and teacher and their young child. She continues her musical path in New York City, teaching piano to kids, and at the same time, playing concerts with unique programs. She is the only Vietnamese pianist who played and recorded all 48 Preludes and Fugues, all 6 partitas and Goldberg-variations by Bach.
 
Hailed by The New York Times as a pianist of “a fiery sensibility and warm touch,” Anna Shelest has appeared at numerous venues including Alice Tully Hall and Carnegie Hall’s Stern Auditorium in New York, the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., Wiener Konzerhaus in Vienna, and Palacio de Bellas Artes in Mexico City. Anna’s ongoing project, Donna Voce, started in 2019 as a series of recordings surveying music for solo piano and piano and orchestra by women composers from the last three centuries. A graduate of The Juilliard School, Anna makes her home in New York City with her husband and two sons. To learn more, please visit www.AnnaShelest.com


Tickets are $45 general admission. Reservations are required as seats are limited. For reservations visit https://gildedage.org/pages/calendar or call  (413) 637-3206. Note that all tickets are nonrefundable and non-exchangeable. The historical mansion is located at 104 Walker Street in Lenox.

 

View Full Story

More Lenox Stories