Community Calendar

New faculty member and tenor Hanif Lawrence will present a collection of his favorite art songs, arias, and spirituals from European, American, and Jamaican origins. Part of the Smith College Music Department’s Music Monday series of half-hour midday concerts. Free and open to the public.

In solidarity with Ukraine, Jorgensen Center and the Lenard Chamber Music Series will present a special concert featuring works by all Ukrainian composers. Ukrainian born violinist Solomiya Ivakhiv has united with Darrett Adkins (cello) and Melvin Chen (piano) to present an evening rich with Ukrainian history and culture. Ivakhiv and Darrett recently performed the Barvinsky Trio for Ukrainian Secretary of State Anthony Blinken, who remarked he was impressed with the piece, written by a 22-year-old student in Prague.

HAMPSHIRE MUSIC CLUB MUSICAL POTPOURRI. Scott Bailey will discuss his career as a collaborative pianist (often called "accompanist.") The collaborative pianist is more than a background player and requires a keen ear, quick reflexes, and a broad musical vocabulary. Scott will talk about what makes a good collaborative pianist and perform selections with fellow musicians. There will be a Q&A and refreshments will be provided.

Hailed by The New York Times as “one of the nation’s most intriguing opera companies,” Odyssey Opera, in partnership with the Boston Modern Orchestra Project (BMOP), presents a rare Boston showing of the Gershwin brothers’ two political musicals at New England Conservatory’s Jordan Hall, Saturday, October 12, 2024, at 7:30 p.m. With scores by George Gershwin, libretti by Ira Gershwin, and books by George S. Kaufman and Morrie Ryskind, the stories of Of Thee I Sing (1931) and Let ‘Em Eat Cake (1933) are both centered on American politics: the former being a politically correct Pulitzer Prize-winning musical; the latter, a politically incorrect flop. Reimagined as a live concert experience, conductor Gil Rose leads a formidable ensemble of established singers including Heather Buck, Aaron Engebreth, Neal Ferreira, and more, accompanied by the Odyssey Opera chorus and the acclaimed BMOP orchestra.

Relax, feel the vibrations and listen to the healing sound of singing bowls and crystal bowls played together at Unitarian Universalist Society East, 153 Vernon St. West, Manchester, on Sunday,Oct. 13, 3-4:30 pm. Maria del Carmen is a certified sound and vibrational therapist and sound healer. Chairs will be available, but bring a mat if you'd like to lie down to experience the sensations. Suggested donation is $15. For details call 860-646-5151 or visit www.uuse.org

Unitarian Universalist Society East, 153 Vernon St. West, Mancester, will host Priscilla Gale, an internationally known artist who plays crystal bowls, on Oct. 13, 3-4:30 pm. Gale will respond to vibrations around the room to create a concert you won't want to miss. Chairs will be available, but bring a mat if you'd like to lie down to experience the sensations. Suggested donation is $15. For details call 860-646-5151 or visit www.uuse.org

Hampshire Music Club Musical Potpourri. Viola performer RONALD GOREVIC will discuss and perform Schubert's Great Song Without Words 'Arpegionne', D821 - not on the arpegionne, but on the viola. The arpegionne is an instrument of the viol family which became obsolete in the classical era. Schubert's piece is one of the surviving pieces composed for it. Its successor, the viola, is often ignored as a solo instrument. It has been described as "dark," "smoky," and "husky," but it can also be bright, clear, and ring like a bell, as Mr. Gorevic will demonstrate. There will be a Q&A and refreshments will be served at this mid-morning event.

Under Artistic Director Richard Tognetti, the Australian Chamber Orchestra has become a major cultural export, traveling around the world to deliver over 100 concerts every season. Comprised of 17 musicians, the ACO has received massive acclaim in its time presenting new arrangements of classical works. Called “one of the wonders of the musical world today,” (The Guardian, UK), the ACO celebrates the arts with dynamic programs and cross-artform collaborations in their new music as well as the old classics. The program will feature the Tawadros Brothers who are pushing the boundaries of melody and metre, seamlessly fusing Egyptian, classical and contemporary influences.  Enjoy Mozart’s Violin Concerto No.5, selections from Vivaldi’s The Four Seasons, and original music by Joseph Tawadros.

Songwriter, composer and performer, Marie Murry, presents Witchpunk: the Musical, a two-act performance that weaves a score by the band, Tender Spot, with an original mythic storyline on October 18 & 19 at 7pm in CitySpace’s Blue Room at Old Town Hall at 43 Main St. Easthampton, MA. Tickets are $15 pre-sale, $20-30 at the door, and no-one turned away for lack of funds. Tickets are available at CitySpaceEasthampton.org.

Witchpunk the Musical is an immersive theatrical experience narrated by Morphesus, god of dreams, that journeys through the shapeshifting and lucid landscape of dreams. Along the way appear angels, machines, dragons, nature spirits, and of course, witches. A two act ritual theater performance to the musical score of Tender Spot, the musical will feature a live 5 piece band and full cast performances of poetry, dance, drag, puppetry and more.

Tender Spot has over 20 songs written, and 6 recorded. Lyrics and melodies are composed by Marie Murry with her bandmate, Tom Matherly. The content is inspired by their love for magic, mythology & the healing spell of compassionate loving awareness. This musical blossomed out of Marie and their bandmate, Tom, exploring the music through a storyline, conjuring a plot involving archetypal & mythic beings.

Marie has written and performed plays and shows in the past, including “Demon That Does Good”. They also co-seeded the “Grotesque Burlesque” project, a queer healing arts burlesque troupe. Marie’s performances are inspired by the Ancient Greek relationship to theater as a means of channeling and communicating with divine qualities, bringing the unseen forces of nature and cosmos to manifest in the physical plane.

A song weaver, dreamer, death doula, & cosmic clown, Marie Murry paints space with ruminative, playful and etheric sonic strokes. Both a contact dancer & vocal improvisor, the union of movement and sound is at the core of her practice of somatic instrumentation.

Songwriter, composer and performer, Marie Murry, presents Witchpunk: the Musical, a two-act performance that weaves a score by the band, Tender Spot, with an original mythic storyline on October 18 & 19 at 7:30pm in CitySpace’s Blue Room at Old Town Hall.

Tickets are $15- $20 pre-sale, $30 at the door,  and no-one turned away for lack of funds. 

Witchpunk the Musical is an immersive theatrical experience narrated by Morphesus, god of dreams, that journeys through the shapeshifting and lucid landscape of dreams.  Along the way appear angels, machines, dragons, nature spirits, and of course, witches. A two act ritual theater performance to the musical score of Tender Spot, the musical will feature a live 5 piece band and full cast performances of poetry, dance, drag, puppetry and more. 

Tender Spot has over 20 songs written, and 6 recorded.  Lyrics and melodies are composed by Marie Murry with her bandmate, Tom Matherly. The content is inspired by their love for magic, mythology & the healing spell of compassionate loving awareness. This musical blossomed out of Marie and their bandmate, Tom, exploring the music through a storyline, conjuring a plot involving archetypal & mythic beings.