Clark Art Kicks Off Music in the Manton Series

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WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. — The Clark Art Institute presents the first of its three-part Music in the Manton concert series with Flore Laurentienne, Canadian Mathieu David Gagnon's incomparable musical project, on Friday, March 21 at 7 pm in the Manton Research Center auditorium.
 
According to a press release:
 
Flore Laurentienne comes from a happy marriage between electronic and classically influenced music. The project is committed to constantly pushing the boundaries between various genres, including ambient, experimental, and progressive rock. Flore Laurentienne has recently released a new album, 8 tableaus, available on Secret City Records. Composer, orchestrator, and musician Mathieu David Gagnon draws inspiration from the works of Canadian painter and sculptor Jean Paul Riopelle with this new offering.
 
This program is presented in collaboration with Belltower Records, North Adams, Massachusetts.
 
$10 ($8 members, $7 students, $5 children 15 and under). Advance registration encouraged. Capacity is limited. Accessible seats available. For more information, visit clarkart.edu/events. Admission to the Clark is free January through March 2025.
 
The next Music on the Manton concert is Sunday, April 27 at 2 pm, featuring pianist Umi G
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Lanesborough Officials Review Schools' Budgets

By Stephen DravisiBerkshires Staff

Mount Greylock Superintendent Joseph Bergeron, left, addresses the Lanesborough Select Board and Finance Committee as School Committee member Curtis Elfenbein looks at the projection of a slide in the district's budget presentation.
LANESBOROUGH, Mass. — Town officials Monday appeared generally receptive to the fiscal year 2027 spending plans for the two public school districts that serve the town.
 
Superintendents from the Northern Berkshire Vocational Regional School District (McCann Technical School) and Mount Greylock Regional School District presented their respective FY27 budgets to a joint meeting of the town's Finance Committee and Select Board.
 
Both districts are sending significantly higher assessments for approval at Lanesborough's annual town meeting in June.
 
McCann Tech, which constituted a $317,109 expenditure for the town in the current fiscal year, is seeking $463,978 for the fiscal year that begins on July 1 even though the school's operating budget is up just 3.2 percent year to year.
 
The 46 percent increase in Lanesborough's share of McCann Tech's budget is is due to two factors: a rise in enrollment of town residents at the vocational school from 20 in 2025 to 29 in this school year and a capital assessment for the first round of payments — for interest only — for a roof and window replacement project on the North Adams campus.
 
The Mount Greylock assessment, a much larger component of Lanesborough's property tax bill, is up 10.99 percent from FY26 to FY27, from $6.8 million to $7.6 million.
 
Mount Greylock Superintendent Joseph Bergeron gave a budget presentation similar to one he has delivered twice to the district's School Committee and again last month to the Williamstown Finance Committee, explaining that while the FY27 budget maintains level services to students with a net reduction of three positions, a series of factors are driving much larger assessments to Mount Greylock's two member towns.
 
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