Category: Bennington Banner


Feature: Bill Morgan’s Civil War in New York City

11th June

Published in Berkshires Week on June 11, 2014
Original article: http://www.benningtonbanner.com/berkshiresweek/ci_25806813/mayfest-attracts-art

BENNINGTON — “For a person who has a passion for the Civil War, if they find themselves in New York City, they’re not out of luck at all. There are a million things to see,” said Bill Morgan, author of “The Civil War Lover’s Guide to New York City.”

A 35-year New York City resident and lifelong Civil War history buff, Morgan said he slowly gathered information over the years on sites around the city that significantly influenced the war, like the birthplace of Ulysses S. Grant. At Cooper Union, Abraham Lincoln delivered a stirring speech in early 1860 that would help him secure his nomination as the Republican party’s presidential candidate later that year.

Now a Bennington resident, Morgan has compiled his research and photographs into an almost 200-page full-color guidebook tracking down …



Feature: Abstract painter Matthew Marks

28th May

Published in Berkshires Week on May 28, 2014
Original article: http://www.berkshireeagle.com/news/ci_25851053/vae-artist-painting-publics-eye

BENNINGTON — For Eagle Bridge, N.Y., painter Matthew Marks, the paintings for an upcoming show at the Vermont Arts Exchange in North Benn ington were born from frustration, resourcefulness and necessity.

Looking for a space to work on his mural-sized paintings, Marks approached Matthew Perry at the VAE to try to find a studio that would suit him. Perry said they explored all the open studios in his organization’s repurposed Sage Street Mill, but they could not find a space with a blank wall large enough for Marks to tack up his large sheets of canvas, as he said he once did at his studio in Brooklyn.

“All of the walls were covered with shelves or doors or windows,” Perry said. “Then we came upstairs to the gallery, and it hit me. We didn’t …



Feature: Bennington Children’s Chorus

28th May

Published in Berkshires Week on May 28, 2014
Original article: http://www.berkshireeagle.com/ci_25850248/bennington-childrens-chorus-will-range-from-leadbelly-folk

 

BENNINGTON — After 25 years, the Bennington Children’s Chorus will celebrate its silver anniversary with a concert of songs in eight languages, a world premiere and the return of some familiar faces.

The chorus will perform its eclectic program of songs from different continents and centuries at Bennington College’s Deane Carriage Barn this Sunday, June 1, at 2 p.m. Along with compositions and folk songs from Bulgaria, Israel, Russia, Japan and Italy, sung in their original languages, the chorus will also perform Renaissance pieces in English and Latin, songs by Leadbelly and Pete Seeger, and compositions by local composers from Williams College and Bennington College.

“I have a wide variety of tastes, and over these 20 years I have figured out the kinds of things that work with the kids,” said chorus director Kerry …



Feature: Bennington Artists at Mayfest 2014

21st May

Published in Berkshires Week on May 21, 2014
Original article: http://www.benningtonbanner.com/berkshiresweek/ci_25806813/mayfest-attracts-art

BENNINGTON — This Saturday, May 24, the streets of downtown will close to traffic to make room for more than 100 vendors offering food, art, crafts, live music and entertainment.

Crafters and artisans will come in from Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Maine and across Vermont, including several newcomers making hand-made goods in Southern Vermont.

Bennington natives Scott Freeman and Kristine McGuire founded Custom Rustic Designs three months ago to make rustic wooden furniture, plaques and home decorations with a distinctive rural Vermont character.

The couple decorates their work with custom wood burning — text, images, names and decorations. Freeman said they mostly build their custom plaques, clocks, benches and chairs from reclaimed oak and pine. They often start by planing and sanding rough-sawn pieces of lumber.

“I love being able to get barn wood, or anything I …



Feature: Guitar builder Steve Sauve

21st May

Published in Berkshires Week on May 21, 2014
Original article: http://www.manchesterjournal.com/ci_25806800/building-guitars-future-generations

NORTH ADAMS — The guitar goes back centuries before Elvis and The Beatles, and since the birth of rock and roll it has become one of the most recognizable objects in popular culture. Today, building high-end guitars has become an art form, and artisans, like Steve Sauve at Sauve Guitars, make masterful instruments that sound as beautiful as they look.

Sauve started his guitar-building career in 1976 as an apprentice in the Union Street workshop that now bears his name. He spent five years learning the craft from master instrument builder Bill Cumpiano before taking over the business himself. Sauve said he builds his guitars using most of the same techniques he learned almost four decades ago, even as the Internet changes the way many luthiers, or instrument builders, approach their craft.

While hobbyist …



Feature: Sage City Symphony

14th May

Published in Berkshires Week on May 14, 2014
Original article: http://www.berkshireeagle.com/berkshiresweek/ci_25759547/sage-city-symphony-fosters-local-music

BENNINGTON — Sage City Symphony has built a community orchestra with warmth, flexibility and friendship, and deep musical ties.

Sage City welcomes any and all local musicians to join (all they need is an instrument and a music stand), and it has amassed an extensive library of original compositions written specifically for the orchestra by local composers — including Allen Shawn’s “Concerto for Cello and Orchestra,” which Sage City will perform Sunday, May 18, at 4 p.m., in Bennington College’s Greenwall Auditorium.

The orchestra originally commissioned and performed Shawn’s concerto in 1999, and he has substantially revised it for this year’s spring concert. As she did in 1999, cellist Maxine Neuman will perform as the soloist on this piece. Shawn wrote it specifically for her and dedicated it to her.

“Maxine Neuman and I have …



Feature: MAU Quantum Leap Mosaics

14th May

Published in Berkshires Week on May 14, 2014
Original article: http://www.benningtonbanner.com/berkshiresweek/ci_25759546/creating-art-one-small-piece-at-time

BENNINGTON — Everything inside the Fiddlehead at Four Corners gallery in downtown Bennington has its own story, but none speak as loudly as the group of mosaics that have recently arrived on the gallery’s most prominent wall.

Positioned to reflect the sunlight, the mosaics fit in with the colorful paintings and glass art that surround them. But while most of the works on display in the gallery come from professional artists from around the country, the mosaics took shape down the street at Mount Anthony Union High School. Student artists made them in Danielle Crosier’s Quantum Leap program mosaics class.

A collaboration between MAU and Bennington College, the Quantum Leap program offers project-based classes for students with chaotic home lives or traumatic histories. Writing classes, the mosaics program and other courses give the students …



Feature: Angus McCullough

7th May

Published in Berkshires Week on May 7, 2014
Original article: http://www.berkshireeagle.com/berkshiresweek/ci_25715949/artist-it-rsquo-s-all-about-everyday-things

BENNINGTON — For the past decade, the Bennington Museum has invited Bennington-area artists to present all types of work in its Regional Artist’s Gallery, and this Saturday marks the opening of one of its most ambitious local exhibits to date: Angus McCullough’s “Humors.”

“I’m pretty ubiquitously interested in everything” McCullough said, without a hint of hyperbole. While his work reaches in many directions, Angus’ works currently on display at the South Street Cafe, and his planned exhibition at the museum, seem to focus particularly on how people construct, process and understand their everyday environment.

He’s also particularly interested in committing bits of artistic mischief, like his decision to place an exuberant sign that reads, “1 Buy 1 Get Free,” above the service counter in the cafe. After enough confusion, the cafe’s owners responded to …



Feature: Andrew Dawson

7th May

Published in Berkshires Week on May 7, 2014
Original article: http://www.manchesterjournal.com/ci_25715928/following-anton-chekhovs-footsteps-at-mass-moca

NORTH ADAMS — In 1890, legendary playwright Anton Chekhov journeyed across Russia by himself to visit and observe a penal colony on the island of Sakhalin in Siberia. He eventually spent three months interviewing each of the colony’s 10,000 prisoners and guards. Upon his return, Chekhov published his findings in “Sakhalin Island,” his only non-fiction work.

“He spent three years on this book, longer than he spent on the plays or any other work. Yet, in the canon of Chekhov’s work, no one gives a damn or has noticed it,” said theater performer Andrew Dawson, who will bring the story of Chekhov’s journey to life in his new solo piece, “The Russian Doctor,” at Mass MoCA this Friday, May 9, at 8 p.m.

Although he said he’s not otherwise a big Chekhov scholar, Dawson …



Feature: Pubs of Troy, N.Y.

30th April

Published in Berkshires Week on April 30, 2014
Original article: http://www.berkshireeagle.com/berkshiresweek/ci_25666328/nightlife-heats-up-troy-n-y

TROY, N.Y. — Secret malt room? Chipotle mashed potato quesadilla?

Across the Hudson River and just north of Albany, the city of Troy offers vibrant and off-beat music and art venues, shopping, restaurants and nightlife. Troy is also 30 miles from Bennington and Williamstown or 40 miles from North Adams and Pittsfield, making it an easy destination for a day trip, afternoon visit or evening of fun.

After a concert or show around the many venues in Troy and Albany or after a day of exploring, here are some popular spots to find food or drinks near Troy’s easily accessible waterfront.

Brown’s Brewery

Before it became a popular regional brand, Brown’s Brewing Co. started out as a brew pub on River Street in Troy, and although most of its brewing operations have moved to a larger …




Feature Obituary: Rick Burgess

Published in Berkshires Week on September 5, 2014 Original article: http://www.benningtonbanner.com/ci_26470764/rick-burgess-remembered-devoted-musician-loyal-friend

BENNINGTON — In all parts of his life, as a family man, caretaker, musician and friend, Rick...

Feature: Hoosick Barn Quilts

Published in Berkshires Week on September 3, 2014 Original article: http://www.berkshireeagle.com/berkshiresweek/ci_26459978/patchwork-paint-along-quilt-trail

HOOSICK, N.Y. — Taking a new approach to a traditional art form, members of the community have...

Feature: Bennington Baroque

Published in Berkshires Week on August 20, 2014 Original article: http://www.berkshireeagle.com/berkshiresweek/ci_26371351/bennington-baroque-improvise-old-school

NORTH BENNINGTON — This Saturday evening, Bennington Baroque will take its audience back in time to...