July 22, 2024: A quest to spread the sound

We love music around here. And it's about the time that Amherst Cinemas launches into its summer series Sound & Vision, which looks at music through a cinematic lens. We speak with George Myers who does programming for the theater about the films that are coming to Hampshire County each wednesday through September, and hear how seeing the many perspectives and genres on screen can open up our perception of the music we love. Maestro Thomas Wilkins, who in addition to being the artistic advisor to the BSO is principal conductor of the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra, Chair of Conducting at Indiana University, and so so much more. Each summer finds him in the Berkshires helming a few carefully crafted programs for folx of all ages, and instructing the conductors of the future in their craft. We get a chance to talk with him about his unlikely origins, diversifying the field, and how orchestras can be used to build community. And we got another suggestion for Pizza Quest, so volume IX of our journey takes us to the hilltown of Ashfield where we try out Country Pie with a large swath of the Belmonte family.