Ventfort Hall's 2024 Season: Reviving the Spirit of Festival House

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LENOX, Mass. — Ventfort Hall is preparing for its 2024 season with a theme inspired by the 1950s Festival House era. 
 
The 2024 season at Ventfort Hall takes inspiration from the work of Bruno and Claire Aron and their daughters Madeline and Judy during the 1950s. A Jewish family, the Arons transformed Ventfort Hall into an inclusive resort, welcoming individuals from all walks of life and making it a hub for cultural expression. 
 
The Aron family embarked on this venture after experiencing a marked exclusion from Berkshire society as Jews.
 
"I'm thrilled Ventfort Hall is honoring my family's vision and the era of Festival House," Madeline Aron, daughter of Bruno and Claire said. "It was clear there was a vacuum in the area for places that were welcoming to anyone and everyone. Festival House became a magnet for diverse community and cultural expression. It was such an enriching time and its impact planted a seed for expanded accessibility to the beauty of the Berkshires and its cultural gems like Tanglewood.”
 
Season Highlights Include:
  • An exhibit titled "Breaking Glass & Breaking Barriers: An Obscured History of Baseball in the Berkshires," curated by Larry Moore, running from June 1 to September 20. This exhibit focuses on the stories of women and people of color in Berkshire baseball history. 
  • The Ventfort Hall Artist in Residence 2024 program, in partnership with the Berkshire Art Center, will provide a residency for a local Berkshire Artist, giving access and resources to an artist from a marginalized community within the Berkshires.
Public Events Schedule for 2024:
  • May 12: Mother's Day Tea
  • May 18-19: Community Weekend (Free Days!)
  • June 11: Tea & Talk with Louise Levy on "Mary Todd Lincoln- Hostess & Housewife" (2023 Encore and part I of II) 
  • June 18: Tea & Talk with Victoria Ross on "The Lenox Bachelors: The Misses Kate Carey, Heloise Meyer, and Mary Depeyster Cary"
  • June 25: Tea & Talk with Kathy Sheehan on "The Fox Sisters"
  • June 27: Concert: Piano Extravaganza by Prima Music Foundation
  • July 2: Tea & Talk on the History of Festival House
  • July 3, 4 & 5: Events to be announced
  • July 9: Tea & Talk with Elizabeth Winthrop on "Daughter of Spies, Wartime Secrets, Family Lies"
  • July 13: Paranormal Investigation with David Raby
  • July 16: Tea & Talk with Larry Moore on "Baseball in the Berkshires"
  • July 23: Tea & Talk: Claire Shomphe & Chelsea Gaia on "Beautiful But Deadly"
  • July 30: Tea & Talk: Victoria Christopher Murray presents "The Personal Librarian"
  • August 1: Concert: Prima Music Foundation's Jazz of the Gilded Age
  • August 6: Tea & Talk: Eleanor Martinez Proctor on "Untold Lives: Recovering the Histories of Eustis Estate Workers"
  • August 13: Tea & Talk: Chelsea Gaia on "Floriography, The Language of Flowers"
  • August 15: Concert: Prima Music Foundation's Chamber Music Soiree
  • August 20: Tea & Talk: Kate Baisley on "Hair and Makeup Through the Eras of Ventfort Hall.”
  • August 24: Special Event: Michelle LaRue in "Someone Must Wash The Dishes: An Anti-Suffrage Satire"
  • August 27: Tea & Talk: Louise Levy on “The Haunting of Mary Lincoln” (Mary Todd Lincoln Part II) 
  • August 29: Concert: Opera Meets Hollywood by Prima Music Foundation (Fundraiser & Season Closer)
 
Tickets, Memberships & More:
 
To purchase tickets and memberships, or to learn about Volunteer opportunities and upcoming events, visit GildedAge.org.

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Prima Music Foundation To Perform at Ventfort Hall

LENOX, Mass. — Prima Music Foundation returns to the Berkshires with a series of summer concerts at Ventfort Hall.

The first concert in the series will take place on Thursday, June 27 at 4 pm with. There will be a cash bar serving beer and wine and will open one half hour before the concert.

Join Artistic Director, Anastasia Dedik, and the Prima Music Foundation who will present Piano Extravaganza with piano works by J.S. Bach, F. Chopin, C. Chaminade and S. Prokofiev performed by pianists Victor Rosenbaum, Anastasia Dedik, Visha Nguyen and Anna Shelest.

According to a press release:

Anastasia Dedik, born in St. Petersburg into a family of distinguished musicians, holds degrees and honors from the St. Petersburg Conservatory, Oberlin Conservatory, and The Juilliard School. Anastasia’s transformative experience at Oberlin as a female Russian immigrant inspired the creation of the Prima Music Foundation—a non-profit dedicated to nurturing and showcasing talented pianists. Through PMF, Anastasia offers performance opportunities and educational guidance, including master classes with esteemed instructors. The annual Rising Stars Piano Camp in Berkshires is held at BMS from June 22 to the 29. The Camp provides an exceptional learning environment, fostering the growth of young artists. As the Artistic Director of the Summer Concert Series at Ventfort Hall in Lenox, Anastasia showcases both established and emerging talents, with ticket proceeds supporting scholarships for the Camp. PMF's primary focus is providing scholarships to those in need.
 
American pianist Victor Rosenbaum has concertized widely as soloist and chamber music performer in the United States, Europe, Israel, Brazil, Russia, and Asia in such prestigious halls as Tully Hall in New York and the Hermitage in St. Petersburg, Russia. Recently retired from the faculty of New England Conservatory in Boston where he taught for more than fifty years, he chaired its piano department for more than a decade, and was also Chair of Chamber Music.
 
Nguyen Visha was born in Vietnam and holds a PhD from Moscow State Conservatory. She is the laureate of international competitions, including 1st prize at the Rubinstein international competition (Paris, 2008), 1st prize at the Russian Scriabin Conservatory (Paris, 2009), 2nd prize at the International Olympic of Art (Moscow, 2011) and 3rd prize at Scriabin’s International Competition in Moscow (2012). Due to the war in Ukraine she had to move to the USA with her husband, a renowned Russian pianist and teacher and their young child. She continues her musical path in New York City, teaching piano to kids, and at the same time, playing concerts with unique programs. She is the only Vietnamese pianist who played and recorded all 48 Preludes and Fugues, all 6 partitas and Goldberg-variations by Bach.
 
Hailed by The New York Times as a pianist of “a fiery sensibility and warm touch,” Anna Shelest has appeared at numerous venues including Alice Tully Hall and Carnegie Hall’s Stern Auditorium in New York, the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., Wiener Konzerhaus in Vienna, and Palacio de Bellas Artes in Mexico City. Anna’s ongoing project, Donna Voce, started in 2019 as a series of recordings surveying music for solo piano and piano and orchestra by women composers from the last three centuries. A graduate of The Juilliard School, Anna makes her home in New York City with her husband and two sons. To learn more, please visit www.AnnaShelest.com


Tickets are $45 general admission. Reservations are required as seats are limited. For reservations visit https://gildedage.org/pages/calendar or call  (413) 637-3206. Note that all tickets are nonrefundable and non-exchangeable. The historical mansion is located at 104 Walker Street in Lenox.

 

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