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
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
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
There are certain familiar elements on any given afternoon when classes are in session at Concord Community Music School. Parents navigating the Fayette Street lot to drop off or pick up their kids, students ducking into practice rooms to prepare for an upcoming lesson, and a unique blend of melodies emanating from the hallways. … Read more
Hot jazz and cool temperatures have always been a successful formula for Concord Community Music School. For decades, local enthusiasts and aficionados made their way to CCMS’s Wall St., Concord building for an annual “Jazz in January” event highlighting the Music School’s Jazz faculty and celebrating the genre. Following a brief pandemic-induced hiatus, the tradition … Read more
It started with a Bach’s Lunch proposal. Vocalist and longtime CCMS faculty member Peggo Horstmann Hodes approached local Concord composer (and former faculty member) Bill Fletcher about featuring his music as a part of the monthly lunchtime concert series. Fletcher’s wife Margaret envisioned taking it a step further with a full evening concert and, together … Read more
“I’ve been teaching at CCMS for at least 20 years, and I’ve never been a part of something like this.” Clarinetist Stephanie Ratte Jenkins wasn’t the only one with this reaction when nearly 20 Concord Community Music School faculty members gathered in the recital hall for a showcase concert this past Friday. The unprecedented number … Read more
Our celebration of the spookiest time of the year started with a Sunflower Singers Halloween Sing-Along on the 27th and continued through Trick-or-Treating on the 31st. Below are a few highlights; see our Facebook and Instagram feeds for additional photos. Sunflower Singers Halloween Sing-Along on Friday, October 27. this group meets weekly on Friday afternoons … Read more
The Fifth Fall Fiddle Festival was a huge success, with no fewer than five fiddlers on faculty, and sold-out workshops and evening concert! Fiddlers and fiddling filled the halls all day long as participants learned new tunes, explored bowing techniques, discovered new strategies for playing backup, and more. The group sessions in the Recital Hall … Read more
October 2023 For almost 30 years, Ellen Nordstrom has been a staple of the voice faculty at Concord Community Music School. Her students have ranged from kindergartners to nonagenarians, first-timers to eventual professionals, and she is grateful for the connections she has made, and the opportunities presented to her at the Music School. As she … Read more