It was our second invitation to the Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival, in tandem as before with the Tero Saarinen Dance Company of Helsinki. And Tero’s magnificent choreography to “Borrowed Light,”
along with the transcendentally beautiful singing of Shaker songs by eight Boston Camerata soloists, had the audience on its feet, clapping and cheering, after every one of the six performances.

We love the “vibe” of that place, its happy marriage of friendly summer conviviality in a beautiful environment with topnotch professional organization. And we thank the Camerata friends and supporters, including board members Sandi Bagley, David Griesinger, and David Levine, for making the trek out to the Berkshires to share the moment with the musicians and dancers. The next “Borrowed Light” performances are currently in the planning stage — as is a documentary film! More on those developments later…

Our farflung correspondents on the other coast tell us that Camerata’s first international tour of 2012 went very well, with capacity audiences and standing ovations in both Vancouver and Seattle, Washington. Anne’s magical program of song and storytelling around Alexander the Great was beautifully performed at both venues by our own soloists, in collaboration with Mehmet Sanlikol’s Dünya ensemble: “a hypnotic and fascinating evening of music” (music blog SunBreak.)

Next, Anne heads to Eugene, Oregon to teach classes and prepare a student version of The Knight’s Tale. Back in Boston, we’re gearing up for a weeklong sumer residency at the Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival. And the beat goes on.