Music at W4RP Speed

April 14, 2026

by Jeff Selesnick From Juilliard to jazz and Ravel to rock, the W4RP Quartet will blend styles and genres when they take the stage at Concord Community Music School’s historic Recital Hall on Thursday, April 23, 2026 at 6 PM. While all four members of the ensemble are classically trained, the group’s repertoire blends classical, … Read more

Music at W4RP Speed

by Jeff SelesnickFrom Juilliard to jazz and Ravel to rock, the W4RP Quartet will blend styles and genres when they take the stage at Concord Community Music School’s historic Recital Hall on Thursday, April 23, 2026 at 6 PM. While all four members of the ensemble are classically trained, the group’s repertoire blends classical, rock, jazz, and pop styles to create a dynamic and varied experience for the audience. The group, which features Mikael Darmanie on keys, Josh Henderson on violin, Ju Young Lee on cello, and Rick Martinez on drums, has led workshops and master classes at schools and colleges across the U.S. and played shows in the United States, Europe, Africa, and the Caribbean.With programs like our Bach’s Lunch series and faculty and student recitals throughout the school year, CCMS is committed to ensuring everyone has access to world-class music education and performance. And thanks to a partnership between the Music School and the Avaloch Farm Music Institute (Boscawen, NH), the W4RP Quartet concert will not only be free to all, but it will also feature a workshop that precedes the show.“We are excited about our continuing collaboration with Avaloch Farm Music Institute,” says Music School Executive Director Daniel Acsadi. “CCMS and Avaloch are both dedicated to providing engaging and powerful musical experiences to our region, many of them free and open to everyone.”Avaloch Farm Music Institute opened its doors in 2012 as a musician’s retreat and cultural hub for the central New Hampshire region. In the years since its opening, it has blossomed into a creative space that offers residencies to musicians, events like the Avaloch Chamber Music Festival and the annual Composer’s Conference, and space and equipment for professional recording. The partnership between Avaloch and CCMS has strengthened over the years, most notably through the composition mentorship program where CCMS students have the opportunity to receive free composition lessons and have their work premiered by a professional ensemble during the Composer’s Conference.“A partnership with CCMS seemed natural to us, as CCMS has a longstanding history of providing musical engagement opportunities and music education accessibility for students of all ages and backgrounds,” notes Jessica Tong, co-artistic director at Avaloch.The W4RP Quartet’s relationship with Avaloch began a few years ago when the ensemble was selected for one of the organizations Creative Residencies. These residencies provide a unique opportunity for individual musicians or groups to dedicate focused time to a specific project, and include living accommodations, meals, and rehearsal/recording space. Along with the ability to develop projects, artists in residency have an educational element weaved into their stay that is a hallmark of the Avaloch experience.“The musicians and ensembles that come to Avaloch for creative residencies are not only world class artists, but also dedicated educators who are deeply committed to building community through music,” notes Tong. “For these Educational Artist Residencies (EAR), we wanted to ensure that the musicians would not only have an opportunity to inspire through their performances, but to mentor the next generation of aspiring young musicians.”With the educational piece established as a foundation, it was only natural that when the two musical institutions developed the concept of a W4RP Quartet performance, a workshop was part of the vision. Selected to be the featured ensemble for the spring 2026 EAR initiative, the group of Avaloch alumni was an obvious fit for a show at CCMS, as part of the initiative includes performances with surrounding educational organizations in New Hampshire. “Collaborating with CCMS allows us to make even more meaningful connections to the community with our visiting musicians,” says Tong.The CCMS recital hall stage will be bustling throughout the end of the spring semester, and the W4RP Quartet workshop and show will help kick-start a stretch of performances that local music lovers won’t want to miss.###
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CCMS Well-Represented at 2026 OAKE National Conference

by Jeff SelesnickThere was a distinct Concord Community Music School presence in the Midwest at the beginning of March as a team of talented singers represented CCMS at the 2026 Organization of American Kodály Educators (OAKE) National Conference in Chicago. 11 CCMS vocalists winged west to the Windy City for three days of intense rehearsals and the opportunity to perform in one of four choral groups at Chicago’s famed Symphony Center. More than 400 singers from all over the United States participated in this year’s choir festival.The CCMS group featured a wide range of ages and experiences, from first-timers to seasoned veterans. Clara Selesnick, a first-year participant and youngest of the CCMS cohort at age 9, was thrilled to learn she had been selected for the choir… and appropriately nervous about the pieces she had to learn. The Children’s Choir song list totaled seven works, including an original piece by director Jeremy Howard, two that were in foreign languages, and several that featured song-specific choreography. “I was super happy when I heard I got in,” says Selesnick. “The pieces looked really interesting, being from a couple of different cultures, and I was excited to learn them.”Eighth-grader Anna Simms attended her fourth OAKE National Conference this year and cites the chance to work with different guest conductors as one of her favorite parts of the conference experience. Simms’ voice caught the ear of the judicators as being particularly mature, and she was given the opportunity to “sing up,” joining the National Concert Treble Choir, usually reserved for high schoolers. “This year’s experience was especially exciting for me because it was my first time singing in the high school treble choir,” says Simms. “It was inspiring to sing more challenging music and work with such talented singers from different schools.”Bella Messenger, currently in her sophomore year at Concord High School, was one of the senior-most members of the CCMS clan. She started attending the OAKE festival as a fourth-grader, making this year’s trip to Chicago her seventh time taking part in the event. A big reason for her continued participation is the mentorship she received from older students when she was first getting involved, and the chance to pay it forward as an experienced festivalgoer. “The older students were such great role models and included me in many activities,” recalls Messenger. “OAKE is special because you create significant relationships with the students from CCMS that you travel with, as well as with singers from all over the country.”Leading the group of CCMS participants was faculty and Kodály Certified Instructor Maria Isaak. As director of the Music’s School’s Purple Finches Youth Choir, Isaak started bringing students to the OAKE National Choir Festival in 2004 and has overseen a steady stream of festival participants in the years since. She not only prepares and accompanies the students, but she also attends the conference that coincides with the choir festival, engaging with and learning from Kodály teachers from around the country. “The conferences have four or five presenters every hour, so you get to choose who to listen to and the sessions are usually hands-on and participatory. I bring lots of the ideas I learned from the sessions back to my classroom,” says Isaak.The Kodály Method was developed by Hungarian composer and musician Zoltán Kodály in the 1930s and is a comprehensive program to train basic musical skills and teach the reading and writing of music. Key components of the method are the emphasis of folk music as a learning tool, the utilization of solfege in music education, and the belief that the voice is the most natural instrument that every person possesses.Isaak started exploring the Kodály method in 1995 as a student teacher at a high school in San Francisco and attended her first OAKE National Conference in 2000. After earning her Kodály Specialist Certificate from the International School for Kodály Studies in Hungary, she committed to integrating the Kodály method in most of her teaching roles, including as director of the Purple Finches. “I witnessed third graders singing three-part harmonies and playing recorders simultaneously – they were responding to solfege and absolute pitch names,” recalls Isaak of her first exposure to the Kodály method. “I had never seen kids able to read music so well in a classroom setting.”Students were selected to participate in this year’s festival based on recorded auditions that were submitted digitally in the fall. Acceptance messages were delivered just before Thanksgiving, allowing participants to get travel arrangements in order and ample lead time to learn the demanding musical selections. Through January and February, Isaak led weekly sessions with accepted singers to go through the concert repertoire and help build confidence heading into the performance. “Maria was really helpful preparing us for auditions and performances, helping us fully learn our parts and leaving the fine-tuning to the conductors,” notes Simms.“Maria has been such an amazing teacher my whole life – she is constantly supporting her students while also letting us learn things for ourselves,” agrees Messenger.Attending the Choir Festival represents a sizeable commitment, both from the participants and their families. Between travel expenses, accommodations, pre-festival rehearsals and time away from school, the logistics of participating can be daunting. But the experience of meeting new people, both peers and directors, and having the opportunity to sing in such a storied venue makes it all worth it. “The OAKE choir is special because it brings together singers from many different backgrounds,” says Simms. “My favorite part is getting to work with the different guest conductors and how powerful the choir sounds when everyone sings together.”“The fancy hotel, making a bunch of friends, getting to sing every day in a big group and exploring Chicago made it really special,” says Selesnick.While the National Conference has rotated locations in the past, OAKE has committed to holding its biggest annual event in Chicago through the end of the decade. And with that in mind, previous participants and future hopefuls at CCMS will continue circling early […]
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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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			0 events 1 0 events, 1	1 event 2 1 event, 2 12:10 pm - 12:50 pm Bach’s Lunch: Why Bother? Historical Instruments and Performing Old Music in the Modern Age April 2 @ 12:10 pm - 12:50 pm Bach’s Lunch: Why Bother? Historical Instruments and Performing Old Music in the Modern Age Join CCMS faculty Natalie Talbot and Steven Lundahl for an exploration into historical performance practice and how to connect more fully with music of the past. Dive into topics such as: What is Historical Performance? What can old instruments teach us about the music of their period? How can we apply what we learn about ... Read more	0 events 3 0 events, 3	0 events 4 0 events, 4
0 events 5 0 events, 5	0 events 6 0 events, 6	0 events 7 0 events, 7	0 events 8 0 events, 8	2 events 9 2 events, 9 12:10 pm - 12:50 pm Bach’s Lunch: Baroque Music for Flutes and Recorders: Exploring English, French, and German Masters of Chamber Music April 9 @ 12:10 pm - 12:50 pm Bach’s Lunch: Baroque Music for Flutes and Recorders: Exploring English, French, and German Masters of Chamber Music A journey through 18th-century Europe, featuring music by some of the great High Baroque masters of chamber music. Performed by Natalie Talbot (Baroque flute), Steven Lundahl (recorders) and Kathryn Southworth Lundahl (harpsichord). This event will be held in our historic Recital Hall. It is free of charge and open to the public, thanks in part ... Read more, 6:00 pm - 9:00 pm CCMS Spring Folk Gathering April 9 @ 6:00 pm - 9:00 pm CCMS Spring 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! This event is free and open to the public. Schedule 6:00 - 7:00pm Slow Jam \| Novice/Early Intermediate, other levels welcome to sit in! 7:00 - 8:00pm Student performances 8:00 - ... Read more	0 events 10 0 events, 10	0 events 11 0 events, 11
1 event 12 1 event, 12 6:00 pm - 7:30 pm Be the Light (Joint Northern Lights / Canterbury Singers Concert) April 12 @ 6:00 pm - 7:30 pm Be the Light (Joint Northern Lights / Canterbury Singers Concert) This year marks the third annual joint concert with Canterbury Singers and Northern Lights Women’s Vocal Ensemble. Each group will present a short set of songs and then join forces to sing some uplifting Gospel music. Songs performed by Northern Lights may include: Be the Light Rising Strong The Storm Is Passing Over Up to ... Read more	0 events 13 0 events, 13	0 events 14 0 events, 14	0 events 15 0 events, 15	0 events 16 0 events, 16	0 events 17 0 events, 17	1 event 18 1 event, 18 5:00 pm - 6:30 pm Celebration! (Songweavers 35th Anniversary Concert) April 18 @ 5:00 pm - 6:30 pm Celebration! (Songweavers 35th Anniversary Concert) The Songweavers Women's Chorus with Director Jennie O'Brien present "Celebration!", a 35th Anniversary concert on Saturday, April 18, 2026 at 5:00 PM at the South Congregational Church at 27 Pleasant Street in Concord, NH. Join us for a concert of songs and drumming to lift your spirits, to bring in the spring, and to feel community. ... Read more
0 events 19 0 events, 19	0 events 20 0 events, 20	0 events 21 0 events, 21	0 events 22 0 events, 22	1 event 23 1 event, 23 6:00 pm - 7:00 pm W4RP Quartet in Concert (Free Performance) April 23 @ 6:00 pm - 7:00 pm W4RP Quartet in Concert (Free Performance) W4RP Quartet is an internationally touring cross-genre chamber music ensemble. The group reflects the combination of Juilliard trained members, juxtaposed with members steeped in rock and jazz styles. W4RP has gained a reputation for their groundbreaking original compositions and collaborative works, which explore myriad musical traditions and styles as well as important social issues. This ... Read more	1 event 24 1 event, 24 7:00 pm - 8:00 pm CCMS Student Recital – April 24, 2026 April 24 @ 7:00 pm - 8:00 pm CCMS Student Recital – April 24, 2026 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 25 1 event, 25 6:00 pm - 9:00 pm NE Roots and Branches – “Music From North & South: Canadian & Appalachian Folk Tunes” April 25 @ 6:00 pm - 9:00 pm NE Roots and Branches – “Music From North & South: Canadian & Appalachian Folk Tunes” Continue to explore the roots of New England's unique and beautiful folk music tradition via Concord Community Music School's ongoing "New England Roots & Branches" series. Some of New Hampshire's premier folk musicians will combine concerts, jam sessions, and contradancing into lively celebrations of a variety of traditions. Folk musicians of all levels are invited ... Read more
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