Concert Series

The Wellesley College Concert Series presents world-class performers, enhancing both the Music Department’s curriculum and the cultural vibrancy of the College and surrounding communities. The series spans genres from classical and jazz to early, electronic, and world music, with performances by guest artists, performance faculty, and faculty-directed student ensembles.
 
Live concerts offer a unique and immersive musical experience for our students. Exposure to guest artists brings fresh perspectives, techniques, and insights, which are invaluable to students and the broader community. This direct engagement is a core component of the Concert Series mission, enhancing learning and deepening a life-long appreciation of all that music has to offer.
 
If you're interested in learning more about upcoming events within the Music Department, click HERE to subscribe to the Concert Series newsletter. 
 
Concert & Residency Series Spring 2024:
 
Music Department Honors Concert
Saturday, February 3, 7:30pm, Houghton Chapel
 
The Music Department at Wellesley College fosters an environment in which students can combine serious musical study with the depth and richness of a traditional liberal arts curriculum. The Performance Program is an important component of the Music Department, allowing students to take instrumental/vocal private lessons with faculty and prepare for professional music careers. At the end of each Fall semester at the Lesson Evaluations, the Performance Faculty chooses several students who have exhibited exceptional promise as performing musicians for the annual Honors Concert.
 
Female Titans of the Silent Film Era: Short Films by Alice Guy-Blaché, Lois Weber, and Lotte Reiniger with live piano accompaniment by Leslie Amper
Friday, February 9, 7:30pm, Jewett Auditorium
In residence Feb 12-17
 
Acclaimed pianist, Leslie Amper, captivates audiences with her “stupendous” performances and original programming. The Concert Series is thrilled to bring Leslie Amper's exciting program "Female Titans of the Silent Film Era: Short Films by Alice Guy-Blaché, Lois Weber, and Lotte Reiniger " with live piano accompaniment by Leslie. The compilation scores include music by Bach, Bloch, and Schumann. The program will also include short introductions to these fantastic and creative early film directors. 
 
Anat Cohen and Marcello Gonçalves in Concert
Saturday, February 24, 7:30pm, Jewett Auditorium
In residence Feb 20-24
 
Ever charismatic, prolific, and inspired, Grammy-nominated clarinetist-saxophonist Anat Cohen has won hearts and minds the world over with her expressive virtuosity and delightful stage presence. As The Wall Street Journal says, “What’s not to love about a young clarinetist and saxophonist who plays everything we love – modern jazz, world music, “hot” New Orleans style jazz – and does it all brilliantly?” The perennial winner of “Clarinetist of the Year” titles from DownBeat, JazzTimes, and the Jazz Journalists Association, Fresh Air’s Terry Gross credits Cohen with “bringing the clarinet to the world” and The New York Times hails her a “Master.”
 
One of Brazil’s most acclaimed seven-string guitarists, the Grammy Award–nominated Marcello Gonçalves is internationally renowned not only as a stellar performer, but also as a sought-after musical director, arranger, producer, and educator. His boundlessly warm nylon-string tone, broad sonic range, and irrepressible rhythmic finesse can yield a sound as full as an orchestra, revealing roots deeply planted in Brazilian popular, folkloric, and classical music traditions. Gonçalves’s creative synthesis of all these elements has elevated his artistry to a rare and transcendent level.
 
The Concert Series is thrilled to bring Anat and Marcello to campus for a residency with our Jazz students, culminating in a concert that is free and open to the public.
 
Midday Muse: Erica Johnson, Organ
Thursday, February 29, 1:00pm, Houghton Chapel
 
Erica Johnson, DMA, is a Boston-based organist, clavichordist, and church musician. She is thrilled to be the College Organist and Instructor of Organ and Harpsichord at Wellesley College since 2019. She also serves as the Director of Liturgy and Music at Sacred Heart Parish in Newton Center, MA. Erica is a graduate of the Oberlin Conservatory, Oberlin College (Economics), New England Conservatory, and the Eastman School of Music. As a grant recipient of the Beebe Fund for Musicians, she studied an additional two years at the Hochschule für Künste in Bremen, Germany, with Harald Vogel. Her years in Germany yielded two honors: the 2004 International Arp Schnitger Prize awarded by the Arp Schnitger Gesellschaft, and the 2002 NDR Musikpreis. As an organ instructor Erica has taught at the UNC School of the Arts, Salem College, the Oberlin Conservatory, and as a church musician she was Organ Scholar at the Memorial Church of Harvard University from 1999-2001. More recently she has presented programs for the Westfield Center for Historical Keyboard Studies, the Göteborg International Organ Academy in Sweden, and recitals around New England. In addition to performing, she also enjoys serving on juries for organ competitions, including the Arthur Poister Competition and the Boston Bach International Organ Competition. 
 
Midday Muse: Fred Alrich, French Horn
Thursday, March 7, 1:00pm, Jewett Auditorium
 
Join faculty member Fred Aldrich as he performs a Beethoven and Mozart Quintet with colleagues. Fred is the principal horn of the Pro Arte Chamber Orchestra, a member of the Boston Classical Orchestra, and is on the performance faculties of Wellesley College, Smith College, and Brandeis University. 
 
Spring Faculty Concert: Jazz and World Music
Saturday, March 9, 7:30pm, Jewett Auditorium
 
The Music Department Faculty at Wellesley College has some of the finest performers in the area, and we are proud to showcase them in this semi-annual concert!
 
Featuring faculty members:
Kris Adams, vocals
Fernando Brandão, flute
Glenn Dickson, clarinet
Tom Duprey, trumpet
Rich Greenblatt, vibraphone
Mark Hamilton, trombone
Mark Henry, bass
Russell Hoffmann, piano
Steve Kirby, guitar
Steve Langone, drums
Cercie Miller, saxophone
Paula Zeitlin, violin