Music to Your Ears

From blues to rock to works by Polish composer Paderewski played on an 1877 piano — if you like music, you’re going to love your visit to Johnny Appleseed Country!

Summer is a fabulous time for music-lovers to visit the region. You can find an outdoor band concert almost any day of the week. The performances on bandstands set on quintessential New England town commons are free, and visitors are welcome to bring a blanket and picnic fare, to stretch out, relax and enjoy the sounds of community bands, rock groups, even an islands-sounds steel drum band!

When the stars come out, you can head indoors to the many restaurants that offer musical entertainment in their lounges, or the new addition to the local scene, the tap room and brew yard at Wachusett Brewing Company in Westminster, featuring a one-of-a-kind Airstream bar and huge copper fire kettle.

Hear International Artists

And speaking of unique, the region is home to a fascinating collection of historic grand pianos, gathered over decades by Edmund and Patricia Frederick. They maintain the Historical Piano Study Center for the history of the piano and its music in Ashburnham — and you can hear these very special instruments at a series of Historical Piano concerts in the Ashburnham Community Church.

The concerts offer a rare opportunity to hear music just as the composers — Bach, Paderewski, Strauss and more —would have heard it. Musicians from around the world come to bring the music to life on Sunday afternoons in this rural town.

And there’s more! This summer marks the third season for the Winchendon Music Festival,  held at the First Congregational Church of Winchendon, in picturesque  Old Centre.
Director Andrew Arceci and a host of international solo and chamber artists present a variety of chamber programs, mostly classical, jazz, and world programs on two weekends — June 1-3 and June 22-24.

The spotlight is on Winchendon again on three consecutive Sundays —  July 1, 8 and 15 — when the Winchendon Winds orchestra performs in the acoustically superb sanctuary of the Unitarian Universalist Church at 126 Central Street in Winchendon.

You’ll hear classic summer band favorites performed by this professional level concert band in the beautiful downtown church.

And don’t forget the 40 area musicians who come together just once a year, as the Starburst Orchestra, performing at Leominster’s Starburst event in June!

Love music? Want to expand your horizons? You’ve come to the right place. Take a world-wide musical journey, right here in Johnny Appleseed Country.