The Hills are Alive

With the Sound of Music

The hills come alive with the sound of music during the summer months in western Massachusetts and neighboring environs. An evening of music enjoyed on the lush grounds of Tanglewood, summer home of the Boston Symphony Orchestra in Lenox MA is almost de rigueur when visiting the Berkshires. Between June and September it would be hard to escape awareness of the vast range of musical experiences offered throughout the region.

From the intimate Lich Gate Concerts staged in and around Sheffield MA to the wide variety of talent that graces the stage at Music Mountain in Falls Village; from the emerging talent of young artists enrolled in Close Encounters with Music’s High Peak Festival to performers playing along Great Barrington’s streets during Berkshire Busk, there is surely something for every preference and pocketbook.

It would be impossible to include every opportunity in one article but here are some suggestions for summer enjoyment.

Up in Pittsfield MA the season gets underway with the return of Pink Floyd’s The Wall: A Theatrical Experience, Saturday June 17th, at 7PM. at the Colonial Theater. The event is produced by the Berkshire Theatrical Group.

Since its 1979 release, The Wall’s narrative of isolation, fame and self-destruction has captivated audiences. Last year’s reaction to this production prompted the BTG to bring it back, transforming the Colonial into an immersive Pink Floyd experience.

Down the road in Stockbridge, the Berkshire Botanical Garden is hosting Music Mondays with live music, food and a farmers’ market. Event publicity invites attendees to “find the perfect spot to picnic amidst the garden’s beauty while enjoying performances from some of the region’s most talented performers.”

Performers include The Rejuvenators with Wanda Houston (June 30th); Glori Wilder and the Moonflowers (July 7th); the Nate Martel Band (July 14th); Jessie and the Hoosie Hawks (July 21st); Sören Smedvig Quartet (July 28th); the BTUs (August 4th); Mike Cobb and the Crevulators (August 11th); South Pleasant Revival (August 18th); Rounders Revival (August 25th) and a return of the Wanda Houston Band (September 1st).

Performances run from 5:30 to 7:30PM and tickets are available online or at the door.

Nearby, music takes on a novel note July 1st through the 6th at 3:30PM Shake It Up: A Shakespeare Cabaret at the Tina Packer Playhouse, Shakespeare & Company, 70 Kemble Street in Lenox MA. The Playhouse will be transformed once again into the Elephant Lounge to host this mash-up of modern music and Shakespeare verse. The audience is invited to stamp to the beat, sing along or dance in the aisles as the players take them on a rocking revue.

Also planned to brighten weekends throughout the summer is Berkshire Busk, a wide-ranging street event on Friday and Saturday nights with musical acts performing all around downtown Great Barrington from 6:30 to 9:15PM. To view the many musicians, actors and others providing entertainment, click here.

During the course of the year, Close Encounters with Music presents theme-based chamber music concerts featuring world-renowned musicians but in the summer its attention turns to its High Peak Festival during which emerging international string players, pianists and vocalists come to study with master musicians at Simon’s Rock in Great Barrington MA.

From July 31st through August 2nd, the public is invited to attend free afternoon and evening master class performances by faculty members offered at different venues around the southern Berkshires.

Another festival, this time the Berkshire Opera Festival invites all to celebrate its 10th anniversary with a festive concert on the stage of the Mahaiwe Performing Arts Center August 14th at 7:30PM. The evening will showcase a wide variety of music from beloved operas alongside other selections. Performances will be by members of the internationally renowned cast of La Traviata joined by artists from previous and upcoming seasons as well as the Berkshire Opera Festival Orchestra and Chorus.

Down in Connecticut is Music Mountain the oldest—and one of the most picturesque—continuing summer chamber music festivals in this country. It was founded in 1930 as the permanent home for the Gordon String Quartet, one of the leading string quartets of its time.

Each season it offers 16 chamber music concerts, usually on Sunday afternoons, a popular Saturday evening series of jazz and choral concerts and a number of special events.

This year it added Saturday piano recitals, the third and last of which will be presented June 28th at 7PM with Wynona Wang.

The Saturday evening and choral concerts offer a wide array of talent, such as Bob Parkers Jive by Five, the Swingtime Big Band, Paul Winter’s Brazilian Journey, Donald Sosin and Joanna Seaton presenting a silent film with live music.

From now through August 31st, there will also be community events held every Sunday at 2PM in Gordon Hall. The concerts will touch on a new musical theme each week with explanatory pre-concert talks, as well as innovative events such as Painting Music on July 10th at 3PM, a multigenerational event for artists, amateurs and beginners to paint while listening to live music.

Like to make your own music? You can still join a small group of singers who will work for five weeks exploring Johann Sebastian Bach's motets BWV 225-230. Two time slots are available: Wednesdays 2 to 3:30PM in Great Barrington or Mondays, 6:30 to 8PM in Lakeville. Write to participate. crescendo@crescendomusic.org .

The door does not slam shut on music with the coming of Labor Day. On September 13th, Lich Gate Concerts invites all to experience an afternoon of Mozart and Schubert beneath the wooden pavilion in Sheffield Town Park. And on September 25th FreshGrass, MASS MoCA’s annual three-day festival of bluegrass and roots music, features Greensky Bluegrass, Cimafunk, Lee FIelds, Kitchen Dwellers, Jaime Wyatt, Sierra Hull, Alison Brown, The Brothers Comatose, Swamp Dogg, East Nash Grass, Mireya Ramos & the Poor Choices, El Laberinto del Coco, Mr. Sun, Reed Foehl, Michael Daves and Jacob Jolliff, Allison de Groot & Tatiana Hargreaves and Catfish in the Sky.