Seussical Jr. (With Purple Finches Youth Chorus)

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In His Own Words: a Q&A with James Fernando

The James Fernando Trio returns to Concord Community Music School on Saturday, March 21, 2026 to headline CCMS’s annual Jazz Night Fundraiser. Fernando (above, center) is a Philadelphia-based pianist whose career includes international performances, collaborations with GRAMMY Award–winning artists, and five acclaimed albums.CCMS: You’ve toured and performed your music in jazz venues and arts centers across the U.S., from Scottsdale and Maryland to New England. How does playing in different regions shape the energy of your show and influence what you do later on? JF: Meeting audiences and playing in different venues across regions is a truly fantastic experience. No amount of practice can substitute for the “real thing,” which to me is a live show. With each performance comes the audience reactions, discussions with the folks who are working to present the performance, and our own feelings of how the show went. Each show gives us a new opportunity to build off of what came before and discover ways of building an even deeper connection with each other, the music, and our audiences. Plus, all the shared time traveling as a band helps us build deep understandings of one another.CCMS: When someone comes to their very first jazz show, what do you most want them to notice or feel?JF: I want to welcome first time jazz listeners to feel the incredible energy that comes from a band that’s deeply locked in and spontaneously playing off of one another. I also want listeners at my shows to come along for the ride and feel the storytelling through music that I try to create with each piece we play. Jazz gets a reputation of being low energy or belonging in the background, and when it’s at its best (and presented well!) it’s a captivating experience for a listener.CCMS: What makes this trio work, both musically and personally? What does each player bring that couldn’t be replaced? JF: My bandmates each bring the rare combination of a deep understanding and respect for tradition paired with a fearless ability to look forward and make this music live and breathe in present day.CCMS: How much of what the audience hears is planned, and how much is created in the moment? JF: I like to think of improvisation a lot like a conversation. You may show up to coffee with a friend knowing you’re going to ask them for updates on a certain subject and share specific things from your own life. But you probably didn’t show up to that coffee with an agenda written out. It’s a similar mix with the music we play—there’s large sections that are composed, large sections that are made up on the spot, and many things that are created spontaneously but stem from our shared history, much like an inside joke.CCMS: Can you tell us a bit about your new album, Philly 3 (coming out in Feb 2026)? What was the process of putting it together like, and how did it influence the trio’s live performances?JF: We recorded Philly 3 over two days at Elm Street Studios in the Philadelphia area. The experience gave us the chance to give ourselves many rounds of feedback while we recorded and listened back leading into the final product. It’s a tough journey to bring music from my imagination into the world through other musicians, and these guys nailed it!CCMS: You performed at CCMS before during Bach’s Lunch — what stood out to you about that experience or that audience? JF: Everyone brought such warmth and enthusiasm to our show, both from the audience side and from the folks who work at CCMS. It’s no wonder we are coming back!CCMS: If someone leaves this Jazz Night Fundraiser remembering just one thing about the experience, what do you hope it is?JF: That CCMS is a special place worth supporting! Tickets for the 2026 Jazz Night Fundraiser are $80; $300 for a table of 4. Order now here.###https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cgcx0Afn5FI
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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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