The Rogovoy Report: Berkshire & Hudson Valley Cultural Preview

Dec 19-25, 2023

Dec 19, 2023

In its 15 years of existence, the Rogovoy Report has always been free. This is a commitment I made at the outset, and I still stand by it.

Fortunately, over the years, there have been plenty of readers who – with little prompting -- have expressed their appreciation for the work and time that goes into creating the weekly Rogovoy Report and its companion newsletter, the Weekend Cultural Preview, in the form of voluntary paid subscriptions.

To all of you who have already chosen the path of voluntary paid subscribers, thank you. I cannot overstate how much your enthusiasm and support mean to me.

These days, about 3,000 people subscribe to the Rogovoy Report. About 50 of those are paid subscribers. Honestly, that’s not a lot. It would be great if we could double that number by the end of the year.

Subscriptions are $5 monthly or $50 annually. I know this all adds up quickly – believe me, I pay for subscriptions to way too many Substacks and even more to the news sites and online magazines from which I gather and curate the news to present to you – but it would be a great help to my efforts. At least it would help defray some of my expenses.

If you would like to pay something less than $50 or $60 per year, how about you sign up for the $5 monthly subscription and then just cancel your payments after a few months, at the point when you feel like you have paid enough for the year. Really, I won’t mind this at all. And you will still continue to receive the Rogovoy Report after you cancel your payments. What a deal!

So again, please consider becoming one of the new, fifty paid subscribers out of the 2,950 who currently receive the Rogovoy Report but have not yet made the leap. Let’s get to 100 paid subscribers before the calendar turns to 2024.

Thank you so very much.

Seth Rogovoy
Editor, The Rogovoy Report

Paul Winter and Theresa Thomason (courtesy TSBMH)

PAUL WINTER BRINGS SOLSTICE CONCERT to TROY

Seven-time Grammy Award-winning saxophonist Paul Winter brings an intimate solstice celebration with the Paul Winter Consort featuring Theresa Thomason to the Troy Savings Bank Music Hall in Troy, N.Y., on Wednesday, December 20, at 6pm. The Paul Winter Consort – which includes Eugene Friesen on cello, Brazilian pianist Vitor Gonçalves, Bulgarian bassist Peter Slavov, Brazilian drummer Rogério Boccato, and Paul Winter on soprano sax – is widely credited with pioneering a new genre of “earth music” or “ecological jazz,” interweaving classical, jazz and world music elements with sounds from nature, what Winter calls “the greatest symphony of the earth.” (Wed, Dec 20)

TALEA ENSEMBLE BRINGS INNOVATIVE ‘SOLSTICE’ PROGRAM to PS21

The New York City-based Talea Ensemble will bring its Solstice Concert, featuring Georg Friedrich Haas’s Solstices (2017) -- performed at sunset in complete darkness -- to PS21 in Chatham, N.Y., on Thursday, December 21, at 4:26pm, beginning precisely at sunset on the shortest day of the year to mark the passage from autumn to winter. Composed for performance by ten musicians in complete darkness, the absence of light adds a new lens to the ability to relate to sound, bringing together performers and audiences through intensive listening. (Thu, Dec 21)

SUPERDUO BRINGS KLEZMER SOUNDS to WOODSTOCK, N.Y.

Klezmer-Yiddish superstars Michael Alpert and Craig Judelman bring their In Der Heym / Down Home: Yiddish Music from the Ukrainian and American Heartlands program to the Woodstock Jewish Congregation in Woodstock, N.Y., on Thursday, December 21, at 7pm. In this intimate duo format, and Judelman present their personal take on Jewish fiddle tunes collected in Ukraine in the early 20th century, songs learned directly from native-born Yiddish culture bearers, as well their own original tunes and songs, evincing their decades of immersion in Eastern European, American, and Celtic folk music. (Thu, Dec 21)

Maisyn (photo Rly Blonde/courtesy artist)

MAISYN BRINGS INTIMATE INDIE-POP SOUNDS to EGREMONT BARN

Indie-pop singer-songwriter Maisyn brings her blend of melodic and provocative original compositions to the Egremont Barn in South Egremont, Mass., on Thursday, December 28, at 7:30pm. A Hudson Valley native now based in Los Angeles, Maisyn has drawn comparisons to Phoebe Bridgers, Maggie Rogers, and Haim -- go back a little further and she may appeal to fans of Suzanne Vega, Liz Phair, and Ani DiFranco. (Thu, Dec 28)

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