Berkshire Concert Choir schedules spring concerts

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Lenox - The Berkshire Concert Choir, directed by John E. Cheney, is presenting two spring concerts this year. The 57-voice choir, along with a string quintet and soloists, will perform pieces by the masters, Wolfgang A. Mozart, Felix Mendelssohn, and Franz J. Haydn. Mozart's "Missa Brevis in D Major" and favorites "Laudate Dominum" and "Ave Verum Corpus" will be sung by the Choir and accompanied by soloists and strings. Following Mozart, the Choir will perform two Mendelssohn pieces: the beautiful cantata "Hear My Prayer" and his majestic hymn "Der hunderste Psalm." Rounding out the program will be the exciting, but challenging, "Te Deum" by Haydn. Anne Marcure will accompany the Choir on the organ. The soloists are Stephanie Henkle, Soprano; Marc Winer, tenor; Barbara Eckhaus, Mezzo-Soprano; and Steve Curylo, Baritone. [Stephanie Henkle, Soprano, is a graduate of Ohio Wesleyan University and Indiana University, where she studied with renowned Metropolitan Opera Star, Margaret Harshaw. She completed her doctoral course work at the Ohio State University. The American Institute of Musical Studies, in Graz, Austria, the Tanglewood Festival, Chautauqua Institute and the Eastman School of Music Vocal Jazz Symposium are among the summer programs in which she has participated. Ms. Henkle has won numerous awards and competitions including the Metropolitan Opera District Auditions, the Opera/Columbus Competition, the National Association of Teachers of Singing State Artist Award, and the Eleanor Steber Foundation Award. She has performed as soloist at Carnegie Recital Hall, Kennedy Center, Washington's National Cathedral and concert venues throughout the United States, Germany and Austria under conductors including Leonard Bernstein, Robert Shaw, Robert Page, Helmuth Rilling and Antal Dorati. In addition to serving on the voice faculties of Capital University, Otterbein College and Denison University, Ms. Henkle maintains a large private studio in Columbus, Ohio, where she resides. Her students have enjoyed successful Broadway, television, and classical singing careers. Marc Winer, Tenor, studied voice with Lois Sayers Smith and Ken Manzer. In addition to being a member of Novi Cantori, Marc has been a soloist with the Festival Chorus of Westfield, the Greater Westfield Choral Association, Quabbin Valley Pro Musica, Singer's Project and Acadia Players. He is the Youth Choir Director at the First Congregational Church of Westfield, as well as an organ builder for Southfield Organ Builders in Springfield, MA. Mr. Winer sang with The Berkshire Concert Choir in May 2003 at Seiji Ozawa Hall, Tanglewood. Barbara Eckhaus, Mezzo-Soprano, is a well-established performer on the concert stage. She has been a featured soloist for the Ocean Park Summer Music Festival, the Leddy Center for the Performing Arts, the Derry Opera Houses, and she has given a solo recital at the White House. She has appeared with Lake George Opera, Tanglewood Music Festival Opera and the North Carolina Symphony. She also performs as soloist with choral organizations throughout the northeast, including Boston Masterworks Chorale and Union College. Ms. Eckhaus voice has been described as rich and warm, with an ability to communicate intimately with an audience. At Troy Savings Bank Music Hall, she performed selections from her compact disc, "The Magic of Christmas," which has aired on Public Radio. She was Musical director for a production of Master Class (2002). Current projects include recording the leading role in a new opera, Friends of Freedom. As "Sorelli Voce", she and lyric soprano, Deborah Rocco, performed the great duet literature throughout the eastern United States. A Bachelor of Music degree from Westminster Choir College was acquired. She has studied voice with Diane Curry, Rita Beatie and Janice Harsanyi. She is on the voice faculty at Russell Sage College and has a private voice studio (NATS) in Delmar, New York. Steve Curylo, Baritone, has appeared for over thirty years as a soloist in opera, oratorio and recital, with hundreds of performances to his credit. He has performed opera and musical theatre with New York Gilbert & Sullivan Players, Commonwealth Opera, Arena Civic Theatre, Valley Light Opera, Victory Players and Greater New Britain Opera. Mr Curylo has been keeping busy this spring with a recital and concerts in Holyoke, South Hadley and Westfield, and performs regularly with Arcadia Players Baroque Orchestra in the Springfield and Northampton areas. He has also been a guest soloist with Hampshire Choral Society, Holyoke Civic Symphony, Pioneer Valley Symphony, Friends of Music at Guilford, Keene Chorale and Farmington Valley Chorale. Last year, Mr. Curylo performed solo work in the Mozart Requiem in Poughkeepsie with the Hudson Valley Philharmonic, and has sung in the Marlboro Music Festival under Blanche Moyse. Steve Curylo is host of Saturday at the Opera on WFCR Amherst, and lives in Chicopee with his wife and two children. John E. Cheney has been the Artistic Director of The Berkshire Concert Choir since 1997, serving as the accompanist and associate conductor for several years prior to that time. He is the Director of Music and organist at the Church on the Hill in Lenox. Mr. Cheney received degrees in music from Baylor University and Boston University, with further studies in choral conducting with Helmuth Rilling at the Frankfurt Music Hochschule in Germany. He enjoys travel and has conducted several concert tours of the British Isles and Europe. This summer he is taking the Berkshire Travelers to Europe.] The mission of the Berkshire Concert Choir is to perform the finest choral literature from all musical periods and to present programs of the highest caliber to audiences in surrounding communities. Further, the Choir hopes to provide its members with an enriching musical and social experience. In 1995, the Choir, together with the Stockbridge Festival Chorus, performed "Elijah" at Ozawa Hall. In 2003, the Choir returned to Ozawa Hall and performed Beethoven's "Mass in C Major." The Choir is preparing to tour Europe, giving several performances once again this summer. There will be two performances of the "Songs of Praise" spring concert: Friday, May 21, 7:30 p.m., at Zion's Evangelical Lutheran Church, First Street, Pittsfield, and Sunday, May 23, 3:00 p.m., at St. Ann's Roman Catholic Church in Lenox. Tickets for these concerts will be $15 and $12 for seniors and students. Children twelve and under are free. Please phone (413) 243-2140 or visit http://www.bhsinging.org for more information.
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Lanesborough Fifth-Graders Win Snowplow Name Contest

LANESBOROUGH, Mass. — One of the snowplows for Highway District 1 has a new name: "The Blizzard Boss."
 
The name comes from teacher Gina Wagner's fifth-grade class at Lanesborough Elementary School. 
 
The state Department of Transportation announced the winners of the fourth annual "Name A Snowplow" contest on Monday. 
 
The department received entries from public elementary and middle school classrooms across the commonwealth to name the 12 MassDOT snowplows that will be in service during the 2025/2026 winter season. 
 
The purpose of the contest is to celebrate the snow and ice season and to recognize the hard work and dedication shown by public works employees and contractors during winter operations. 
 
"Thank you to all of the students who participated. Your creativity allows us to highlight to all, the importance of the work performed by our workforce," said  interim MassDOT Secretary Phil Eng.  
 
"Our workforce takes pride as they clear snow and ice, keeping our roads safe during adverse weather events for all that need to travel. ?To our contest winners and participants, know that you have added some fun to the serious take of operating plows. ?I'm proud of the skill and dedication from our crews and thank the public of the shared responsibility to slow down, give plows space and put safety first every time there is a winter weather event."
 
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