Hancock Shaker Village has been designated as a Sector Leader by the Kresge Foundation and awarded a grant of $1 million for its work in “thoughtful, exploratory process to reinvent their business models…” The grant recognizes Hancock Shaker Village’s work as a visionary organization pursuing transformational projects designed to shift its business model and to serve as a field-wide example of leadership.

“Kresge recognizes that many cultural organizations, while balancing their budgets still face critical capitalization issues that constrain their ability to fully achieve their mission,” said Alice Carle, program director of the foundation’s arts and culture program. “Appropriate levels of capitalization that allow an organization to grow or reinvent itself is standard in the for-profit sector, but has not routinely been considered best practice in the nonprofit sector. Kresge wishes to reverse this trend by supporting cultural organizations that have completed the thoughtful, exploratory process to reinvent their business models. We will make only one or two Sector Leader investments per year. Hancock Shaker Village is a shining example of such an institution and we are proud to help it move boldly into a sustainable future.”

“The Board and Staff are honored to have the Village designated as a Sector Leader. We are grateful to the Kresge Foundation for this national recognition and we look forward to sharing our experiences with the field,” said Ellen Spear, HSV President and CEO.

Over the past two years, HSV has begun implementing a comprehensive business plan that calls for the development of new and diverse sources of revenue and for capitalization that will build sufficient reserves to allow for the constant updating and reinvention that was the hallmark of the Shakers and that is also an attribute of the companies Jim Collins cites in his book, “Good to Great.”

HSV has been working on ‘product development’¾subtle and not-so subtle changes in its daily interpretation to include discussion of broad Shaker principles and to create new delivery techniques and new content knowledge in its staff around the themes of sustainability, land stewardship, innovation, use of renewable energy, the importance of local agricultural sources, reverence for a thing well made, and the importance of community. Visitors to the Village will begin to experience this new approach during the 2011 season.

HSV will use half of the Kresge grant to seed its Building Reserve Fund and half to research and launch promising new business initiatives. “We are taking steps to move away from the outmoded museum business model of dependence upon admission and gift shop revenue,” said Spear. “Instead, we are using our resources to address community needs while generating revenue from new, sustainable sources, such as with a new architecture curriculum for K-5 that is under development, and the new Master’s Degree program in Historic Preservation in partnership with the University of Massachusetts, Amherst.”

Spear said the Village will invest in its website to expand its service to the public and its revenue generation potential. In addition, it is considering several new business initiatives, including expansion of its licensing capabilities and food and agriculture-related enterprises. As new ventures take hold, HSV will seek other investors to help move initiatives to the next level. Along with the business initiatives, the Village will invest in national branding to build recognition and involvement in its new ventures.

The HSV Master Plan calls for undertaking major restoration work on the site’s 18 historic buildings over the next 20 years. The Building Reserve Fund will ensure that after the work is complete, there will be sufficient capital for ongoing maintenance. “Every time we do a major restoration project, we will put aside 10% of the cost of the project for building reserves for the future,” said Spear. “We would like to build the fund to $5 million.”

Hancock Shaker Village’s story has already been featured at several national conferences as a model for the field. At the 2010 conference of the American Association for State and Local History, a presentation was made to the field on the Village’s progress, as well as at this year’s Seminar for Historical Administration, held in Indianapolis. In 2011, HSV will present information at the American Association of Museums conference.

“Sharing information with our colleagues in the history field who are grappling with the same sustainability issues that we are is an important part of our public service. We learn so much through these exchanges and look forward to continuing our work as a sector leader with this support from the Kresge Foundation,” said Spear.

The 2011 portion of Close Encounters With Music schedule includes three performances at the Mahaiwe Performing Arts Center in Gt. Barington and the season finale at Ozawa Hall on the Tanglewood campus in Lenox, Mass. CEWM programs are highlighted by the music of German romanticism, viola music of Dvoák and Mendelssohn; performance by The Avalon String Quartet, and a celebration of Latin music for the festive season closing event.

Close Encounters With Music schedule – Thus Spake German Romanticism

• Saturday, March 12, at 6PM
• Mahaiwe Performing Arts Center,
• 14 Castle Street, Great Barrington, Mass.

This program includes songs by Mahler, chamber music by Strauss, and the world premiere of Four Noble Truths, composed by Jorge Martín. Opera star Jennifer Rivera makes her Close Encounters debut, with Walter Ponce, piano, and Yehuda Hanani, cello.

Close Encounters With Music schedule – Viola Quintets: Dvoák and Mendelssohn

• Saturday, April 16, 6PM
• Mahaiwe Performing Arts Center,
• 14 Castle Street, Great Barrington, Mass.

Performers: Yehonatan Berick and Renee Jolles, violins; Toby Appel and Tony DeVroye, viola; Yehuda Hanani, cello.

Close Encounters With Music schedule – The Avalon String Quartet

The Avalon String Quartet performance will include works by Steve Reich, Osvaldo Golijov and Schubert. The program includes Reich’s Holocaust-themed Passing Trains, Golijov’s Tenebrae, and Schubert’s Death and the Maiden, an iconic chamber work that has inspired films by Roman Polanski and Woody Allen.

Close Encounters With Music schedule – FIESTA! A Latin Splash of Music and Dance

• Saturday, June 4, 6PM
• Ozawa Hall, Tanglewood
• Lenox, Mass.

FIESTA! A Latin Splash of Music and Dance sizzles with the rhythms of Cuba, Argentina, Brazil, Mexico, and Spain in a most unusual and fun fusion evening. Stars from the chamber music and dance world share the stage: David Parsons’ choreography of Astor Piazzolla’s Grand Tango (commissioned by CEWM in 2001), and composer-in-residence Jorge Martín’s hypnotic Ropa Vieja (also a CEWM commission), along with works by Ginastera, Villa-Lobos, and Granados. Performers include Boston Pops favorite Michael Chertock, piano; Bill Schimmel, accordion; Arti Dixson, percussion; Yehuda Hanani, cello; and David Parsons Dance soloists.

Tickets can be purchased online at www.cewm.org or call 1.800.843.0778.

Shakespeare and Co. schedule for 2011, their 34th season of theatre in Lenox, Mass. In addition to the plays listed here, also available at Shakespeare and Co. will be the Bankside Festival on the Rose Footprint Theatre, Behind-the-Scenes Tours, Talks and Q&A’s and other special events that have yet to be announced.

Shakespeare and Co. Founders’ Theatre schedule

• As You Like It
• By William Shakespeare
• Directed by Artistic Director Tony Simotes
• Featuring: Merritt Janson as Rosalind. Other cast members TBA.
• June 24—September 4

• Romeo and Juliet
• By William Shakespeare
• Directed by Daniela Varon
• Featuring: Finn Wittrock as Romeo. Other cast members TBA
• July 8—September 3

• The Hound of the Baskervilles
• By Steven Canny and John Nicholson
• Directed by Tony Simotes
• Featuring: Jonathan Croy, Josh Aaron McCabe and Ryan Winkles
• July 21—September 4

Shakespeare and Co. Elayne P. Bernstein Theatre schedule

• Women of Will: The Complete Journey (Parts I-V)
• Review of Women of Will – June 2, 2011
• By Tina Packer
• Directed by Eric Tucker
• Featuring: Tina Packer and Nigel Gore
• May 27— July 10

• The Two Gentlemen of Verona
• By William Shakespeare
• Directed by Dennis Krausnick
• Featuring: S&Co.’s Performance Intern Company
• July 6 — September 3

• The Memory of Water
• By Shelagh Stephenson
• Directed by Kevin G. Coleman
• Featuring: Elizabeth Aspenlieder, Corinna May, Annette Miller, Kristin Wold and others TBA.
• June 16—September 4

• Red Hot Patriot: The Kick-Ass Wit of Molly Ivins
• By Margaret Engel and Allison Engel
• Directed by TBA
• Featuring: Tina Packer
• August 3—September 4

Shakespeare & Company contact info.

• 70 Kemble Street
• Lenox, MA 01240
• phone: 413-637-1199
• fax: 413-637-4274
• www.shakespeare.org