Author: chasnaz

NEWSFLASH! EXTRA CAPE ANN BIG BAND HOLIDAY CONCERT, SUNDAY DECEMBER 18TH!!!

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The Gloucester Meetinghouse Foundation welcomes the Cape Ann Big Band and guest vocalists in a magical evening of holiday music in the historic Gloucester Meetinghouse (Unitarian Universalist Church) on the green at the corner of Middle and Church Streets on Sunday, December 18th at 7:00pm.

This fantastic Big Band concert was just added to our schedule by popular demand!

Get into the spirit of the season with “A Big Band Holiday.” Their other holiday engagements are sold out, so don’t miss this very special opportunity!

Concertgoers of all ages will feel the joy of the season in this program featuring the signature sound of the Cape Ann Big Band that includes holiday favorites, hits from the golden era of big band swing, and a visit from the chief elf himself, Santa Claus.

The band will be joined by several guest vocalists well known to Cape Ann audiences. Joining in the musical celebration of the holidays will be Alexandra Grace, Emily Grace, Rhiannon Hurst, Scott Parisi, John Rockwell, Nathan Seavey, and the “TrebleHurst” trio. This unforgettable program will also feature a reading of “The Night Before Christmas,” by Santa Claus.

This is an open seating event so come early! Doors will open at 6:15pm. General Admission $25, Students with ID $5, under 12 free. Tickets available at the door (unless we sell out!) or in advance on our website.  Parking is available on Meetinghouse green and nearby. For persons with physical challenges there is an elevator available at the 10 Church Street side entrance.

American Originals: A Moravian Christmas

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Musicians of the Old Post Road in the Gloucester Meetinghouse (Unitarian Universalist Church)

Candlelight Chamber Music Concert on Saturday, December 17th, 2022, 7:30pm

The Musicians of the Old Post Road will present their 6th holiday concert in the historic Gloucester Meetinghouse on Saturday, December 17, 2022 at 7:30pm called “A Moravian Christmas.’

Founded by Artistic Directors Suzanne Stumpf and Daniel Ryan, the ensemble takes its name from its acclaimed concert series, originally entitled Old Post Road Historic Concerts.

“Musicians of the Old Post Road is a cleverly conceived and impeccably presented group of artists who render a great service in the realm of period performance. Through their scholarship, programming, and enthusiasm, they shine a light on a corner of the repertoire that is too often neglected.”

— Classical Voice of New England

Immerse yourself in beautiful music for the season by a unique 18th-century community. Experience modern-day premieres of works penned by America’s Moravian immigrants along with selections by Johann Joachim Quantz, Carl Heinrich Graun and Johann Christoph Friedrich Bach (fifth son of J.S. Bach) that they carefully imported and preserved.  The ensemble performs on period instruments and will be joined by soprano Jessica Petrus and mezzo-soprano Hilary Anne Walker.

If you crave a respite from the hustle and bustle of holiday madness, give yourself and your friends the gift of exquisite chamber music by candlelight for Christmas in the warmth and Federal period elegance of Gloucester’s last-surviving Meetinghouse, built in 1806 for the first Universalist Society in America.

Preferred Seating $45, General $30, Students $10, Under 12 free

The Meetinghouse is located at 50 Middle Street, set back on the green. The accessible side entrance with a lift is located at 10 Church Street. Parking is available on the green and on nearby streets and lots. Tickets may be purchased at the door or in advance on our website: http://www.gloucestermeetinghouse.org

GLOUCESTER MEETINGHOUSE MLK DAY ANNUAL CELEBRATION JANUARY 17TH!

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The Gloucester Meetinghouse Foundation will host it 6th annual Martin Luther King, Jr. Day Celebration, live on Zoom, on Monday, January 17th at 2:00pm. Please preregister at http://www.gloucestermeetinghouse.org

The Racial Climate in Gloucester, What Lies Ahead will be the focus of the 2-hour program, including including findings of a new community survey. The keynote speaker will be Brian Saltsman, Director of Student Diversity and Inclusion at Alfred University in upstate New York. He is a leading advocate of addressing community issues between dominant and marginalized racial, ethnic or economic sectors as allies, a process known as “allyship.”

The invited presenting organizations are:

  • The Gloucester Racial Justice Team, reporting on a survey that assessed how much people of color “feel like they have a sense of community and belong in the city, including how race and ethnicity play a role in their daily lives,” according to GRJT spokesperson Gail Seavey.
  • The North Shore Branch of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) which most recently has focused on racism issues within Danvers High School athletic teams. A branch leader will discuss the North Shore branch’s activities across a region stretching from Lynn to New Hampshire.
  • The Diversity and Equity Committee of the Gloucester 400th Anniversary Celebration, which is researching narrative stories that accurately depict racial and ethnic relationships since European settlement began displacing the native, indigenous Pennacook-Abenaki peoples. This will include years of slave ownership and maritime commerce in the global slave trade.

A video of this program with be available on the Gloucester Meetinghouse Foundation’s YouTube channel afterwards. The Foundation is a nonsectarian, federally-recognized nonprofit, organized to promote the preservation and community programming of the historic 1806 Meetinghouse on Middle Street, home of the first Universalist Church in America. Tax-deductible donations are welcome and may be made on the website, or by check to “GMF” at 10 Church Street, Gloucester, MA 01930.

REFUGEES AND IMMIGRATION: A NEW ERA

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A SYMPOSIUM IN THE GLOUCESTER MEETINGHOUSE, SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 20TH, 2-5:00 PM, WITH VIDEO SIMULCAST ON YOUTUBE

This event, part of an annual series hosted by the Gloucester Meetinghouse Foundation on topics of civic concern, will concentrate on what is happening in our communities and around the country now. More information and video link at: http://www.gloucestermeetinghouse.org

Before our last Summer Series concert we heard an impassioned talk by Congressman Seth Moulton about our responsibility for the safety and resettlement of people from Afghanistan in New England. The Symposium will take a broader view, hearing from members of several organizations who have assisted new arrivals from many countries for a long time. Of equal importance, some presenters are individuals who have been through the immigration or refugee experience themselves. They will gather for a round table discussion in the last segment, addressing questions submitted from the audience, helping us to understand how best to offer our support. 

The historic (1806) Meetinghouse, home of the Gloucester Unitarian-Universalist Church, is located on the green at the intersection of Middle and Church Streets. A lift to the Sanctuary level is available just inside the 10 Church Street door. It is a free event – all are welcome. Your safety is important to us. Masks are required inside the building and seating is staggered to encourage social distancing. We request that the audience be vaccinated or have had a recent negative Covid test. Refreshments will be available at break times outside near the front entrance.

SYMPOSIUM PRESENTERS:

Elsabel Rincon, Founder and Executive Director of The Welcome Immigrant Network in Salem, and recipient of the Peter J. Gomes Service Award

Alexandra Weber, Chief Institutional Advancement Officer for the International Institute of New England in Boston

Andy Allen, Director of Adult Education at Wellspring House

Francis Mpfuranziza, who fled the Democratic Republic of Congo during the ethnic violence

Blanca Martinez, an immigrant representative from the Essex County Community Organization (ECCO) in Lynn

Rev. Rona Tyndall, Pastor, West Gloucester Trinitarian Congregational Church, UCC, and organizer for Allies of Our Afghan Allies

Rev. Alice Erickson, Gloucester resident who has been active for many years in the process of resettling refugees

Melissa Buchanan, ESOL Coordinator for the Wellspring Adult Learning Center

Bach Birthday Concert in the Gloucester Meetinghouse March 21st

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Bach 335th Birthday Concert!

Saturday, March 21st, 2020, 7:30pm

The Gloucester Meetinghouse Foundation celebrates the music of Johann Sebastian Bach with an orchestral concert on Saturday, March 21st at 7:30pm, the 335th anniversary of the composer’s birth. The Bach Birthday Concert is performed by the Appleton Consort, led by Mark Dupere, and played on period instruments. Highlights of the performance include Bach’s Orchestral Suite No. 3, the Violin Concerto in A minor, and the Harpsichord Concerto No. 5. The evening concludes with a performance of Bach’s ever popular Brandenburg Concerto No. 1 in F major. The ensemble, as Bach originally scored it, includes two hunting horns, three oboes, bassoon, violin piccolo, strings, and continuo. Don’t miss this spectacular evening of music by the beloved composer in the Gloucester Meetinghouse, one of the region’s finest concert venues. Tickets available in advance online at gloucestermeetinghouse.org and at the door.

Bach statue in front of the Thomaskirche where he was the Cantor in Leipzig

THE APPLETON CONSORT
The Appleton Consort, directed by Mark Dupere, is named for the town of Appleton, Wisconsin, home of Lawrence University, where Dupere is Director of Orchestral Studies. Samuel Appleton, prominent Massachusetts merchant and philanthropist who had lived in Ipswich, was the father-in-law of the founder of Lawrence University. Appleton made a generous gift to the Lawrence University library, and in gratitude, the citizens named the town for him. Generations of the Appleton family made their home in the Boston area and on Cape Ann with many connections to the area’s businesses and institutions. For example, Thomas Appleton who was considered the finest organ builder in New England, built the first pipe organ in the gallery of Gloucester’s Unitarian Universalist Church in the 1820s.

Mark Dupere is Assistant Professor of Music at Lawrence University. His undergraduate study of the cello led to continued work at the Royal Conservatoire in The Hague, The Netherlands, where he specialized in baroque cello. It was here that Mark met his wife Emily Dupere who completed her studies in baroque violin. Mark has performed extensively throughout the United States and Europe and is featured on numerous recordings. He was named New Young Artist at the Victoria Bach Festival, performed in the Leipzig Bach Competition, and apprenticed with the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment in London. Emily tours frequently as a violinist in the Monteverdi Orchestra with Sir John Eliot Gardiner. As an educator, Mark seeks to share his passion for music-making and active engagement with audiences in the performance of music from all periods.

Members of the Appleton Consort include: Elisabeth Axtell and John Aubrey, horn; David Dickey, Andrew Blanke, and Joyce Alper, oboe; Allen Hamrick, bassoon; Emily Dupere, Asako Takeuchi, and Anna Griffis, violin; Lauren Nelson, viola; Mark Dupere, cello; Motomi Igarashi, bass; and Guy Whatley, harpsichord.

IN GRATITUDE
The Gloucester Meetinghouse Foundation is deeply grateful to all our 2019-20 Concert and Event Series Sponsors. We extend a special thank you to H. Woody Brock and Scobie Ward for their generous gifts to underwrite the Bach Birthday Concert. 

LOCATION AND INFORMATION
The Gloucester Meetinghouse is located at the corner of Church and Middle Streets. The accessible side entrance is at 10 Church Street. Weather permitting, event parking is available on the green and at parking lots nearby in the Historic District. Tickets are available in advance online at gloucestermeetinghouse.org and at the door. Preferred seating $45; general $30; students $10 with ID; under 12 free.

Childe Hassam portrait of the Meetinghouse from the New York Metropolitan Museum of Art

FREE FAMILY MOVIE AND CRAFTS DAY AT THE GLOUCESTER MEETINGHOUSE!

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The second annual free Family Movie and Crafts Day will be held on Saturday, February 15, 2020 from 10:00am to 4:00pm in the Gloucester Meetinghouse, home of the Unitarian Universalist Church.

Kick off school vacation week with games, face painting, craft projects, and prizes. Two popular animated movies will be shown – one about toys and the other about a snowman. Enjoy refreshments all day and a free pizza lunch. Tour the historic 1806 Meetinghouse upstairs and ring the Paul Revere bell in the tower.

Presented by the Gloucester Meetinghouse Foundation in partnership with Pathways for Children, Maritime Gloucester, and the Cape Ann Community Cinema.

Please note new location this year! The event will be held in the Meetinghouse downstairs, accessed from the side door at 10 Church Street. Parking available on the green, weather permitting, and around the Historic District.

JOIN US FOR A FUN FAMILY DAY IN THE MEETINGHOUSE!

GLOUCESTER MEETINGHOUSE FOUNDATION PRESENTS THE MUSICIANS OF THE OLD POST ROAD IN A PROGRAM CALLED ‘A CHRISTMAS PILGRIMAGE’

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Saturday, December 14 at 7:30 p.m. at the Gloucester Meetinghouse corner of Middle and Church Streets in Gloucester.  The accessible side entrance is at 10 Church Street. Event parking is available on the green and at additional parking lots nearby in the Historic District.

The ensemble, The Musicians of the Old Post Road, returns for the fourth season to perform their greatly anticipated annual holiday concert held at the Gloucester Meetinghouse, home of the Gloucester Unitarian Universalist Church. The program includes traditional favorites by Handel and Telemann and rarely-performed works by Bach contemporaries Christoph Graupner, Johann David Heinichen, Johann Christoph Pez, and Augustin Pfleger.

Tickets for A Christmas Pilgrimage are available at the door or online with more information at www.gloucestermeetinghouse.org. Preferred seating $45; general $30; students $10 with ID; under 12 free. Thanks to a generous sponsor this concert is dedicated to the memory of Carol Ackerman.

The Musicians of the Old Post Road, a chamber ensemble based in the Boston area, specializes in works from the Baroque to early Romantic eras performed on period instruments. The ensemble is well known for bringing their audiences rediscovered masterpieces, works that are rarely performed in public.

Members of the ensemble, all specialists in period instrument performance, include flutist Suzanne Stumpf, violinist Sarah Darling, violist Marcia Cassidy, cellist Daniel Ryan, and fortepianist/harpsichordist Michael Bahmann. They are joined by four soloists well known to Boston area audiences: soprano Jessica Petrus; mezzo-soprano Sophie Michaux; tenor Jason McStoots; and baritone David McFerrin.

GLOUCESTER’S HOUSING: FROM CRISIS TO OPPORTUNITY – a community symposium November 16th from 2–5:00 p.m. in the historic 1806 Meetinghouse

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The Gloucester Meetinghouse Foundation hosts this civic event to explore the topic of housing, its relevance to the City of Gloucester and Cape Ann, and the challenges and opportunities it presents for the future. Through a program of speakers, panels, and audience interaction, presenters will address the question of how Gloucester’s lack of reasonably-priced housing is holding the city back. Discussions will explore how creative, green, and maritime economies might offer solutions.

PROGRAM

SEGMENT I  2:00 – 2:50

GREETING: Charles Nazarian, President, Gloucester Meetinghouse Foundation

OVERVIEW: Sandy Ronan, VP/Events, Gloucester Meetinghouse Foundation

PANEL DISCUSSION, Sandy Ronan-Moderator:

Subject: “How is the lack of housing holding Gloucester back?”

Shawn Henry -Gloucester Planning Board

Robert J.Gillis, Jr. – President, Cape Ann Savings Bank

Ken Riehl – CEO, Cape Ann Chamber of Commerce

David Houlden – Gloucester Housing Authority

SPEAKER:

Peggy Hegarty-Steck – President and Executive Director, Action, Inc.

Subject: Cameron’s project – zoning/funding challenges

BREAK: 10 minutes

SEGMENT II  3:00 – 3:50

RESIDENT STORIES, Kathleen Williams-Moderator:

Clare Higgins – SeARTS

RuthPino – Realtor

David Calvo –Woodcarver/sculptor

Angela Sanfilippo– Executive Director, Gloucester Fisherman’s Wives Association

Rob Newton -Cape Ann Community Cinema Stage

Katie O’Leary – Wellspring, Homeless Prevention Case Manager 

KEYNOTE PRESENTATION:

Andrew DeFranza -Harborlight Community Partners

BREAK: 10 minutes

SEGMENT III  4:00-5:00

SPEAKERS:

Carl Gustin -Economic Development and Industrial Corporation

Tom Balf – Founder and Principal, OceanVest, Merging the Maritime, Green, and Creative Economies

PANEL, (addressing written questions from the audience) Jeremy Melvin-Moderator:

Jen Holmgren – City Councilor

David Houlden –Gloucester Housing Authority

Andrew DeFranza – Harborlight Community Partners

Robert J. Gillis – President, Cape Ann Savings Bank

Kirk Noyes – Gloucester Development Team

CLOSING  5:00

SUMMATION: Mayor Sefatia Romeo-Theken

The three-hour program is free and open to the public. People are encouraged to attend as much of the program as they like. Ten-minute breaks with refreshments between segments will allow audience members to interact with presenters and engage in informal conversations with each other.

The Gloucester Meetinghouse, home of the Unitarian Universalist Church, is located at the corner of Church and Middle Streets. The accessible side entrance is at 10 Church Street. Event parking is available on the green and at additional parking lots nearby in the Historic District. For more information on this program and for the full 2019-20 event schedule, please visit www.gloucestermeetinghouse.org.

HALLOWEEN MOVIE SPECIAL: TWO FACES OF FRANKENSTEIN, AT THE GLOUCESTER MEETINGHOUSE

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Two scary silent movies with live accompaniment on the pipe organ, Saturday, October 26 at 7:30 p.m.

Celebrating the season of dark and windy nights, hobgoblins, and scary creatures, the Gloucester Meetinghouse Foundation presents two landmark silent movies featuring the Frankenstein monster and accompanied by world-renowned sonic artist and organist Peter Krasinski.

The first movie is a short 1910 Thomas Edison photo-play, the first motion picture version of Mary Shelley’s classic novel. This silent movie features sophisticated special effects for its time. Unsuspecting audiences were dazzled when it was released. Now nearly 110 years old, this rarely-seen film continues to amaze audiences with its powerful visuals.

The second is the brilliant 1931 Frankenstein movie that launched Boris Karloff’s career as the famed monster. The film had no musical score, creating the perfect opportunity for improvised accompaniment by a virtuoso on the pipe organ like Peter Krasinski. Karloff’s rendition of Frankenstein is a classic horror film, scaring and delighting family audiences for over 90 years.

Peter Krasinski returns to Gloucester this year to work his improvisational magic on the historic Meetinghouse’s sonorous 1893 Hutchings/Fisk pipe organ. Known as a sonic artist and maestro of the pipe organ, Krasinski tours all over the world performing with classic silent movies. The Gloucester Meetinghouse Foundation is grateful to our 2019-20 Autumn/Winter/Spring sponsors who have made this series possible.

The Gloucester Meetinghouse, home of the Unitarian Universalist Church, is located at the corner of Church and Middle Streets. The event is handicapped accessible via the side door at 10 Church Street. Parking is available on the green, on-street and at additional parking lots nearby in the Historic District.

Tickets are $20 Adults, $10 Students, 12 & under free.

Tickets are available at the door or online with more info at www.gloucestermeetinghouse.org

CAPE ANN CLASSIC CARS ON THE GREEN

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SECOND ANNUAL CLASSIC CAR SHOW COMES TO MEETINGHOUSE GREEN, CORNER OF CHURCH & MIDDLE STREETS IN GLOUCESTER ON SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 28TH, 10:00AM TO 2:00PM

With the historic 1806 Meetinghouse in the background, this early fall show attracts a variety of fine classic cars from around the North Shore. The audience is invited to vote for their favorite classic cars in 9 categories and trophies will be awarded at the conclusion of the event.

The car show is free and open to the public with donations to the ongoing preservation of the Meetinghouse gratefully accepted. It is a delightful family-friendly event with food vendors and live Dixieland-style music performed by John’s Giddy Gang. Tours of treasures inside the Meetinghouse will be available and include performances on the grand 1893 Hutchings-Fisk pipe organ.

Owners of classic cars may register on the day of the show ($10 fee) at the entrance to the Green or in advance by emailing car information to c.nazarian@gloucestermeetinghouse.org

The Meetinghouse (home of the Gloucester Unitarian Universalist Church) is located in the heart of Historic District. Please consult map for directions since there are several one-way streets. Parking is available in a number of nearby municipal lots and on the street. The rain date is Sunday, September 29th, 1:00 to 5:00PM.