Pronounced muh-HAY-wee, The Mahaiwe Performing Arts Center (14 Castle St., 413/528-0100, www.mahaiwe.org [1]) is located in a restored 100-year-old theater and presents a first-rate, if eclectic, line-up of music, spoken-word, and theater performances. The 2005 season included a tribute to W. E. B. Dubois’ “Souls of Black Folk,” Cuban jazz pianist Omar Sosa, and a play reading with actress Marisa Tomei.
What Tanglewood [2] is to symphony music, the Aston Magna Festival (Daniel Arts Center, Alford Rd., 413/528-3595, www.astonmagna.org [3], $35 per concert) is to chamber music. During weekends in July and early August, both vocal and instrumental masters of the form perform at Simon’s Rock College.
Links:
[1] http://www.mahaiwe.org
[2] http://www.moon.com/destinations/new-england/massachusetts/western-massachusetts/southern-berkshires/lenox/tanglewood
[3] http://www.astonmagna.org