
Artistic Director Christine Gevert will lead more than 30 Crescendo singers in two concerts this holiday season.
Provided
Artistic Director Christine Gevert will lead more than 30 Crescendo singers in two concerts this holiday season.
Crescendo is an award-winning music organization based in Lakeville, Connecticut, which will present two concerts with festive Baroque holiday music for chorus, soloists, and orchestra on Dec. 28 and 29. The program brings comfort, joy, and a sense of wonder to listeners and celebrates unity, love, and hope through the power of music.
Johann Sebastian Bach’s Christmas Oratorio stands at the center of the program. Cantatas by his predecessors and contemporaries showcase the festive themes of Advent, Christmas, and the New Year.
The Crescendo Chorus of thirty singers is joined by soprano Paulina Francisco (Canada), countertenor Nicholas Tamagna (Germany), tenor Gene Stenger (Connecticut), bass-baritone Douglas Williams (Massachusetts), and Crescendo Period Instrument Orchestra with musicians from New York City and Boston. The performances are led by Crescendo’s founding artistic director, Christine Gevert.
“Baroque music appeals directly to our emotions. It is the foundation of most of the music we hear nowadays. These compositions incorporate melodies, rhythms, and even forms from folk music. The cantatas are full of dance rhythms, and familiar tunes, which makes them very accessible to our ears. Even without being a classical music fan or choral music lover, it is hard to not be cheered up by forty voices and fifteen instruments singing music that has great harmonic progressions, and beautiful melodies,” Gevert explained.
Crescendo’s concerts will take place at Trinity Episcopal Church in Lime Rock Dec. 28 and 29.Provided
“The natural trumpets and period timpani are played by experts, and their sound is very solemn and lively at the same time. The Christmas cantatas were composed for the most important moment in the church celebrations. The period instruments used in these works have a sound that is a bit more transparent, and perhaps differentiated than the instruments we hear in modern orchestras, and they also have very unique colors. That makes them perfect to accompany the human voice,” she added.
Gevert was raised in Chile and lived in Europe for twelve years. She had been thinking of moving to Boston in the early 2000s but found the Early Music scene there difficult to break into as a foreigner. Luckily for local audiences, she found her way to the Northwest Corner.
“I met the minister of Trinity Church Lime Rock at a meditation retreat in Rishikesh, India, and she let me know that the small Episcopal parish had many music-loving members, and that the music director position was opening up. I applied, and was hired in October of 2001. It took a bit to get the music program going, but I was able to constitute Crescendo here in the fall of 2003, and our audience, chorus and instrumentalists came immediately also from the adjacent areas in New York and Massachusetts. We became an independent 501 (c)(3) organization in 2006,” Gevert says.
Leading ensembles and producing events comes with its own set of challenges. Musicians are not typically educated or trained in management, marketing, and fundraising for arts organizations.
“You need to learn everything at the same time while leading the artistic part of the organization. Everything is done on a shoe-string budget. It was always my goal to bring the very best professionals to our programs, and to pay them a just fee. So most of our funds are used for that, and very little is left for management, marketing, and development. Understanding the functioning of a not-for-profit organization is a journey that has many unexpected challenges and obstacles. Learning to be a leader is not easy in any discipline,” Gevert explained.
“Adoration of the Magi,” by 17th century artist Artemisia Gentileschi. Provided
Gevert feels that society has changed since Covid, with many people still reluctant to attend live performances. The renewal of audience members, supporters, and amateur musicians is more important than ever.
“We have always offered free music education to students and young musicians at Crescendo, and currently have a program in place that functions besides our concert series, and benefits young local musicians who receive one-on-one training,” she added.
Crescendo has been in Lakeville for 21 years in large part because of the many music lovers in the area. Early Music colleagues from the East Coast have also been great supporters.
“We hope that we will be able to celebrate the beauty and power of live music for many more years to come,” said Gevert.
The concerts will take place on Saturday, Dec. 28, 2024 at 4 p.m. at Trinity Episcopal Church, 484 Lime Rock Rd., Lakeville, CT, and on Sunday, Dec. 29, 2024 at 4 p.m. at Saint James Place, 352 Main Street, Great Barrington, MA.
Tickets are available online at www.crescendomusic.org, or on a first come, first served basis at the door, 45 minutes prior to the concert.
Amanda Freund of East Canaan will appear on the television show "Shark Tank" on April 4 to pitch CowPots.
CANAAN — Fans of the television show “Shark Tank,” stay tuned. On Friday, April 4, Amanda Freund of East Canaan will be facing the panel, imploring members to invest in her unique product: cow poop.
Freund and her father Matthew Freund produce and market CowPots, which are made from the abundance of manure found on their dairy farm. Matthew Freund, realizing cows were producing more manure — 100 pounds per cow per day — than was needed for fertilizing fields for crops, came up with the concept of the pots. Years of trial-and-error experimentation finally resulted in success. In 2006 he began selling the biodegradable pots using 100% composted manure to local stores. Now the pots can be found in outlets across the country, as well as internationally.
Amanda Freund — after graduating from Cornell University’s School of Agriculture, doing a stint working as a legislative aide and spending two years in Zambia as part of the Peace Corps — returned to the farm and now heads up the marketing part of the business.
Freund recently spoke about the USDA Rural Development Value Added Producer Grant they received. As part of that, the business is supported through Berkshire Agricultural Ventures, which helps get grants for investing in marketing. One of the consultants they deal with sent in a submission for appearing on “Shark Tank.”
“I guess they were intrigued enough to take it to the next step,” Freund said.
The program is an American reality business series dating back to 2009. Contestants seek investments and in return give up equity in their enterprises. They may receive offers for the amount being requested, multiple offers, an amount too low or nothing at all.
Freund had a phone introduction with the show’s representatives last June and had meetings with producer teams almost every week after that. Upon submitting reams of documents, including business analyses and digital content, she flew out to SONY Studios in Los Angeles in September to tape the program. “I was told I wouldn’t know if the segment would air until three weeks before,” she said, “and to the day, that’s when I heard.”
Freund smiled, remembering how she was trying to figure out ways to “make a splash about poop” on the show and thought about bringing a live cow onto the stage. But that endeavor proved to be “udderly expensive,” so she opted for an inflatable one. She said she watched a lot of previous broadcasts to get a sense of what the panelists, known as “sharks,” were looking for and determined they each seemed to have a particular interest. She decided to focus her presentation on environmental sustainability, promoting the idea of providing an alternative to plastic and peat.
“It felt very grass roots being able to get that exposure on a national stage,” she said. “I felt solid in my conviction of being able to share our product with millions.”
Freund said the show also gave her an opportunity to showcase the packaging aspect of the business which they are seeking to increase, since CowPots have a limited seasonal demand. She showed an example of the product that can be used to ship wine bottles.
“Shark Tank” isn’t the first time CowPots were featured on a syndicated television show. In 2007, Matthew Freund appeared on an episode of “Dirty Jobs” with Mike Rowe, which was well received.
“Shark Tank” airs on ABC at 8 p.m.
LAKEVILLE — The Hotchkiss School opened the girls varsity lacrosse season with a big win in the snow against Kingswood Oxford School.
The Bearcats won 19-0 in a decisive performance March 26. Twelve different players scored for Hotchkiss, led by Coco Sheronas with four goals.
Coco Sheronas scored four goals for Hotchkiss in the snowy 2025 season opener.Photo by Riley Klein
Kingswood Oxford is in the process of rebuilding its girls lacrosse program after some time without a team. The first game of the season gave the Kingswood coaches a chance to see their team play and rework position assignments.
At gametime, Downing Field became enshrouded in a veil of snow flurries. Players kept moving to stay warm with the temperature around 39 degrees.
The mercy rule kicked in during the second quarter when the lead entered double digits, causing a running clock to tick for the rest of the game.
Eleanor Helm scored once against Kingswood Oxford.Photo by Riley Klein
In addition to four goals by Sheronas, MaryHelen Cooey and Charlotte Dorman scored three each and the following players scored once: Eleanor Helm, Lily Lavigne, Lilah Crispino, Kailyn Willa, Marygrace Lawry, Lila Snow, Harper Semlies, Allison Wick and Emma Ohler.
Hotchkiss will play the next two games on the road before hosting Canterbury School April 9 at 3 p.m.
Allison Wick, left, and Kailyn Willa rejoice after a goal March 26.Photo by Riley Klein
FALLS VILLAGE — Principal Ian Strever announces the second quarter marking period Honor Roll at Housatonic Valley Regional High School for the 2024-2025 school year.
Grade 9: Parker Beach (Cornwall), Mia Belter (Salisbury), Lucas Bryant (Cornwall), Addison Green (Kent), Eliana Lang (Salisbury), Alison McCarron (Kent), Katherine Money (Kent), Mira Norbet (Sharon), Abigail Perotti (North Canaan), Karmela Quinion (North Canaan), Owen Schnepf (Wassaic), Federico Vargas Tobon (Salisbury), Emery Wisell (Kent).
Grade 10: Sophia Camphouse (Sharon), John DeDonato (Salisbury), Adelyn Diorio (North Canaan), Sydney Howe (North Canaan), Daniel Lesch (Cornwall), Finian Malone (Sharon), Meadow Moerschell (Kent), Jackson Olson (Salisbury), Logan Padelli (North Canaan), Ishaan Tantri (Salisbury), Ivy Zheng (North Canaan).
Grade 11: Lily Beurket (Cornwall), Olivia Brooks (Salisbury), Mollie Ford (Falls Village), Anna Gillette (Salisbury), Neve Kline (Salisbury), Alexa Meach (North Canaan), Ibby Sadeh (Falls Village), Celeste Trabucco (Kent) Silas Tripp (Falls Village), Alex Woodworth (Salisbury).
Grade 12:Tyler Anderson (Sharon), Zachary Bezerra (Kent), Bernice Boyden (Sharon), Daniela Brennan (North Canaan), Amelia Dodge (North Canaan), Madison Gulotta (Sheffield), Harper Howe (North Canaan), Tess Marks (Salisbury), Manasseh Matsudaira (Cornwall), Lola Moerschell (Kent), Diana Portillo (North Canaan), Olivia Robson (Salisbury), Gabriela Titone (Salisbury).
Grade 9: Krystin Ackerman (North Canaan), Travis Barber (Cornwall), Max Bochnovich (Salisbury), Nico Bochnovich (Salisbury), Logan Bronson (Cornwall), Zaira Celso-Cristobal (Sharon), Sadie Chapell (Salisbury), Tess Churchill (Salisbury), Niki Clark (Salisbury), Caitlin Devino (North Canaan), Louise Faveau (Salisbury), Celestia Galvin (Sharon), Samuel Garcia Pulido (North Canaan), Beatrice Gifford (Kent), Madeline Johnson (Salisbury), Marlow LaPointe (Falls Village), Ayden Lemmy (Falls Village), Paul Losh (Falls Village), Chase Lowell (North Canaan), Lily McCabe (Salisbury), Logan Miller (Falls Village), Bridger Rinehart (Salisbury), Vilija Salazar (Salisbury), Camila Sanchez Guerrero (Cornwall), Camdyn Tallon (North Canaan), Schuyler Thompson (Falls Village), Juliette Trabucco (Kent), Payton Wagner (North Canaan), Jessica Watkins (Kent), Olivia Whitney (North Canaan).
Grade 10: Bennett Wyatt Bayer (Salisbury), Selena Black (Cornwall), Georgie Clayton (Salisbury), Christian DeDonato (Salisbury), Natasha Dennis (North Canaan), Layla DiDomenico (Kent), Carmela Egan (Salisbury), Kellie Eisermann (Salisbury), Levi Elliott (Millerton), Lydia Fleming (North Canaan), Grace Graney (Falls Village), Alexa Hoadley (Kent), Jonas Johnson (North Canaan), Aiden Krupa (Torrington), Makenzie Lidstone (Salisbury), Francisco Mendoza Ratzan (North Canaan), Daniel Moran (Norfolk), David Nam (Sharon), Gustavo Portillo (North Canaan), Rivers Richard (North Canaan), Darwin Wolfe (Falls Village), Nathan Zani (Ashley Falls).
Grade 11: Elizabeth Allyn (Salisbury), Steven Barber (Cornwall), Victoria Brooks (Salisbury), Katherine Crane (North Canaan), Richard Crane (North Canaan), Arianna Danforth Gold (Cornwall), Mia DiRocco (Cornwall), Shanaya Duprey (North Canaan), Allegra Ferri (North Canaan), Elizabeth Forbes (Wassaic), Maureen Graney (Falls Village), Taylor Green (Kent), Chloe Hill (Salisbury), Adam Hock (Kent), Hannah Johnson (North Canaan), Madelyn Johnson (North Canaan), Delanie Keeley (New Marlboro), Madison Melino (Austerlitz), Ayden Wheeler (Amenia).
Grade 12: Lucas Caranci (North Canaan), Sidney Crouch (Cornwall), Dylan Deane (North Canaan), Tessa Dekker (Falls Village), Cole Dennis (North Canaan), Leah Drislane (North Canaan), Sara Huber (Salisbury), Dustin Kayser (North Canaan), Rosemary Koller (North Canaan), Kylie Leonard (North Canaan), Katelin Lopes (Falls Village), Khyra McClennon (Amenia), Jassim Mohydin (Salisbury), Patrick Money (Kent), Mason O’Niel (Salisbury), Tristan Oyanadel (Falls Village), Wendy Santiago-Leyva (Salisbury), Elinor Wolgemuth (Salisbury).
Grade 9: Edwin Alonzo Alonzo (North Canaan), Robert Boyden (Sharon), Peyton Bushnell (Falls Village), Winter Cheney (Cornwall), Ayva Fenn (Torrington), Luca Floridis (Salisbury), Angel Gonzalez (Salisbury), Kogan Lawrence (Amenia), McKenzie Lotz (Ashley Falls), Dany Martinez (North Canaan), Wyatt Merwin (Salisbury), Nathan Young (Cornwall).
Grade 10: Byron Bell (Cornwall), Sofia Bindley (Cornwall), Karen Chavez-Sanchez (Salisbury), Braeden Duncan (Salisbury), Wiley Fails (Salisbury), James Flores (Kent), Jasper Oyanadel (Falls Village), Marlene Perez (North Canaan), Carson Riva (North Canaan), Ryan Segalla (Salisbury), Alanna Tatro (North Canaan).
Grade 11: Peter Austin (Kent), Everet Belancik (Cornwall), Carlos Castellanos Cruz (Falls Village), Ashton Cooper (Salisbury), Christopher Crane (North Canaan), Nicholas Gonzalez (Cornwall), Kierra Greene (North Canaan), Marc Hafner (Falls Village), Abram Kirshner (Kent), Riley Mahaffey (Amenia), Simon Markow (Cornwall), Isabella Pugo Dominguez (North Canaan), Deiby Romero Gualan (North Canaan), Gabriele Rooney (Falls Village), Melanie Rundall (Kent), Ava Segalla (Salisbury), Lauren Sorrell (North Canaan).
Grade 12: Brandt Bosio (Salisbury), Jake Bosio (North Canaan), Madeline Collingwood (South Egremont), Ian Crowell (North Canaan), Madison DeWitt (North Canaan), Rose Fitch (Cornwall), Ava Gandarillas (North Canaan), Abigail Hogan (North Canaan), Antonis Karampasis (North Canaan), Ellanor Karcheski (North Canaan), Jonathan Leal-Santiago (North Canaan), Kyle McCarron (Kent), Ledvia Orellana-Lemus (North Canaan), Olivia Peterson (Sharon), Taylor Terwilliger (North Canaan), Emil Urbanowicz (Cornwall), Jayme Walsh (Salisbury), Abigail White (North Canaan), Junxin Zhang (Kent).
ANCRAMDALE — Thomas Ditto of Ancramdale, born Thomas David DeWitt Aug. 11, 1944 in New York City changing his surname to Ditto at marriage, passed peacefully on Pi Day, March 14, 2025. He was a husband, father, artist, scientist, Shakespeare scholar, visionary, inventor, actor, mime, filmmaker, clown, teacher, lecturer, colleague, and friend. Recipient of numerous grants, awards and honors in both the arts and sciences, a Guggenheim and NASA Innovative Advanced Concepts fellow, he was a creative genius beyond his time. In addition to authoring scores of papers, he held several patents and invented the first motion capture system and the Ditto-scope, a radically new kind of telescope. He was a pioneer in computer generated video, film, and performance.
When not hard at work, he was always there to help when needed and he knew how to bring smiles to faces. He loved his family and pets and was supportive of his wife’s cat rescue work.
He is survived by wife Beverly (Botto), son David, sister Alice Pero and nieces and nephews in the extended family. He was predeceased by his parents David and Madlyn Dewitt and sister Peggy.
Memorial contributions may be made to any of the following non-profits.
Collaborative Cats Inc. PO Box 88, Ancramdale, NY 12503 www.collaborativecats.org
eba inc. dance theatre company, PO Box 145, Albany, NY 12201 www.eba-arts.org
Wave Farm transmission arts WGXC 90.7 FM PO Box 13 Acra, NY 12405 www.wavefarm.org
American Astronomical Society 1667 K Street NW, Suite 800 Washington DC 20006 www.aas.org
American Cancer Society 2678 South Road, Suite 103, Poughkeepsie, NY 12601. www.cancer.org
A Celebration of Life memorial service will take place at a future date and will be announced on the funeral home website.
Arrangements have been entrusted to the Scott D. Conklin Funeral Home, 37 Park Ave., Millerton, NY 12546. To send an online condolence visit www.conklinfuneralhome.com