Arts & Culture briefs: CitySpace gets $500K for performance space; ‘Multibands’ show at UMass

Dance teachers from Amherst College and Mount Holyoke College will come together for “Frequency,” a joint faculty dance concert, on Thursday, Nov. 7, from 7:30 to 9 p.m. at the Studio Theater in Mount Holyoke’s Kendall Sports & Dance Complex. CONTRIBUTED

Fourteen student music and performance groups at UMass Amherst will come together for the Multiband Pops Concert, also known as “Multibands,” on Friday, November 8, at 7:30 p.m. in the Tillis Performance Hall in the Bromery Center for the Arts. COURTESY CRAIG KAUFMAN

The Yiddish Book Center will host a book launch and author talk for “Sabor Judio: The Jewish Mexican Cookbook” on Sunday, Nov. 10, at 2 p.m. The cookbook, co-authored by Amherst College professor IlanStavans and Bowdoin College professor Margaret E. Boyle, features recipes from the history of the Jewish diaspora in Mexico throughout history, including the authors’ own family histories. PHOTO BY ILAN RABCHINSKY

The Easthampton performance venue CitySpace recently won a $501,830 grant, part of $161 million in funding allocated by Gov. Maura Healey for local economic development to 171 communities throughout Massachusetts. CitySpace will use the money to for the second phase of renovations to turn the second floor of Old Town Hall into an accessible 350-seat performance space for the community. CONTRIBUTED

Children’s authors Lesléa Newman, Jeanne Birdsall, and Adam Gidwitz will be the featured guests at Lander-Grinspoon Academy’s inaugural BookFest 2024 on Sunday, Nov. 10, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. CONTRIBUTED

If you missed the Academy of Music’s Oct. 27 sneak preview screening of “The Painted Life of Gregory Gillespie,” the documentary about the namesake painter who called the Pioneer Valley home for decades, his work can be viewed at the “Valley Realism” group show at R. Michelson Galleries in Northampton through Wednesday, Jan. 15. Left to right: “Portrait of Rich Michelson,” “Self Portrait with Glasses,” “Self Portrait Cutout,” and “Lydia.” COURTESY GOODCHILD MEDIA

Published: 11-07-2024 7:29 PM

Fourteen student music and performance groups at UMass Amherst will come together for the Multiband Pops Concert, also known as “Multibands,” on Friday, Nov. 8, at 7:30 p.m. in the Tillis Performance Hall in the Bromery Center for the Arts.

The 65-minute show, which marks its 50th anniversary this year, will feature the Wind Ensemble, Symphony Band, Jazz Ensemble I, Chapel Jazz Ensemble, UMass Symphony Orchestra, Chamber Choir & Chorale, Vocal Jazz Ensemble, Percussion Ensemble, and chamber groups. The second half of the show will feature the Minuteman Marching Band, including the color guard, twirlers and dance team.

Programming outside of the big event (and not open to the public) includes performances for more than 3,000 local K-12 students. According to Jeff Holmes, director of jazz and African-American music studies at UMass, “So many of our own majors and minors can trace their exposure to UMass via a trip to a Multibands matinee, and many of the music educators that come now are graduates of our Music Department, having performed in the same ensembles they now enjoy with their own school programs.”

Tickets to Multibands are $25 general admission or $18 for seniors and UMass students, faculty, and staff at fineartscenter.com/musicanddance.