Ravel, Maurice – La Valse
Ravel, Maurice – Kaddish, from “Deux Mélodies Hébraiques”
Ullman, Viktor – Slavonic Rhapsody
Hailstork, Adolphus – Survive (Symphony No. 4)

Special guest:
Kenneth Radnofsky, alto saxophone

This concert’s composers all have different stories to tell, and our orchestra is grateful for the opportunity to perform these deep, meaningful, and introspective meditations. For example, Maurice Ravel’s moving work Kaddish includes a prayer for universal peace. Czech / Austrian composer Viktor Ullmann met his death in Auschwitz, but wrote in his journals, “By no means did we sit weeping on the banks of the waters of Babylon. Our endeavour with respect to arts was commensurate with our will to live.” His melodious Slavonic Rhapsody (1940), featuring guest soloist Kenneth Radnofsky on alto saxophone, is a testament to endurance in a turbulent time. And, in our closing work, Adolphus Hailstork’s recently completed Fourth Symphony, the composer asks us to consider the roots of American music and the evolution of civil rights.

Annual Family Concert:
Take Me Out to the Ball Game!

Grab your favorite cap and get ready for baseball season with Casey at the Bat, a classic childhood tale that brings the excitement of America’s favorite pastime to life featuring narrator and former Boston Red Sox mascot Sean Going. Children and adults alike will love trying the instruments of the orchestra in our pre-concert instrument “petting zoo!”

“With their diverse repertoire spanning both genres and eras … it is music meant to move people and mountains.” – CBS News-Miami

Praised for their “authentic, soulful, and orchestral sound,” The String Queens (TSQ) are a dynamic trio that creates stimulating musical experiences that inspire diverse audiences to love, hope, feel and imagine!

With an array of repertoire spanning from the Baroque era to the Jazz Age to today’s Billboard Hot 100 Chart, TSQ performs versatile programs that transport audiences through time and a multitude of musical genres.

Friendly jams for friendly people, led by our fun faculty performers.

Music is a collaborative art form, bringing us together to listen, learn, and rip a few hot breaks. Join us as we open Groton Hill’s inspiring facilities to jammers from across the region. Pick your favorite genre and play, move from room to room, or just hang out with friends to listen over a pint. Jams will run every second Tuesday from September through June!
Ages 16+ welcome!

From the moment the Debbie and Friends band launches into their first song, “I’m Glad You’re Here,” the children in the crowd understand their role: to participate, sing, dance, jump and interact with the Debbie and Friends band. As the lyrics suggest, “you’re part of the show.” From that high-energy opener to the ecstatic ending, the pacing of a Debbie and Friends show perfectly aligns with the attention spans of their young audience. They’ll rock out and get the kids dancing in a theatre-sized conga line, and then they’ll bring them down gently to relax and engage in more attentive ways. Drawing heavily from fairytales that kids will already be familiar with, Debbie and Friends presents enough lyrical updates to keep these stories fresh, and to keep everybody tuned in and laughing, including the parents! Debbie and Friends has been honored with 25 national awards including the 2011 Grammy Award for their part on the Best Children’s Album that year with their anti-bullying song, “Walk Away.” 

Drawn to the Music - The Planets

Drawn to the Music returns with an astronomical theme., featuring Gustav Holst's "The Planets". Students will create their own artistic impressions of the astronomical and mythological basis of this popular symphonic score. In addition, we will present another opportunity for the students to unleash their inner artist with interpretations of Mason Bates' "The B Sides", with its out of the world orchestration depicting space walks.