Eagles Community Band Hosting a Free Stage Band Concert

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — The Eagles Community Band's stage band is bringing a concert to the community on Saturday, April 5, at 3 p.m. at First United Methodist Church on Fenn Street.

The event will feature local musician and trumpeter Jeff Stevens.

"This is something new for us. We typically have our concerts on Sunday at three o'clock," said stage band director James Stakenas.

The band was encouraged to bring something to Pittsfield at a time of year when it's not usually playing,  hoping it gives the community something to come and enjoy that's free.

Stakenas said, "Stage band just sort of roundly describes the fact that we're a 16-piece instrumental group, and we play music from all sorts of different genres."

The band plans to play many tunes from the '40s, "The Bare Necessities," and more including solos from Stevens and other band members.

"He's also going to solo with us on a couple of other tunes, different spots of the program, but we will also have a trombone feature, an alto sax feature, and I think a barry (baritone) sax solo. So we're going to showcase some of the other members of our stage band," Stakenas said.

"We're hoping it's an entertaining program. We have some good music picked out. Jeff’s a great soloist. We want people to relax and then just enjoy the afternoon. It should be fun for both us performing and for the people in the audience."

The band is encouraging young students to attend to help improve their own playing and enjoy a set of music that's not usually heard around the Berkshires.

"The nice thing is that they're going to see there's not many local big bands for them, for students, to come check out. And I always tell my students to go listen to other people play, because that's one of the best things you can do to improve your own playing, is listen other people," said bass player Jacob Keplinger. "There's jazz, a lot of jazz performances around Berkshire County, but not many big bands," 

The Eagles Community Band has performed in the Berkshires and beyond for nearly 90 years. The concert band has about 70 members and all ensembles combined have around 90, ranging from high school ages to musicians in their 80s. The band was originally sponsored by the Fraternal Order of Eagles Aerie 358 and became a nonprofit organization in 1993.

BCC Sees $1M in Federal Funds for Trades Academy

By Brittany PolitoiBerkshires Staff
05:15PM / Thursday, April 09, 2026

U.S. Rep. Richard Neal secured $995,000 to begin design and construction of the academy. The congressman had earlier attended the Norman Rockwell Museum business breakfast, which celebrated Laurie Norton Moffatt's 49 years leading the institution.

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Berkshire Community College was awarded nearly $1 million in federal funds to support a Trades Academy. 

On Thursday, U.S. Rep. Richard Neal visited the college to highlight the $995,000 he secured through congressionally directed spending. Executive Director of Workforce and Community Education Linda Clairmont said BCC can be a destination for adults who want to learn a skilled trade. 

"I want to join up with the amazing work that Taconic and McCann (vocational high schools) are doing to prepare people for these really specific skills, helping people become confident professionals with a direct path to high-wage, high-demand jobs," she explained. 

"And we're also addressing the labor shortage that exists in this county, around the state, and around the country, in the skilled trades." 

The federal funding will support a feasibility study of an existing vacant building on campus, as well as the evaluation and abatement of any hazardous materials at the location, because it was once a power plant. 

BCC will dip its toe into the skilled trades with its first HVAC training program, for which it received $1.2 million from the state in support. The $995,000 in federal funds will go toward creating the academy in a building located on the main campus, and the HVAC heat pump training program will be funded by the Massachusetts Clean Energy Center. 

The $1 million in federal monies will get the college to construction documents, maybe fund some construction, and help identify the necessary equipment and other learning space needs for a skilled trade, Clairmont reported. 

The funding is part of more than $14 million in congressionally directed spending secured by the congressman to support economic development, workforce training, and community infrastructure across the Berkshires.

Neal said there are about 6.5 million jobs in the United States that go unanswered every day.