Phil Kline’s Unsilent Night – a “mobile sound-sculpture” that has become a holiday cult classic -- return to the region in Kingston, N.Y., tonight at 6 p.m. Now in its 33rd year, Unsilent Night was first performed in New York City’s Greenwich Village as a one-time, 45-minute composition. Since then, the pioneering work of public sound art – performed by whomever shows up with a boombox or amplified digital music player (such as a smartphone) – has grown into a beloved annual event performed in communities around the world during the winter holiday season. (Fri, Dec 19)
Nut/Cracked — the Bang Group’s beloved, witty response to The Nutcracker — returns to Kaatsbaan in Tivoli, N.Y., tonight through Sunday. Choreographer David Parker draws inspiration from across the dance spectrum, blending tap, ballet, disco, and even bubble wrap to create a unique performance that reimagines Tchaikovsky’s iconic score. With renditions ranging from Duke Ellington to Glenn Miller, Nut/Cracked transforms the familiar into something delightfully unexpected. (Fri-Sun, Dec 19-21)
What to wear, a comedic, post-rock opera by Bang On a Can composer Michael Gordon and the late downtown theater renegade icon Richard Foreman, receives an in-progress staging in the Hunter Center at MASS MoCA in North Adams, Mass., on Saturday at 7 p.m. The work will bring back to life Foreman’s original staging and production, with creative direction by Paul Lazar and Annie-B Parson. The production will make its official premiere at the Brooklyn Academy of Music in mid-January. (Sat, Dec 20)
Seven-time Grammy Award-winner Paul Winter brings his saxophone and his band, the Paul Winter Consort, to St. James Place in Great Barrington, Mass., for two concerts on Saturday, at 3 p.m. and 7 p.m. The Winter Consort’s annual Winter Solstice Celebration features vocalist Theresa Thomason and uses world music, jazz, and classical forms to mark the return of the sun and celebrate the renewal of spirit and the diversity of life on Earth. (Sat, Dec 20)
Also of note:
Grammy Award-winning jazz guitarist and vocalist John Pizzarelli returns to the Mahaiwe in Great Barrington, Mass., with his trio to celebrate the legacy of Tony Bennett on Saturday at 8 p.m.
The Crescendo Chorus and Vocal Ensemble present A Tapestry of Traditions, featuring holiday carols and Christmas songs, at St. James Place in Great Barrington, Mass., on Sunday at 4 p.m.
Seth Rogovoy is editor of the Rogovoy Report, available at rogovoyreport.substack.com.
The views expressed by commentators are solely those of the authors. They do not necessarily reflect the views of this station or its management.