BITS & BYTES: Program dedicated to black composers; free IEP training; Limited Series at Mac-Haydn; Moonlit Meaner to Clark; David Eddy show

Opera program dedicated to black composers

PITTSFIELD— Wednesday, August 10, at 7:30 p.m.Berkshire Opera Festival (BOF) will present a free program dedicated to compositions by black artists.

The program, High on the Ramparts, will be hosted by the Berkshire Museum. This evening of arias and artistic songs by black composers will feature soprano Kearstin Piper Brown, tenor Joshua Blue and pianist Travis Bloom.

Brown recently starred in Ricky Ian Gordon’s new opera, Intimate Clothing, at the Lincoln Center Theater. Blue will soon play the role of Don Ottavio in the Berkshire Opera Festival’s Don Giovanni.

Neglected for too long, these pioneering men and women wrote exceptional and powerful works that influenced generations of composers to come. BOF Artistic Director and Co-Founder Brian Garman will host the celebration of this rich musical history.

The show will take place in the Ellen Crane Memorial Room at the Berkshire Museum. The concert is free but reservations are required and can be made HERE.

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Parents of Public School Students Invited to Free Online IEP Training

GREAT BARRINGTON— For parents of public school children who need special education, planning can be confusing or overwhelming. To help these parents, CHP Family Services is offering a free online workshop, “IEP Training 101” on Wednesdays, August 10 at 6:30 p.m.

Participants can register and request a login link by contacting Rania Markham, rmarkham@chpberkshires.org, or by calling (413) 528-0457. The program is free.

Children with functional needs are entitled to an Individualized Education Plan (IEP), which is developed in consultation with parents/guardians and school education specialists. IEPs are intended to ensure that students in special education programs receive the best possible education and support, but parents play an important role in advocating for their child.

“It’s important for IEP families to understand the process, their options and their rights,” said Markham, workshop co-host and parent of a child with special needs. “The more information parents have, the better they can communicate with the school and advocate for their child.”

Guest presenters for the workshop are Kornelia Krzyzanowska, CHP School Liaison, and Karen Mowry, IEP Attorney.

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The series of limited performances begins at the Mac-Haydn Theater

CHATHAM, NY— Mac Haydn Theater Limited Performance Series Begins August 10 with “To Sondheim, with love.” The limited performance series is a set of programs with three to four performances and will include four different programs

“To Sondheim, with love“, a new musical featuring the work of the late Stephen Sondheim, will begin the series with an August 10 debut. The production, created by Meredith Lustig, is set August 10, September 14 and 16.

In “To Sondheim, With Love”, Lustig takes us through a musical correspondence with one of the greatest theatrical minds in history. Along the way, she discovers the contents of the letter she wishes she had written to a man who helped shape a whole generation of artists. The performance features some of the composer’s greatest hits, including selections from “Into the Woods” and “Merrily We Roll.” On.”

“A call to places: Gabe Belyeu” prime ministers on August 24and will offer additional hours on September 3 and 10.

From work to vacation, from solitude to refuge, the reasons we travel the world are as varied as the people who live there. Join Gabe Belyeu as he explores the journeys in all of our lives through an eclectic mix of music ranging from jazz to classic rock to musical theater and back again; hits such as “I’ve Been Everywhere”, “Walking in Memphis”, “Journey On” and many more.

Favorites 2022, the annual fundraising event, returns with four sessions on September 3, 14, 21 and 28, Join cast members of Mac-Haydn as they deliver spectacular performances of musical theater’s greatest hits. From classic to contemporary, this is the ultimate review of show tunes.

Major Arcana come back for The next draw, which takes the audience on a journey of self-discovery through the prism of the Major Arcana of the Tarot. Both improvised immersion and tarot reading in a cabaret, this performance organized by touch Performance Art invites the public to experience both intimate interactions and spectacular performances. The shows will take place on September 23 and 30 and October 1.

Vaccination and masks are mandatory for all Mac-Haydn guests. For tickets, visit www.machaydntheatre.org or call the box office at (518) 392-9292.

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Clark Art Institute presents Moonlit Meander

WILLIAMSTOWN—Friday, August 12 at 5 p.m., the Clark Art Institute will host Moonlit Meander, an evening celebration featuring art, food, live music, and more. The event begins at the Lunder Center in Stone Hill and is presented in conjunction with Tauba Auerbach and Yuji Agematsu: Meander.

The Lunder Center Galleries will be open until 11 p.m. to provide an after-hours experience. Tauba Auerbach and Yuji Agematsu: Meander. Outside, the Afro-Brazilian samba trio will perform on the Moltz Terrace, with beer and wine available for purchase. BB’s Hot Spot food truck will be on site offering Caribbean-inspired dishes from 5:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. At 8:30 p.m., join a musical meander under the full moon as the samba trio take everyone out to Stone Hill Pasture for s’mores and conversation around a moonlit campfire.

Tauba Auerbach and Yuji Agematsu: Meanderon view until October 16, 2022, combines new works by Tauba Auerbach and Yuji Agematsu, in parallel galleries, under the heading of meander both noun and verb, motive and method. In quite different ways, the two artists sharpen our perception of the flows of matter and energy that surround us, oscillating between intuition and analysis, difference and repetition, everyday and cosmic. The publication of the exhibition, a special issue of the magazine Service Library Annualis thematic on meander more broadly, with contributors approaching it from archaeological, ecological, mathematical, narrative, neurological and other angles.

This event is free. Please check the website on the day of the event for weather-related cancellations. For more information, visit clarkart.edu/events.

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New work by David Eddy at Lauren Clark Fine Art

GREAT BARRINGTON— Lauren Clark Fine Art presents “West St. Paintings”, a new work by David Eddy. The show runs from August 13 to September 5, with a reception for the artist, Saturday August 13 from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m.

With over 30 new paintings for this exhibition, David Eddy continues to create semi-abstract figurative and landscape paintings full of raw energy and emotion, exhibiting sophistication in color, markings and composition. Eddy’s interest in exploring the relationship between abstraction and figuration is evident in each of his paintings, offering a very unique and very personal vision.

Eddy is a self-taught painter whose talent, vision and hard work have paid off – both in terms of national gallery representation and through enduring and growing recognition of his work. Most of Eddy’s paintings focus on figures, either alone or in groups, and may include animals in the overall narrative of a piece. There’s a childish, naive quality to his work, but the modeling of facial expressions and the delightful complexity and subtlety of the whole thing speaks to a designer with deep insight and expert craftsmanship.

For more information, please contact the gallery at 413-528-0432 or Lauren@LaurenClarkFineArt.com