The Rural We: Lisa Avery
The singer, actor dancer, choreographer and voiceover artist has recently joined the board of the Berkshire Music School.
When the Berkshire Music School recently announced the appointment of new members to its Board of Trustees, we were struck by the wide-ranging activities of one of them. Lisa Avery, who lives in Pittsfield, is a professional singer, actor, dancer, choreographer and voiceover artist. She was also an associate producer at WRGB-TV in Schenectady. And she recently retired from Fairview Hospital as an x-ray technologist. We had to find out how she’s done it all.
I grew up in Adams, and first began singing at age three in church, which I continued through high school. I also started taking jazz, ballet and tap dance lessons when I was 11. As an adult, I’ve taken tap lessons with Stefanie Weber, and hope to get back to her classes when things open up.
Professionally, I became an x-ray technologist first, working at North Adams Regional Hospital. I had a couple of years of college credits, so I moved to Albany to attend SUNY Albany and majored in and English. WRGB hired me after I graduated. That’s where I started doing TV and radio commercials, and I’ve been doing that ever since. I have an agent in the Albany area, and every now and then I get some work. It’s just fun. I had a job lined up, then the pandemic hit. It was supposed to be shot in a nursing home, so that wasn’t going to happen. I recently auditioned for a bank commercial. I didn’t get the job, but it was good experience anyway.
About five years ago I started taking cabaret singing lessons with Sherri James Buxton at the Berkshire Music School. I also participated in the Made in the Berkshires Festival for two seasons. The first year I did a staged reading at The Unicorn Theatre, and choreographed a dance for six dancers to the song “Happy” by Pharrell Williams The second year at the Colonial I choreographed two dances.
Cabaret singing performance with pianist Bob Shepherd
I’ve been associated with the Berkshire Music School for a long time. Besides the cabaret classes, I’ve used the Taft— the recital hall behind the school — to choreograph and rehearse. More recently I’ve been taking group piano lessons with Bonnie McCubbin in person, upstairs at the Taft. I’m still a beginner and not ready to go on the concert stage yet, but I do try to practice every day.
I’d been going to a fundraiser to support the music school, and thought I’d like to be on the board. I approached Natalie Neubert, the executive director, and she made it happen. I jumped right in and now I’m on the committee that’s planning the gala in September.
I’ve done a lot of other volunteering — for the Berkshire immigrant Center, helping to plan their One World Celebration event, and for 10 years volunteered for Relay for Life, which raises money for the American Cancer Society. My husband and I are on the advisory board of the Berkshire Art Museum in North Adams.
Once things open up, the first thing I’m going to do is find a dance class around here, and there’s a ballroom studio in Latham where I’m hoping to be taking ballroom dance lessons, too.
