This is a big, busy week for WCCMA this week. You are all invited to the Chamber’s Business After Hours event this Wednesday at 5:30pm, at Union Church. Click HERE for the info. This is a great chance to tell local businesses about why WCCMA and the Arts are so important to you! There will be an info session to update you on our programs, appetizers, tours of the historic Union Church, and more!
Dinuk Wijeratne
Then on Sunday, the Summer Concert Series is BACK! Join us for a multicultural buffet (Adults: $8 in advance, $10 at the door) at 5:30pm, and then celebrate 5 years of phenomenal performances by Kinan Azmeh and Dinuk Wijeratne. Click HERE for details.
In case you missed our recent article, here’s the official press release:
West Claremont Concert Series begins on July 21st
The Summer Concert Series at Union Church, now in its 6th season, kicks off on Sunday, July 21st. The Season opens with a special multicultural buffet featuring food from a variety of cultures including Korean, Italian, Indian, Lebanese, Mexican, American, and more. Tickets are $8/ea. or $15/pair in advance, or $10/ea. at the door. This dinner was a big hit last year, and we are looking forward to sharing more great food with the community.
Following the buffet, Kinan Azmeh and Dinuk Wijeratne return for a performance and celebration of 5 years at the Summer Concert Series. Azmeh, clarinet, and Wijeratne, piano, are engaging performers who represent a true fusion of elements from the world around them. Both are acclaimed international artists and composers who absorb the influences of classical, jazz, and world music and sculpt them into a unique and moving work of art. The duo will be performing in Beiteddine, Lebanon the Friday before this concert as a fundraiser for Azmeh’s homeland of Syria, and will be traveling directly to Claremont to perform at WCCMA.
The Summer Concert Series continues on Saturday, July 27th with the Yankee Brass Band at 6:30pm. With its collection of antique instruments and authentic music scores, the Yankee Brass Band gives the audience an auditory living-history experience it will long remember. The quicksteps, gallops, polkas, mazurkas, schottisches and waltzes, and the many overtures and medleys popular in the mid-19th century make up the program of the typical brass band concert of yesteryear. This performance will mark the end of their week-long performance tour of New England.
August brings the final two concerts of the series. Claremont resident and native Melissa Richmond will perform a selection of popular flute repertoire as well as special contemporary music on Saturday, August 10th at 3pm. Guest performers will include soprano and harper Angela Biggs, Chris Cheon on piano, and a special youth performer.
The final performance of the season is the Olmsted Ensemble on August 24th at 4pm. Hailed for “glorious music” and “great energy and virtuosity,” the Olmsted Ensemble performs European and American chamber music from the 18th to the 21st centuries. Members of the Olmsted Ensemble have appeared with orchestras and chamber groups in North America, Europe, and the Far East. Following this performance a special dinner will be held offering an opportunity for you to have a meal with members of the ensemble, as well as other musicians and artists involved with WCCMA.
The West Claremont Center for Music and the Arts is a non-profit organization based in West Claremont, but offering programs in locations around the greater Claremont area. Concerts are free, although donations are accepted to help fund these programs. Outside seating is also available, bring a blanket or lawn chair and enjoy the fresh air. Vital financial support for these programs is provided by the New England Foundation for the Arts and the Claremont Savings Bank Foundation. For more information on WCCMA’s programs visit www.wcc-ma.org or email [email protected].
