Clark Art Hosts Free Outdoor Classical Concert, Family Concert

08:19AM / Tuesday, August 26, 2025Print Story | Email Story

WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass.—Over Labor Day weekend, The Knights return to the Clark Art Institute to present two free concerts.

The first is an outdoor concert on Saturday, Aug. 30 at 4 pm on the Fernández Terrace. The second is an indoor, family-friendly concert on Sunday, Aug. 31 at noon in the Manton Research Center auditorium. Both performances complement the Clark's "A Room of Her Own: Women Artist-Activists in Britain, 1875–1945" exhibition, which spotlights women artists working in Great Britain who created spaces for themselves and others in a field that was dominated by men.

Outdoor Concert

Saturday, Aug. 30, 4 pm

In celebration of the A Room of Her Own exhibition, the orchestra's program includes a work by celebrated British female composer Dame Ethel Smyth and a piece written for and premiered by the acclaimed English female violinist, Marie Hall.

Dame Ethel Smyth

Scherzo: Allegro vivace from her Suite in E Major for String Orchestra op. 1a

Ralph Vaughan Williams

The Lark Ascending (string arrangement; written for and premiered by Marie Hall)

Felix Mendelssohn

Octet for Strings

Bring a picnic and your own seating. Rain moves the performance to Aug. 31 at 4 pm.

Family Concert

Sunday, Aug. 31, noon

Music lovers of all ages will delight in a family-friendly concert that celebrates world-class music and complements the A Room of Her Own exhibition. In this accessible afternoon performance, children and their parents/grandparents/caregivers discover the limitless imaginative possibilities that exist in classical music. This performance is designed specifically for younger audiences and is intended to provide a fun and engaging introduction to classical music.

Based in New York City, The Knights are a collective of musicians dedicated to transforming the orchestral experience and eliminating barriers between audience and music. Led by an open-minded spirit of camaraderie and collaboration, they seek to engage with contemporary culture through vibrant performances that honor the classical tradition and their passion for musical discovery.

Both concerts are free. For accessibility concerns, call 413 458 0524.

These performances are presented through the support of the Sea Island Foundation.

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Discrimination Against Muslim Americans Persists 25 Years After 9/11

By Stephen DravisiBerkshires Staff
07:00AM / Saturday, September 12, 2026

WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. — Dozens of Muslim Americans were among people killed in the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.

Untold numbers of Muslim Americans have suffered countless acts of discrimination in their aftermath.

"Of course, you'll find several accounts of Muslims from all over the U.S. describing how they went from the unknown kids in the school to being stereotyped or ridiculed for their Muslim names," Sidra Mahmood recalled recently. "However, many Americans forget that the victims of 9/11 were also Muslim Americans.

"I can't forget the time when a classmate broke down in sobs when 9/11 came up in our classroom at the Islamic seminary I went to in Texas, because her father's best friend who was like an uncle to her, died on 9/11."

Today, Mahmood is a chaplain at Williams College. In 2001, she was growing up in Karachi, Pakistan, when terrorists forced two passenger jets into the Twin Towers in lower Manhattan and another plane into the Pentagon outside Washington, D.C. A third plane, which terrorists hoped to crash into a D.C. landmark, was brought down in western Pennsylvania after passengers and crew fought back against the hijackers.

The attacks, which ultimately claimed 2,976 lives, horrified people around the world, including in Mahmood's native land.

"I remember being aghast like anyone who witnessed the fall of the Twin Towers in real time," she said. "However, even as a child, fear gripped me about the possibility of war, especially once we learned that Afghanistan, right adjacent to Pakistan, would be attacked by the U.S. My mother had told me about the 1971 war between India and Pakistan when she remembered hiding in the dark after bomb sirens would go off in Punjab after intentional blackouts.

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