Crescendo Celebrates 20 Years of Choral Concerts

Crescendo will celebrate with a musical performance over the weekend of Oct. 28 and 29.
Photo by Steve Potter
Crescendo, the early-music organization based in Lakeville, Conn., is offering the public a musical treat over the weekend of Oct. 28 and 29 called "Fantastic Baroque!" — a celebratory concert marking Crescendo's 20th anniversary that will feature festive Baroque music for chorus, soloists, accompanied by a period instrument orchestra.
Attendees will hear some of the period's greatest masterworks, sacred polychoral motets, and oratorio excerpts, and choruses from some of the most famous Baroque operas.
For these two concerts, the performers will be the Crescendo Chorus and Period Instrument Orchestra, and will feature the following soloists: sopranos Christina Kay of New York City; Alicia DePaolo of Philadelphia, Penn.; countertenor Augustine Mercante of Philadelphia; tenor Gregório Taniguchi of New York City; and bass-baritone Anicet Castel, of Paris and New York City. The concerts will be directed and conducted by Christine Gevert, Crescendo's founding artistic director.
The Crescendo Early Music Ensemble is an award-winning nonprofit founded by Gevert in 2003, when it began presenting concerts year-round in northwestern Connecticut, the Berkshires, and the mid-Hudson Valley of New York. The ensemble's instrumentalists and nationally recognized soloists who regularly collaborate with Crescendo bring the performances to a level comparable to that of the best musical ensembles in the country. Gevert, who is also firmly committed to educational outreach, has coached high school singers and young musicians in the area as part of the organization's Young Artist Program. She and chorus members visit local schools to work with and tutor interested students. Some of these talented youngsters are included in Crescendo's performances. In 2014, Crescendo won the prestigious Chorus America /ASCAP /Alice Parker Award.
Gevert is currently the music director at Trinity Episcopal Church in Lime Rock. She holds a master's degree in organ and early music performance from the Hochschule für Musik und Theater in Hamburg, Germany, and a bachelor's degree in music theory from the Conservatorio Nacional de Chile. She has taught and conducted master classes in early music, harpsichord, and baroque vocal technique at the university level and numerous music festivals in Chile, Germany, and the U.S. In recent years, Gevert has given solo harpsichord recitals at the Early Music Festival in Poland, the Wanda Landowska Auditorium in France, and the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City, among other international venues.
The 20th-anniversary concerts will be held on Saturday, Oct. 28 at 4 p.m. at Saint James Place, 352 Main Street, Great Barrington, and on Sunday, Oct. 29 at 4 p.m. at Trinity Church, 484 Lime Rock Road, (parking through Dugway Road entrance). Attendees will have the chance to meet the performers afterward at a brief reception.
In the past, Crescendo's "special concerts" — of which this is one — have sold out, so early purchase of tickets online is encouraged at Crescendo's website: www.crescendomusic.org. Any unsold tickets will be sold at the door 45 minutes before each performance.
These concerts are generously underwritten by the Arthur F. & Alice E. Adams Charitable Foundation. For these concerts, support has also been provided to Crescendo from CT Humanities (CTH), and the Department of Economic and Community Development, Office of Arts (COA) from the Connecticut State Legislature.
Long-term town employees were recognized at the Town Board meeting on Thursday, June 12. Honorees pictured with Town Supervisor Leo Blackman, were Judy Carlson, Office Manager at the Town Garage, center, for her 35 years of service to the town and Megan Chamberlin, current Highway Superintendent, for 20 years.
AMENIA — Acknowledging the many years of service accumulated by town employees, the Town Board paused to honor that service at its meeting on Thursday, June 12.
“Thank you for making a difference,” said Town Supervisor Leo Blackman in recognizing Judy Carlson, Office Manager at the town garage, for her 35 years of service.
“Megan’s job is not an easy one,” Blackman said, honoring Megan Chamberlin, current Highway Superintendent who has served the town for 20 years.
Also among those honored was Town Clerk Dawn Marie Klingner for 20 years of service as Court Clerk.
Maureen Moore, Court Clerk, was also honored in absentia for her 20 years of town service.
In anticipation of the celebration of the 250th anniversary of the start of the American Revolution in 2026, new historic markers are appearing at each of the local cemeteries where Revolutionary War veterans are buried. Unveiling the new marker at Amenia Union Cemetery on Saturday, June 21, were left to right, Town Historian Betsy Strauss, Jim Middlebrook representing the regional chapter of the Sons of the American Revolution, and Gail Seymour, President of the Union Cemetery Association.
AMENIA — One by one, new historic markers are appearing at local cemeteries where Revolutionary War dead are buried. On Saturday, June 21, community members gathered to see a new marker unveiled at Amenia Union Cemetery on Leedsville Road.
A tent provided welcome shade for the attendees and refreshments as about 30 residents gathered for the unveiling and to share stories of local history with one another.
As with the first historic market installation at the Old Amenia Burying Ground, held in April, Amenia Union Cemetery graves of Revolutionary War veterans had been marked with American flags in advance.
Jim Middlebrook, representing the Columbia Mid-Hudson chapter of the Sons of the American Revolution, attended along with other members of his chapter. Speaking before the unveiling, Middlebrook said that the historic marker project had begun in August 2024, and included a detailed process to certify the names on the graves.
Middlebrook described the work of the William C. Pomeroy Foundation of Syracuse whose mission is to promote “pride of place” by providing grants in support of installing historic markers and plaques nationwide to honor patriots for their service. Active now in seven or eight states, Middlebrook said, the foundation will soon add Connecticut and Massachusetts to the list.
The new Amenia Union marker honors “at least five veterans of the American Revolution interred between 1787 and 1810,” although Town Historian Betsy Strauss lists six veterans buried in the cemetery. The sixth, Gerhard Winegar, whose burial had been in 1781 could not fully satisfy the certification standards.
Strauss provided the following listing of six names:
Col. Colbe Chamberlain, 1739-1796
Capt. William Chamberlain, 1745-1810
Lieut. Samuel Snyder, 1712-1808
Gerhard Winegar, 1750-1781
Ensign Henry Winegar, 1723-1787
Capt. William Young, 1747-1806
Bee Bee the clown, face painters and a community wide scavenger hunt are among the activities planned for the Millerton Street Fair in Downtown Millerton on Saturday, June 28.
MILLERTON — The Millerton News, in partnership with the North East Community Center (NECC) and the Millerton Business Alliance, is hosting its first Street Fair on Saturday in a celebration of the town.
Rain or shine from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m, the fair will bring together local nonprofits and businesses, with live music, entertainment, kids’ activities, local eats, and family fun in Veterans Park, in front of the Millerton Inn, and beyond.
“The Millerton Street Fair will celebrate everything we love about this community — its spirit, its dedication to service and its creative energy,” said James Clark, publisher and CEO of The Millerton News.
Local nonprofits will showcase their work and impact, including Climate Smart Millerton, Eddie Collins Memorial Park, North East Historical Society, Townscape, Tri-Corner FEED, Village of Millerton, and the Webutuck Elementary School.Participating businesses include Bes, Little Red Bird Studio, NBT, The Elephant’s Tusk, and many more.Local retail and dining establishments will be open with special promotions. NECC’s Farmer’s Market will run during the event.
Among the planned festivities are live music from John Stey and the Resilience Brass Band, performances from Bee Bee the Clown, face painting by students from Webutuck High School, and a community-wide scavenger hunt for kids.Other kids’ activities include egg and spoon races, and a “touch-a-truck” open house at the firehouse.The Irondale Schoolhouse will be hosting a special exhibit, and the North East-Millerton Library will be offering signups for the Summer Reading Program, a science show from 11 a.m. to 12 p.m., lawn games, and a cookie cook-off.
For more information, go to millertonnews.com/street-fair.
The Nine Partners Road Quaker Meetinghouse, built in 1780, will be the site of two summer lectures sponsored by the Millbrook Historical Society.
MILLBROOK — Long in the planning, the Millbrook Historical Society has announced that it is sponsoring two lectures in observance of the 250th anniversary of the American Revolution. Both lectures relating to Quaker history are to be held in the historic Quaker Meeting House on Nine Partners Road.
For the first talk, scheduled for Sunday, June 29, at 2 p.m., the historical society has invited Sarah Gronningsater, Professor of History at the University of Pennsylvania, to talk on “Quakers, Anti-slavery, and the American Revolution.” The topic will explore the role that New York’s Quakers, especially in the Hudson Valley, played in the rise of the anti-slavery movement that followed the American Revolution.
The second talk, scheduled for Sunday, July 27, at 2 p.m., invites Carl Lounsbury of the College of William and Mary and Colonial Williamsburg to speak on the architecture of the Nine Partners Meetinghouse. His talk is titled, “Nine Partners Meetinghouse Plan: A New Form in the Hudson Valley.” Expert in early American architecture, Lounsbury’s talk will compare Nine Partners with other later houses of worship in New York and New England.
Both lecture events will be held at the 1780 brick Nine Partners Quaker Meetinghouse in Millbrook. An earlier meetinghouse on the site had burned. The building has remained largely unchanged since the 18th century.
Given the age of the structure, handicapped access is limited and there are no rest room facilities.
Visitors should enter through the cemetery gate entrance.
The lectures are free and open to all, supported by a grant from the county and offered as part of Dutchess County’s participation in the nation’s 250th anniversary commemoration.