April is upon us, and in Berks County that means one thing–Jazz Fest! The 23rd annual festival, put on by the Berks Arts Council and sponsored again by Boscov’s, begins with kick-off concerts by Brian Hughes and Babatunde Lea on Thursday, April 4, and runs through Sunday, April 14. Along the way you’ll have the opportunity to get up close and personal with the biggest stars in the jazz world, including Najee, Arturo Sandoval, Keiko Matsui and the guys from Fourplay. A particular highlight this season is the concert on Monday, April 8, featuring the U.S. Air Force Airmen of Note, joined by the Berks High School All-Star Jazz Band. That show is a Reading Eagle Community Concert and tickets were distributed free of charge in February. The Berks Arts Council has done a fantastic job with this year’s lineup, which truly features something for everyone by not only bringing in a variety of performers from different corners of the jazz world, but also by adding some unique performance venues across the county from Kutztown to downtown.
Among those venues is the Neag Planetarium at the Reading Public Museum, which will be hosting two concerts this season. In addition to the aforementioned kick-off by Brian Hughes on April 4, as part of the “Jazz Under the Stars” series at The Museum, the Planetarium will also serve as the backdrop for an afternoon concert on Friday, April 12, when Gerald Albright returns to sit in on a jam session with the Dave Posmontier Trio. If you haven’t yet experienced live music in the Neag Planetarium, it is certainly worth the trip–you get stars onstage, as well as on the ceiling!
For those of you who are looking for some other cultural opportunities that don’t involve “America’s art form” but still have your fix of stars, the Yocum Institute of the Arts in Wyomissing has just the thing for you this month. The Institute will host its annual “Dancing with the Reading Stars” competition at Stokesay Castle on April 19, and you can be a part of the action as some of the area’s biggest names in business, education, medicine and philanthropy take to the dance floor to win the coveted top prize. Okay, so maybe the competition is a bit less cutthroat than what you see on TV, but everyone is there raising money for a great cause and having a terrific time in the process.
And after all the dancing and jazz in Berks wraps up, you’ll have time to make it out to the final performances of the year from the Reading Symphony Orchestra. The RSO’s Centennial Season concludes with shows on April 20 and May 11, the latter of which features the amazing Baltimore Choral Arts Society performing Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony. This recognizable work, performed by one of the most heralded groups in their field, is sure to bring the season to a close in a big way.
Some say April brings rain showers, but in Berks County the clouds part at night and the stars come out to play. From live jazz, to celebrity dancing, to the celebration with the symphony, with all the great cultural happenings this month, won’t you come out and join them?
BY JOHN GRAYDON SMITH DIRECTOR AND CEO, READING PUBLIC MUSEUM
