Gospel Choir Concert at Bennington College

Print Story | Email Story
BENNINGTON, Vt. — The Bennington College Gospel Choir, directed by Dr. Kathy Bullock, will perform a concert on March 31, 2025, at 7:30 p.m. in the VAPA Greenwall Auditorium. 
 
The event, titled "Gospel Choir Concert: Share the Joy!," is free and open to the public.
 
The program will feature Spirituals, Gospel, and South African songs, representing African American and African sacred music traditions. The concert aims to present these musical forms and their associated themes of resilience and spirituality. The Bennington Children’s Choir, directed by Kerry Ryer-Parke, will be featured as special guests.
 
Bullock's background includes education, scholarship, vocal performance, musical arrangement, and choral conducting, with a focus on gospel music, spirituals, and classical works by composers of the African diaspora. She holds a Ph.D. and M.A. in Music Theory from Washington University and a B.A. from Brandeis University. Currently, she is a visiting faculty member and artist in residence at Bennington College and other institutions. Her work examines connections between African American music and African, Appalachian, and Civil Rights movements.
 
The concert program will include traditional and contemporary Gospel songs, Spirituals, and South and West African songs. These selections are intended to represent the historical and cultural significance of sacred music across cultures.
If you would like to contribute information on this article, contact us at info@iberkshires.com.

Community, Investment Keep Silver Screens Lit in the Berkshires

By John TownesSpecial to iBerkshires
This is the second of three articles in a series on the evolution and current status of movie theaters in Berkshire County. Read Part I here. 
 
In the wake of the 2020 COVID pandemic and its disruptions to the film industry, the county lost its two largest multiplex cinemas.
 
The 10-screen Regal Cinema in the Berkshire Mall in Lanesborough closed in 2022. Then in 2023, the eight-screen North Adams Movieplex in the Steeple City Plaza closed.
 
As a result, there are currently three full-time multi-screen movie theaters in the county — Images Cinema in Williamstown, the Beacon Cinema at 57 North St. in Pittsfield, and the Triplex Cinema at 70 Railroad St. in Great Barrington. These three surviving theaters in Berkshire County are totally separate operations and have their own individual histories and roles in their communities.
 
Nevertheless, there are also connections and common themes, including their downtown locations.
 
For a number of years, both the Triplex Cinema in Great Barrington and the Beacon Cinema in Pittsfield were siblings. Both were founded and originally owned by Richard Stanley, a South County real estate developer and investor who is also active in community-revitalization initiatives. Both theaters were established as vehicles to stimulate their local downtowns.
 
In Great Barrington, the primary destination for movies for most of the 20th century was the historic downtown Mahaiwe Theater. However, in 1988, it was facing potential demolition. That triggered a long community campaign that successfully saved and restored it as the Mahaiwe Performing Arts Center.
 
View Full Story

More Vermont Stories