The Gloucester Meetinghouse Foundation proudly presents the Essex Piano Trio as part of its Tenth Anniversary Series on April 18th at 7:30pm in the Gloucester Unitarian Universalist Church. The trio, playing a combination of the piano, violin and cello, will perform pieces that explore the friendships between the late 19th and early 20th century composers including Ravel, Vaughan Williams, Tchaikovsky and Arensky.
After playing together for several years throughout New England, the musical friends known as the Essex Piano Trio formalized their working relationship in 2017. Their signature concert title “A Conversation among Friends,” borrowing a descriptive phrase from American biographer Catherine Bowen, alludes to their audience-friendly concert format of interesting music interspersed with casual commentary. The trio’s primary goal has been to grow as musicians while making the best music possible to share with audiences. Essex Piano Trio members bring many perspectives from their academic backgrounds and professional lives as educators and performers.
The historic Meetinghouse is located on the green at the corner of Middle and Church Streets (GPS 50 Middle Street). General admission is $30, students $10, under 12 free. Tickets are available at the door and online (recommended) with more information at: www.gloucestermeetinghouse.org.
Parking is available on the Green in front of the Meetinghouse (enter between the granite pillars) and at other locations around the Historic District. An accessible side entrance with a lift is at 10 Church Street.
Join us for this outstanding concert by the Essex Piano Trio!
A Nashville-Style Songwriters’ Round Featuring Darrell Scott, Beth Nielsen Chapman & Marcus Hummon
Wellspring Housewill present Celesong 2026—its most important annual fundraising event—on Friday, May 1, 2026, at the Shalin Liu Performance Center in Rockport. Doors open at 6:15 pm for an unforgettable evening that brings together music lovers, community champions, and supporters of Wellspring’s mission for a Nashville-style songwriters’ round featuring extraordinary talent and storytelling.
Wellspring creates opportunity for families and young adults across the North Shore through stable housing, education, job training, and career readiness. Each year, more than 2,000 people turn to Wellspring for support to overcome barriers, build skills, and move toward stability and financial independence, one family, one job, and one home at a time.
Returning to the Celesong stage is nationally acclaimed singer-songwriter Darrell Scott, joined by Beth Nielsen Chapman and Marcus Hummon. Between them, these legendary artists have earned inductions to the Songwriters Hall of Fame, Grammy Awards, and Lifetime Achievement honors. Their music and storytelling have shaped generations, and together they bring uncommon depth, heart, and connection to every stage they share.
The evening will also feature an intimate live auction with a handful of carefully chosen items, including an exclusive Tim McGraw at Fenway Park package and a custom guitar signed by the night’s featured artists.Billy Costa will once again serve as emcee and bring his signature energy to the auction block, making it one of the most exciting moments of the evening.
Tickets are available to purchase at wellspringhouse.org/celesong2026. Early purchase is encouraged as space is limited. Tickets range from $100–$150.
Date: Friday, May 1, 2026 | Location: Shalin Liu Performance Center (37 Main St, Rockport, MA) | Time: 6:45 PM – 9:00 PM, Doors open at 6:15PM | Tickets: wellspringhouse.org/celesong2026/
This special night sells out fast, so don’t miss your chance to be a part of it.
Photo from Celesong 2025 at Shalin Liu Performance Center
One magical night for a powerful purpose — bringing our community together through song and storytelling to support Wellspring House’s work of opening doors to opportunity, one family, one job, and one home at a time.
Cold Chocolate, a Boston-based duo that calls itself “a genre-bending Americana band,” makes its Cape Ann debut on Saturday, Nov. 15, at 7:30 p.m., as part of the Gloucester Meetinghouse Foundation’s 10th Anniversary series of concerts, lectures, silent movies and more. The location is the landmark 1806 Meetinghouse that is Gloucester’s oldest standing church and the home of the Gloucester Unitarian Universalist Church.
With Ethan Robbins on vocals, guitar and mandolin and Ariel Bernstein on vocals, percussion and banjo, Cold Chocolate fuses folk, funk and bluegrass and has released five albums. Simon Waxman of The Boston Review wrote that Cold Chocolate’s high energy and original music “sounds softer than the dew on the mountainside, harder than a Harley pushing back red dust, and sweeter than true love.”
With music for all ages, the band has shared bills with Leftover Salmon, David Grisman and Angelique Kidjo, and performed at festivals across the country. Tickets are available at the door and online with more information at: www.gloucestermeetinghouse.org. General admission is $30, students $10, under age 12 free.
The Gloucester Unitarian Universalist Church is located at 50 Middle Street in Gloucester. Parking is available on the Green in front of the Meetinghouse and at other locations in the Historic District. The side entrance at 10 Church Street offers elevator access.
The Gloucester Unitarian Universalist Church started its history as the first Universalist church in America in 1779, a rebellious congregation that played an important role in the quest for religious freedom as enshrined in the First Amendment to the United States Constitution. The architecturally significant building predates lighthouses on Cape Ann and is on the National Register of Historic Places. The Gloucester Meetinghouse Foundation is an independent, secular nonprofit 501(c)(3) corporation dedicated to the historic building’s preservation and its use for and by the Cape Ann community.
The Gloucester Meetinghouse Foundation will present the last concert of our 2024-25 season on Saturday, May 17th at 7:30pm with Charles and Gregory Tompkins, a talented father and son duo that will combine the sounds of the organ, piano and violin. This is a wonderful program you do not want to miss!
PROGRAM:
Concerto in F major after Albinoni…Johann Gottfried Walther (1684-1748)
Solo in D major, Opus 4 No. 5…John Stanley (1712-1786)
Passacaglia in G minor, “The Guardian Angel”…from the Mystery (Rosary) Sonatas for Violin Heinrich Biber (1644-1704)
Sonata in B-flat, Opus 65 No. 4…Felix Mendelssohn (1809-1847)
Capriccio… Naji Hakim (b. 1955)
Adoration… Finale (from First Sonata for Organ) Florence Price (1877-1953)
The Gloucester Meetinghouse Foundation presents Charles Tompkins and son Gregory Tompkins in concert on Saturday evening, May 17th. Charles Tompkins (organ and piano) and Gregory Tompkins (violin) will perform in the Gloucester Unitarian Universalist Church. They are a dynamic and talented father and son duo who have performed in venues such as Trinity University in San Antonio, TX, Harvard Memorial Church in Cambridge, MA, and at the Piccolo Spoleto Festival in Charleston, SC.
Dr. Charles Boyd Tompkins is the Distinguished University Organist and Professor of Music Emeritus at Furman University, Greenville, South Carolina, where as a member of the music faculty he taught organ, harpsichord, church music, and music theory from 1986 until his retirement in December 2022. He currently serves as the accompanist for the University’s outstanding choral ensembles (the Furman Singers, Furman Chamber Choir, and Belle Voci Women’s Chorale), directs Furman’s Hartness Organ Recital Series, and plays for academic convocations and weddings. Charles was central to the commission of a Fisk concert organ, completed in 2003, for the Charles E. Daniel Memorial Chapel.
Gregory Tompkins is a versatile violinist who regularly performs in solo, chamber and orchestral settings throughout the United States. Gregory is a member of the New Haven Symphony Orchestra, the Cape Cod Symphony Orchestra, and serves as principal second violin Opera Theater of Connecticut and Orchestra New England. He is a member of the faculty of Gateway Community College and the Hopkins School in New Haven, CT.
The Gloucester Unitarian Universalist Church is located at the corner of Church and Middle Streets (GPS 50 Middle Street) where parking is available on the green. An elevator is available from the side door at 10 Church Street. Admission for the event is $30 General, $10 Students (all ages), under 12 free. For advance ticket purchases and more information please visit: www.gloucestermeetinghouse.org
This concert, performed by Heinrich Christensen on the 1893 Hutchings/Fisk pipe organ with the Jubilate Chamber Choir directed by Mary Jodice, is the fifth in a series celebrating the birthday of Johann Sebastian Bach. He was born on March 21st, 1685, and is considered the greatest composer of all time. This musical offering for the Cape Ann community is made possible through the generosity of H. Woody Brock. The concert features selections from Clavier-Übung III, sometimes referred to as the German Organ Mass, a collection of compositions for organ published in 1739, based upon Lutheran chorales (harmonized hymn tunes), which will be sung a cappella by the Choir. The collection of pieces is considered Bach’s most significant and extensive work for the organ, containing some of his most musically complex and technically demanding compositions for the instrument. It opens with the majestic Prelude in E-flat and concludes with a monumental triple Fugue known as the “St. Anne,” depicting the Trinity in a glorious combination on the “organo pleno,” pulling out all the stops! Organist Heinrich Christensen is the Music Director of King’s Chapel, Boston. The concert will be held on Friday, March 21st at 7:30pm in the Gloucester Unitarian Universalist Church, located at the corner of Church and Middle Streets (GPS 50 Middle Street). Parking is available on the green. The admission for the event is $35 General, $5 Students (all ages), under 12 free. An elevator is available from the side door at 10 Church Street. For more advance ticket purchases and more information please visit: http://www.gloucestermeetinghouse.org
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
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.
Music on Meetinghouse Green is a free outdoor summer music festival at 6:00PM on the Green in front of the Unitarian Universalist Church at the corner of Middle and Church Streets. We dedicate this fourth season in honor of Linzee Coolidge and the late Beth Coolidge for their vision and generosity to the Cape Ann community.
Please join us for the 4th year of this unique outdoor concert series, hosted by the Gloucester Meetinghouse Foundation. The 9-event summer festival features a different musical ensemble on Friday evenings starting on July 5th and benefits our North Shore non-profit partners via free-will offerings from the audience. Concerts are held inside the Meetinghouse in inclement weather. Come celebrate TGIF with great music and delicious food available from local vendorswhile supporting the terrific work of local non-profits!
GREAT CONCERTS IN FRONT OF THE HISTORIC 1806 MEETINGHOUSE
The whole community is invited to enjoy this family-friendly experience under the shade trees on the green in the heart of the Historic District. Bring lawn chairs, blankets and your favorite libation to enjoy the music and delicious food available from local vendors. Your voluntary contributions support the work of 8 dedicated partner organizations that work so hard to improve the lives of our fellow citizens on Cape Ann.
The final event on September 6th benefits the ongoing preservation of the grand 1806 Meetinghouse, Gloucester’s oldest church – steeped in the history of religious freedom in Massachusetts and central to the Constitution’s guarantee of the separation of Church and State!
Internationally acclaimed Austrian soprano Ute Gfrerer and renowned Boston artist Lisa Rosowsky, present a deeply moving evening of song and art, based on the legacy of silence of their two fathers during World War II, one an Austrian member of the Nazi Youth Party, and one a French Jew. In a unique collaboration, the two artists present a Holocaust-themed program of music and mixed media artworks, based on memories of their fathers.
Singer Ute Gfrerer, accompanied on the piano by William Merrill, and artist Lisa Rosowsky present a program based on a chance meeting in 2017, when they learned that they both suffered a legacy of silence and grief from their fathers’ very different experiences in World War II. Gfrerer’s father was a member of the Nazi Youth Party and a soldier, while Rosowsky’s father went into hiding in France after his parents were arrested and sent to Auschwitz. The two daughters have transferred their grief, anger and love for their fathers into an unforgettable evening of art and music.
The program includes Holocaust-based songs with music by Kurt Weill and Norbert Glanzberg among others. The songs are matched with artworks that explore family history and memory. Our own hearts and memories will be stirred by this astonishing combination of music and art.
This event is co-sponsored by Temple Ahavat Achim with support from the Paulson Foundation. It is also supported by the Gloucester Meetinghouse Foundation sponsors and the Massachusetts Cultural Council. Proceeds from the event will be used to benefit the ongoing preservation of the Meetinghouse as well as to support Temple Ahavat Achim’s Rabbi Myron and Eileen Geller Endowment Campaign for the Sylvia Cohen Religious School and Family Learning.
The event date is Sunday, April 28th 2019 at 7:30pm in the historic Gloucester Meetinghouse (home of the Unitarian Universalist Church) located on the green at thecorner of Church and Middle Streets. Event parking is allowed on the green and is available at other parking lots nearby in the Historic District. For those with physical challenges an elevator up to the Sanctuary level is available from the accessible side entrance at 10 Church Street.
TICKETS ONLINE OR AT THE DOOR – cash, check or credit card
Preferred $45
General $30
Students $10 with ID
12 & Under Free
(no one turned away for lack of funds, ask at the door)
Internationally acclaimed Austrian soprano Ute Gfrerer and renowned Boston artist Lisa Rosowsky, present a deeply moving evening of song and art, based on the legacy of silence of their two fathers during World War II, one an Austrian member of the Nazi Youth Party, and one a French Jew. In a unique collaboration, the two artists present a Holocaust-themed program of music and mixed media artworks, based on memories of their fathers.
Cape Ann Community 