Berkshire Eagle 5-8-04
It takes a Village
By Alan S. Chartock

Saturday, May 08, 2004 - H ow do you get to Ozawa Hall on
May 15 at 8? Practice, practice,
practice.

If you haven't been to Hancock Shaker Village yet, you're like the native New Yorker who has never bothered to visit the Statue of Liberty. This living museum is one of the great treasures of our region. It is educational, it is fun, and it is special for our children. But, like every other not-for-profit in the Berkshires, it all has to be paid for and the people who run it must come up with creative ways to bring in the dollars.

More and more, the wonderful bashes that people throw to raise funds for various charities are beginning to tax even the people who, up to now, have been lucky enough to be able to support them. One grande dame culturally connected in the Berkshires has been going around letting nonprofits know that there just isn't enough money for all of them. If you follow her reasoning, that would mean that all the good people who have to raise money for good causes should get together and some should fade out of the picture.

In America, we don't do it that way. What we do here is to start organizations, create boards, and let people vote with their checkbooks.

In order to raise money, you either have to cultivate a single person who will support what you do and give you tens of thousands of dollars, or you have to do it the WAMC way, asking many people for whatever they can afford.

Hancock Shaker Village, which for years had a champion in the late Amy Bess Miller, still has a distinguished board of trustees. They know they have to be clever to meet their budget, so they make it is as painless as possible to raise the money. Two years ago, HSV thought up the idea of using the distinguished Ozawa Hall to bring together some of the talented folks that live in and around our communities. Even they were astounded by the success of the event. Turns out people really do love the organization and want to support it.

The Boston Symphony chipped in, charging just enough to cover costs so with the largely free talent, most of the proceeds for the event go directly toward meeting the $1.8 million budget of the organization. The last time they did this, Hancock Shaker Village raised about $25,000.

Another way to look at it is that supporting this event allows Hancock Shaker Village to continue its generous policy of admitting anyone under 18 for free. I couldn't think of a better reason for supporting this year's event. Your $25 buys you a ticket and a wonderful time.

Now for the talent part. There are going to be some very impressive people on the bill. I'm a big fan of diversity, and there is something for everyone.

WAMC has always believed, for example, that the way to preserve classical music in the face of massive closing of symphonies and classical radio stations is to integrate classical music into what we do. That's why we play virtually every Tanglewood concert as well as so many other classical programs.

The Hancock event will feature one of my favorite human beings and piano talents, Richard Ziter. This guy has done so much to help the Berkshires that you'd need a lot more than two hands to count them on.

Then there is Matt Cusson, a great singer who has appeared with James and Livingston Taylor and on the ABC show "The View." Matt was scheduled to be touring with Christine Aguilera but she had to call off the tour, and we're all the better for it.

But wait, there's more! There's Elizabeth Printy, the brilliant soprano who has appeared in too many places to name, but one of them was in a principal role at the Metropolitan Opera. We saw her on TV not that long ago, performing at the Kennedy Center gala that honored Beverly Sills.

We will also hear from James Warwick, whose credits include PBS, all kinds of live theater and the acclaimed television series, "Partners in Crime." He'll be doing the "Proposition Speech" from Camelot with a wonderful piano accompanist.

There will be only one weak link in the program, but they'll be fun. My band of about 40 years, "The Berkshire Ramblers," will playi a set. Wait until you see your favorites, Roselle Chartock, Joe Browdy, Seth Rogovoy, Robert Salzman, Octavio Hernandez and the brilliant fiddler Lucas Schwartz.

Why they invited us, I cannot fathom, but in the great spirit of things, we'll be there. We'll be expecting all of you to be singing along with us.

For more information: (413) 443-0188.

Alan Chartock, a Great Barrington resident, is chairman and executive director of WAMC Northeast Public Radio and a professor of communications at SUNY-Albany.

- posted by Alan @ 5/08/2004 06:05:00 AM