Community Calendar

Chamber Series: Testimonies

Testimonies draws from personal stories, historical documents, and academic revival, inviting the listener to engage with themes of heritage, home, and remembrance. Charlton Singleton’s Testimony evokes Gullah traditions and the music of the African Methodist Church, while Derrick Skye’s American Mirror reflects on American multiculturalism more broadly. Jerod Impichchaachaaha Tate’s Pisachi (Reveal) draws on Pueblo and Hopi traditional music, and Shelly Washington’s Middleground meditates on home as both physical and emotional refuge. Testimonies encourages reflection on identity and cultural legacy.

Musicians
Violin: Maïthéna Girault, Grant Houston
Viola: Elizabeth Moore
Cello: Matthew Smith

Come sing the choruses of Handel's masterpiece, Messiah, Part I and the Hallelujah Chorus with soloists Erin Chenard, soprano; Jazmin DeRice, contralto, David Myers-Wakeman, tenor, and John David Adams, bass. Mozart Mentors Orchestra and organist Sean Fleming accompany. Anthony Antolini, conductor.

From the musical heart of Leipzig, Germany comes amarcord, a mesmerizing five‑voice ensemble founded in 1992 by members of the famed St. Thomas Boys Choir. Celebrated for its exquisite sound, versatility, and radiant performances, amarcord is widely considered among the world’s premier a cappella groups.

The group’s holiday program includes Gustav Holst’s evocative In the Bleak Mid-Winter, God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen and other seasonal songs from around the world as well as medieval plainsong and madrigals.

The DaPonte String Quartet presenting quartets by Haydn and Ives in Brunswick, Boothbay Harbor, Portland, Belfast and Waldoboro from December 6 to December 14. These two contrasting works in style and period make for an intriguing and wonderful musical experience. The second movement of the Second Quartet of Ives, for instance, entitled “Arguments”, has to be the most epic musical battle in history. The players become entirely “lost” (it should be underscored that it’s quite challenging to intentionally not play together) duking it out between a Tchaikovsky march and the Civil War tune “Marching Through Georgia”. Join us at one of our series concerts.

A Paul Sullivan concert is much more than just a music recital. He engages his audiences with his personality as well as with his music. And over decades of making music the world over, Paul has also collected a large group of stunning musical friends, several of whom will be joining him tonight. With charm, eloquence, and a bit of Irish blarney, Paul makes everyone feel welcome, while offering insights and stories that make the experience unique. Plus—he’s just plain funny.

Midday Concert @ 1:00 on December 12 featuring Molly Gebrian, viola, and Danny Holt, piano

ELLSWORTH - Ellsworth Community Music Institute (ECMI) offers its next Midday Concert @ 1:00 on Friday, December 12 with Molly Gebrian, viola, and Danny Holt, piano and Molly Gebrian, viola. The concert will be held at the Moore Community Center Theater at 1:00pm. 125 State Street in Ellsworth, Maine. The series is sponsored by Ellsworth Community Music Institute (ECMI) with funding assistance from the City of Ellsworth and supported in part by a grant from the Onion Foundation. Admission is FREE to the public. Photo courtesy of the musicians.

Longtime friends and musical collaborators Molly Gebrian (viola) and Danny Holt (piano) are known for their dynamic performances and their passion for shining a spotlight on lesser-known classical composers. Their recent album, Trailblazers, features Gebrian’s transcriptions of rarely heard cello sonatas by three female composers from the late 19th and early 20th centuries. On Friday, December 12th at 5:30pm, Danny Holt and Molly Gebrian will return to the Jesup Memorial Library (34 Mt. Desert Street, Bar Harbor) for the second concert in the “Music & Conversation” series. Visit www.jesuplibrary.org for more information.

Join us for Fire & Frost, a seasonal, family-friendly winter concert by the Penobscot Bay Orchestra and featuring Penobscot Bay Orchestra Young Musician Scholarship recipient Miles Ortiz-Curtis as flute soloist. The concert’s centerpiece is the fiery final movement of Dvořák’s New World Symphony. The program also includes several seasonal selections, among them the sparkling pizzicato movement from Tchaikovsky’s Fourth Symphony and Christmas Day, arranged for the orchestra by Artistic Director Deirdre McClure.

Aurora Camerata (formerly St. Mary Schola) invites Maine audiences to be immersed in the glow of Christmas by Candlelight on December 13, 3 PM at St. Luke’s Cathedral in Portland and December 14, 3 PM at St. Mary’s Church, Falmouth. The program will surround listeners with the warmth of cherished Christmas classics and the shimmering beauty of music spanning nine centuries. Illuminated by candlelight, the concert blends ancient chant, Renaissance polyphony, and luminous contemporary works—from Hildegard and Mouton to Maconchy, Praetorius, Tavener, Robert Russell, and Artistic Director James Kennerley—creating an atmosphere of stillness, wonder, and festive joy. In partnership with each host venue, the ensemble will also collect non-perishable food items to support local pantries, affirming its belief that music and generosity nourish in equal measure. Now entering its first holiday season under its new name, Aurora Camerata continues its mission to unite artistic excellence with community connection across Maine. Tickets and more info: https://auroracamerata.org/

“Somehow, the roads were better on the way home, and the fellow travelers less hurried, everyone less focused on the work to be done to get through Christmas, and more thoughtful about the possibilities of something deeper and more meaningful arising from the season at the darkest hour of the year... If you get a chance to see ‘Sing We Noel’ next Christmas, please don’t miss it. It will change your perspective on the season.” —Wiscasset Newspaper
Reconnect with your children, your inner child, and the spirit of the season. This family-friendly concert, dubbed “a gift to the community, a rare moment of love and light,” includes sing-along carols and a cookie and cocoa reception.