Ventfort Hall Announces New Board Members

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Appointed to the board were Joanna Case, Lucy Kennedy, Polly Roston, and Christina Wagner.
LENOX, Mass.— Ventfort Hall Mansion and Gilded Age Museum announces the appointment of four new members to its board of directors. 
 
Appointed to the board were Joanna Case, Lucy Kennedy, Polly Roston, and Christina Wagner.
 
Joanna (Jo) Case is a resident of Lee and is the Development Manager at Hancock Shaker Village. She holds an MA in Public History and an MS in Information Science with a specialization in archives and records management from SUNY Albany, and a BA in History from Siena University. Originally from Central New York, Jo brings experience across museum and public history roles, including curation, collections management, research, and public programming.
 
According to a press release: 
 
Lucy Kennedy has a BA in English from the University of Michigan and an MA in English at Stanford. She planned to teach high school English but found herself doing corporate training at a bank instead. From there she went on to get an MBA from Harvard Business School. She began her post business school career in advertising but soon moved on to product development and market research, primarily for banks and insurance companies.  Although, through her education and career she lived all over the US, she was born in Massachusetts and was happy to retire to Lenox in 2010. In retirement she has been able to pursue two great interests: travel photography and local history. In pursuit of the latter she has served previously on the Ventfort Hall Board, on the Berkshire Historical Society Board, the Lenox Historical Commission, and the Lenox Historical Society Board.  She has compiled a history of Lenox at www.lenoxhistory.org and written an ebook "Lenox at 250."                                                                  Polly Roston relocated permanently from New York City to Stephentown, NY in 2023. She was Director of Development at small independent school and has been involved in a myriad of non profits as a volunteer and board member, focusing primarily on coordination, fundraising, and volunteerism. Polly is married with two children. Her passions include travel, cooking, and languages. At Ventfort Hall, in addition to joining the board, she is a Tea and Talk volunteer and serves on the fundraising committee.
 
Christina Wagner is a graduate of Wesleyan University whose career spans finance, fashion, and the creative arts. After early roles in investment banking and equity research with Lehman Brothers in New York and London, she built roots in Los Angeles where she helped to establish the Community Association at the Westside Waldorf School and guided buying and operations for a luxury boutique in Malibu. She later co-founded Bau-Da Design Lab, Inc., producing music videos for artists including Prince, My Chemical Romance, Seal, John Mayer, Motley Crüe, Slipknot, and many others. These projects took her across the country, where she managed large crews, coordinated complex locations, and built trusted client relationships. Christina continues to serve as Executive Producer at Bau-Da, helping to facilitate creative work for major corporations such as Pepsi and other global brands. Known for her clarity, organization, and vision, she excels at turning ambitious ideas into impactful results.
 
 
 
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The Classical Beat: Tanglewood, Sevenars Offer Thrilling Music and Performers

By Stephen DanknerSpecial to iBerkshires

With the second week of August, Tanglewood continues its high energy and innovative classical programming with three powerhouse concerts in the Shed – with highlights being especially illuminating, spiritual programs curated by Yo-Yo Ma in the Shed and in Ozawa Hall. Read below for all the details and performing artists appearing in these outstanding programs:

  • Friday, August 7, 8:00 p.m. in the Shed: The Boston Symphony, led by Samy Rachlid, with Renaud Capucon, violin, Yo-Yo Ma, cello, and the Berkshire Lyric Chorus directed by Jack Brown present a program entitled "Gratitude and Friendship." Featured works by composers Gabriel Fauré ('Cantique de Jean Racine',) Brahms (String Sextet No. 2 in G, Op. 36,) and concluding with Brahms' rarely-performed Double Concerto for violin, cello and orchestra, Op. 102.  
  • Saturday, August 8, 8:00 p.m. in the Shed:  This very special concert presents a journey in words and music we all share in our co-mingled American present: the land, both our individual and collective stories, and the ideals that motivate us. Together with the BSO and special guest musicians and artists, this program reflects the triumphs, tragedies and possibilities of our country. Featured performers include conductors Teddy Abrams and Ken-David Masur, vocalists Aofie O'Donovan and Jennifer Kreisberg, and members of  "An American Journey," with Yo-Yo Ma and Friends.
  • Sunday, August 9, 2:30 p.m. in the Shed: A program entitled "Our Future Together" presents music by John Tavener, Kayhan Kalhor and Osvaldo Golijov. Featured performers include conductors Samy Rachlid and Anna Handler, cellists Yo-Yo Ma, Karen Ouzounian, and Christine Lee, vocalist Arooj Aftab, Kayhan Kalhor, karmancheh (an ancient traditional bowed Persian stringed instrument,) and the Boston University Tanglewood Chorus.
  • Monday, August 10, 8:00 p.m. in Ozawa Hall: The Tanglewood Music Festival Orchestra, featuring TMC Conducting Fellows and TMC Vocalists, presents a program of American Opera, with works composed by Copland ('The Tender Land,') Tania Leon ('Scourge of the Hyacinths,') John Adams ('El Nino,') John Harbison ('The Great Gatsby,') Osvaldo Golijov ('Ainadamar,') Missy Mazzoli ('Proving Up') and Stravinsky ('The Rake's Progress'.)

For tickets for all Tanglewood/BSO concerts (lawn and Shed seating) and for special events call (617) 266-1200 or (413) 637-5180; online: tanglewood.org or customerservice@bso.org. In Lenox, visit the Tanglewood box office at the Main Gate located at 297 West Street.

Sevenars Music Festival

Sevenars presents an electrifying piano virtuoso

Founded in 1968, Sevenars Concerts, Inc., is celebrating its 58th season of six summer concerts, held at the Academy - now air-conditioned – a building designated "an acoustic gem in an idyllic setting," located in the  historic village of South Worthington,15 Ireland Street, off MA Route 112.

Sevenars is delighted to welcome back prizewinning virtuoso Junwen Liang, performing a stunningly varied American program entitled  "Echoes Across Horizons: American Voices in Classical Piano." 

Junwen graduated with a Graduate Performance Diploma from the Peabody Institute of Johns Hopkins University, under the tutelage of Richard Goode. See Junwenliangpianist.com for more about this wonderful artist.

He'll bring Sevenars a stunningly varied program, including music of Amy Beach, Florence Price, Tan Dun, Stephen Dankner, and the rare and masterful Sonata by Paul Aurandt, (sometimes described as a musical successor to Rachmaninoff) - along with other surprises! 

Sevenars concerts are presented on consecutive Sundays at 4:00 p.m. until August 16. Phone: (413) 238-5854 (please leave a message for a return call). Online: www.sevenars.org. Admission is by donation at the door (suggested $20). Refreshments will be available at no charge.

 

 

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