Audience members at a previous Music at the Lighthouse performance enjoy operatic sounds from the Long Island Sound. Photo courtesy of Salt Marsh Opera.
STONINGTON–Salt Marsh Opera invites you to an evening of beloved opera arias and timeless Broadway melodies with the return of Music at the Lighthouse.
The performance will be held at 6 p.m. on Sunday, June 22 at the Old Lighthouse Museum in Stonington Borough, 7 Water St. The lawn opens at 5 p.m.
The Salt Marsh Opera will welcome mezzo-soprano Sarah Nordin and and bass-baritone Tyler Putnam.
This is an open-air concert by the sea on the lawn of the lighthouse museum. Families are welcome to bring their blankets and lawn chairs.
Tickets are $20 in advance and $25 at the concert. Tickets will be available at the Salt Marsh Opera box office at (860) 535-0753 or at Tom’s Newstand in the borough.
Chamber music pioneer Charles Wadsworth. Photos courtesy of Musical Masterworks.
OLD LYME–The Musical Masterworks community and beyond is mourning the loss of founding artistic director and pioneering chamber musician Charles Wadsworth.
The pianist died on May 29 in Manhattan, NY, at the age of 96.
A tribute from the Musical Masterworks board of directors recalled his arrival on the Old Lyme scene in 1990 when the group was still a fledgling concert series. Wadsworth brought with him a worldwide reputation as the founding director of the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center and the Spoleto Festival Midday Concerts in Italy and Charleston, S.C.
Musical Masterworks President Alden Murphy, who was a founding director of the series with her husband Jamie Murphy, told LymeLine in an email that it was a “joyful surprise” when Wadsworth agreed to become the group’s first artistic director.
Jamie and Alden Murphy, Musical Masterworks founding directors, stand either side of the late Charles Wadsworth.
“Thanks to Charles, three generations of musicians and audiences have found a home at Musical Masterworks,” she continued, adding, “We’re forever grateful for the magic he brought to our community.”
She said his quirky, napkin-scribbled program notes back when the couple first met him at the Spoleto Festival made chamber music feel alive and spontaneous.
“He brought that same warmth and humor to Old Lyme, transforming our young concert series into something extraordinary,” she noted.
The group counted Paula Robison, Richard Goode, Chee-Yun, Carter Brey among the many stars he introduced to the Masterworks stage. He passed on a welcoming spirit that still defines the concerts to artistic director Edward Arron in 2009 and Tessa Lark, who took the role in 2022.
“With every performance, we carry forward his joy, his generosity, and his belief in the transformative power of chamber music,” the tribute concluded.
On Saturday, April 26, the Old Lyme Town Band celebrates its 50th anniversary with a free Community Concert at Lyme-Old Lyme High School. All photos courtesy of Old Lyme Town Band.
OLD LYME —The Old Lyme Town Band (OLTB) sounds off its 50th anniversary season with a free gala concert in the auditorium of Lyme-Old Lyme High School on Saturday, April 26, at 7 p.m. A reception will follow the concert. All are welcome and there is no charge for admission.
These four early members of the Old Lyme Town Band still play in it today. Michele Smith Dickey at right conceived the idea of re-forming the band in 1975 after a 65-year hiatus. The other three members are from left to right, Barry Weiner, Ann Lander, and Ned Perkins.
it was Michele Smith Dickey of Old Lyme—a member of the current band—who conceived the idea of re-forming the band in 1975 after a 65-year hiatus. She notes there were about 30 musicians at that time and the first volunteer conductor was Donald Janse. That was, in Dickey’s words, when, “We started making music and making friends a half century ago”. “
The original incarnation of the Old Lyme Town Band (OLTB) spanned 1886-1910. It was re-formed by Dickey in anticipation of the US Bicentennial coming a year later in 1976.
This photo shows the band in 1910 shortly before it took a 65-year break.
“The group has played continually for half a century,” she noted, continuing, “It’s great to have a musical outlet for people of all ages where friendships are forged.”
A series of 15 conductors followed Janse through the years. Under the direction of its current conductor, Richard Chiappetta, the band entertains audiences with a variety of music including movie medleys, traditional marches, showtune favorites, and Americana selections.
Dickey commented that the band has grown to more than 50 members since 1975 and continues to provide summer and holiday concerts to shoreline and river valley communities.
The April 26 concert will feature a commissioned piece by composer Anthony Susi titled, “Impressions of Old Lyme.” It was inspired by three Lyme Art Colony painters in summer residence at the home of Florence Griswold, where the new school of painting became the center of American impressionistic art. Susi hopes “Impressions of Old Lyme,” expresses the rich art history of the community. “The French impressionists often painted scenes around Paris; the American impressionists in Old Lyme painted the rural landscapes of New England.”
This famous work,“Kalmia” by Willard Metcalf, is one of the paintings that inspired Anthony Susi’s original work, “Impressions of Old Lyme,” which will be given its premier by the Old Lyme Town Band at their celebratory concert on April 26.
They used a technique of high-key colors and broken brush strokes seen in the paintings “The Ledges” by Childe Hassam, “Peonies” by Matilda Browne, and “Kalmia” by Willard Metcalf. The works reflect the meadows, marshes, and flowers in the area known for inspiring art.
Brian Girasoli, OLTB President, said that the show will feature debut compositions as well as old favorites as the group celebrates 50 years of musicianship.
“Since 1975, we have been fortunate to not only have nearly a thousand people from the surrounding area provide his or her musical acumen, but also the support of the community to put on more than a dozen concerts each year,” he continued.
Concert dates can be found at oldlymetownband.net/oltb and by visiting Old Lyme Town Band on Facebook. Regular annual events include a concert preceding the fireworks display at the Midsummer Festival, a summer concert on the Town Green, and a winter holiday concert at Katharine Hepburn Cultural Arts Center in Old Saybrook. New this summer will be a concert at Water’s Edge in Westbrook.
The OLTB welcomes players of all ages, students to retirees. No audition is necessary. Rehearsals are held Monday evenings from 7 to 9 p.m. at Christ the King Church in Old Lyme.
The Essex Winter Series has announced this family-friendly favorite as a humorous musical suite that mimics a variety of animals through 14 short movements.
ESSEX – The Essex Winter Series welcomes Orchestra New England on Sunday, April 27, for a performance of “The Carnival of Animals.”
The 2 p.m. performance will be held in the Valley Regional High School auditorium, 256 Kelsey Hill Road, Deep River. Outer doors open at 1:30 pm; Auditorium doors open at 1:45 pm.
The organization in a press release described the family-friendly favorite as a humorous musical suite by Camille Saint-Saëns, which – through 14 short movements – mimics a variety of animals.
Jacqueline Hubbard, executive director of the Ivoryton Playhouse, will narrate witty verses by Ogden Nash.
Tickets for this free concert are available at essexwinterseries.com or by calling 860.272.4572.
Families are asked to reserve tickets for young children even if it is anticipated that they will sit on an adult’s lap. Advanced reservations are highly recommended due to limited seating.
Accessible parking, entry and seating is available.
