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Tuned in to Healing

Tuned in to healing: How movement, song can be a health benefitBy Heather Bigelow HearneThis article was published in the Concord Monitor on October 20, 2022. Click here to view the pdf of the original article.As we move into our later years of life, several health and wellness problems start to collect in our daily lives. Some people develop memory loss, issues with balance, depression or changes in mood, muscle and body rigidity, changes in cognitive processing, decreased social engagement, change in speech patterns and diction, increased stress, and a desire for a better quality of life.Yet, there are ways to address these struggles and better one’s quality of life, in the older years, through dance and song mixed with therapy.Heather Bigelow Hearne R-DMT has worked as a dance movement therapist at the Concord Community Music School for 22 years. In my work with various ages and populations, I have seen, firsthand, how important it is to meet a person where they are at, treat each individual as a whole, lead with compassion, and allow the body to start the conversation. Dance Movement Therapy is the psychotherapeutic use of movement in the body to promote emotional, social, behavioral, cognitive, and physical integration within an individual for the purpose of improving health and wellbeing and quality of life. In dance movement therapy we have a sense of treating the body as a whole and we bring this wholeness to our clients. We work in the moment through our authentic knowledge and give each moment and each movement a validity. As people age in the United States the stigma of aging is placed upon them. In our groups we remove the stigma and create a safe place for everyone to feel known, equal, and valuable.In my groups, there are moments to express oneself through song and drumming, time to engage muscles and bodies in a warm up for joint health and flexibility, movement and song time to enhance mood, memory, speech and language, motor ability, all while decreasing stress, loneliness, and depression.Movement is the first form of communication. It is our way of not only getting from one place to another but also our way of expressing our emotions, memories, desires, and needs. When we move our bodies through life, we develop movement patterns which sometimes block a healthy way of living. In movement and song groups we have moments to restructure and reintegrate these patterns through practice, mental, emotional, and physical restructuring as we move and sing within a dance movement therapy group. It sounds so scientific yet in the classes “Movement and Song for Memory” or “Movement and Song for Mobility,” group members get to play a rhythm on a drum, sing while shaking a maraca, walk about the room to a rhythmic song, move and express a memory, laugh and tell a story, dance with each other in a safe and healthy place, and learn tools to bring home for better living.
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Announcing our Bach’s Lunch Series Lineup

Music and Lectures from Around the World Highlight 2022-23 Bach’s Lunch SeriesWe are excited to announce the entire lineup of Bach’s Lunch series lectures and performances for the 2022-23 season. The artist series kicks off in October and continues through May and is free and open to the public. All events in the series will be held in person at the Music School at 12:10-12:50 p.m. unless otherwise noted. Below is a month-by-month look at this season’s schedule.Download PDF flyer here: Bach’s Lunch Series 2022-2023View our full calendar of concerts and public events here.OCTOBERThursday, Oct. 6 (Lecture) – “What is Makam? An Introduction to the Makam of Istanbul for the Western Listener”In the lecture, Tev Stevig draws on his 20-year exploration of makam-based music to define Turkish makam and explain how the Western musical experience can both help and hinder our understanding of this music. Thursday, Oct. 13 (Concert) – Cesni Duo: “A Fluid Score”Tev Stevig and Michael K. Harrist present a program of original modal music inspired by their experiences with the folk and classical music traditions of Turkey, Greece, the Balkans, the Levant, Iran, Afghanistan, and North India. NOVEMBERThursday, Nov. 3 (Concert) – Zefira Trio: “Colorful Outpouring”Olga Patramanska-Bell (violin), Ashima Scripp (cello), and Eleanor Perrone (piano) will perform a program presenting music as a universal language of human emotion. Committed to education and community outreach, the Zefíra Trio often brings their performances to audiences who have limited opportunity to hear first-rate classical concerts, but who are highly receptive to both the aesthetic and the educational experience that these concerts provide.DECEMBERThursday, Dec. 1 (Concert) – Trio d’Anches de Concord: “Exquisitely French! Reed Trios 1935-45”Charming, delightful, and lyrical, these trios for oboe, clarinet and bassoon, performed by Stefani Burk (oboe), Stephanie Jenkins (clarinet), and Maria Isaak (bassoon) and written during turbulent times, are guaranteed to lift your spirits.Thursday, Dec. 8 (Concert) – Canterbury Singers: “Goin’ Home – A Christmas Journey”The Singers share the glad tidings of the holiday season to all with this program of American folk tune favorites, some of our favorite Shaker tunes, and traditional carol singing for all.JANUARYThursday, Jan. 5 (Lecture) – Pramod Upadhyay: “Indian and Nepali Drumming”Tabla artist Pramod Upadhyay will discuss his musical journey and how he got into the music profession.Thursday, Jan. 12 (Concert) – “Indian and Nepali Music”The quartet of Hari Maya Adhikari (vocals/harmonium), Shyam Nepali (Nepali sarangi/string instruments, Prem Sagar Khatiwada (tabla/madal), Pramod Upadhyay (tabla/pakhawaj), and David Nugent (Indian sarangi/string instruments) will perform a variety of songs from India and Nepal. FEBRUARYThursday, Feb. 2 (Lecture) – Julieann Hartley: “Music for Resilience”Music therapist Julieann Hartley shares how we can use music to develop emotional and physical resilience using basic music therapy principles.Thursday, Feb. 9 (Concert) – Peggo & Paul with Ariana Hodes and Kent Allyn: “Spread the Love”Peggo & Paul and their long-time collaborator Kent Allyn will be joined by Nashville singer-songwriter, Ariana Hodes to “Spread the Love.” A Valentine’s Day tradition, this Bach’s lunch features original songs by members of the Hodes family, along with their signature heartfelt love songs.MARCHThursday, March 2 (Lecture) – Dan Faiella: “The Guitar in Irish Music: Influences and Evolutions”Learn how guitarists over the past 70 years have drawn on influences ranging from Delta blues to bouzoukis to create a home for the instrument within traditional Irish music.Thursday, March 9 (Concert) – “Celtic Celebration: A Flurry of Folk Tunes from a Living Tradition”Join us for a Celtic jamboree as we gear up for St. Patrick’s Day! Three award-winning fiddlers, Audrey Budington, Jordan Tirrell-Wysocki, and Liz Faiella join forces with guitarist Dan Faiella for a lunchtime concert featuring tunes and songs from a variety of Celtic and Celtic-influenced traditions. APRILThursday, April 6 (Lecture) – Eric Klaxton: “Frequencies and Experiments” The lecture will discuss the influence of minimalism on ambient and electronic music. Looking at the work of Reich, Riley, Aphex Twin, Autechre, among similar artists, we will explore the threads that connect them and the qualities that make each unique. Thursday, April 13 (Concert) – RhegosThe electro-acoustic duo of Eric Klaxton (keyboards) and Richie Smith (guitar) will perform original music inspired by the minimalist, ambient, and electronic music traditions. To learn more about Rhegos, visit Rhegos.Bandcamp.comMAYThursday, May 4 (Lecture) – Peggo Horstmann Hodes: “Le chat Noir: The History of Cabaret Music”Peggo Horstmann Hodes will explore the vibrant origins of Cabaret music in France and how those traditions of the 19th and 20th centuries inform contemporary American composers and performers writing and singing today.Thursday, May 11 (Concert) – Trillium: “Le Chat Noir: Cabaret in Concord”Trillium (Jane Berlin Pauley (soprano), Peggo Horstmann Hodes (soprano), Hannah Schramm Murray (soprano), and Calvin Herst (piano)) brings Cabaret to Concord, singing songs of contemporary composers such as John Bucchino, Zina Goldrich, Marcy Heissler, and New Hampshire’s own arranger William Fletcher.This schedule is subject to change. The Bach’s Lunch Series is sponsored by The Timothy and Abigail B. Walker Lecture Fund.
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Rising Starr

“Rising Starr” – Jonathan Starr Alumni Feature, October 2022When Musician Second Class Jon Starr took the Recital Hall stage with the Navy Band Northeast Brass Quintet on September 12, it was a true homecoming. Eighteen years removed from his last performance at Concord Community Music School, Starr helped kick off the 2022 fall semester with the elite ensemble as an accomplished, world-traveled trumpet player and proud alum of the school.“I can’t imagine having done the things that I’ve done without the opportunities provided by CCMS,” says Starr.A native of Manchester, N.H., Starr was initially drawn to the trumpet because of its seeming simplicity, and in fifth grade joined the band at Webster Elementary School. Soon after, he began taking lessons with Bob Couturier at Ted Herbert’s music store, and followed Bob to CCMS when he joined the faculty. It was at the music school that Jon, whose family had moved to Bradford, N.H., discovered a community of musicians that shared his passion for music.“Kearsarge is a really small school district so there were only so many other students who were interested in music on a more serious level,” he recalls.In conjunction with joining the CCMS community, Starr earned a spot with the Northeast Youth Symphony Orchestra (NYSO), led by famed conductor Bill Kempster. As a senior in high school, Starr joined the prestigious Scholarship Jazz Ensemble at CCMS under the direction of David Tonkin, where he honed his jazz and improvisation skills.At the direction of his musical mentors, Starr pursued a degree in music education from UNH, and then a master’s in performance from California Institute of the Arts in Los Angeles. While in California, Starr stayed busy with a variety of freelance work, from studio sessions, to teaching, to commercial gigs and got his first opportunity to tour with singer Scott Weiland, formerly of the Stone Temple Pilots.With his degrees in hand and steadily growing credentials, Starr spent time touring Southeast Asia and the Middle East with various cover bands. When his wife Nicole, a clarinetist and fellow CCMS and UNH alum, won an audition to join the KZN Philharmonic Orchestra in South Africa, Starr followed her to Durban, earning his own spot as co-principal trumpet player in the ensemble. Then in 2015, Nicole accepted a spot with the Navy Band Northeast and Jon followed just a year later.As a member of the Navy Band Northeast, Jon plays in the brass quintet, the ceremonial band, and the parade band, while also taking gigs on bugle and as a sound engineer. In his more than six years with the organization, highlights include playing to crowds of 20,000-plus people the annual military tattoo in Norfolk, Va., performing for ambassadors and heads of state in Honduras and Guatemala, and audio engineering for a group that opened for Questlove as a part of fleet week in New York City.Looking ahead, Starr’s top priority is “staying healthy on the horn,” to ensure he is able to continue making music professionally. He regularly takes lessons to maintain and progress his skill level, and is excited to continue to make an impact with his playing.“We’re just trying to make as much of an impact as we can with what we do in this job,” says Starr of being a member of the Navy Band Northeast. “I think it’s one of the more positive things that a working-class level musician can be doing with music because there is real purpose behind what we do.”For all his travels and opportunities, Starr remains grateful for how the music school set him on a course for success.“I grew up in rural New Hampshire and the idea that I would have ended up in LA studying for a master’s degree at a private arts school is ridiculous,” he says. “The impact that CCMS had on my development and my ability to succeed was immeasurable.”
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November 3

November 3 @ 12:10 pm - 12:50 pm

Bach’s Lunch Concert: Zefíra trio: Colorful Outpouring

November 4

November 4 @ 7:00 pm - 8:30 pm

Student Recital

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November 9

November 9 @ 7:00 pm - 8:30 pm

Allstate Audition Workshop

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November 16

November 16 @ 6:30 pm - 7:30 pm

Adult Student Workshop

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December 1

December 1 @ 12:10 pm - 12:50 pm

Bach’s Lunch Concert: Trio d’Anches de Concord: Exquisitely French! Reed Trios 1935-1945

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December 1

December 1 @ 12:10 pm - 12:50 pm

Bach’s Lunch Concert: Trio d’Anches de Concord: Exquisitely French! Reed Trios 1935-1945

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