Rogovoy Report For 4/15/16

The cultural highlights in our region this weekend include the kickoff of a new play reading series; a CD release concert by a popular local band; a concert of Ethiopian pop-funk; the debut tour of an emerging violin protégé of Itzhak Perlman’s; a complete rendition of Leonard Bernstein’s “Kaddish” Symphony, a South African all-star jazz ensemble; and a chamber concert of Jewish music.

Actors from most of the region’s top summer theaters, including Kristin Wold of Shakespeare & Company, will take part in a reading of “The Last Wife” by Kate Hennig, the opening event of the 2016 Fresh Takes Play Reading Series at WAMTheatre, at No. Six Depot Roastery and Café in West Stockbridge on Sunday at 3 pm. 

Bella’s Bartok celebrates the release of its new album, “Change Yer Life,” with a “CD Release Masquerade Show,” featuring special guests Whiskey Treaty Roadshow and DJ BFG, at the Colonial Theatre in Pittsfield on Saturday at 8pm. Bella’s Bartok is a six-piece ensemble playing a unique brand of “Bohemian Klezmer-Punk” with pop sensibilities. 

Debo Band brings its groove-inducing style of Ethiopian pop to Club B-10 at MASS MoCA in North Adams on Saturday at 8pm, culminating a day featuring the opening of three new exhibitions in the galleries. The eleven-piece Debo Band expands upon the repertoire of Ethiopia’s golden era of Afropop. Fans rave about Debo Band’s intricate styles, funky rhythms, deep guitar riffs, and authentic vibes.  

Violinist Francesca dePasquale will bring her “Distinctive Debut” tour, featuring music from her terrific eponymous debut album, including the premiere of a commissioned work by Paola Prestini, to Hudson Opera House on Saturday at 7pm, as part of the Classics on Hudson series. The program includies works by Bach, Bartók, Korngold, Messiaen, and Schumann.

Leonard Bernstein’s Symphony No. 3 “Kaddish” will get a rare, complete rendering by large orchestra, choir, vocal soloist, and narration by Academy Award-winning, five-time Tony Award nominee Estelle Parsons, when the Hudson Valley Philharmonic performs under the baton of music director Randall Craig Fleischer at the Bardavon in Poughkeepsie on Saturday at 8pm. The program will also include works by Ernest Bloch and contemporary composer MeiraWarshauer.  

Uhadi, a South African all-star jazz quintet, performs in the Fisher Center at Bard College in the final performance of their 2016 nationwide tour on Saturday at 8pm. 

And  “Fiddler OFF the Roof,” a chamber music program exploring the question “What Is Jewish Music?” and featuring works by Felix Mendelssohn, Gustav Mahler, Ernest Bloch, Darius Milhaud, George Gershwin, Max Bruch, plus the world premiere of contemporary composer Paul Schoenfield’s“ZEMER,” takes place at the Mahaiwe in Great Barrington on Sunday at 3pm, as part of the Close Encounter with Music series.