The Rogovoy Report: Berkshire & Hudson Valley Cultural Preview

Nov 3-9, 2023

Oct 31, 2023

With so much going on culturally speaking in our greater Berkshires/Hudson Valley region, this is my highly selective, curated snapshot of some of the most promising upcoming events …

WAM BROADWAY CABARET HONORS FOUNDER KRISTEN van GINHOVEN

Me and the Sky, a cabaret of “empowering Broadway hits,” co-created and directed by Kyle Boatwright and Talya Kingston, will send off WAM founder Kristen van Ginhoven in style, running at Shakespeare & Company in Lenox, Mass., from Wednesday, November 1, through Saturday, November 4, at 7:30pm. The celebratory evening focuses on a full array of women’s stories, featuring songs from such hit musicals as Rent, Come From Away, Newsies, Shucked, and Waitress. Performers include Jess Diaz Griffin, Shannon Lamb, and Wendy Welch. (Wed-Sat, Nov 1-4)

PIANIST BEN COSGROVE BRINGS NATURE-INSPIRED COMPOSITIONS to DEWEY HALL

Musician Ben Cosgrove brings his unique, original compositions inspired by the natural world to Dewey Hall in Sheffield, Mass., on Thursday, November 2, at 7pm. Cosgrove’s compositions, mostly keyboard-based, are lush and alluring and veritably breathe with the pulses and rhythms of the environment, while subtly acknowledging and commenting upon the complex relationship between humanity and the earth we inhabit. (Thu, Nov 2)

CLAIRE CHASE and WINSOME BROWN at PS21

MacArthur Award and Avery Fisher prizewinning flutist Claire Chase performs Pauline Oliveros’ Intensity 20.15: Grace Chase, based on the writings of Claire’s grandmother, and Winsome Brown performs her one-woman show, This Is Mary Brown, at PS21 in Chatham, N.Y., on Friday, November 3, at 7pm, and Saturday, November 4, at 3pm. (Fri-Sat, Nov 3-4)

The Orchestra Now (photo Matt Dine / courtesy Bard)

WORKS by JEWISH COMPOSERS in EXILE at BARD FISHER CENTER

The Orchestra Now performs its Exodus: Jewish Composers in Exile program at the Bard Fisher Center at Bard College in Annandale-on-Hudson, N.Y., on Saturday, November 4, at 7pm, and Sunday, November 5, at 2pm. The orchestra, under the direction of conductor Leon Botstein, will play seldom-heard works by Jewish composers who were in exile from their homelands during the Second World War, including Alexandre Tansman, Josef Tal, Walter Kaufmann, and Marcel Rubin. (Sat-Sun, Nov 4-5)

CLOSE ENCOUNTERS CELEBRATES ‘VIRTUE and VIRTUOSITY’ at THE MAHAIWE

The Close Encounters with Music series kicks off its fall season with Virtue and Virtuosity, a concert featuring works by Sarasate, Saint Saëns, and Russian/Ukrainian composer Nikolai Kapustin, whose Preludes offer a “Red and Hot” fusion of jazz and classical forms, at the Mahaiwe in Great Barrington, Mass., on Sunday, November 5, at 4pm. Performers include pianist Adam Golka, violinist Giora Schmidt, cellist Philip Thompson, and CEWM artistic director Yehuda Hanani, also on cello. (Sun, Nov 5)

ALSO OF NOTE:

The Head and the Heart bring their folk-rock blend to the Egg in Albany, N.Y. (Thu, Nov 2, 8pm)

World-music artists Miriam Elhajli and Tendai Muparutsa perform at The Clark (Sat, Nov 4, 7pm)

Jethro Tull brings its Seven Decades tour to Albany’s Palace Theatre (Sat, Nov 4, 7:30pm)

Bard College Conservatory of Music String Trio performs Bach, Sibelius, and others at Saugerties United Methodist Church in Saugerties, N.Y. (Sun, Nov 5, 3pm)

Welsh pianist Llŷr Williams performs works by Bartók, Chopin, Liszt, and more at Union College (Sun, Nov 5, at 3pm)

English rock band Spiritualized performs at Basilica Hudson in Hudson, N.Y. (Wed, Nov 8, 8:30pm)

Musician and novelist Susanna Hoffs in conversation with WAMC’s Joe Donahue at University at Albany (Thu, Nov 9, at 7pm)

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The Rogovoy Report