Berkshire Symphony Performance

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WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. The Williams College Department of Music presents the Berkshire Symphony with director Andrew J. Kim in a performance titled, Opera Without Words on March 6, at 7:30 pm.
 
This event is free and open to the public. There are no reservations or ticketing.
 
This concert presents instrumental music from operas across time and musical traditions, drawing from Johann Strauss Jr.'s Overture to Die Fledermaus, Britten's Four Sea Interludes from Peter Grimes; Richard Wagner's Vorspiel und Liebestod from Tristan und Isolde; and Joseph de Bologne's L'Amant Anonime.
 
According to a press release:
 
The Berkshire Symphony is a truly unique model for an orchestra. Consisting of Williams College faculty and other professional musicians sitting side-by-side with auditioned students, the ensemble presents high level performances for the College and the Berkshires community at large while fostering immersive learning experience for the students in a professional setting. The faculty and students are able to develop close mentorships through playing next to each other, and rehearsals become a fertile ground for growth in which students learn nuances of ensemble playing and collaborative music-making.
 
The orchestra presents four concerts a year, each through four rehearsals on preceding Tuesdays and Thursdays. It aims to share a diverse set of repertoire that represents wide-ranging cultural backgrounds as well as time periods, including music written by living composers. The orchestra also serves as a liaison between the College and its broader community as an important performing arts organization in the Berkshires, helping to connect everyone through music.
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Williamstown Planning Board, Consultants Discuss Subdivision Bylaw

By Stephen DravisiBerkshires Staff
WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. — The Planning Board met recently with consultants who are helping the body develop amendments to the town's subdivision bylaw.
 
In a conversation set to continue at a special Planning Board meeting on Tuesday, April 28, representatives of Northampton architecture and civil engineering firms Dodson and Flinker and Berkshire Design Group outlined some of the decision points for the board as it develops a major revision of the bylaw.
 
Unlike the zoning bylaw, for which the Planning Board makes recommendations to town meeting, the subdivision bylaw is under the direct authority of the five-member elected board.
 
The Subdivision Control Law, Article 170 in the town code, was first adopted by the Planning Board in 1959. The current board is looking to do the first major revision to the rules that "guide the development of land into lots served with adequate roads and utilities," since 1993.
 
The town hired the Northampton consultants with the proceeds of a grant administered by the Berkshire Regional Planning Commission.
 
Dillon Sussman, a senior associate at Dodson and Flinker, laid out the scope of the project and the objectives of the board as conveyed to the consultants.
 
"What we understand of your goals for the project is to make small subdivision projects more economically feasible," Sussman said. "We've heard that you think that small subdivision projects are more likely … that there's not much land remaining [in Williamstown] for large projects. And you've had some experience with a small subdivision project that was difficult to fit in your current subdivision regulations."
 
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