WINCHENDON — “It’s complicated.”
So said Andrew Arceci, regarding efforts to re-launch the popular Winchendon Music Festival. The festival had been on hiatus for two years due to the COVID-19 pandemic but, beginning this weekend, it’s back.
“Usually, we plan at least one year, if not two years out,” he told the Athol Daily News. “That’s because of logistics. We’ve been back and forth about moving forward with an April program, and it seems like we can move forward with it, so we went with it.”
Arceci, a Winchendon native, was recently named artistic director of the Northampton-based Arcadia Players.
The festival kicks off Saturday night with a performance by young Japanese pianist Naomi Yamaguchi.
Her program, which takes place at 7 p.m. at the Winchendon History and Cultural Center this Saturday, will include works by Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750), Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827), Frederic Chopin (1810-1849), and Nikolai Medtner (1880-1951). The center is located at 151 Front Street.
“Naomi was supposed to play in 2020 and, obviously, we had to cancel that full lineup in 2020 and the full lineup in 2021,” Arceci continued. “We were still trying to re-think how to bring these artists from 2020 to Winchendon; likewise the artists from 2021.
“Unfortunately, (folk musician) Bill Staines, who was supposed to perform in 2020, he died in December. And some of the other artists live outside of Massachusetts, and travel is still complicated.”
Those issues factored into Arceci’s decision to schedule three concerts in April of this year. Previous festival performances had taken place at Winchendon’s Old Centre Church. Arceci organized and launched the festival, which premiered in 2016.
“I love Old Centre Church,” said Arceci, “but it’s not handicap accessible. Our three new venues are. It’s an important detail that the buildings are ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) compliant.
“In terms of COVID, I know there are no mask mandates. Some of the musicians will be masked and the public is encouraged to be masked, but it’s not required.”
On Saturday, April 23, jazz pianist John Arcaro will perform with the band 2Slick, featuring Steve Piermarini and Wayne Branco on trombone, Stephen Arsenault on bass, and Mark Branco on drums. The program will feature music by Kai Winding (1922-1983) and J. J. Johnson (1924-2001). 2Slick will also perform jazz standards with arrangements by Steve Piermarini and Wayne Branco. The performance will take place at 7 p.m. at Beals Memorial Library, 50 Pleasant Street.
The Arcadia Players will wrap up the concert series at 7 p.m., April 30, at the Winchendon American Legion, 295 School Street/Route 12. The concert will explore the origins of the symphonic genre. The program will include works by Giuseppe Torelli (1658-1709), Antonio Vivaldi (1678-1741), Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750), George Frideric Handel (1685-1759), Johan Helmich Roman (1694-1758), and Giovanni Battista Sammartini (c.1700-1775).
All performances are free to the public, but there is limited seating.
Greg Vine can be reached at gvineadn@gmail.com