Newton Cultural Alliance

Cappella Clausura presents: Troubadours 2021
2021-11-13 20:00, 2021-11-14 16:00 (America/New_York) | MA
Last spring, Cappella Clausura was proud to offer our Troubadours 2021 Virtual Series, which featured ten episodes of cross-cultural music alongside artist interviews. This fall, we are thrilled to be able to offer these riveting pieces– along with some new additions– to in-person audiences.
Join us for the live premiere of these pieces and experience a blend of music unlike any other: jazz, hip-hop, classical European, and more. Click here to purchase tickets.

TROUBADOURS 2021
November 13th @ 8 PM: Eliot Church in Newton
November 14th @ 4 PM: Emmanuel Church in Boston

Suzuki School of Newton presents: Winter Faculty Concert
2021-11-21 16:00 - 17:00 | Newton Presbyterian Church, 75 Vernon St., Newton, MA, United States
The Winter Faculty Concert will be hosted in-person by the Newton Presbyterian Church on Sunday, Nov. 21st at 4:00 PM (at 75 Vernon St. in Newton, MA). Pieces performed include works by Florence Price, Rebecca Clarke, and Johann Sebastian Bach. Tickets will be sold in advance and at the door. The link to buy tickets is here. Please get them early for the best prices! The concert will also broadcasted on Facebook Live for those who are uncomfortable attending in-person. We hope to see you there!

Zamir Chorale presents: A Choral Rainbow
2021-11-22 19:30 | ONLINE, United Kingdom, E16 2DQ
This season, in response to the alarming rise in racism, antisemitism, and other forms of prejudice, we are even more committed to using our resources to expose our audiences (and ourselves) to music representing different cultures, ethnicities, and ways of thinking. With that in mind, we are presenting an online series called “A Choral Rainbow,” featuring video performances and conversations with the conductors of choruses from diverse and under-represented communities.
Our first program, in cooperation with the Consulate General of Israel to New England, will feature David Hodgkins, conductor of Coro Allegro—Boston’s LGBTQ+ and allied classical chorus; Micah Hendler, conductor of The Jerusalem Youth Chorus—a choral and dialogue program for Palestinian and Israeli youth in Jerusalem; and Diana Sáez, a leading specialist in the field of Latin American choral music. Watch this promo!
This is the first of a three-part program. Future programs will be held in February and April 2022. Click here to learn more and register.

Pro Arte's Salon Series - Salon 2
2021-11-30 20:00 | MA
Pro Arte’s unique cooperative is comprised of musicians equally at home as soloists and chamber musicians as they are within the chamber orchestra. The Salon Series presents an opportunity for members of the cooperative to showcase their craft in various chamber groups performing a variety of exciting works.
Salon 2 will include a selection of holiday favorites featuring Pro Arte’s brass section. Venue announcement coming soon. Purchase tickets here.

Highland Glee Club presents: A Holiday Songfest
2021-12-05 15:00 - 16:00 | Christ Episcopal Church, 1132 Highland Ave., Needham Heights, MA, 02494, United States
Featuring traditional favorites from Gregorian Chant to Jazz, Franz Schubert to Irving Berlin, selections for Christmas and Chanukah, and a singalong – holiday fun for the whole family!

Ample free parking across the street. Reception to follow.

Newton Free Library presents: Paul-André Bempéchat Performs Beethoven Sonatas
2021-12-15 15:00 - 16:00 | Facebook Live, United States
Paul-André Bempéchat will return to the Facebook Live stage to perform a selection of Beethoven’s sonatas!
(You do not need to have a Facebook account to attend.)
Paul-André Bempéchat is Music Fellow at Harvard’s Cabot House. A Juilliard and Sorbonne graduate, he has enjoyed a forty-year performing and teaching career on both sides of the Atlantic, having performed at venues as prestigious as Berlin’s Konzerthaus, the Vienna Festival, Jordan Hall and Alice Tully Hall.
Registration for this program will end two hours before the start time. The login information will be sent just after registration closes. Please be sure to check your spam folder in case it lands there.

Zamir Chorale of Boston presents: Hanukkah Happens
2021-12-23 19:30 | Temple Emanuel, 385 Ward Street, Newton, MA, 02459, United States
Mark your calendars for our Hanukkah Happens concert featuring a full orchestra. Gala concert with Zamir orchestra, Josh Jacobson and Cantor Elias Rosemberg joining us for many old and recent favorites. The program will include Machtenberg’s “Shehecheyonu,” Bloch’s “Kedushah” (from the Sacred Service ), Jagoda’s “Ocho Kandelikas,” and a medley of melodies by Debbie Friedman arranged by Jeremiah Klarman.

Pro Arte's Salon Series - Salon 3
2022-02-13 15:00 | The Allen Center, 35 Webster St, WEST NEWTON, MA, 02465, United States
Pro Arte’s unique cooperative is comprised of musicians equally at home as soloists and chamber musicians as they are within the chamber orchestra. The Salon Series presents an opportunity for members of the cooperative to showcase their craft in various chamber groups performing a variety of exciting works.
For Salon 3, one of Pro Arte’s regular string quartets joins forces with the Janelle Gillchrist Dance Troupe for an interdisciplinary exploration of Wynton Marsalis’s first string quartet. Purchase tickets here.

Pro Arte's Salon Series - Salon 4
2022-03-13 15:00 | The Allen Center, 35 Webster St, WEST NEWTON, MA, 02465, United States
Pro Arte’s unique cooperative is comprised of musicians equally at home as soloists and chamber musicians as they are within the chamber orchestra. The Salon Series presents an opportunity for members of the cooperative to showcase their craft in various chamber groups performing a variety of exciting works.
Salon 4’s program will feature members of Pro Arte’s string section. Full program details to be announced soon. Purchase tickets here.

Cappella Clausura presents: Her Story
2022-03-19 20:00, 2022-03-20 16:00 - 17:00 | MA
This year, we are proud to crack open the classical canon with a variety of new works by women. With vibrant performances of music spanning continents and centuries, Artistic Director Amelia LeClair will lead our ensemble in a celebration of live, in-person performances. Learn more about the four programs we have planned for this season.
Tickets for each concert will become available one month ahead of the opening performance.
Her Story:
Celebrate Women’s History Month with music by women! A cappella quartets by Fanny Hensel, Clara Schumann, Florence Price, Joan Tower, Gabriela Frank.
March 19th @ 8 PM: Eliot Church in Newton
March 20th @ 4 PM: Emmanuel Church in Boston

Canceled-Commonwealth Chorale presents: Country Sounds
2022-03-20 15:00 - 16:00 | Church of the Holy Name, 1689 Centre Street, West Roxbury, MA, 02132, United States
Classical or bluegrass? In our second concert of the season, no need to choose. Composer Carol Barnett has combined the two styles in her bluegrass Mass, The World Beloved. In her unusual approach Barnett has written what she calls “cheery sacred music,” blending the usual solemnity of a Mass with down-home energy and rhythms of bluegrass. Please join us to hear Gwyneth Walker comment on her work and see how successful she is in her wonderful combination of styles. The performance will be accompanied by the renowned bluegrass band, Monroe Crossing.
In addition, the chorus will perform selections from Aaron Copland’s Old American Songs: Long Time Ago, At the River, and Simple Gifts. Monroe Crossing will also perform a set of bluegrass music.
To purchase tickets, click here.

New Philharmonia Orchestra presents: Classics III
2022-03-27 15:00 | MA
The New Philharmonia Orchestra continues its exciting 27th season filled with celebratory spirit, incredible music, and exciting guest performances. Join them for their Classics III program featuring works by Mozart and Brahms. Tickets are $10-$50. For more information visit newphil.org.

Zamir Chorale of Boston presents: A Choral Rainbow Part 3
2022-04-04 19:30 - 21:00 | MA
Part III – Monday, April 4,7:30 pm EST, REGISTER HERE.
This season, in response to the alarming rise in racism, antisemitism, and other forms of prejudice, we are even more committed to using our resources to expose our audiences (and ourselves) to music representing different cultures, ethnicities, and ways of thinking. With that in mind, we are presenting an online series called “A Choral Rainbow,” featuring video performances and conversations with the conductors of choruses from diverse and under-represented communities.
We were thrilled with the global turnout for parts I and II. Part III will spotlight three choruses:
The Chorosynthesis Singers, which is committed to fostering innovation, sustainability, collaboration, and excellence in and among the choral arts and its communities through both a bottom-up and top-down approach; Wendy Moy, conductor.
Nashirah, a community-based chorale in the Greater Philadelphia whose musical programming embodies the broadest possible range of Jewish repertoire; bringing together choral music of many lands, languages, and cultures; Julia Zavadsky, conductor.
Voices 21C, an artists’ collective that is devoted to exercising the choral art in pursuit of human rights and justice and dedicated to a mission of global understanding through music; André DeQuadros, conductor.

Amherst Early Music Classes
2022-04-09 08:00 - 17:00, 2022-04-10 08:00 - 17:00 | MA
Join us for new AEM ONLINE CLASSES in April!
April 9, 10, 30, and May 1st! Class times here are Eastern Time
Saturday, April 9
3:00 – 4:30 p.m. Lully: Chaconnes and Dances with Frances Blaker, recorder
Sunday, April 10
3:00 – 4:30 p.m. Tips and Tricks: Solutions for the Traverso Player with Immanuel Davis, flute
Saturday, April 30
1:00 – 2:30 p.m. De-Mystifying the Prelude with Alissa Duryee, keyboard
3:00 – 4:30 p.m. Locke Unlocked! with Martha Bishop, viol
Sunday, May 1
1:00 – 2:30 p.m. 4×4 Bach with Rachel Begley, recorder
3:00 – 4:30 p.m. The Singer’s Toolbox: Sing We Enchanted: A Vocal Technique Session, with Historical Inspirations for the 21st-Century Singer with Emily Eagen, voice
Full class descriptions coming soon!
AEM Online

Pro Arte's Salon Series - Salon 5
2022-04-10 15:00 | The Allen Center, 35 Webster St, WEST NEWTON, MA, 02465, United States
Pro Arte’s unique cooperative is comprised of musicians equally at home as soloists and chamber musicians as they are within the chamber orchestra. The Salon Series presents an opportunity for members of the cooperative to showcase their craft in various chamber groups performing a variety of exciting works.
Pro Arte’s principal winds and principal horn come together for Salon 5 to present a colorful concert for wind quintet. Purchase tickets here.

Highland Glee Club presents Spring Concert
2022-04-23 15:00 - 16:30 | Newton City Hall Auditorium, 1000 Commonwealth Ave, Newton, MA, 02459, United States
The Highland Glee Club is presenting our annual spring concert. The theme is All’s Fair: Songs of Love and War for Men’s Voices. Music of Elgar, Schubert, Mendelssohn and others.

Music for Food presents Fantastic Duos
2022-04-30 15:00 - 17:00 | The Allen Center, 35 Webster St, WEST NEWTON, MA, 02465, United States
Fantastic Duos for the Newton Food Pantry – Pianist Solon Gordon and violinist Lily Tsai play Brahms and Schubert.

About this event

A wonderful concert of violin-piano duos—including Schubert’s transcendent Fantasy in C major and Brahms’ loving A major sonata—performed by Solon Gordon and Lily Tsai, to benefit the Newton Food Pantry and Newton Community Freedge.

*Masks and proof of vaccination are required for attendance.
To donate to the concert, please visit our donate page.

Pro Arte's Ensemble Series - Ensemble 3
2022-05-01 15:00 | MA
Pro Arte’s full ensemble takes to the stage to present treasured works and brilliant contemporary compositions celebrating their forty-four year history as one of Boston’s most vibrant orchestras.
Paul Polivnik makes a return appearance in the spring to conduct Pro Arte in a powerful program of Ravel, Bernstein, and Mendelssohn. Read more about the program and purchase tickets here.

Newton Piano Summit 2022
2022-05-07 13:00 - 16:00 | Second Church in Newton, 60 Highland St., West Newton, MA, 02465, United States
The Newton Piano Summit 2022 season will feature Classical, Latin, and Jazz. A vaccination card is required to attend.
May 7th, 1 pm. Andrus Madsen and April Sun performing the Goldberg Variations.
“The Goldberg Variations are among the most meaningful works J. S. Bach wrote for keyboard.” Josef Rheinberger, 1883
Newton’s own Andrus Madsen is well-known internationally in early music circles and performs on the organ, harpsichord clavichord and fortepiano. He is the founding director of Newton Baroque. Originally from Provo, Utah, Andrus received a Bachelor’s degree in organ performance from Brigham Young University and went on to the Eastman School of Music, where he completed a Master’s degree in Musicology, and a Masters and Doctorate in harpsichord performance. Madsen is known for his eloquent Baroque style improvisations. His recording of keyboard music by Pachelbel has received critical acclaim. “Superb recordings of superb instruments by a musician who deserves to be better known.” (Michael Barone of pipedreams).
​Boston-based pianist ​​​​April Sun co-founded the Meadowlark Piano Trio, frequently collaborates with the Phoenix and the Cape Cod Chamber Orchestras, and has performed at Calderwood Hall (Boston), Bing Concert Hall (Stanford), Spectrum (NYC), Pepsico Hall (Fort Worth), and the American Exchange Center at Jiaotong University (China). She holds a Doctorate of Musical Arts and teaches at the Brookline Music School. She serves as a collaborative pianist at New England Conservatory and Boston University.

Suzuki School of Newton presents Young People's Multicultural Festival
2022-05-07 14:00 - 18:00 | Suzuki School of Newton, 1615 Beacon St, Waban, MA, 02468, United States
Please join us on Saturday, May 7th from 2-6 pm in a celebration of music, dance, and visual arts in a truly Multicultural Festival for the whole family.
Featuring:
2 pm-Brazilian drumming from Grooversity
3 pm- Africano Waltham Dance troupe
4 pm- Pumawari Tusuy Peruvian Dance
5 pm- Suzuki School Of Newton faculty in non-classical styles!
This free event will be held in Waban at the historic home of the Suzuki School of Newton. 1615 Beacon Street, Waban MA 02468.

Concert by Duo Amie to benefit Shelter Music Boston
2022-05-07 15:00 - 17:00 | The Allen Center, 35 Webster St, WEST NEWTON, MA, 02465, United States
Please join us Saturday May 7th, 2022 at 3 pm, at the beautiful Allen House in Newton, MA for a benefit concert in support of Shelter Music Boston! The musical program, Shall We Dance?, is a celebration of dance music and will be performed by the popular Boston-based piano-cello ensemble, Duo Amie (Julie Reimann, cello, Ellyses Kuan, piano), with guest appearance by Shelter Music Boston Artistic Director and renowned violinist, Adrian Anantawan. Incorporating folk dances, waltzes, and Latin American dances, the program will include Piazzolla’s Le Grand Tango, Elizondo’s Danzas Latinoamericanas, Saint-Saen’s Danse Macabre, Kapustin’s Nearly Waltz, Bartok’s Romanian Folk Dances, and more! An ice cream reception sponsored by Rancatore’s Ice Cream will follow the performance. 100% of concert proceeds will benefit Shelter Music Boston, a nonprofit organization promoting community, creative interaction, respect, and the therapeutic benefit of music by performing chamber music concerts of the highest quality in homeless shelters and other sheltering environments.

Newton Piano Summit 2022
2022-05-14 13:00 - 16:00 | Second Church in Newton, 60 Highland St., West Newton, MA, 02465, United States
May 14th, 1 pm. Harold Charon, Explorations in Latin Music.
One of the things we try to do with the Summit is feature talent before they get Grammys, world attention, and command fees well above our current budgets, and yes this has happened! We poll past summit artists regularly to see who’s the new hot talent on the scene and this time Harold Charon’s name kept coming up.
Harold Charon is the youngest headliner we have featured on the Summit, only slightly younger than Jimin Park a few years ago. Originally from Havana, he began piano lessons at 5 years old. Exuding musicianship decades beyond his years, he went on a Canadian tour which included the Halifax Jazz Festival and received training from Fred Hersh, Taylor Eigsty, Billy Childs and the late great jazz master Chick Corea.
Crossing genres, Harold has worked with a variety of artists including Leo Vera, La Cruzada, and Los Clasicos. In 2016 he joined Janio Abreu and Aire D’ Concierto, where he worked as a pianist and composer for Ruy Lopez-Nussa y La Academia. Currently, he is finishing his studies at Berklee, majoring in jazz composition and performance. His music features influences from Latin, Salsa, Jazz and Timba. Timba is a Cuban genre of music based on Cuban son with salsa, American funk/R&B, and the strong influence of Afro-Cuban folkloric music. Chucho Valdez, bandleader of Irakere is considered one of the founders of the style. He’s bringing some amazing talent with him including Trumpeter Richard Stanmeyer who also studies at Berklee on a grant from the college’s Presidential Scholarship Committee. His teachers include Tia Fuller, Marquis Hill, Jason Palmer, Charlie Lewis, and Jeff Stout among others. He performs regularly around town at Wally’s Jazz Café, the House of Blues, the Middle East, PAX East, and The Lilypad. Cristián Tamblay is a Chilean drummer who performs and records with a wide variety of global artists. Ernan D. Ramos Ortiz “Ed Rox” – Congas and Cajon – is a multi-instrumentalist, rapper, composer, and producer who is strongly influenced by the rich musical culture of Puerto Rico and his upbringing in a family of musicians. “For me, music is the only way that your soul can speak itself.” Michael Doughty is a bassist from North Andover, MA. and recently was the bassist for Berklee’s Signature Series concert featuring Afro-Cuban artist, Daymé Arocena.

Cappella Clausura presents: Psalms and Requiems
2022-05-14 20:00, 2022-05-15 16:00 - 17:00 | MA
This year, we are proud to crack open the classical canon with a variety of new works by women. With vibrant performances of music spanning continents and centuries, Artistic Director Amelia LeClair will lead our ensemble in a celebration of live, in-person performances. Learn more about the four programs we have planned for this season.
Tickets for each concert will become available one month ahead of the opening performance.
Psalms and Requiems:
Lili Boulanger’s outstanding Psalm 130 with string orchestra and harp, plus works by Florence Price, Elena Ruehr, and Amelia LeClair.
May 14th @ 8 PM: Eliot Church in Newton
May 15th @ 4 PM: Emmanuel Church in Boston

Commonwealth Chorale presents: Majestic Sounds
2022-05-14 20:00 | Church of the Holy Name, 1689 Centre Street, West Roxbury, MA, 02132, United States
This, our final concert of the season, is one not to be missed. It showcases our classical roots and celebrates the one who developed and fine-tuned them over the last 43 years. Artistic Director David Carrier is retiring and this, his final concert, is his magnificent finish: Joseph Haydn’s Missa in Angustiis (Lord Nelson Mass) and J.S. Bach’s Cantata 140 ( Wachet auf, ruft uns die Stimme ) also known as Awake, a voice is calling. Carrier will conduct orchestra, chorus, and soloists: soprano Dana Varga, mezzo-soprano Vera Savage, tenor Matthew Anderson, and baritone David McFerrin.
Majestic Sounds: sure to inspire joy and hope to the listener, a concert to lift the spirits.
To purchase tickets, click here.

Newton Piano Summit 2022
2022-05-21 13:00 - 16:00 | Second Church in Newton, 60 Highland St., West Newton, MA, 02465, United States
May 21st, 1 pm. The Helen Sung Trio presents PUSH – Celebrating Women in Jazz
Simply put, Helen Sung is the most innovative, jaw-dropping new artist on the planet we have heard in years. She melds influences from jazz, classical, and Latin into astounding expeditions into new territories. Her latest album Quartet+ is breathtaking with incredibly tasteful, surprising, and dramatic new workings of some jazz standards, and inspiring original material. Currently residing in New York and touring major venues internationally, we are incredibly fortunate to have her make a stop in Newton on May 21st.
Helen is a 2021 Guggenheim Fellow. A native of Houston, Texas, and graduate of its High School for the Performing and Visual Arts (HSPVA), she went on to become part of the inaugural class of the Thelonious Monk Institute (now the Herbie Hancock Institute) at the New England Conservatory of Music. Her recent releases Sung With Words (Stricker Street), a collaborative project with renowned poet Dana Gioia, and Anthem For A New Day (Concord Jazz) topped the jazz charts. Quartet+ (Sunnyside Records), her latest release, followed suit, garnering a 4.5-star DownBeat review and inclusion in its “Best of 2021 Albums” list and a JazzTimes cover story (January 2022 issue). Helen and her band have at performed at Newport, Monterey, Disney Hall, SFJAZZ, and Carnegie Hall. Internationally, her “NuGenerations” Project toured southern Africa as a U.S. State Department Jazz Ambassador, and recent engagements include debuts at the London Jazz Festival, Jazz at Lincoln Center Shanghai, Blue Note Beijing, and the Sydney International Women’s Jazz Festival. She has performed with such luminaries as the late Clark Terry, Wayne Shorter, Ron Carter, Wynton Marsalis (who named her as one of his “Who’s Got Next: Jazz Musicians to Watch!”), MacArthur Fellow Regina Carter, and Grammy-winning artists including Terri Lyne Carrington, Cecile McLorin Salvant, and the Mingus Big Band. Helen is a Steinway Artist and has served on the jazz faculties at Berklee College of Music, the Juilliard School, and Columbia University.
Her trio includes David Wong, bass and Kendrick Scott, drums
david wongDavid Wong was born and raised in New York City and is a graduate of the LaGuardia High School for Music and Art and the Performing Arts. In 2004, he graduated from the Juilliard School in classical music. He has studied classical bass with Orin O’Brien of the New York Philharmonic, and jazz bass with legends Ron Carter, Ben Wolfe, and John Clayton. From 2003 to 2004, as part of the Eric Reed Trio, he performed in Europse and the United States, and with Jazz at Lincoln Center. He is currently a member of Roy Haynes’ Fountain of Youth band as well as bassist with the Heath Brothers quartet, led by jazz legends Jimmy and Albert “Tootie” Heath. David has also beeen performing with singer Sachal Vasandani, and pianists Jeb Patton. and Dan Nimmer, among others.

Since graduating from Berklee in 2002, Kendrick Scott has performed with a variety of name artists including the Jazz Crusaders, guitarist Pat Metheny, saxophonists Joe Lovano and Kenny Garrett, vocalists Dianne Reeves, Lizz Wright, Gretchen Parlato and trumpeter Terence Blanchard, to name a few. Scott’s debut recording with his group Oracle recorded The Source in 2006, including pianists Aaron Parks and Robert Glasper, guitarist Lionel Loueke, vocalist Gretchen Parlato, and others. Scott also performed with the Terence Blanchard Quintet on the album A Tale of God’s Will (A Requiem for Katrina) (2007), which was nominated for two Grammy Awards for 2008. Kendrick was a member of the band that accompanied Terence Blanchard to the Monterey Jazz Festival’s 50th anniversary in 2007, and Scott embarked on the 22-state tour, starting in January, 2008 with the 50th Anniversary MJF All-Star Band. It featured the leaders of the past, present and future with Terence Blanchard on trumpet, James Moody on saxophone, Benny Green on piano, Derrick Hodge on bass, and jazz vocalist Nnenna Freelon. Scott also currently plays with the Charles Lloyd Quartet, featuring alongside Reuben Rogers on bass, and Gerald Clayton on piano.

New Philharmonia Orchestra presents: Classics IV
2022-05-22 15:00 | MA
The New Philharmonia Orchestra wraps up its exciting 27th season filled with celebratory spirit, incredible music, and exciting guest performances. Join them for their Classics IV program featuring works by Jose Elizondo and Tchaikovsky. Tickets are $10-$50. For more information visit newphil.org.
