Community Calendar

Music at the Center and JAzz Productions present a community benefit concert event: "The Next Generation of Jazz.”

This piano & voice concert will present 5 of the bright, young, rising stars of this music to support the next generation of performing arts students here in South Hadley. The performance will feature Caelan Cardello on piano, and vocalists Julia Danielle, Kate Kortum, June Cavlan, and Joie Bianco, .

The concert will also include performances by the vocal jazz trio The Sunhouse Singers (Kortum, Cavlan, and Bianco) and the South Hadley High School Jazz Band.

From the beauty of Mozart to the rhythmic energy of Bartók and Gershwin, Close Encounters With Music opens its 35th season with an afternoon celebrating the clarinet’s remarkable range.

Clarinetist Alexander Fiterstein leads a program featuring Mozart’s beloved Clarinet Quintet, Beethoven’s spirited Trio in B-flat major, and Bartók’s Contrasts, written for Benny Goodman and violinist Joseph Szigeti, alongside music by Gershwin.

Joining Fiterstein are pianist Michael Chertock, violinists Xiao-Dong Wang and Helena Baillie, violist Daniel Panner, and cellist and artistic director Yehuda Hanani. Hanani’s lively commentary explores the stories and cultural connections behind the music, giving listeners more to discover in each work.

Stay for the Afterglow reception to meet the performers and enjoy conversation with fellow concertgoers.

Tickets: $35 balcony / $60 orchestra, plus processing fees.
Tickets and information: cewm.org.

Experience an evening of swinging rhythms and soaring melodies featuring jazz music inspired by the many wonders of birds and their flight. With a dynamic mix of familiar classic jazz standards to the fresh sounds of contemporary big band arrangements, there’s something for everyone to enjoy. Under the direction of Genevieve Rose.

Smith vocal performance students are joined by a professional band to present songs from quintessential American genres including blues, country, bluegrass, and gospel.

Enjoy a performance by Orice Jenkins, a Hartford-born multi-genre troubadour, independent scholar, and award-winning author. Jenkins’ musical style can be described as a sound rooted in rhythm and blues, shaped by jazz and classical study, and adjacent to folk traditions. Our River & Roots concerts are free, but a $10 donation is always appreciated upon entrance!

ABOUT ORICE – Learn More

Orice’s work spans music, genealogical research, and public education, focused on uncovering forgotten stories and keeping cultural traditions alive. His baritone voice draws from the lineage of Nat “King” Cole and Jon Hendricks, while his songwriting reflects the melodic sensibilities of Stevie Wonder and Carole King, paired with arrangements inspired by Quincy Jones and Harry Connick, Jr. Jenkins’ recordings have been featured in JazzTimes, Jazziz, JazzWeekly, and his album Soar reached #11 on the iTunes Jazz chart.

Parallel to his music career, Jenkins is an accomplished genealogist whose research focuses on Southwest Georgia, slavery, genetic genealogy, and New England. He began researching his own family after discovering a shared ancestral homeland with Whitney Houston’s grandparents in Blakely, Georgia. His research has since traced his ancestry back to 1745 in Central Virginia and has documented the lives of several formerly enslaved Americans.