PUTNEY — After being closed for six months, Next Stage will reopen its newly-renovated performance space on 15 Kimball Hill this weekend with a trio of shows.
In what Next Stage Executive Director Maria Basescu calls a “soft opening,” the East Coast Chamber Orchestra (ECCO) and harpist Sivan Magen - current artists-in residency at Yellow Barn - will do a workshop performance on Thursday, Dec. 10, at 8 p.m. Admission is free.
ECCO and Magen are working on a piece composed by Christopher Theofandis entitled A Thousand Cranes.
Theofandis's Second Symphony for strings and harp - which will get its world premiere on Dec. 12 at the Nasher Sculpture Center in Dallas - and works by Jörg Widmann, Philippe Hersant, and Johann Sebastian Bach are on the program.
The grand opening for the Next Stage comes the following night.
On Friday, Dec. 11, at 7 p.m., Next Stage's second annual A Cappella Holiday Concert will feature a cappella sensation The GrooveBarbers, with special guests The Putney Central School Chorus.
Complimentary cider, donuts, and tours of the newly renovated space will begin at 6 p.m.
Tickets are $15 for adults, $7.50 for those 6 to 12 years old, and $40 for a family. Kids under 6 get in free. Tickets are available online, through the Next Stage website (www.nextstage.org) or at Offerings Jewelry in Putney or Turn It Up in Brattleboro.
The GrooveBarbers feature a mellifluous vocal blend, close harmonies, and warm arrangements of holiday classics from the secular to the sublime.
The Village Voice called The GrooveBarbers “a cappella rock and soul royalty,” as each member of this all-vocal powerhouse quartet is a bona fide star in his own right.
Sean Altman, Charlie Evett, and Steve Keyes are former members of the pioneering modern a cappella group Rockapella of “Where In The World Is Carmen Sandiego?” television fame, while Kevin Weist is a renowned bald vocal guru. Collectively, they have established themselves as the go-to vocal group for rock, doo-wop, jazz, barbershop, and - with the help of guest soprano Inna Dukach - a new hybrid genre they call “doowopera.”
On Saturday, Dec. 12, at 7:30 p.m., and Sunday, Dec. 13, at 4 p.m., the 90-voice River Singers Community Chorus will present its annual holiday concerts at Next Stage.
Led by Mary Cay Brass, the River Singers is a multi-generational chorus that performs an eclectic mix of thrilling, soulful songs from many lands. This season's concert will open with a rousing South African blessing expressed in both song and dance. Also from the African continent, the choir's three Rwandan singers present a beautiful spiritual, “Wemere.”
From the European continent, the choir will sing a joyful carol from the English West Gallery tradition from 18th century village churches. It will be accompanied by the choir's own rowdy village band of fiddles, accordion, and trombone.
Having studied and lived in the Balkans, Brass says she loves the vibrant music traditions of that region. As a consequence, audiences can count on a set of stirring Balkan harmonies at every concert. This weekend's concerts will feature a Sephardic love song from Bosnia, two Macedonian wedding songs and a Bulgarian love song, all accompanied by accordion, fiddles, bass, and percussion.
All River Singers concerts are benefits for local and global peace efforts, often through music. Funds from this concert will give scholarships to two Macedonian teens to come to a Vermont-based Village Harmony camp and they will support scholarships to the Village Harmony Bosnia peace camp next summer.
Admission to the concert is $15/$10 seniors and students (children under 10 free). All tickets sold at the door. For information, call 802-869-4000 or visit www.marycaybrass.com.
An accessible landmark
This weekend's concerts mark the culmination of a $1.6 million renovation of the former United Church of Putney, which was built in 1841 and is now owned by the Putney Historical Society.
Next Stage closed the old church at the end of May to allow crews from GPI Construction in Brattleboro to gut the building and remake it into a modern performance space. Chip Greenberg, of Putney-based Greenberg Associates, was the lead architect for the project.
Basescu says the “heavy lifting” portion of the renovations is now finished.
A new elevator finally brings full accessibility to the 160-seat auditorium on the second floor. A new energy-efficient heating and cooling system will make the building comfortable year-round, and a sprinkler system provides an extra margin of safety in case of fire. Work was also done to the roof and cupola.
The performance space features more comfortable seating to replace the hard pews, an improved sound and lighting system, upgraded wiring, new bathrooms, and a full restoration of the historic tin ceiling.
The first floor of the church is being completely refurbished with a new “green room” for performers, a box office in the lobby, new community rooms, and office space for the Putney Historical Society and Next Stage.
Basescu said Next Stage is wrapping up a capital campaign to finish the renovations. They have already raised $1.2 million of the $1.6 million needed to complete the work.
“Throughout 2016, we will be fundraising for and completing the last quarter of the work,” she said, “which will include interior finish work, painting, floors, upgrading the kitchen to commercial grade, historic window repair, lighting improvements, all of the exterior painting, landscaping, and solidifying the building maintenance fund and programming reserves.”
The good news is that all has gone well with the project to this point.
“It would have been so easy for this project to balloon in terms of costs and time,” Basescu said, “but thanks to the efficiency, expertise, discipline, and commitment of all involved, we are coming in on budget and on time.”
While Next Stage was closed, the arts organization presented shows throughout the summer and fall at alternate venues, such as the Hooker-Dunham Theater and the Vermont Jazz Center in Brattleboro, Popolo in Bellows Falls, and The Putney School's Currier Center.
Basescu said this was but one example of how local volunteers and organizations helped Next Stage pull off this project.
“To undertake this level of renovation of not just an old building, but a historic one, requires a high level of expertise and care,” she said. “We are deeply gratified at how many talented and committed people have stepped up to bring this about. It's all very much a testament to the commitment of this community to the project, and the importance to so many of Next Stage as a hub for cultural and economic activity, and community connection.”