Sage City Symphony to present Fall Concert November 14

Print Story | Email Story
BENNINGTON, VT. — After a hiatus of more than a year due to the pandemic, on Sunday, Nov. 14, at 4:00 p.m. 
 
Sage City Symphony will present a Fall Concert at Greenwall Auditorium in the VAPA Building at Bennington College. Admission is free and open to all.  
 
The program will feature "Symphony No. 6 in F Major" ("Pastoral Symphony, or Recollections of Country Life"), by Ludwig van Beethoven; "Serenade in C minor" ("Nachtmusik") for wind octet, by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart; and "Piece for Strings" (1970), by Alison Nowak.
 
Covid Protocols: All current and evolving guidelines issued by the CDC, the State of Vermont, and Bennington College will be followed. Face masks and social distancing will be required ("pod" seating will be permitted), and proof of vaccination and ID will be requested at the door. In the event of a resurgence of Covid infection rates, postponement or cancellation of this concert will be posted on the symphony's website at www.SageCitySymphony.org.  
 
Bennington College alumna Alison Nowak has been a successful composer of vocal, chamber, and orchestral music and a violinist and teacher for many years. She was just four months old when her father, pianist and composer Lionel Nowak, joined the music faculty at Bennington College, where he remained for 45 years. Her own musical training started early, as did her inclination toward teaching (as a teenager she was music director at Trumbull Hill Camp in South Shaftsbury). 
 
She earned a BA in music from Bennington College, where she studied composition with Sage City Symphony founding music director Louis Calabro, as well as Henry Brant and Vivian Fine, and studied violin with Eric Rosenblith, Sylvia Rosenberg, and Jacob Glick. During this time she played with the Vermont Symphony Orchestra.  
 
She went on to graduate school at Columbia University, where the composer Charles Wuorinen became her principal teacher. While earning her master's and doctoral degrees at Columbia, she worked as assistant to Otto Luening, who had taught at Bennington College in the very early years, from 1934-1942, and again from 1974-1975. She also was a founding member of the Composers Ensemble, a group of young composers who performed their own works in concert series at Carnegie Recital Hall, colleges, and other venues. 
 
Establishing New York City as her home base, she taught at the 92nd Street Y, The New School, and Columbia University Teachers College. She also was a coach at the Bennington Chamber Music Conference; she continues to coach chamber music privately. As a professional violinist, she played with the Greenwich Symphony Orchestra for more than 25 years, and in 1986 the GSO premiered her full orchestra piece, "Blend." 
 
 
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
  
 

Tags: music,   

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

Companion Corner: Mace at Second Chance Animal Shelter

By Breanna SteeleiBerkshires Staff

ARLINGTON, Vt. — There's a dog at Second Chance Animal Shelter who is anxiously waiting to explore the world with her new family.

iBerkshire's Companion Corner is a weekly series spotlighting an animal in our local shelters that is ready to find a home.

Mace is a Plott hound, a coonhound breed, who is 3 to 4 years old. He has been at the shelter since September 2024.

Shelter manager Troy Quinn introduced us to Mace, saying he gets along with everyone.

"He was found as a stray by animal control. I think he kept getting loose on the owner, and unfortunately, they just didn't really have enough time for him," Quinn said. "They just kind of left him outside. But he's a very sweet boy. He loves everybody."

Mace would do best with someone who knows and loves hounds and how vocal they can be.

"His perfect home would be a hound lover, for sure, because they are quite vocal," he said. "You got to be used to the barking. He definitely loves walking, playing with his toys. He will go out and like bay at the woods and try to get the wildlife stirred up so he can chase it."

Because he likes to chase, he would do best without cats in the home as he finds them too fun to play with. He would also do best with a more submissive dog and older children since he can be jumpy.

He is very treat motivated and he loves to play with soft toys, making sure to tear them apart. He is eager to go on walks as well to explore.

"He loves to chew up his stuffed toys. He definitely likes being out in the woods and when there's not so much snow out. He loves walking the fields with our volunteers," Quinn said. "He does a little bit better with the no-pull harness."

He especially likes to explore wooded areas and would love someone who would do the same with him. 

"He's been just a really friendly, busy boy. He loves running around that yard, but he'd much rather be out in the woods," Quin said. "Pretty typical hound dog. He's loving. He's good for the vet, little bit wiggly."

At the end of the day he loves to snuggle up to you and look outside the window. Quinn said he would do well with anyone who is willing to put in the work for him.

"Anybody that's willing to work with them if they love hounds," he said. "He really is just a sweet, energetic boy."

Mace is sponsored by the Pet Connection.

If you think Mace might be the boy for you, reach out to Second Chance Animal Shelter and learn more about him on the website.

Second Chance Animal Shelter is open Tuesday through Sunday 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. and Sunday from noon to 3 p.m. It is located at 1779 VT Route 7A. Contact the shelter at 802-375-2898 or info@2ndchanceanimalcenter.org.

 
View Full Story

More Vermont Stories