The upcoming cultural highlights in our region include jazz, Bach, Beethoven, 20th century classical, Irish music … plus a whole lot more.
The Julia Gottlieb Quartet performs its mix of music and jazz standards at the Egremont Barn in South Egremont, Mass., on Saturday at 8pm. An eclectic artist and song stylist, Julia’s sound spans generations; think Norah Jones meets Chet Baker. Backing her silky, smooth vocals are pianist Benny Kohn, bassist Jason Schwartz, trombonist Don Mikkelson, and drummer Conor Meehan.
Internationally acclaimed organist Renée Anne Louprette performs selected organ works of Johann Sebastian Bach at the Unitarian Universalist Meeting House in Housatonic, Mass., on Saturday at 2pm, in a concert presented by Berkshire Bach.
The Orchestra Now performs Beethoven’s Symphony No. 3, Eroica, in the Fisher Center at Bard College on Saturday at 8pm, and again on Sunday at 2pm. The program, under the direction of Leon Botstein, includes The Consecration of the House overture and Piano Concerto No. 4, featuring soloist Anna Polonsky.
Seamus Egan has been at the center of the new Irish music scene in America for over twenty years, on his own and as the head of the supergroup Solas. The multi-instrumentalist brings his tenor banjo, nylon string guitar, low whistles, mandolin, keyboard, and percussion, to the Towne Crier Café in Beacon, N.Y., on Saturday at 8:30pm. Joining the Seamus Egan Project are guitarist Kyle Sanna and New England bouzouki and harmonium player Owen Marshall.
WAMC’s own Alan Chartock & the Berkshire Ramblers along with the Wanda Houston Band perform for Construct’s annual Warm Up the Winter Variety Show benefit concert, for Construct at the Mahaiwe in Great Barrington, Mass., on Monday at 7pm.
Looking ahead to next weekend, mark down Barrington Stage Company’s 10X10 New Play Festival, kicking off on February 13 and running through March 8, at the theater company’s venue in Pittsfield, Mass. Where else can you see ten new 10-minute plays all in one sitting. And the great thing is, if you’re not enjoying one of the plays, you don’t have to wait any longer than 10 minutes for it to be over.
Concerts in the Village continues its 10th Anniversary Season at The School | Jack Shainman Gallery in Kinderhook, N.Y., with a program called "Glorious Strings in a Glorious Space - Celebrating 20th Century American Music", on Sunday, February 16th, at 3pm. The program features outstanding instrumental soloists in a program of American orchestral masterpieces written between 1928 and 1955, including Aaron Copland's Clarinet Concerto, composed for Benny Goodman in the late 1940’s, and played here by virtuoso clarinetist Paul Green.
Next weekend also marks the third annual Hudson Jazz Festival, at Hudson Hall, this year featuring performances by veteran saxophonist Billy Harper, Balkan fusion band Slavic Soul Party, and vocalist Aimée Allen, accompanied by pianist Armen Donelian, bassist Jay Anderson, and Jeff Siegel on drums. Aimee Allen cut her teeth in Parisian jazz clubs and will present a contemporary spin on jazz standards, bossa nova, and strikingly beautiful original compositions, perfectly timed for Valentine’s Day.
Seth Rogovoy is editor of Berkishire Daily and the Rogovoy Report, available at rogovoyreport.com