Berkshire Opera Festival Appoints First Director of Development

GREAT BARRINGTON, Mass. — Berkshire Opera Festival has appointed Karl E. Held as its first director of development. He begins his role with BOF on Sept. 1.

Held, who hails from Gettysburg, Penn., brings a wealth of producing and fundraising experience across a broad spectrum of the performing arts. His clients have included such institutions as Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, Carnegie Hall, Tanglewood, the Spoleto Festivals in South Carolina and Italy, the New York Philharmonic, the Boston Symphony Orchestra, and The Philadelphia Orchestra. He was the visionary and driving force behind the renovation and gala re-opening of Gettysburg’s Majestic Theater, and the creation and launch of the 2007-2008 inaugural season of the Gettysburg Festival.

He has served on several national councils for The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts and currently serves on numerous boards and as an advisor to arts organizations in New York City and the greater metropolitan area. Held believes strongly that the arts in education are essential for inspiring and nurturing innovative thinkers who will become the future leaders of the world. Acting on this belief, he recently completed an appointment as president and CEO of the American Boychoir School in Princeton, N.J, and was the founding executive director of the Princeton Center for Arts and Education.

Dalton Board Signs Off on Land Sale Over Residents' Objections

By Sabrina DammsiBerkshires Staff
05:50AM / Tuesday, December 23, 2025

Residents demanded the right to speak but the agenda did not include public comment. Amy Musante holds a sign saying the town now as '$20,000 less for a police station.'

DALTON, Mass. — The Select Board signed the sale on the last of what had been known as the Bardin property Monday even as a handful of residents demanded the right to speak against the action. 

 

The quitclaim deed transfers the nine acres to Thomas and Esther Balardini, who purchased the two other parcels in Dalton. They were the third-highest bidders at $31,500. Despite this, the board awarded them the land in an effort to keep the property intact.

 

"It's going to be an ongoing battle but one I think that has to be fought [because of] the disregard for the taxpayers," said Dicken Crane, the high bidder at $51,510.

 

"If it was personal I would let it go, but this affects everyone and backing down is not in my nature." 

 

Crane had appealed to the board to accept his bid during two previous meetings. He and others opposed to accepting the lower bid say it cost the town $20,000. After the meeting, Crane said he will be filing a lawsuit and has a citizen's petition for the next town meeting with over 100 signatures. 

 

Three members of the board — Chair Robert Bishop Jr., John Boyle, and Marc Strout — attended the 10-minute meeting. Members Anthony Pagliarulo and Daniel Esko previously expressed their disapproval of the sale to the Balardinis. 

 

Pagliarulo voted against the sale but did sign the purchase-and-sale agreement earlier this month. His reasoning was the explanation by the town attorney during an executive session that, unlike procurement, where the board is required to accept the lowest bid for services, it does have some discretion when it comes to accepting bids in this instance.