A selective, curatorial view of the cultural highlights of the upcoming weekend in the greater Berkshire region.

 

 

 

JOHN PIZZARELLI & CATHERINE RUSSELL PAY TRIBUTE to BILLIE HOLIDAY & FRANK SINATRA at MAHAIWE

(GREAT BARRINGTON, Mass.) – Soul-jazz vocalist Catherine Russell teams with the John Pizzarelli Quartet in “Billie & Blue Eyes,” paying tribute to Billie Holiday and Frank Sinatra, at the Mahaiwe on Sat, Dec 23, at 8pm. The evening features soulful interpretations of chart-topping classics like “All of Me,” “God Bless the Child,” “Witchcraft,” and “One More for My Baby.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

EVERETT BRADLEY BRINGS HOLIDAY FUNK SPECTACULAR to HELSINKI HUDSON

(HUDSON, N.Y.) – Singer, percussionist, and keyboardist Everett Bradley – best known for his work touring with Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band, Bon Jovi, Hall & Oates, and Carly Simon, goes into a phone booth and comes out as his alter ego, Papadelic, when he brings his holiday-funk spectacular Holidelic — part dance party, part funk concert, part comedy show – to Club Helsinki Hudson on Fri, Dec 22, and Sat, Dec 23, at 9pm. Holidelic puts a fresh spin on holiday cheer, through lively holiday party tunes, outrageous costumes, and a theatrical stage show worthy of George Clinton’s P-Funk.

 

 

 

 

 

COMING SOON: CHAMBER WORKS by MAHLER, SCHUBERT, and VON ZEMLINSKY at WEST STOCKBRIDGE CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH

(WEST STOCKBRIDGE, Mass.) – The West Stockbridge Chamber Players will perform chamber works by Gustav Mahler, Franz Schubert, and Alexander von Zemlinsky at the West Stockbridge Congregational Church on Thursday, Dec 28, at 6pm. Clarinetist Catherine Hudgins, the Chamber Players artistic director, will be joined by soprano Margaret Felice, cellist William Rounds, and pianist Sayuri Miyamoto, in a concert to benefit the Restoration Campaign for the Old Town Hall.

 

 

 

 

 

 

COMING SOON: CRESCENDO OFFERS RENAISSANCE and BAROQUE VOCAL MUSIC

(GREAT BARRINGTON, Mass.) – The Crescendo Vocal Ensemble will perform a concert of Spanish polyphony and Latin American folk songs of the Renaissance and Baroque in “Three Wise Kings Follow a Star,” Crescendo’s annual Early Music Holiday Concert, at St. James Place on Fri, Dec 29, at 6pm. The concert features Venezuelan soprano and Baroque guitarist Salome Sandoval, Chilean tenor Pablo Bustos, and Latin American and Baroque period instruments, playing works by Guerrero, Morales, Araujo, Enzina, and Torrejón y Velasco, conducted by Crescendo artistic director Christine Gevert. The program also will be performed at Trinity Church Lime Rock, in Lakeville, Conn., on Sat, Dec 30, at 3pm.

 

 

 

 

 

COMING SOON: EMERSON STRING QUARTET’S FOUNDER DIRECTS BACH at NEW YEAR’S

(GREAT BARRINGTON, Mass.) – Emerson String Quartet founder and internationally renowned soloist Eugene Drucker takes the directorship of Berkshire Bach’s annual “Bach at New Year’s” concerts as well as performing as featured soloist with the Berkshire Bach Ensemble at the Mahaiwe on Sun, Dec 31, at 6pm. The program traces the transition from the high Baroque to the early classical periods with works by Purcell, Boyce, Telemann, Mozart, and, of course, Bach. (Performances also at Academy of Music, Northampton, Mass., Sat, Dec 30, at 7:30pm; and Troy [N.Y.] Savings Bank Music Hall on Jan 1, at 3pm.)