Arts & entertainment notes

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Inness show WILLIAMSTOWN — Maureen Johnson Hickey will give the introductory lecture for the exhibition “A Walk in the Country: Inness and the Berkshires” on Sunday, Feb. 6, at 2 p.m. at the Clark Art Institute. Hickey is a guest curator of the exhibition, which features 15 Berkshire scenes by the prominent 19th-century American artist George Inness, on view at the Clark Feb. 6 through April 17. The lecture is free and open to the public. Hickey was director of the Berkshire Art Gallery from 1996 to 1999 and has worked at the Bennington Museum, Berkshire Art, Etc., and the Berkshire Museum. She has taught courses for the Berkshire Institute for Lifelong Learning and Berkshire Community College. Hickey’s fellow guest curator, Cornelia Brooke Gilder, will give a lecture about Inness’s Berkshire patrons on March 6. “A Walk in the Country” is the first exhibition to focus exclusively on Inness’ relationship with the Berkshires, a center of cultural and intellectual life since the 19th century. Information: 458-2303 or www.clarkart.edu. BCC exhibit PITTSFIELD — The Koussevitzky Art Gallery at Berkshire Community College has opened its 2005 season with “Labor and Instinct” by Great Barrington artist Ian Ramsay, which will be on display through Feb. 25. Ramsay is interested in the "physical and psychological weight" of materials like stone and steel. He works with repetitive forms and symmetry to evoke a "sense of ceremony and ritual, a sense of slowness, the rhythms of labor, (and) the weight of silence." A slide lecture by Ramsay about his work will be presented Monday, Feb. 7, at noon in Room K-116, near the gallery in BCC's Koussevitzky Arts Center. Forum credit is available for BCC students. Both the lecture and exhibit are free and open to the public. Gallery hours are Monday through Friday from 9 to 5. Information: e-mail bchilla@berkshirecc.edu. ‘Artist Café’ WILLIAMSTOWN — The “Artist Café” series at the Clark Art Institute will continue tonight [Thursday, Feb. 3] from 6 to 8. Hosted by Danielle Steinmann, assistant curator of education, the Artist Café combines a cocktail hour in a cabaret-style setting with an intimate slide talk. Each program features “the scoop” on a different artist and a signature cocktail. Tonight’s program will be “The Cowboy Life of Frederic Remington,” with Remington ’Ritas. Admission is $15, which includes the talk, light snacks, after-hours access to the galleries, the featured cocktail or beer and wine. Admission is free to members. Reservations (recommended): 458-0524. The final topic will be “The Cosmopolitan Life of Mary Cassatt” with Cassatt Cosmopolitans on Feb. 17. Information: 458-2303 or www.clarkart.edu. ‘Sweetheart Gala’ SHEFFIELD — The Berkshire Children's Chorus will present the eighth annual "Sweetheart Gala" on Saturday, Feb. 5, at Sage Hall at the Berkshire School, beginning at 6 p.m. The public is invited. A limited number of tickets are still available. Reservations are required. The evening will be open to supporters and friends of the Berkshire Children's Chorus. It will include performances by the Start-Up, Berkshire Children's Chorus and Coda. There will be a winter buffet, Dancing to a DJ and a silent auction. A discounted price is available for tables of eight. The event, sponsored by the chorus’ board of trustees, is one of the most significant annual fundraisers for the chorus. Tickets are available on a first-come-first-served basis. Black tie is invited but not required. All contributions to the Berkshire Children's Chorus are tax deductible. Information and reservations: 229-2465 or Nancy Loder, chorus director, 528-9285. Macaulay tonight LENOX — Award-winning author, illustrator and PBS broadcaster David Macaulay will give a talk on his life and work at a public book signing tonight [Thursday, Feb. 3] at 7 at Berkshire Country Day School. Macaulay is the author of the best-selling “The Way Things Work,” as well as a popular series on demystifying the construction of buildings and boats that includes “Cathedral,” “Castle,” “Mill” and “Ship.” Among the colorful, whimsical books he has written and illustrated for children of all ages are “Baaa,” “Angelo,” “Shortcut” and “Black and White.” The free event will take place in Fitzpatrick Hall on the Brook Farm Campus of Berkshire Country Day School, Route 183, near Lenox. Books will be available for purchase. Information and directions: 637-0755. A retrospective of Macaulay’s art is on display at the Norman Rockwell Museum in Stockbridge through May. Macaulay tomorrow STOCKBRIDGE — Award-winning artist David Macaulay will speak about his career in a special presentation to Berkshire County high school students and teachers on Friday, Feb. 4, at the Duffin Theater at Lenox High School. Macaulay is the subject of the Norman Rockwell Museum's current exhibition "Building Books: The Art of David Macaulay." He will describe his professional journey, from student days to current success with such books as "The Way Things Work," "Black and White," and "Mosque," in the free program, which will begin at 11 a.m. Reservations are required, and can be made by calling the Norman Rockwell Museum, 298-4100, ext. 260. White concert PITTSFIELD — Singer-songwriter Don White will perform at Common Grounds Coffee House at First United Methodist Church, 55 Fenn St., on Saturday, Feb. 5 at 8 p.m. White, of Lynn, conducts a performance skills workshop at Club Passim, Cambridge's legendary folk club, where he passes along his experience to aspiring performers. Guest instructors are veteran comics, performance poets, actors, and folksingers. Common Grounds Coffee House, downtown Pittsfield’s folk music venue, is presented the first Saturday of each month. Tickets for White’s performance are $10, with discounted tickets available for children. Doors will open at 7 p.m. Tickets: at the door or call the church office, 499-0866. Next month Common Grounds will present Bluegrass Month, with performances by Northern Lights on March 5 and Southern Rail on March 12. Museum history STEPHENTOWN, N.Y. — David B. Cass will tell the history of the Bennington Museum at the Stephentown Historical Society meeting on Monday, Feb. 7. Cass is director of development and community relations at the Vermont museum. The meeting will start at 7:30 p.m. at the Heritage Center on Garfield Road. It is free and open to the public. The building is accessible to the handicapped. Directions: 518- 733-5675. Cass will give an overview of the museum and its resources, as well as trace its history. He and his family live in Stephentown. He has been associate curator of paintings at the Clark Art Institute and was senior editor of the Bibliography of the History of Art for more than 10 years. Soprano concert NORTH ADAMS — The Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts Patrons of the Arts Concert Series will feature Soprano Ida Faiella in "Opera: It's Not Just for Singers," on Saturday, Feb. 5, at 8 p.m. in the Church Street Center. The event is free and open to the public. Faiella is the founder and executive artistic director of L'Ensemble, which performs all facets of chamber music, from unaccompanied sonatas to fully staged productions. She has performed throughout the world, including New York City's Lincoln Center and Tanglewood, as well as in Paris and Moscow. Information: Alumni and Development Office, 662-5224. Eagles Band PITTSFIELD — The Public Arts Resource Center will sponsor an Eagles Band open rehearsal on Monday, Feb. 7, at 6:45 p.m. in the sanctuary of the First United Methodist Church, 55 Fenn St. The event will be an opportunity for musicians of all experience levels to join the Eagles and chat with the members and its board of directors, as they prepare for the annual spring concert on May 1. Board President Debora Cole-Duffy noted in a news release that the Eagles Band has been in existence since 1936 and is the official city band of Pittsfield. Under the direction of Robert Salzman, the band has an average membership of 50 musicians, young and old, experienced and novice, from all walks of life, who share a love of instrumental music. There is no cost for membership, and no audition is required; one must only bring a music stand. All instrumental and percussion musicians are welcome. The spring performance selections will include suites, marches, and melodies from around the world, a Lord Of The Rings Medly, Tatarian Dances and a Salute to Spike Jones. All rehearsals are held on Mondays from 6:45 to 9 p.m. at the church. New members are welcome. Information: 499-3133. Pittsfield Squares PITTSFIELD — The Pittsfield Squares square dance club is continuing its Tuesday evening main stream “enhancement” sessions for Western style, mainstream level or higher square dancers who wish to brush-up on their mainstream level dancing. The remaining sessions will be held on Feb. 8 and 15, with two newly scheduled sessions on March 8 and 22. The casual-dress dances will be from 7 to 9 p.m. at South Congregational Church, 110 South St. Club caller is Cliff Brodeur will call. Information: 443-0231. Sandgate Artists ARLINGTON, Vt. — The Canfield Gallery in Martha Canfield Memorial Library will present “Sandgate Artists,” opening with a public reception on Saturday, Feb. 5, from 3 to 5 p.m., and on view during library hours until March 19. According to a news release, Sandgate has a population of only 353, but at least 19 of those citizens are serious working artists. Among the forms of art in the show will be landscapes and still lifes in oil, acrylic and cut felt, abstract paintings in oil and acrylic, photography, sculpture, ceramic art, pen and ink drawings, quilted contour drawings and whimsical assemblage pieces. The artists will include Lee Arrington, Rachel Barlow, Ramona Cook, Clemma Dawson, Leslie Fuller, Jane Gattlin, Sylia Hoffstein, Ann Kreffer, Dona Ann McAdams, Claire Merritt, Rick Raphael, Harry Rich, Mallory Rich, Julien Sheres, Carl Stuecklen, Jane Stuecklen, Anna Sullivan, Ann Wuerslin, and Lothar Wuerslin. All of them live in town full-time or part-time, except for the sculptor, Wuerslin, who died in 1982, but who has often been credited with starting the rich tradition of artists working in Sandgate. The library is at 528 East Arlington Road, across from Arlington High School. Hours are Tuesday and Thursday, 9 to 5 and 6:30 to 8; Wednesday, 9 to 5; Friday, 2 to 5, and Saturday, 10 to 3. Information: 802-375-6153. Organ concert GREAT BARRINGTON — J. S. Bach’s “Passacaglia and Fugue in C Minor” will be spotlighted in the Feb. 6 Bach and Beyond organ concert at St. James Church beginning at 11:45 a.m. Open to the public without charge, this first-Sunday-of-month series will feature organ masterpieces by Bach, along with a variety of 19th- and 20th-century compositions, performed on the church’s pipe organ by St. James’ music director, Charles Olegar. The event will also include the “Medieval Suite” by 20th-century French composer Jean Langlais. Bach and Beyond programs are typically 30 to 40 minutes long. St. James is on Main Street (Route 7) downtown at the corner of Taconic Street. While the Bach and Beyond series is free, donations are appreciated and are directed to such charitable causes as the relief fund for the recent tsunami. Information: 528-1460. Valentine’s concert PITTSFIELD — The annual MusicWorks and Hancock Shaker Village Valentine's Candlelight Concert and Shaker Dinner in the 1832 Brick Dwelling will feature Tre Corda on Saturday. Feb. 12. The 6 p.m. concert will be followed by dinner at 7:30. Tre Corda is a trio of some of New England's finest and most diverse musicians, brought together to perform original compositions and arrangements penned by the members of the trio. Tim Ray (piano) is perhaps best known as Lyle Lovett's pianist for the past 15 years (including summer-long tours in 2001-4), but he also performs, records and tours with Canadian singer/songwriter Jane Siberry and performs with many of the leading jazz musicians in the New York and New England areas. Greg Hopkins (trumpet, cornet, flugelhorn) is one of Boston's most respected performers and composers, and is widely regarded as one of New England's most distinctive musical treasures. He has led his 16-piece jazz orchestra for over 25 years and has released CDs recently with that group, with his quintet. He has performed all over the world with such noted performers as Tony Bennett, Dizzy Gillespie, Frank Sinatra, the Boston Symphony Orchestra and the Buddy Rich Big Band, with whom he served as soloist and arranger. Eugene Friesen (cello) has been featured in concerts all over the world with the Paul Winter Consort and with poets Yevgeny Yevtushenko and Coleman Barks. He is an artist-in-residence at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine in New York City. Friesen was awarded a Grammy as a member of the Paul Winter Consort for the 1994 album “Spanish Angel” and has worked with such diverse artists as Dave Brubeck, Toots Thielemans, Betty Buckley, Anthony Davis and Will Ackerman. Concert prices are $25 for general admission, $22 for seniors. Dinner is $40 per person. Concert ticket and dinner reservations using a credit card may be made at Hancock Shaker Village, 800-817-1137, ext. 221. The deadline for dinner reservations is Feb. 9. Concert tickets may be purchased at door, if available, but reservations are suggested. Information: MusicWorks, toll free, 866-266-2746. Ventfort concert LENOX — Quintessential, the five-voice men’s a cappella group based in Southern Berkshire County, will perform its second annual Valentine’s concert on Saturday, Feb. 12 at 5:30 p.m. “Bad Case of Love: Songs for Valentine’s Day,” will take place at the Museum of the Gilded Age at Ventfort Hall, the 1893 Berkshire “cottage” at 104 Walker St. Quintessential formed in January 2003. Tenors Al Thorp, Jay Wise and Jim McMenamy and bass/baritones John Miner and David Anderegg, are all former members of the Berkshire Bach Society singers. They have appeared with several local music groups, including the Stockbridge Festival Chorus, Earth Angels, the Berkshire Concert Choir, Great Barrington Performing Arts, Berkshire Opera, Shaker Mountain Festival and the Lorien Ensemble. “Bad Case of Love” will feature love songs in a variety of genres and styles, including American standards, classic rock, folk, funk, blues and Motown. The program will last about one hour. A champagne reception and refreshments will follow. Admission is $20 per person. Information and reservations (recommended due to limited seating): Ventfort Hall, 637-3206.
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Friends of Great Barrington Libraries Holiday Book Sale

GREAT BARRINGTON, Mass. — The Friends of Great Barrington Libraries invite the community to shop their annual Holiday Good-as-New Book Sale, happening now through the end of the year at the Mason Library, 231 Main Street. 
 
With hundreds of curated gently used books to choose from—fiction, nonfiction, children's favorites, gift-quality selections, cookbooks, and more—it's the perfect local stop for holiday gifting.
 
This year's sale is an addition to the Southern Berkshire Chamber of Commerce's Holiday Stroll on this Saturday, Dec. 13, 3–8 PM. Visitors can swing by the Mason Library for early parking, browse the sale until 3:00 PM, then meet Pete the Cat on the front lawn before heading downtown for the Stroll's shopping, music, and festive eats.
 
Can't make the Holiday Stroll? The book sale is open during regular Mason Library hours throughout December.
 
Proceeds support free library programming and events for all ages.
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