CONCORD/CARLISLE: Join a presentation by Dr. Karin Hodges on March 21 from 6-8pm at Willard Elementary School Auditorium, 185 Powder Mill Road in Concord.  Concord Public and Concord-Carlisle Regional Schools SEPAC is presenting "Opting for Growth by Embracing Stress & Emotions," in which Dr. Hodges will shed light on the systems and professions that have inadvertently contributed to the rise of childhood mentall illness and the widespread mental health crisis.  Hodges will explain the mechanisms that grow mental illness versus emotional well-being, and describe the essential resources that children require today for health and healing.  She will provide a glimmer of hope in the fight against teen mental illness, offering a widely applicable solution that has the potential for global impact.  If you are aiming to help kids heal or if you want them to thrive, do not miss out on this enriching educational experience.  For more information, visit concordsepac.org or email concordsepac@gmail.com.

CONCORD: The Concord Band’s Winter Concert will be held on March 2 at the 51 Walden Performing Arts Center, presenting the World Premiere of The Invisible Girl, commissioned by Concord Band flutist Ellen Feldman, who wished to create an adventurous composition of modern music “in appreciation of the Band’s expansion of her musical horizons.”

Feldman and Music Director James O’Dell commissioned talented composer Mason Bynes, who holds a Master of Music in composition from the Boston Conservatory at Berklee, to create the new work for symphonic band. After consultation, Bynes based her composition on a comic book that Feldman created, The Dancer as... the Invisible Girl.

The new musical work, titled The Invisible Girl, reflects Bynes' appreciation of minimalist and Copland-esque music, and comprises three movements: “A Struggle Between Friends,” “The Veiled Woman Revealed,” and “Becoming Visible.” The third movement incorporates a video, also named after Feldman’s comic book, which was created and produced by Nicole Pierce, who performs as the main character of the comic. The video was filmed and edited by Guggenheim and Fulbright recipient, Sam Kauffmann.
In her notes to the music score, Bynes writes, “These three movements capture The Invisible Girl’s whirling power and agility, Karisma’s [the Invisible Girl’s nemesis] veiled and vengeful soul, and the coming together of two women whose seemingly polar identities encourage one another’s visibility.”

O'Dell selected additional music in keeping with the evening's theme, Dances! The program includes Robert Russell Bennett’s Suite of Old American Dances, Claude Debussy’s Danse—Tarantelle Styrienne, and George Gershwin’s American in Paris.
The concert and World Premiere will be held at 7pm, March 2 at the 51 Walden Performing Arts Center. The concert admission is free, with a $20 donation requested. The comic book, The Dancer as... the Invisible Girl, will be available for purchase. More information about the concert and premiere is available at www.concordband.org.

The Concord Band is supported in part by a grant from the Massachusetts Cultural Council, a state agency.

CONCORD: The Concord Orchestra presents “Spanish Passions & Nordic Vistas” at 8pm on January 26 and 27 at the Performing Arts Center at 51 Walden. The orchestra, directed by guest conductor Robert Lehmann, performs a program of Georges Bizet’s Carmen Suite No. 1, Edouard Lalo’s Symphonie Espagnole, and Jean Sibelius’ Symphony No. 3. Charles Dimmick is the violin soloist for Symphonie Espagnole. A pre-concert talk by the conductor is scheduled for Saturday at 7:15pm.

Violinist Charles Dimmick enjoys a varied and distinguished career as concertmaster, soloist, and chamber musician.  Praised by the Boston Globe for his “cool clarity of expression,” Charles is one of New England’s most sought-after orchestral musicians.  He is co-concertmaster of the Boston Pops Esplanade, and concertmaster of both the Portland Symphony and the Rhode Island Philharmonic.  In the summers, Charles can be found serving as the concertmaster of the New Hampshire Music Festival.  Charles has appeared as guest concertmaster for the Arizona Music Fest and the Winston-Salem Symphony. A frequent soloist, Charles has garnered praise, packed houses, and received standing ovations for what the Portland Press Herald has called his “luxurious and stellar performances” and his “technical and artistic virtuosity.”

Conductor Robert Lehmann is Professor of Music and Director of Strings Studies and Orchestral Activities at the University of Southern Maine School of Music where he conducts the Southern Maine Symphony Orchestra and the Portland Youth Symphony Orchestra. In addition to his duties at USM, he is Music Director of the North Shore Philharmonic Orchestra and the White Mountain Bach Festival in New Hampshire.

The orchestra performs two Spanish-themed pieces by French composers: George Bizet’s Carmen Suite No. 1 and Edouard Lalo’s Symphonie Espagnole. Both pieces premiered in 1875. The Lalo was originally composed for the Spanish violin virtuoso Pablo de Sarasate. The Carmen Suite No. 1 includes some of the most familiar tunes from the popular opera.

Finnish composer Jean Sibelius’ music is inspired by the lakes and forests of his native country, the long winter nights and the endless summer days when the sun never sets. Finnish folk music also influenced his music, as demonstrated by the dance rhythm at the beginning of the first movement of Symphony No. 3, as well as the lovely slow melody in the second movement. Audiences in 1907 when the work premiered, who expected music more like his romantic Symphony No. 2, were surprised by Sibelius’ relatively restrained third symphony.

Tickets for adults and seniors are $25. Admission for youth under 18 is free. For tickets and information, call (978) 369-4967 or visit concordorchestra.com.

WEST CONCORD: Imagine listening to a musical performance that transports you to a different time and place, where you can experience the stories and emotions of people from various cultures and traditions. Join the Concord Conservatory of Music, along with the Concord Museum, for Music & Folklore concert and lecture on October 27 at 7:30pm. Celebrate the oral folk traditions of various cultures through music at 1317 Main Street in West Concord.and Associate of Folklore and Mythology at Harvard College. His expertise, research, and teaching interests range from South Asian expressive traditions and contemporary religion to diaspora studies and transnationalism.Hagino.