ABOUT MONADNOCK MUSIC

Monadnock Music is a meeting place where listeners, performers, and composers come together each summer to nurture a vision of what our collective musical life can be. Over the years this vital purpose has generated countless friendships and collaborations, and many important musical moments as well: composer John Adams first worked with director Peter Sellars at Monadnock Music; Elliott Carter, Mario Davidovsky, György Kurtag, and Donald Martino are among those who have had first performances of their works here. Even Handel and Haydn have had American premieres at Monadnock Music!

The ideal of making the best in music available to everyone is the driving force behind Monadnock Music. Of our thirty-plus concerts, fully half of them are free of charge and occur in the central meetinghouses and churches of the many small towns that dot the region. Our ability to penetrate into communities and reach a cross section of the population, bringing performances of high artistic quality to people in their hometowns, shows most dramatically how this ideal is enacted: often young parents and children show up, also grandparents with grandkids, even pairs of teenagers. Key to this phenomenon is that the concerts are free, but also that they are informal in feel and are town events which invite those who don’t normally travel to hear live music to come into the local church for an evening. Concerts generally include a short pre-concert talk that is geared toward the audience at hand.

In the central town of Peterborough, a weekend ticketed series presents music of many genres, from recitals to choral and orchestral concerts, even the occasional opera. The series encompasses a wide spectrum of music, frequently stretching the boundaries of traditional programming in pursuit of the most vivid and compelling musical experiences.

Monadnock Music is well known for having a viewpoint distinct from the commercial mainstream. Our advocacy of interesting and important music and musicians has earned the support of thousands of audience members, of the press, and of numerous foundations. Musicians from leading American and European orchestras as well as highly respected solo performers come, in some cases year after year, eager to work together in an environment that is artistically challenging and satisfying.