Berkshire Bach announces Appointment of Director of Choral Music and Principal Conductor

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GREAT BARRINGTON, Mass. — Berkshire Bach Society (BBS) announced the appointment of James Bagwell as Director of Choral Music and Principal Conductor, effective April 1, 2026.  
 
Bagwell previously served as Choral Director and has performed with BBS since the early 2000s.
 
"I've long admired James Bagwell's work as a choral conductor," said Eugene Drucker, Artistic Director of BBS, "specifically in the Berkshire Bach Society vocal concerts for which I've had the pleasure of serving as his concertmaster, and more generally in his meticulous preparation of the chorus for opera productions at Bard College's Summerscape and for oratorio performances with the American Symphony Orchestra at Carnegie Hall. I am pleased to formalize his involvement with our organization and to welcome him as Director of Choral Music and Principal Conductor."
 
Bagwell was recently named Principal Conductor of the Tulsa Symphony and has served as Principal Guest Conductor of the American Symphony Orchestra since 2009. He has prepared choruses for numerous national and international orchestras, and his choruses have been featured at the Salzburg, Verbier, Mostly Mozart, and Bard Music Festivals. He is Professor of Music and Music Program Director at Bard College, and Director of Performance Studies in the Bard College Conservatory of Music.  He serves as Co-Director of the Bard Conservatory Graduate Program in Conducting and is the Associate Conductor of The Orchestra Now (T?N)
 
Bagwell's new title is in effect when he conducts the first BBS performances in 30 years of J.S. Bach's St. John Passion on April 11 at the First Congregational Church in Great Barrington and April 12 at the Troy Savings Bank Music Hall, both at 3pm. 
 
Tickets for both events are available through BerkshireBach.org/events.
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Pryor & Peacock's Whimsical Furniture Environmentally Friendly

By Breanna SteeleiBerkshires Staff
 

The company uses digital printing to create the upholstery fabric, saving water and saving vintage furniture from ending up in landfills.

STOCKBRIDGE, Mass. — A unique furniture store has popped up on Elm Street this month.

Mom-and-daughter store Pryor & Peacock is hosting the pop-up storefront from Aug. 13 to Aug. 25 at 6 Elm. The New Marlborough business is co-founded by Rosalina Wright and Luca Shapiro, who is also the creative director. 

Their online shop was created in 2024 but they wanted people to see the pieces in person, so they're renting the space for a limited time before a long-term tenant moves in.

The store sources prints to create unique fabrics and reimagines vintage and antique furniture acquired at auctions, local shops, and online.

"We source prints from all over the world that date from the late 1600s up through mid-20th century, and Luca turns those prints into fabric by manipulating them, scanning them, oftentimes has to add or subtract things, and then we manufacture the fabric using only digital printing, which is very environmentally friendly, unlike traditional textile printing," Wright said.

Upholstering the furniture can take weeks of work. Shapiro looks for the perfect design for each piece and, if need be, uses Adobe Photoshop to extend the art work to fit or enhance the print.

"One of the most difficult parts comes in marrying the fabric to a piece of furniture because we only use antique and vintage frames also to be earth friendly, and they're also more beautiful and durable than new furniture," Wright said. "So the image has to go with the furniture, so that takes a lot of work."

One of Pryor & Peacock's missions is to be environmentally friendly. Digital printing doesn't use the same amount of water as traditional textile productions do nor does it contaminate water with ink according to their website.

Not only are they saving water, but they are saving furniture from going into the landfill while also using more durable furniture that doesn't break as easily as current pieces. They started their business to create something unique and to help the environment together.

"It's creating something nobody else is doing. People can't continue to buy throwaway furniture. Six percent of American landfills is furniture, and digital printing not only opens up the possibility of being able to put unique images on a piece of furniture, but it also is, as I said, environmentally friendly. So, for us, the excitement is to take an old East Lake settee that somebody's going to store in their barn and forget about, and make it something completely new and surprising," Wright said.

They hope their furniture helps bring a pop of fun to someone's home.

"We think our furniture is very whimsical and surprising, and most furniture today is oatmeal colored couches and gray neutral chairs, and it's boring," she said.

The two named their business after their mothers' maiden names to honor them and believe the name reflects their pieces.

Shapiro works in interior design outside of the business and the two liked working together and thought it would be great to start a business together. Shapiro says they can work well together and that her and her mother, Wright, has flipped houses before and have the same eye for design.

"So it's very easy for us to work together. When we see something, generally we agree on whether it works or doesn't work on a piece. We agree on the color schemes and that sort of thing. So it's very fun and fulfilling to work together," Shapiro said. 

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