This Saturday, October 14th, the Gloucester Meetinghouse Foundation presents its fifth annual classic car show on the green in front of the Gloucester Unitarian Universalist Church from 10am to 2pm. The event was postponed due to bad weather from last Saturday. The show is free and open to the public. You vote in nine categories for the trophy winners, including Best in Show. There are tours of the historic Meetinghouse, an art show and a 50/50 raffle to add to the excitement. Proceeds benefit the ongoing restoration of the building and grounds. Show cars (entrance fee $20) should arrive around 9am. Preregistration is recommended due to limited space on the green, but not required, email: c.nazarian@gloucestermeetinghouse.org Coffee, pastry and sandwiches available nearby on Main Street. The green is located at the corner of Middle and Church Streets, with the show car entrance between the stone pillars. GPS: 50 Middle Street, Gloucester, MA
Well known in Boston’s underground cabaret scene, ‘What Time Is It Mr. Fox?’ has earned a loyal following with frequent performances in New York City and tours across the United States. Their original songs feature rich lyrical imagery that explore love, spirituality, sexuality, and identity, and their performances are infused with energy, honesty, and emotional authenticity. Their unique brand of music and performance art has been adopted by popular singers, filmmakers, and repertory theaters. Band members include: 3rian King, voice, piano, and acoustic guitar; Nathan Cohen, violin, trumpet, voice; Dennis Monagle, drums; Renee Dupuis, voice, keys, and melodica; and Joe Cardoza, upright bass.
JOIN US! for the eighth season of our free, outdoor summer concert festival called Music on Meetinghouse Green starting on July 7th at 6:00pm with the John Baboian Berklee Jazz Ensemble. Mayor Greg Verga will be on hand to offer opening remarks. Your free-will donations will support the great work of Pathways for Children. The Causeway Restaurant will be on hand with mouth-watering chowders and lobster rolls for your picnicking delight, so bring folding chairs or blankets with some extra cash!
Location: 50 Middle Street, at the corner with Church Street, on the lawn in front of the Unitarian Universalist Church, Gloucester’s historic 1806 Meetinghouse. Parking: free on-street and in several parking lots nearby; limited HC parking on the green. More info at www.gloucestermeetinghouse.org
MUSIC ON MEETINGHOUSE GREEN, FULL SUMMER SCHEDULE
OUR SPONSORS
Thanks to our sponsors, who make this unique music festival possible, 100% of your free-will donations go to our non-profit community partners.
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.
Musicians of the Old Post Road in the Gloucester Meetinghouse (Unitarian Universalist Church)
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
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:
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.
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
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.
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.
Cape Ann Community 