Boots and Beats: Music Therapy for Those Who’ve Served

November 10, 2025November 7, 2025

Boots and Beats is a music-based support program for service-connected personnel and their families led by board-certified music therapist and Navy veteran Tony Varga. It was founded on a core belief that music is where healing happens, because it is where memories live, emotions awaken, and thoughts blossom. The vitality of music is readily evident … Read more

CCMS Welcomes “Wagner’s Women: Archetypes and Inspirations” on Nov 15

October 9, 2025October 8, 2025

The stained-glass windows at Concord Community Music School iconic Recital Hall might shake a little when the Berlin Wagner Group (BWG) puts on its Wagner’s Women performance on Saturday, November 15. Wagner’s lengthy operas are often compared to four-course meals. But this free event promises attendees many of the highlights of a Wagner production, just … Read more

Melissa Elsman Joins CCMS Faculty; Performs at October Bach’s Lunches

September 17, 2025

by Jeff Selesnick Melissa Elsman found herself at a crossroads. Well before she became the newest voice faculty at Concord Community Music School, Elsman was living in Chicago, freshly equipped with a BM in Vocal Performance from the Boston Conservatory and a MM in Vocal Performance from the Chicago College of Performing Arts, and … Read more

CCMS’s 7th Annual Fiddle Fest Fuses Friends, Fellowship, and Folk (Try Saying THAT Ten Times Fast!)

August 14, 2025

Article by Jeff Selesnick “There’s so much to love about the Fall Fiddle Festival,” says Music School faculty member and Festival Chair Liz Faiella. The annual October tradition, which will be held Saturday, October 4, 2025 at the Music School, brings teen and adult fiddle fanatics to CCMS in a celebration of a variety of … Read more

CCMS 2025 Senior Profile: Emma Richardson

June 4, 2025

by Jeff Selesnick Students are drawn to Concord Community Music School for a variety of reasons. Some seek the thrill of mastering a new instrument, or the harmony found in playing alongside others. Some arrive with dreams that echo on concert stages, honing their craft with passion and purpose. And others come simply to … Read more

CCMS Alumna Kelsey Rogers Combines STEM and Music to Compose a Career in Architectural Acoustics

May 8, 2025

by Jeff Selesnick It had been several years since Kelsey Rogers had taken a piano lesson. Yes, she had found time to play the instrument with some regularity. But she knew that her technique and execution weren’t quite at her peak from years ago. With a major performance looming, Kelsey reached out to her longtime … Read more

CCMS Pays Tribute to Miles Davis on April 10, 2025

April 7, 2025

by Jeff Selesnick On Thursday, April 10, The Bank of New Hampshire Stage will once again play host to what is quickly becoming a flagship event in the Concord Community Music School calendar. Continuing the tradition of the popular “Jazz in January” series, CCMS’s April Jazz Night, now in its third year and featuring the … Read more

Shades of Green

February 27, 2025

CCMS folk faculty prepares for a Spring filled with lively Celtic music and new musical friendships by Jeff Selesnick Late winter is traditionally one of the busiest times of the year for Celtic musicians. Venues are booking acts for St. Patrick’s Day shows, and guitarists, fiddlers, pipers, and others are getting called in for … Read more

Stanford Student Thrives on Piano Lessons with CCMS Instructor

June 17, 2024June 14, 2024

by Jeff Selesnick Born in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Esther Elonga and her family fled to Uganda as refugees when she was only three. Her parents thought the family’s stay in Uganda would only be a matter of months, but it ended up being nearly 13 years. Life was difficult … Read more

CCMS Ensembles Show How to “Be The Change”

May 15, 2024

by Jeff Selesnick For years, choral ensembles have been a flagship offering for Concord Community School. With concerts dotted intermittently throughout the performance calendar, there are regular opportunities to hear these groups perform, each with their own unique makeup and style. On June 1, as part of CCMS’ year-long celebration of its 40th anniversary, for … Read more

Boots and Beats: Music Therapy for Those Who’ve Served

Boots and Beats is a music-based support program for service-connected personnel and their families led by board-certified music therapist and Navy veteran Tony Varga. It was founded on a core belief that music is where healing happens, because it is where memories live, emotions awaken, and thoughts blossom. The vitality of music is readily evident in our collaboration with partner agencies such as the NH Veterans Home, Harbor Care, and Easterseals NH, where services are provided for individuals and groups at host facilities or on site at CCMS. On one such occasion, NH Veterans Home staff were awestruck to witness the response of a minimally communicative 101-year-old resident, who upon hearing a Frank Sinatra song, began singing along with the lyrics. Service does not come without sacrifice: the sacrifice of separation, sacrifice of autonomy, and sacrifice of self for others. Veterans deserve more recognition than is afforded to them on a few national holidays each year – they need to feel more permanently included and appreciated in society. Boots and Beats complements ongoing regional efforts and amplifies local impact. It offers continuing support to those whose service-connected sacrifices have shaped their post-service civilian selves. For a returning veteran, the scars of service are not always visible, This presents challenges to healthy socialization, as in the case of a participant who routinely attended sessions shrouded in the safety of his hoodie. Recently, however, he has begun to consistently remove his hood upon joining our session – a gesture of respect and trust that even his case managers have yet to experience in their interactions with him. Boots and Beats creates a safe place for individual and family healing, side-by-side with their civilian community. What emerges is not just coping, but a trusted network of community support that will “have your six” for whatever you need, for as long as you need it. In Merrimack County, the veteran presence is significant: about 8.5% of residents are veterans – roughly 10,360 individuals. This local density underscores why a program like Boots and Beats is such an important resource for assisting our veteran neighbors with living their most productive and satisfying lives in civilian communities. Why a music-based approach? The evidence is strong. Studies show that structured music interventions (such as drumming, songwriting, guided listening) reduce symptoms of PTSD, depression, and anxiety for veterans. The American Music Therapy Association lists rhythm-based and receptive-music techniques among effective tools in veteran populations. Music activates the brain’s emotion, memory, and motor networks. It helps regulate nervous system arousal and fosters social connection, which is especially helpful when conventional talk therapy feels limiting. Boots and Beats sessions include (but aren’t limited to): Group drumming or body rhythms to build regulation, presence and peer solidarity. Guided listening and lyric-driven songwriting, to surface memories and gently re-route them toward resilience. Instrument learning (guitar, ukulele, percussion) for mastery, reward, habit, and joy. Family-friendly modules where a spouse or child can join – not just the veteran alone There is no expectation of performance and no prior training is required; just showing up and making an effort counts. Boots and Beats is a steady and reliable place where music, memory, and healing converge. On Veterans Day and beyond, that steady place matters greatly. All members of military communities, active duty, reservists, prior service, career retirees, and their families are invited to inquire about Boots and Beats by contacting CCMS Music Therapist Tony Varga at avarga@ccmusicschool.org or 603-228-1196.
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CCMS Welcomes “Wagner’s Women: Archetypes and Inspirations” on Nov 15

The stained-glass windows at Concord Community Music School iconic Recital Hall might shake a little when the Berlin Wagner Group (BWG) puts on its Wagner’s Women performance on Saturday, November 15. Wagner’s lengthy operas are often compared to four-course meals. But this free event promises attendees many of the highlights of a Wagner production, just in bite-size format.“By dissolving the distance between stage and audience, BWG creates intimate, powerful encounters with Wagner’s music and the artists who bring it to life,” says CCMS voice faculty member (and BWG founder) Peter Furlong.And what better place to dissolve the distance between the stage and the audience than at Concord Community Music School’s own 150-seat recital hall?Furlong, who teaches students from his home in Germany, and CCMS piano instructor Kathy Southworth first brought the idea of this performance to executive director Daniel Acsadi a year ago. The two organizations worked to tailor the performance to the Concord audience and was awarded grant funding from the City of Concord and the New Hampshire Charitable Foundation in order to make the show a reality.“CCMS is a great venue for this concert because its intimate setting and beautiful acoustics let audiences experience Wagner’s music up close, while its welcoming, community-focused space reflects our mission to make world-class music accessible to everyone,” says Furlong. Motivated by his own experience trying to break into the world of singing Wagner, Furlong founded the BWG in 2017. His biggest goal in founding the group was to give singers the opportunity to coach, rehearse and perform Wagner’s works while learning new roles and building their performance resumes. BWG also aims to make Wagner’s operas — which are famously long, loud, and intricate— more approachable, which the group accomplishes through their “Snackable Wagner Series.” This series has featured events focused on various aspects of Wagner’s music through the years and includes the Wagner’s Women performances.The Wagner’s Women theme was conceived by BWG board member and soprano Jenny Ribeiro only a few years ago. Ribeiro had met Furlong years earlier as fellow performers in the New York City opera scene. But her first exposure to the BWG came in 2022, when she was invited to take part in the group’s Wagner’s Ring in One Evening performance in New London, New Hampshire. Six months later, Furlong reached out to her again, with an offer to join the group’s board. At one of her first board meetings, Ribeiro pitched the concept of Wagner’s Women, and the board quickly empowered her to develop the idea.“So many people talk about Wagner’s characters as archetypes, but what was really fascinating to me were the women in Wagner’s own life,” says Ribeiro. “I thought it would be interesting to develop a program based around how the women in his life paralleled the characters and the themes he brought to the women in his operas.”Ribeiro joined forces with fellow board member Dalia Geffen and the two produced the first Wagner’s Women performance in Boston in 2024. For the November show in Concord, Ribeiro will take pieces of the script and structure used in their initial performance and adapt them to the musicians and intended length of the event. The program will offer its audience a unique opportunity to enjoy Wagner’s music — typically performed in grand concert halls with large orchestras — in a far more intimate setting. Southworth, who also sits on the board of the BWG, will be the lone accompanist for the program. She will be joined by three singers – fellow BWG board member Ribeiro, soprano Joanna Parisi, and mezzo/contralto Rachel Barg. CCMS voice faculty Jennie O’Brien, who also happens to be Furlong’s sister, will narrate the show.“The audience can expect a light-hearted romp through Wagner’s world, in a fun and engagingly narrated concert,” says Furlong. “We explore the women who shaped Wagner’s life and discover how his search for loyalty and faithfulness in turn shaped the unforgettable heroines of his operas who are then brought vividly to life by soaring voices performed in a way you’ve never heard them before; up close and personal.”It should truly be a night to remember for those in attendance as the BWG and its Wagner’s Women series continues it mission to bring this niche art form into both traditional and unexpected spaces.“CCMS is a pillar of music education and performance in Concord and to be asked to be working with such a well renowned school, one that nurtures and helps its students excel, is an honor for BWG,” says Furlong. Ribeiro continues, “this performance is very much a homegrown, community effort and we’re excited to share it with the people of Concord.”###Above: Soprano Jenny Ribeiro, in another of Berlin Wagner Group’s productions, Ring in One Evening, 2022. Photo credit: Alexander Rivero
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Melissa Elsman Joins CCMS Faculty; Performs at October Bach’s Lunches

by Jeff Selesnick Melissa Elsman found herself at a crossroads. Well before she became the newest voice faculty at Concord Community Music School, Elsman was living in Chicago, freshly equipped with a BM in Vocal Performance from the Boston Conservatory and a MM in Vocal Performance from the Chicago College of Performing Arts, and working retail. She found the occasional opportunity to perform in the Chicago area, but the tedious cycle of auditions had her feeling an unwelcome disconnect with music. Itwasn’t until a friend reached out to ask if she could substitute in one of his classes that she truly discovered her love of teaching.“It felt so special to be involved in the process of helping people discover their voices,” reflects Elsman about her early teaching days. “I felt grateful to get to hear these beautiful voices and I realized I really loved teaching. I love the one-on-one connection, watching my students grow, and just… sound.”The arts were omnipresent in Elsman’s early years – her father was an amateur trumpet player and singer, her mother was an artist and elementary school art teacher, and her brother went on to become a music producer in California. While her first artistic foray was dance, upon entering junior high school and learning about the Elm Street Beat (the school’s show choir), she started taking singing lessons and quickly fell in love with the craft. Her adoration and acumen grew through her high school years, and when her high school voice teacher, Valerie Cowart, suggested she consider music as a career, Elsman was all in. “I was always the really shy kid growing up and music helped me express myself and connect with others.”It was during her time as a graduate student in Chicago that she first began learning about and performing lesser-known works by female composers. In one class, she was introduced to the famed French mezzo-soprano and composer Pauline Viardot, which sparked her interest in exploring music by women composers. Shortly after receiving her graduate degree, she collaborated with a friend she had met in the program to produce a recital telling the story of the famous couple Robert and Clara Schumann, weaving together their diary entries with the songs they composed.“That was the most connected that I had ever felt in a performance – being able to create the whole thing from picking the repertoire to telling the story and really diving in depth into their lives, I just fell in love with doing recitals in that way,” Elsman notes.As Elsman began to find her footing in the post-school Chicago music scene, she met her husband and, enticed by the less-populated, tax-free lifestyle that New Hampshire had to offer, temporarily relocated to Manchester, until they bought their home in Concord. It took the Nashua native a little while to settle back into her home state, as the pandemic hit just months after they moved in 2019. Eventually, she began presenting lecture recitals in her new hometown, featuring the female composers she had come to know and love in graduate school. After much searching, she discovered the music of Augusta Holmès and shared her findings with her Chicago teacher, Mark Crayton, with whom she continued to study over Zoom. Mark encouraged her to create a lecture recital featuring Holmès’s music and invited her to travel to Chicago to present it at her alma mater as a guest lecturer and performer. There, she performed the program and was interviewed by WGN-TV Spotlight Chicago. She has since continued sharing the program with her local community.“I listened to her music, and I was just captivated by it – so much so that I had a vivid dream about it and really felt like her music spoke to me and felt a deep connection to it,” remembers Elsman.Her first connection with the Music School came when she called to inquire about a local pianist who could collaborate with her. After she and her husband purchased their first home together in Concord last year, she wanted to put on a fun Halloween performance to introduce herself to the Concord community, and longtime piano faculty member Kathy Southworth volunteered for the job. The two have since performed that program, along with various other concerts around Concord — including Forgotten Voices: The Courageous Women Behind the Music, which they presented at Kimball Jenkins as a fundraiser for Thrive Survivor Support Center — as well as various musical soirées at the Elsman home.Before long, Elsman was being called on as a substitute instructor at CCMS and became a full-fledged member of the faculty this school year. Elsman will join with Southworth to kick off CCMS’s 2025-’26 Bach’s Lunch series on October 2 & 9, 2025 when they present La Femme Vaillante.“I am so excited to be at CCMS,” beams Elsman. “I am so impressed by the faculty, and I love the opportunities they give to the students. One of my goals is making music more accessible to the local community and I’m so glad to be able to collaborate with the Music School in doing that.”###
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0 events 2 0 events, 2	0 events 3 0 events, 3	0 events 4 0 events, 4	1 event 5 1 event, 5 6:30 pm - 7:30 pm 2025 Allstate Audition Workshop (Winds/Brass) November 5 @ 6:30 pm - 7:30 pm 2025 Allstate Audition Workshop (Winds/Brass) Ace your Allstate Audition! In this workshop for wind and brass students, we will talk about preparation strategies, managing anxiety, and what to expect on the audition day. All will be welcome to play some of the audition material as a trial run. When: Wednesday, November 5, 2025 Time: 6:30-7:30 PM Instructors: Stef Burk and ... Read more	2 events 6 2 events, 6 12:10 pm - 12:50 pm Bach’s Lunch: The Composer’s Process November 6 @ 12:10 pm - 12:50 pm Bach’s Lunch: The Composer’s Process Composer Stephen James will speak about his creative process when composing, how he researched the poems of Mary Oliver, what inspired him, and how he chose which poems to include in his song cycle for soprano and piano. He will share insights into the texts and how they influenced his writing as he composed the songs. ... Read more, 6:00 pm - 8:30 pm CCMS Fall Folk Gathering November 6 @ 6:00 pm - 8:30 pm CCMS Fall Folk Gathering Join us for an evening of jamming with fellow folk musicians and CCMS folk faculty, plus performances by students from the Concord Community Music School’s Folk Department! 6:00 – 7:00 pm: Slow Jam \| Novice/Early Intermediate, other levels welcome to sit in! 7:00 – 7:30 pm: Ensemble Performances 7:30 – 8:30 pm: Fast Jam \| Late Intermediate/Advanced, other levels welcome to ... Read more	1 event 7 1 event, 7 7:00 pm - 8:00 pm CANCELLED: CCMS Student Recital – November 7, 2025 November 7 @ 7:00 pm - 8:00 pm CANCELLED: CCMS Student Recital – November 7, 2025 THIS EVENT HAS BEEN CANCELLED. PLEASE CONSIDER ATTENDING ANOTHER UPCOMING ACTIVITY HERE AT CCMS. Student recitals are part of the Concord Community Music School’s multi-level curriculum for private lesson students. These frequent performance opportunities help our students perform more easily, broaden their musical skills, and help them make new musical friends. Recital to be held ... Read more	0 events 8 0 events, 8
1 event 9 1 event, 9 1:30 pm 2025 Allstate Audition Workshop (Cello) November 9 @ 1:30 pm 2025 Allstate Audition Workshop (Cello) Ace your Allstate Audition! In this workshop for cello students, we will talk about preparation strategies, managing anxiety, and what to expect on the audition day. All will be welcome to play some of the audition material as a trial run. When: Sunday, November 9, 2025 Time: 1:30-3:30 PM Instructors: Jan Fuller Cost: $15 (FREE ... Read more	0 events 10 0 events, 10	0 events 11 0 events, 11	0 events 12 0 events, 12	1 event 13 1 event, 13 12:10 pm - 12:50 pm Bach’s Lunch: NH Premiere of “In Blackwater Woods” November 13 @ 12:10 pm - 12:50 pm Bach’s Lunch: NH Premiere of “In Blackwater Woods” Stephen James, composer, turns collaborative pianist and is joined by soprano Jennie O'Brien for the premiere performance in New Hampshire of his song cycle In Blackwater Woods, set to poems by Mary Oliver. The song cycle includes seven remarkable poems of Mary Oliver which explore moments in her life, the wonders of nature and human reactions ... Read more	0 events 14 0 events, 14	1 event 15 1 event, 15 7:00 pm - 8:30 pm Wagner’s Women: Archetypes and Inspirations November 15 @ 7:00 pm - 8:30 pm Wagner’s Women: Archetypes and Inspirations Come join us as we step into Wagner’s world, where love, loyalty, and redemption burn at the heart of opera’s most unforgettable heroines. In this fun and engagingly narrated concert, we’ll explore the women who shaped Wagner’s life and discover how his search for loyalty and faithfulness in turn shaped the unforgettable heroines of his ... Read more
0 events 16 0 events, 16	0 events 17 0 events, 17	0 events 18 0 events, 18	1 event 19 1 event, 19 6:00 pm - 8:00 pm 2025 Allstate Audition Workshop (Cello) November 19 @ 6:00 pm - 8:00 pm 2025 Allstate Audition Workshop (Cello) Ace your Allstate Audition! In this workshop for cello students, we will talk about preparation strategies, managing anxiety, and what to expect on the audition day. All will be welcome to play some of the audition material as a trial run. When: Wednesday, November 19, 2025 Time: 6:00-8:00 PM Instructors: Jan Fuller Cost: $15 (FREE ... Read more	0 events 20 0 events, 20	1 event 21 1 event, 21 7:00 pm - 8:00 pm CCMS Student Recital – November 21, 2025 November 21 @ 7:00 pm - 8:00 pm CCMS Student Recital – November 21, 2025 Student recitals are part of the Concord Community Music School’s multi-level curriculum for private lesson students. These frequent performance opportunities help our students perform more easily, broaden their musical skills, and help them make new musical friends. This event will be held in our historic Recital Hall. It is free of charge and open to ... Read more	1 event 22 1 event, 22 7:00 pm - 8:30 pm Northern Lights 2025 Fall Concert: Songs of Hope and Resilience November 22 @ 7:00 pm - 8:30 pm Northern Lights 2025 Fall Concert: Songs of Hope and Resilience with special guests Euphonias (CCMS teen chorus). Prepare to be empowered and uplifted. This program is based on the poem by Emily Dickinson, "Hope is the thing with feathers that perches in the soul and sings the tune without the words, and never stops at all." The Northern Lights will be singing songs that answer ... Read more
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