Joyous music soared to the rafters at Open Recital

SALISBURY — There was something happening this weekend that did not involve snow and skiing — the Open Recital of area music students on Feb. 27.A good crowd came to the Congregational Church to hear the performers run through a wide variety of musical styles and to celebrate 30 years of the annual recital.Pianist Helena Seo played Mozart’s C Minor, Fantasy K. 396 without a hitch; The Hotchkiss School Vocal Ensemble, directed by Laurie Ellington, sang three selections, and the LaVa Trio (Elijah Stone, Darby Craig and Kayo Wiggins) performed two original rock pieces.Interspersed through the program were recollections from past performers — including this from Amy Mei Lan Loi Low, who played piano in the recital in 1983:“I grew up with music in my house — piano sing-alongs, practices and duets — and I was sure that I wanted my children to have the same experience. I wanted them to experience hearing live music in their home and to discover the unique joy of making music themselves ...“My 7-year-old daughter, Kiana, in addition to the basics is learning to improvise. At the beginning I could hear her tentativeness, but after five months of lessons, she has learned to trust her ear and go with it. What a gift!”Past performers also returned to the stage for the special concert, including Allison Holst-Grubbe, who sang in the 1998 concert, and Genevieve Pong Yuen, who played piano in the 1984 recital.The early concerts were presented by the Berkshire Hills Music and Dance Association. In recent years, including this one, the recital was funded in part by the Al Sly Fund of the Congregational Church.

Latest News

Mountaineers fall 3-0 to Wamogo

Anthony Foley caught Chase Ciccarelli in a rundown when HVRHS played Wamogo Wednesday, May 1.

Riley Klein

LITCHFIELD — Housatonic Valley Regional High School varsity baseball dropped a 3-0 decision to Wamogo Regional High School Wednesday, May 1.

The Warriors kept errors to a minimum and held the Mountaineers scoreless through seven innings. HVRHS freshman pitcher Chris Race started the game strong with no hits through the first three innings, but hiccups in the fourth gave Wamogo a lead that could not be caught.

Keep ReadingShow less
The artist called ransome

‘Migration Collage' by ransome

Alexander Wilburn

If you claim a single sobriquet as your artistic moniker, you’re already in a club with some big names, from Zendaya to Beyoncé to the mysterious Banksy. At Geary, the contemporary art gallery in Millerton founded by New Yorkers Jack Geary and Dolly Bross Geary, a new installation and painting exhibition titled “The Bitter and the Sweet” showcases the work of the artist known only as ransome — all lowercase, like the nom de plume of the late Black American social critic bell hooks.

Currently based in Rhinebeck, N.Y., ransome’s work looks farther South and farther back — to The Great Migration, when Jim Crow laws, racial segregation, and the public violence of lynching paved the way for over six million Black Americans to seek haven in northern cities, particularly New York urban areas, like Brooklyn and Baltimore. The Great Migration took place from the turn of the 20th century up through the 1970s, and ransome’s own life is a reflection of the final wave — born in North Carolina, he found a new home in his youth in New Jersey.

Keep ReadingShow less
Four Brothers ready for summer season

Hospitality, ease of living and just plain fun are rolled into one for those who are intrigued by the leisure-time Caravana experience at the family-owned Four Brothers Drive-in in Amenia. John Stefanopoulos, pictured above, highlights fun possibilities offered by Hotel Caravana.

Leila Hawken

The month-long process of unwrapping and preparing the various features at the Four Brothers Drive-In is nearing completion, and the imaginative recreational destination will be ready to open for the season on Friday, May 10.

The drive-in theater is already open, as is the Snack Shack, and the rest of the recreational features are activating one by one, soon to be offering maximum fun for the whole family.

Keep ReadingShow less