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2014 Tanglewood season wraps with Tony Bennet

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2014 Tanglewood season wraps with Tony Bennet

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On Thursday, August 28, Governor Deval Patrick will be a special guest on radio program Wait Wait… Don’t Tell Me!, which will be recorded in the Shed at 8 PM for broadcast to its weekly audience of 3.2 million weekly listeners. The NPR news quiz program is hosted by Peter Sagal along with judge and score-keeper Bill Kurtis. Tanglewood is a familiar spot for Gov. Patrick, who had a big role in the Tanglewood on Parade gala concert a few weeks ago.

Making a return visit to Tanglewood is Train on Friday, August 29 at 7 PM in the Koussevitzky Music Shed. The West coast band released their sixth album, California 37, featuring the single, Drive By, in 2012. Now that nobody gets turned on to bands and musicians via AM radio, you may have seen Train on TV; they’ve been on all the broadcast shows.

On Aug. 30, the Boston Pops Esplanade Orchestra, conductor Keith Lockhart, members of the Tanglewood Festival Chorus, and Josh Groban perform the nex-to-last entry on the Tanglewood 2014 schedule.

Tanglewood finale with Tony Bennett and Antonia Bennett

Tony Bennett plays final concert of 2014 Tanglewood season.The final event on the 2014 Tanglewood schedule will be on Sunday, Aug. 31 at 2:30 PM in the Koussevitsky Music Shed when Tony Bennett headlines a bill that includes daughter Antonia Bennett as special guest. Forever associated with I Left My Heart In San Francisco. which he recorded in 1962, Tony Bennett is one of a handful of artists to have new albums charting in the 50’s, 60’s, 70’s, 80’s, 90’s, and now in the first two decades of the 21st century.

In the last ten years alone, he has sold ten million records. Bennett has received 17 Grammy Awards and the Grammy Lifetime Award. He has introduced a multitude of songs into the Great American Songbook that have since become standards for pop music. He has toured the world to sold out audiences with rave reviews whenever he performs.

Boston Pops Fireworks Spectacular moved to July 3

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The Boston Pops has issued an update on its first-ever webcast of the Boston Pops Fireworks Spectacular, following the news that the Independence Day Celebration has been moved to July 3, due to the necessary cancellation of the July 4 concert in response to inclement weather predictions.

The first-ever webcast of the Boston Pops Fireworks Spectacular, sponsored by the Massachusetts Office of Travel and Tourism, will stream live on July 3 at 8 p.m. on www.bostonpopsjuly4th.org and www.cbsboston.com, bringing the event to a worldwide audience. Keith Lockhart and the Boston Pops Esplanade Orchestra will be joined by special guests The Beach Boys, Megan Hilty, and the Boston Children’s Chorus for the July 3 concert. Governor Deval Patrick will narrate a newly commissioned Boston Pops arrangement of The Star-Spangled Banner in honor of the national anthem’s 200th anniversary in 2014.

Boston Pops rendition of Tchaikovsky’s 1812 Overture

This year’s Spectacular will keep alive several of the Boston holiday traditions including the Pops’ now classic Independence Day rendition of Tchaikovsky’s 1812 Overture, which features real cannons, the live ringing of area church bells, and fireworks. Also on the program is The Stars and Stripes Forever, which includes the ceremonial American flag drop and confetti shot. The Spectacular will be capped off by a magnificent fireworks array that fills the skies above Boston with a stunning exhibition of color and breathtaking pageantry.

George Shearing tribute at Berkshire Gateway Jazz

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George Shearing tribute at Berkshire Gateway Jazz

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George Shearing; photo:James KriegsmannThe 3rd Annual Berkshire Gateway Jazz Weekend, scheduled for various venues in Lee, MA June 5-8,2014, features The Sounds of Shearing, paying the music of former Lee resident Sir George Shearing. Sounds of Shearing is led by Charlie Shoemake on vibraphone, a member of one of Shearing’s Quintets, and includes Joe Bagg on piano; Ron Anthony, guitar; Luther Hughes, bass; and Bill Goodwin, drums. Concert is Fri. June 6 at 8pm, First Congregational Church; tickets are $20 advance; $25 at the door. Tickets & info.

Berkshire Gateway Jazz Weekend is ponsored by Berkshire Gateway Preservation, Inc., in collaboration with Berkshires Jazz, Inc.

The Sounds of Shearing starts its first-ever northeast tour in the town where Sir George spent his summers for 10 years (in fact, the band will be staying at the very residence where Shearing stayed, the home of Dee Dee Fraser). Sir George Shearing was one of the most beloved and honored jazz pianists of all time. His widow Ellie will introduce the band via video.

Sonny and Perley Thursday June 5

The festival opens on Thursday, June 5 with the exciting duo of Sonny Daye and Perley Rousseau. After a successful performance at last year’s event, Sonny & Perley return by popular demand. The duo achieves a rare musical symbiosis, having spent the last several years developing and perfecting their unique blend of jazz, bossa nova, American songbook standards, and international cabaret, which has become their musical signature. (Spectrum Playhouse, 8pm, $15 advance seating, $20 at the door). Tickets & info.

New Black Eagle Jazz Band, Saturday June 7

The June 7 concert marks the return of the New Black Eagle Jazz Band to the Berkshires after a five-year hiatus. Perhaps the country’s most renowned exponent of traditional jazz, this seven-piece band has delighted audiences all over the world for more than 30 years, with their huge and eclectic repertoire of jazz from the 1920s and 30s. (First Congregational Church; $20 in advance; $25 at the door).

The Black Eagles have a mature mastery of this great American music, from Louis Armstrong and Jelly Roll Morton to early Duke Ellington to Cole Porter; from blues to rags to popular songs of the era. In fact, the New York Times’ John Wilson wrote that the Black Eagles are “so far ahead of other traditional bands…there is scarcely any basis for comparison.”

Williamstown Theatre Festival 2014 schedule

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Williamstown Theatre Festival 2014 schedule

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Williamstown Theatre Festival will open their 60th annicersary season on July 2, 2014 with June Moon, by Ring Lardner and George S. Kaufman. Directed by Jessica Stone, June Moon runs through July 13, and will be followed by Living on Love, July 16 – July 26, 2014, which features soprano and Super Bowl star Renée Fleming. The final production of the 2014 Mainstage season is The Visit, July 31 – August 17, 2014, with the venerable Chita Rivera making her Williamstown Theatre Festival debut.

Updated April 19, 2014: Casting and special events for the 2014 Summer Season at Williamstown. On the Main Stage: Nate Corddry, Holley Fain, Christopher Fitzgerald and Nancy Opel join the cast of June Moon, directed by Jessica Stone, July 2- 13; Justin Long joins Renee Fleming in the World Premiere of Living on Love, July 16 – 26, and Judy Kuhn, Howard McGillin, Roger Rees, and more join Chita Rivera in The Visit, July 31 – August 17.

WTF’s 60th season will also include Just Call Me Nikos on July 7. It will be a star-studded tribute to one-time WTF artistic director Nikos Psacharopoulos, featuring Festival veterans Dylan Baker, Kate Burton, Olympia Dukakis. On July 21, there will be an evening of comedy with Lewis Black, and the outdoor Free Theatre production of Robin Hood directed by Stella Powell-Jones will run July 16 – 19; July 22 – 25, 2014, at Poker Flats Field at 7:30 PM.
By Larry Blamire; Directed by Stella Powell-Jones

LATE-NIGHT CABARET SERIES

  • Goodrich Hall at 10:30 PM, $25;
  • July 10 – 12;
  • July 24 – 26;
  • August 7 – 9, 2014

WTF family, both established and emerging, sing, dance, and surprise you in these intimate and unforgettable evenings. Cabarets are held in Goodrich Hall, just a few blocks from the Main and Nikos Stages. WTF donors receive first access to these limited seating events.

WTF Mainstage – June Moon, July 2 – July 13, 2014

  • By Ring Lardner and George S. Kaufman;
  • Directed by Jessica Stone

Earnest and gullible young lyricist Fred Stevens boards a train in Schenectady bound for New York City, determined to make a name for himself in the thriving Tin Pan Alley scene. However, the life he’s imagined is rife with seductive distractions — namely dames — that threaten to derail his dream of penning the next big ditty. Both bitterly funny and deliciously literate, legendary humorists Ring Lardner and George S. Kaufman celebrate and skewer the perishable pop of yesteryear.

The cast of June Moon includes Nate Corddry (‘Fred’), Holley Fain (‘Eileen’), Christopher Fitzgerald (‘Benny Fox’), Kate MacCluggage (‘Lucille’), Nancy Opel (‘Goldie’) and David Turner (‘Maxie’).

WTF Mainstage – Living on Love, July 16 – July 26, 2014

  • By Joe DiPietro and Garson Kanin
  • Based on the play Peccadillo by Garson Kanin;
  • Directed by Kathleen Marshall
  • With Renée Fleming

Soprano Renée Fleming, who sang the national anthem at this year’s Super Bowl, takes the WTF stage as celebrated diva Rachel DeAngelis. When her husband, the fiery and egomaniacal Maestro Vito DeAngelis, becomes enamored with the lovely young lady hired to ghostwrite his long-delayed autobiography, Rachel retaliates by hiring her very own – and very handsome – ghostwriter to chronicle her life as an opera star. As the young writers try to keep themselves out of the story while churning out chapters, the high-energy – and high-maintenance – power duet threatens to fall out of tune for good. A sparkling new comedy from two-time Joe DiPietro, adapted from a work by Garson Kanin and directed by Kathleen Marshall.

Blake Hammond (‘Bruce’), Justin Long (‘Robert Samson’), and Scott Robertson (‘Eric’) will all join Ms. Fleming in the World Premiere of Living on Love.

WTF Mainstage – The Visit, July 31 – August 17, 2014

  • Book by Terrence McNally;
  • Music by John Kander;
  • Lyrics by Fred Ebb
  • Choreographed by Graciela Daniele;
  • Directed by John Doyle;
  • With Chita Rivera.

In her Festival debut, Broadway legend Chita Rivera embodies Claire Zachanassian, the oft-widowed richest woman in the world, who returns to the hardship-stricken town of her birth. The locals pray that her wealth will bring them a new lease on life, but the carefully plotted renewal she offers carries a dreadful price. Tony Award-winning director John Doyle helms this incendiary musical – one of the last collaborations between the incomparable John Kander and Fred Ebb, with a book by Tony Award winner Terrence McNally and choreography by Graciela Daniele.

In addition to Ms. Rivera, the cast of The Visit will include Matthew Deming (‘Lewis Perch’), David Garrison (‘Peter Dummermut’), Judy Kuhn (‘Matilde’), Howard McGillin (‘Frederich Kuhn’) Nancy Opel (‘Annie Dummermut’) and Roger Rees (‘Anton’).

Williamstown Theatre Festival tickets and Box office contacts

Williamstown Theatre Festival '62 Center for Theatre and Dance, Williamstown, MASpecial Discount Ticket Bundles are available for purchase until March 14, 2014 at www.wtfestival.org. Single tickets for the 2014 Williamstown Theatre Festival season will be available in April through the WTF website (www.wtfestival.org) and by mail order using WTF’s season brochure (call 413 597 3400 to join the mailing list). The WTF Box Office will open on June 3rd at which point tickets may be purchased online, by phone, or in person at the ’62 Center for Theatre and Dance Box Office at 1000 Main St (Route 2), Williamstown, MA 02167.

  • 1000 Main St. – Rt. 2
  • Williamstown, MA 01267
  • Box office – 413-597-3400
  • web: wtfestival.org

Williamstown Theatre Festival driving directions

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What’s happpening in the Berkshires April 2014

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What’s happpening in the Berkshires April 2014

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Berkshires jazz concerts April 2014

Armen Donelian
Armen Donelian
BerkshiresJazz presents concerts in Gt. Barrington, Pittsfield, and Lee, MA during April to celebrate Jazz Appreciation Month. Pianist Armen Donelian introduces his new double CD with a performance at Castle Street Café in Great Barrington on Sunday, Apr. 27.

On Saturday, April 12 at 1PM, there will be a double header matinee at the First Congregational Church on Park Square in Lee, with Nico Wohl and Friends, featuring the 13-year-old guitarist who has been wowing audiences all over the Berkshires, followed by the Williams College Jazz Quintet, featuring alto saxophonist Kris Allen. The Berkshire Music School Jazz Ensemble under the direction of bassist Andy Wrba will perform at Mission Bar y Tapas on North Street in Pittsfield on Monday, Apr. 14. The ensemble’s 6pm performance (free admission, first come first seated) will precede Wrba’s regular Jazz at Mission set.

The Colonial Theatre April 2014 schedule

Mahaiwe Performing Arts Center April 2014 schedule

  • Met Opera Live in HD Puccini’s La Bohème – April 5 at 1:00pm
  • Martha Redbone Roots Project – April 11 at 10:00am
  • Funny Girl (1968) – April 12 at 7:00pm
  • Met Opera Live in HD Puccini’s La Bohème (Encore) April 16 at 1:00pm
  • Vacation Week Camp: Circus Theatricks – April 21 through Friday, April 25 from 9:00am to 3:30pm
  • Met Opera Live in HD Mozart’s Così fan tutte – April 26 at 1:00pm
  • Close Encounters With Music – Magyar! April 27th – 3:00 pm

MASS MoCA April 2014 schedule

  • The Politics of Tibetan Art Thursday, April 10, 5pm
  • The Light in Her Eyes Thursday, April 10, 7:30pm
  • Banda Magda Saturday, April 12, 8pm
  • Spring Art Detox April 21, 23 & 25, 9am-11am
  • The Poetry of Agha Shahid Ali Thursday, April 24, 6pm
  • David Neumann: Solo Works Saturday, April 26, 8pm

Boston Symphony announces 2014-15 season

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Boston Symphony announces 2014-15 season

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View live stream here

The Boston Symphony Orchestra will present a live stream of the announcement of the 2014-15 season, marking Maestro Andris Nelsons first full season as Music Director of the BSO. He was was appointed the 15th music director of the Boston Symphony Orchestra on May 16, 2013, succeeding James Levine, who was music director of the Boston Symphony Orchestra from 2004 to 2011. Nelsons is the youngest music director to lead the Boston Symphony Orchestra in over 100 years; he is also the first Latvian-born conductor to take on the post. We will add details for viewing the live stream on March 5, 2014. Read more: 2014 Tanglewood schedule details.

Andris Nelsons leads the BSO in Ravel’s La Valse during Tanglewood’s 75th anniversary concert