James Bergin Receives Mass Cultural Council Finalist Award for Music Composition

James Bergin - Courtesy image
James Bergin – Courtesy image

Bedford native James Bergin, now a resident of North Adams, is a recipient of a 2013 Artist Fellowships Program award from the Massachusetts Cultural Council (MCC). Bergin received a finalist award in Music Composition.

A 1971 graduate of Bedford High School, Bergin received a bachelor of music degree from the New England Conservatory. His principal composition teacher was the late Joseph Maneri, founder of the Boston Microtonal Society, of which Bergin is now the executive director.  In 2006, Bergin and fellow composer Julia Werntz founded NotaRiotous, a professional ensemble dedicated to the performance of microtonal music on Western instruments.  Bergin’s music has been performed by NotaRiotous in several of their Boston concerts.

Before relocating to the Berkshires, Bergin taught music for 18 years at Lexington Christian Academy where he directed choral and instrumental groups. A violist, he currently is a member of the Berkshire Symphony (Williams College) and maintains a busy teaching studio.  He is organizing an intergenerational string orchestra that will begin meeting in the fall to feature new compositions written expressly for the ensemble by various composers, as well as pieces from the standard repertoire.

In a time when many sources of direct funding for individual artists have been reduced or eliminated, the Massachusetts Cultural Council provides unrestricted grants for artists to promote the further development of their talents. MCC’s Artist Fellowships are highly competitive awards that provide recognition of original work and foster the creation of new art in the Commonwealth.

Get The Bedford Citizen in your inbox!



Print Friendly, PDF & Email
Subscribe
Notify of

1 Comment
Newest
Oldest
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments
Rebecca Wheeler
June 5, 2013 10:40 pm

hey, congrats, Jim!!!! I remember you from BHS orchestra….hope to hear you soon, as we live in western mass, too…..cheers!!!! Becca Wheeler aka Becky Brown ’69

All Stories

What’s Bedford Thinking about the Red Sox?

View Results

Loading ... Loading ...
  • Junior Landscaping
Go toTop