The Berkshires are widely acknowledged as a mecca of culture, especially for great music. We all know about Tanglewood and South Mountain Concerts. We read about them in The New York Times and The New Yorker.

These venues, and several others, feature some of the world’s best professional talent, and we are grateful for it. But what often flies under the media radar here is a number of homegrown, grass-roots community organizations that produce some first-rate music.

I am privileged to be a singer in one of them, the Berkshire Lyric Chorus, which is part of a larger Berkshire Lyric program of intergenerational teaching and music development that is quite unique. Artistic Director Jack Brown has a vision that brings in singers of all ages, and helps them develop and grow their talent. It is not unusual to have singers in two (and sometimes three) generations singing in the program.

If you want to experience the fruits of this experiment, tomorrow we are pleased to offer a program at Ozawa Hall at Tanglewood. Here are the details from our President Amy Najimy:

Berkshire Lyric is excited to present Beethoven: Power, Passion & Beauty this Sunday, May 28th at 3 pm at Tanglewood’s Seiji Ozawa Hall. The concert will feature Beethoven’s Mass in C Major Opus 86 and also include two shorter works, the powerful Hallelujah from the Mount of Olives and the rarely performed Elegiac Song Opus 118 for Chorus and Strings. The 85-voice Berkshire Lyric Chorus, accompanied by a full orchestra, will be joined by a stellar solo vocal quartet of soprano Andrea Bargabos, Metropolitan Opera mezzo Marjorie Dix, internationally-known tenor John Bellemer in his Berkshire Lyric debut and Berkshire Lyric’s Resident Vocal Artist John Demler.

Berkshire Lyric’s two choruses for young singers, the Blafield Children’s Chorus and Melodious Accord, will present a prelude concert of Beethoven works on the Tanglewood grounds before the concert at 2:30 pm.

This appearance at Ozawa Hall with orchestra is supported by chorus members, local friends of Berkshire Lyric’s mission, and by the Massachusetts Cultural Council.

Tickets are popularly prices at $25 for adults with children 18 and under admitted for free with an adult.  Tickets may be purchased in advance through Berkshire Lyric’s website www.berkshirelyric.org or at the Ozawa Hall gate before the concert.”

We had our  final rehearsal last night with the professional orchestra and soloists, and it was thrilling. Come check it out.