Evan J. Berkowitz

I'm a journalist, designer, editor and critic at The Berkshire Eagle in Pittsfield, Mass. For seven years, I've produced compelling, award-winning pages and works of visual storytelling in print — including New England's best front page four years running.

For the past three seasons, I've returned to my love of opera as The Eagle's correspondent and critic, covering companies across the Berkshires and the Hudson and Pioneer valleys, including Tanglewood, Glimmerglass and more. I've also ventured farther afield, writing about the Metropolitan Opera and Prototype Festival in New York, among others.

I've interviewed artists from every step of the operatic process, including major composers and librettists, singers (from students to retired stars), conductors, directors, producers, choristers, technicians, designers, coaches, and even pit musicians. I've reviewed world premieres and heavily performed favorites; operatic rare birds and works that skirt the definition of opera itself.

My critical philosophy is underpinned by my journalistic experience. I see myself as an audience representative in the auditorium, a responsibility I take seriously. Mine is a conduit of advocacy: on behalf of the audience for the care and quality it deserves from artists, and on behalf of artists to make their best possible case to a potential audience.

I grew up in eastern Massachusetts then headed south to the University of Maryland, where I served three years as design editor of The Diamondback student newspaper and also wrote about the arts (including opera). During my college years, I wrote and designed for art museums (including the Smithsonian Institution), magazines, a university wire service and the Alexandria (Va.) Times.

My other interests include art history (my minor at Maryland, with colloquia on African Modernism and on Paul Gauguin and the Symbolists), railroads, maps, U.K. panel shows, mixology, the occasional video game, cribbage, crosswords, Dungeons & Dragons, the 1965 film "Doctor Zhivago" and whatever else I get myself stuck into.

Experience

The Berkshire Eagle, Pittsfield, Mass.
Page one design editor, 2019-present; news designer/copy editor, 2018-19
Opera correspondent, 2023-present

I design the front page of The Eagle print edition and am the go-to designer and editor for special project presentation, print data visualization, illustrations and infographics.

I manage the day-to-day operations of a four-person design hub, including scheduling, and help The Eagle's top editors make decisions on design and presentation.

I regularly develop design for new editorial products, including specialized Weekender editions when The Eagle reduced print frequency from seven to five days.

I also write reviews, essays, previews, in-depth articles, profiles, breaking news items and other content about opera in the Berkshires and surrounding region.

Alexandria Times, Alexandria, Va.
Reporter and interim graphic designer, 2017

I wrote about arts, sports, local government, breaking news and other topics for a weekly community newspaper, including contributing to coverage of the 2017 Congressional Baseball Shooting.

I quickly learned and executed the Times' graphic design, including editorial and classified advertising as well as logos for a long-term series of stories.

FREELANCE WORK

Smithsonian Institution: Arts correspondent, Smithsonian Insider

Congregation Knesset Israel, Pittsfield, Mass.: Graphic designer and former interim editor, Kol K.I. bulletin

Professional awards

New England Newspaper & Press Association

Best front page: First place, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024

Best illustration/infographic: First place, 2021 (with reporter Francesca Paris), 2023; second place 2020, 2024

Best overall design & presentation of a print newspaper: First place, 2020, 2021; second place, 2019, 2023, 2024; third place 2021, 2022 (presented to Eagle Design Hub staff)

Virginia Press Association

Best infographic: Third place, 2018 (presented to Alexandria Times staff)

Best presentation: Third place, 2018 (presented to Alexandria Times staff)

I coded this website by hand without the use of artificial intelligence. It is built on the Skeleton CSS boilerplate. The fonts, and the code that links to them, are from Google Fonts.

I am deeply indebted to W3Schools for its numerous helpful guides, especially for the modal functionality on the design page, which makes use of code and a stylesheet from this template.

Additionally, I used this answer from StackOverflow as a starting point for the text fade on the criticism page.

I can be reached by email at evanjberkowitz@gmail.com.