Supporting the Arts in Western Massachusetts and Beyond

January 27, 2022

Preview: Westfield Athenaeum and MOSSO. Chamber Music Series

The Westfield Athenaeum will present a three-concert chamber music series, beginning Thursday, March 10, at 7PM, with Musicians of the Springfield Symphony Orchestra, known as MOSSO, providing the music. MOSSO violinist Beth Welty is bringing her ensemble, The Aryaloka Quartet to the Athenaeum to kick off the series. Guy McLain, Executive Director of the Westfield Athenaeum, will offer a pre-performance talk at 6PM, which is free to ticket holders.

Violinists Mark Latham and Beth Welty, violist Noralee Walker, and cellist Sandi-Jo. Malmon will perform William Grant Still’s Lyric String Quartet; Charles Ives’ String Quartet #1 Op.57 “From The Salvation Army: A Revival Service”; Beethoven’s String Quartet in C major, op. 59 #3; and an additional piece TBA.

McLain, said “We’re thrilled to bring classical music back to downtown Westfield, and we look forward to working with MOSSO to make that happen”. He said two additional concerts are planned for Thursday, April 14, and Thursday, May 12.

Beth Welty of MOSSO said, the members of the Springfield Symphony Orchestra have fond memories of their many summer performances at Stanley Park, and we’re glad to return to Westfield and the Westfield Athenaeum. We chose an eclectic program to open our Westfield season, including a classic by Beethoven, a work from a major 20th century New England composer, Charles Ives; a work from an important African-American composer, William Grant Still, and a contemporary selection that most audience members will know.

Tickets are $20 and must be purchased in advance at the Athenaeum during business hours, or online at https://www.westath.org/

Audience members will be required to wear masks.

MOSSO is a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization, which is not a subsidiary or affiliated with the Springfield Symphony Orchestra Inc. MOSSO was organized by the musicians this year to produce and perform concerts in Greater Springfield and Western Massachusetts, and to date, they have presented their musicians in pop-up concerts throughout the area. For further information visit www.SpringfieldSymphonyMusicians.com

The Westfield Athenaeum, located in downtown Westfield, serves as the cultural center for the city. In addition to an active public library, the Athenaeum features an art museum with regular exhibits of regional artists, and a history museum, documenting the history of Westfield. For information on the Westfield Athenaeum: www.westath.org


January 9, 2022

PREVIEW: The Bushnell, What the Constitution Means to Me

The Bushnell, Hartford, CT
www.bushnell.org 
January 26-30, 2022
Cassie Beck

Heidi Schreck's Tony Award-nominated play and Pulitzer Prize finalist "What the Constitution
Means to Me" will play for a limited week-long engagement for seven performances.

Cassie Beck will star in the Hartford performance on the National Tour of the play directed by Oliver Butler. Beck (the film "I Know What You Did Last Summer") will be joined by Mike Iveson, and high school students Jocelyn Shek and Emilyn Toffler in the role of the debater.

This boundary-breaking play breathes new life into our Constitution and imagines how it will affect the next generation of Americans. Fifteen-year-old Schreck earned her college tuition by winning Constitutional debate competitions across the United States. In this hilarious, hopeful, and achingly human new play, she resurrects her teenage self in order to trace the profound relationship between four generations of women and the founding document that shaped their lives. 

Schreck’s timely and galvanizing play became a sensation on Broadway where it received two Tony Award® nominations among countless other accolades. The New York Times hailed the piece as "not just the best play on Broadway, but also the most important.