Coming up: Jazz Listening Hour, Dia de Muertos, Big Drum Taiko Performance

Taylor Ho Bynum’s Music Appreciation Hour/Questions & Improvisations

October 2; October 16; Nov 6; Nov 20

@ 7:00 PM to 8:30 PM at WCCMA at Union Church Hall

Musician & educator Taylor Ho Bynum will lead open sessions dedicated to introducing listeners to jazz and other forms of improvised music.

Online participation is available, if registered in advance. Contact [email protected]

On the first and third Mondays of October and November, musician and educator Taylor Ho Bynum will lead open sessions dedicated to introducing listeners to jazz and other forms of improvised and creative music. The first hour will consist of listening to classic albums in their entirety, with introductory comments and post-listening discussion around the history and aesthetics of the recordings. The second hour will consist of musical and verbal dialogues prompted by audience questions, with THB performing solo and occasionally with invited guests. Attend in person in Claremont, or join us online via zoom (advanced registration required). The series kicks off on October 2 with “And His Mother Called Him Bill”, Duke Ellington’s tribute to his compositional partner Billy Strayhorn, and will conclude on November 20 with a live performance of Bynum’s collaborative duo with acclaimed drummer/composer Tomas Fujiwara. Registration for the first three sessions is sliding scale donation suggested at $10-50, with all proceeds going to support WCCMA, and sliding scale tickets for the November 20th concert.

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Burlington Taiko Group Performance: Big Drum performance!

* RAINLOCATION *

Due to the weather condition, the performance will be at the Claremont Savings Bank Community Center, 152 South St, Claremont, NH 03743

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October 22, 2023 @ 2:00 PM to 4:00 PM at Claremont Savings Bank Community Center at 152 South St, Claremont, NH 03743

Celebrate WCCMA’s 15th Anniversary with a performance by Burlington Taiko Group and a Japanese taiko demonstration.

Celebrate WCCMA’s 15th Anniversary with a performance by Burlington Taiko Group and a Japanese taiko demonstration. After more than a decade of annual performance with Burlington Taiko Group we are pulling out all the stops: See the biggest contingent of drummers and drums yet performing at Broad Street Park! Stay tuned for more information about anniversary festivities during this very special event. Suggested donation: $40 per family. No tickets required. Rain location TBD. This Burlington Taiko performance and residency is funded in part by the New England States Touring prograrm of the New England Foundation for the Arts, made possible with funding from the National Endowment for the Arts Regional Touring Program and the six New England state arts agencies.

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Celebration of All Hallows and Dia de Muertos

October 28, 2023 @ 6:00 PM to 7:30 PM at WCCMA at Union Church

A very special celebration of music and tradition with the Villalobos Brothers and Melissa Richmond

Join us for a very special performance of music inspired by All Hallows Eve, Día de Muertos, Samhain, and Harvest. Music performed by the grammy winning Villalobos Brothers and Melissa Richmond, flute. We will have special food in honor of the celebration. Earlier in the day families can participate in a mask making HopStop event in partnership with the Hopkins Center at Dartmouth College in both Claremont and Hanover. Costumes welcome! This event will be presented in person and livestream/available on demand after the show. If tickets are sold out on Eventbrite please contact us for additional tickets. We recommend making reservations for the event to ensure that seats will be available.

Check back for more information on this festive event!

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Tuesday Sept 12 – Ethiocolor! Sept 17th Newmont Military Band, and TAIKO!

Ethiocolor

September 12, 2023 @ 6:30 PM to 8:00 PM at WCCMA at Union Church

Join us for Melaka Belay and Ethiocolor’s ecstatic symbiosis of dance and music, of tradition and modernity for the first stop on their US tour. Admission is sliding scale donation: pay what you can: $5-60, students free. Seat is available indoors and on the lawn (bring your own chair for outdoors). Registration for this event in advance is encouraged to ensure seating and timely check in. Livestream/on demand video will be avaialble for this concert. Ethiocolor is part of Center Stage, a public diplomacy initiative of the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs with funding provided by the U.S. Government, administered by the New England Foundation for the Arts in cooperation with the U.S. Regional Arts Organizations. General management is provided by Lisa Booth Management, Inc.

 About Ethiocolor: Founded in 2009 by the charismatic Melaku Belay, who has made his Fendika Cultural Center in Addis Ababa a global gathering place, Ethiocolor draws deeply from the bardic well of Ethiopia’s diverse heritage. Their revelatory practice is an ecstatic symbiosis of dance and music, of tradition and modernity. Nourished by diverse Ethiopian music and dance traditions and cross-cultural exchange, Ethiocolor presents energetic, free-spirited sounds and movements that are at once culturally specific and internationally resonant. Ethiocolor routinely shares the stage with traditional Azmaris and jazz musicians. From this dynamic musical home, Ethiocolor also builds partnerships with international musicians such as the Ex (Dutch punk band) and Large Unit (Norwegian Jazz band). The band regularly tours abroad. Its CDs include Ethiocolor (2014), Birabiro (2016), and Dildiy (upcoming). Melaku Belay received a 2015 French Medal for the Arts, a 2020 Prince Claus Award, and is a 2022 TED Fellow. Lead singer Nardos/Wude Tesfaw is the central character in Stand Up, My Beauty!, a 2021 European film exploring music and gender in Ethiopia.  Invoking ancestral blessings and contemporary experiences, Ethiocolor reveals how Ethiopian music and dance have evolved to transcend time and space. Says Melaku: “We’re here to remind audiences everywhere of our shared human desire and capacity for peace, love, joy, and justice.” They damn near brought the house down with their exuberant, dance-filled live set at the January 2017 globalFEST in New York. – ROOTS WORLD

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Newmont Military Band

September 17, 2023 @ 2:00 PM to 3:30 PM at WCCMA at Union Church

Join us for a skip back in time with the Newmont Band. Performing on period instruments, the band plays music of the 19th C as it would have originally been heard on the town greens. This will be an outdoor concert (bring a lawn chair), in the event of poor weather the concert will be held inside Union Church. All donations go to benefit the West Claremont Center for Music and the Arts’ community programs.

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Claremont Taiko Club – Open rehearsal

September 26, 2023 @ 6:30 PM to 9:00 PM at WCCMA at Union Church

Join the Claremont Taiko Club for Japanese Drumming! An introduction will be held on the first practice to learn or refresh your skills! Thsi event will be held outdoors, conditions permitting, or indoors at Union Church Hall if needed. Suggested donation $25, or $50 for family (for those able) This program is funded in part by the New England States Touring prograrm of the New England Foundation for the Arts, made possible with funding from the National Endowment for the Arts Regional Touring Program and the six New England state arts agencies.

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Intro to Japanese Taiko Drumming

September 26, 2023 @ 6:30 PM to 7:30 PM at WCCMA at Union Church

Learn, or get a refresher, on the basics of Japanese taiko drumming with Paton Sensei of Burlington Taiko Group. Suggested donation $10 (if able). Then you are welcome to stay after and learn more along with the Claremont Taiko Club! Weather and outdoor conditions permited this event will be held outdoors, otherwise it will be held at the Union Church Hall (upstairs) This residency is funded in part by the New England States Touring prograrm of the New England Foundation for the Arts, made possible with funding from the National Endowment for the Arts Regional Touring Program and the six New England state arts agencies.

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Renovation Sale, Music Workshops – upcoming events!

Traditional music on the West African Balafon with Mamadou Diabaté

May 26, 2022 @ 4:30 PM to 6:30 PM at West Claremont Center for Music and the Arts at Union Church

Traditional music on the West African Balafon with Mamadou Diabaté 
May 26, 2022 – 4:30pm – 6:30pm Free for students, suggested donation $10 for Adults
Location: (In Person) West Claremont Center for Music and the Arts at Union Church, 133 Old Church Rd, Claremont, NH; Online option via Zoom
Register: https://mamadoubalafon.eventbrite.com
Come learn about traditional music on the balafon, a West African xylophone! Mamadou Diabate, a grandmaster of the balafon from Burkina Faso, will share his music and offer a chance to play along. Other percussion instruments welcome! The workshop will be outdoors, weather permitting. If indoors please bring your mask. 

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!!RENOVATION CLEAN-OUT SALE!!

May 28, 2022 @ 9:00 AM to 2:00 PM at 56 OPERA HOUSE SQUARE, CLAREMONT, NH

!!RENOVATION CLEAN-OUT SALE!!  SATURDAY, MAY 28 FROM 9AM – 2PM 56 OPERA HOUSE SQUARE, CLAREMONT, NH (The old Claremont National Bank and Pleasant Restaurant) In anticipation of the start of renovation for WCCMA’s Claremont Creative Center, come buy yourself a little piece of the old Pleasant Restaurant. Most everything left in the building is available — Remainder Construction Materials (bags of concrete, 2x10s, wood, plywood), Restaurant Chairs, Vintage and Brand New Doors, Radiators, Ceiling Fans, Household Items, and more!  All items are sold “as is”.  Some items need to be deconstructed (wood wall, stairs, etc.). All items must be removed by purchaser in coordination with the onsite staff by 2pm on Saturday.  All items are for sale by reasonable offer. Cash or Check only please.

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Japanese Taiko Workshop

June 1, 6, 7, 2022 @ 6:30 PM to 8:00 PM at West Claremont Center for Music and the Arts at Union Church

Japanese Taiko Workshop 
June 1, 6, 7 6:30 pm – 8pm
Suggested Donation: $20 for students, $30 for adults, $40 for families
Location: West Claremont Center for Music and the Arts at Union Church, 133 Old Church Rd, Claremont, NH
Register: https://claremonttaiko.eventbrite.com

Join this 3-day series of workshop sessions with Claremont’s Taiko Club! All are welcome, whether new to taiko, or building on skills from past years. Participants will be invited to participate in workshops and a performance in the fall. This workshop will be held outside, weather permitting, or indoors with mask. Ideal for ages 10 and up, and adults, but we welcome you to contact us to see about younger participants. This event is funded in part by the NH State Council on the Arts and the New England States Touring program of the New England Foundation for the Arts, made possible with funding from the National Endowment for the Arts Regional Touring Program and the six New England state arts agencies.

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Summer Singers Troupe

June 10, 2022 at West Claremont Center for Music and the Arts at Union Church

 June – August
Location: West Claremont Center for Music and the Arts at Union Church, 133 Old Church Rd, Claremont, NH 
Registration: https://summersingers.eventbrite.com
Deadline: Please register by June 10th
Registration fee: Suggested donation of $35 for adults, $20 for students. Includes registration for group rehearsals and guest artist workshops (2-3).

A fun formation of new community vocal prowess. Join us for the next step on your vocal journey, whether you are new to singing or sing all the time. Over the course of this summer we will build skills and explore our voices. Together we will have fun singing a wide variety of musics (from fun to serious; secular to folk to sacred). Visiting artists will teach us about different singing styles and vocal techniques to make us better individual and group singers. Then in the fall you will be invited to join the group for weekly rehearsals, leadership opportunities, and community concerts This program will be held most weeks (approximately 8) throughout the summer months, primarily on weekday evenings, but with occasional weekend opportunities. Throughout the course of this program we will monitor the community transmission levels of COVID19, and rehearsals may require masks or be held outdoors depending on local conditions.  Program includes:

  • 2 weeknight rehearsals per month to learn music as a group.
  • 2-3 special workshops with singers from around the world to learn about specific music traditions.

Directed by Melissa Richmond and Tim Cohen

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