Category: Art & Theater

NH Philharmonic brings Drawn to the Music back for 15th year

For 15 years the New Hampshire Philharmonic has worked with schools across the state, encouraging kids kindergarten through grade 5 to listen to classical music and draw something inspired by it.

“This year we had over 700 drawings from nine schools from all over the state,” said Toni DeGennaro, the executive director of the Philharmonic. “We get the drawings, pick 300 winners and have concerts … on Saturday and Sunday at 2 p.m., with each school represented on a certain day.”

Kids who were selected will get a chance to hear the music they listened to, Aaron Copland’s Appalachian Spring, and see the art they created projected on a screen over the orchestra. The artwork is divided evenly across the two performances, so 150 drawings will be featured each show.

Winners of the competition are invited to attend, as well as their parents or guardians and their art or music teacher who helped them with the project.

When it comes to the artwork, DeGennaro said she was impressed to see how creative the students were. Each year the kids are given a series of scenes they use to inspire the artwork. Since Appalachian Spring is a ballet, DeGennaro said, there were more options for scenes.

“We give them scenes, so they picked which ones they wanted to draw,” DeGennaro said. “There’s some of the bride, some of the duel for the bride…. Lots of brides and farmer pictures and it’s really cute.”

Drawn to the Music isn’t going to be the only competition where winners will celebrate, said conductor and music director Mark Latham. Evan Huang, a high school senior at Phillips Academy in Andover, Mass., will be performing Piano Concerto No. 2 by Frederic Chopin.

“It’s very romantic and full of various emotions; he plays it extraordinarily sensitively,” said Latham. “He deserved first place of the competition.”

Huang was the grand prize winner of Sempre Music Competition in 2022, a national competition in which students of all ages compete for a chance to solo with the New Hampshire Philharmonic, among other prizes.

While classical music can seem intimidating at first, Latham said his main goal with the Phil is to make it more accessible to every generation.

“Some think classical music is stuffy and my philosophy is try to make it a great time,” Latham said. “If [kids] want to jabber or applaud at the wrong time, if you let loose on how you feel about something, that’s excellent.”

After the concert, kids will be invited on stage for “touch an instrument,” the Phil’s take on touch-a-truck, to help expose young children to music and to make it more inspiring, DeGennaro said.

DeGennaro said that Drawn to Music is one of her favorite events, not only to see young people engaged with classical music but also because of the awe and excitement that she sees on kids’ faces.

“We are so kid-friendly, if kids are running around in the halls, that’s great. We’ll drown them out with the music,” DeGennaro said. “Just the sound of the 70-piece orchestra in that little concert hall is mesmerizing. It’s a great experience for them.”

Drawn to the Music
When: Saturday, April 15, and Sunday, April 16, at 2 p.m.
Where: Siefert Performing Arts Center, 44 Geremonty Drive, Salem
Price: Adults are $30, seniors are $25, students are $8, and students of Salem are $5
Visit: nhphil.org

Featured photo: Drawn to the Music projection 2018-2019. Courtesy photo.

NH Antique Co-op welcomes spring with “In Full Bloom” art exhibition

By Mya Blanchard

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The sun is out, the snow is melting and flowers will soon be sprouting with spring now upon us. New Hampshire Antique Co-op in Milford is ringing in the season with the “In Full Bloom” art exhibition, which will be on display through Aug. 31.

Co-owner Jason Hackler described the March 24 opening celebration as a “garden style party,” with cucumber sandwiches, Champagne and lemonade. The family-owned antique shop has been hosting art exhibitions since 2007, with “In Full Bloom” being its latest.

“As New Hampshire Antique Co-op is now in its 40th year in business, we decided [it would] be perfect to do a show to celebrate the spring and summer seasons, symbolizing continued growth,” Hackler said. “The show is … an exhibition on paintings of floral still lifes and garden landscapes … done from the 17th century all the way up to the present.”

Some of the artists whose works are on display at the exhibition include German still life painter Adelheid Dietrich, Emil Carlsen, New Hampshire native Lilla Cabot Perry, a neighbor and friend of Claude Monet, as well as Laura van Pappelendam.

“These are works directly from [van Pappelendam’s] estate, which is really cool,” Hackler said. “There’s some really great, bright floral landscapes and still lifes as part of her works and these are the first time some of [them] have been offered.”

A total of 12 of van Pappelendam’s paintings are on display, one of which is hung on her own personal easel.

In addition to the impressionist-era paintings, contemporary artists will also have their work on display. One such artist is Carol Robey. After retiring from working in pediatrics, Robey began studying under Paul Ingbretson, an artist who learned from The Boston School, a group of painters in Boston during the 20th century.

“What they did, which I love, [was add] impressionist color more to the standard representational art and [made] it more interesting that way,” Robey said.

Robey’s attraction to painting still lifes and floral pieces stems from her interest in gardening.

“As a doctor, I did a lot of science and I actually studied a lot of botany in college,” she said. “I love being able to get the … correct details of a flower, for example, so that … a person who’s looking at it will recognize what it is, [while] at the same time … making it beautiful, so I have to … make it expressive as well as accurate.”

Robey, a friend of Hackler’s, was ecstatic when he asked her to be a part of the show.

“Emil Carlsen and Marguerite Pearson are two of my absolute favorites, so to be among them is absolutely a huge honor,” she said.

The “In Full Bloom” exhibition invokes a fresh, spring-like atmosphere.

“It’s supposed to feel light and airy, and bright and cheery,” Hackler said. “Paintings within this genre express color [and] beauty, as well as a sense of respect, awe and wonderment for nature.”

“In Full Bloom” art exhibition
Where: New Hampshire Antique Co-op, 323 Elm St., Milford
When: On display now through Aug. 31; open Tuesday through Sunday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
More info: Visit nhantiquecoop.com

Featured photo: Courtesy photo.

Conversations with Concord Authors returns

By Mya Blanchard

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Back by popular demand is Conversations with Concord Authors, produced by local authors Margaret Porter and Paul Brogan and moderated by Concord-based journalist and longtime NHPR radio host Laura Knoy. The event will return for a second year to the Bank of NH Stage on Wednesday, April 5, at 7:30 p.m.

“[Brogan] had this idea … sometime over a year ago, I think, to bring together Concord-area authors on a stage … and have Laura … interview them about not just their books but the writing process and … being part of the creative community here,” Porter said of how the event first came to be last April. “We immediately knew … that this was something that we wanted to carry on and have it perhaps be an annual event.”

In addition to the interviews there will be a question-and-answer session as well as a book signing sponsored by Gibson’s Bookstore.

Porter participated in theater growing up and went on to study film in graduate school, writing continuously on the side.

“I’ve been a writer all my life, really,” she said. “Ever since I could hold a crayon I think … I was making up stories in my head and writing them down and illustrating them.”

Writing took the forefront for Porter after she moved across the country to Colorado, where she and her husband lived for 11 years while still seasonal New Hampshire residents on Lake Winnipesaukee. She moved here full-time about 30 years ago.

Having left behind many of her radio and film contacts, Porter found herself without any projects and decided to dedicate her time to writing. Her background in film serves as the basis for many of her stories.

“A lot of my inspiration comes from real-life activities I’ve had,” she said. “I tend to write novels about people … often in the performing arts, actresses or dancers, or [books] set in the golden age of Hollywood about people who were in the film business. … Film history is an area that’s important to me.”

Porter has 15 published historical novels set in the 17th, 18th and early 19th centuries. Many of these stories are set in England, an area she is familiar with due to the time she spent there studying in her teenage and college years and for her husband’s job.

She has recently branched out into the contemporary fiction genre, drawing on her experiences on film sets in production and as an extra.

Porter, Brogan and Knoy have been planning this year’s event for months. In addition to Porter and Brogan, authors Kathleen D. Bailey, Sarah McCraw Crow and Dan Lawton will also be featured. While it is free to the public, reservation is required.

“New Hampshire is historically and currently a very supportive and nurturing place for creative people, and writers in particular,” Porter said. “It’s a very vibrant community and we like to celebrate that within this event.”

Conversations with Concord Authors
When: Wednesday, April 5, at 7:30 p.m.
Where: Bank of NH Stage, 16 S. Main St., Concord
Cost: Free admission. Reservation is required.
Visit: ccanh.com

Featured photo: Local authors Paul Brogan and Margaret Porter at last year’s event. Courtesy photo.