Performance

The Ipswich High School Orchestra under the gifted leadership of Michael Coelho has received an incredible honor and opportunity. The Honors Chamber Orchestra has been invited to perform at the National Band and Orchestra Festival at Carnegie Hall in New York City this April! This is a once in a lifetime opportunity for the kids and the first time in the school’s history that this has happened.

From the four corners of the planet, the love of percussion and performance has brought together Marcelina Suchocka (Poland), Aya Kaminaguchi (Japan), Clara Warnaar (Canada-United States), and Mariana Ramirez (Mexico) as the Excelsis Percussion Quartet. These amazing women, hailing from four different countries and speaking four different languages, blend their talents to speak the universal language of rhythm with innovative perception. EXCELSIS invites the world into a celebration of percussion with its pageantry of marimbas, drums, cymbals, xylophones, and vibraphones.

With February vacation coming to a close, families looking for an enriching activity to get them out of the house are invited to the Cape Ann Museum’s Activity Center to try their hand at instrument making using recycled items, followed by an intimate musical experience with Kathleen and Jeremy Adams. The midday mini-concert & instrument demonstration portion of the program will be performed on the Adams harpsichord and chamber organ in the special exhibition, Voicing the Woods: Jeremy Adams, Instrument Maker, on view at the Cape Ann Museum from October 22, 2016 through February 26, 2017. Families are invited to join in with their newly fashioned musical creations.

Jazz is alive and kicking up its heels in Ipswich when the whole town is invited to participate in an evening of big band swing music and dance at the Dolan Performing Arts Center. Ipswich Music Art and Drama Association has arranged with Beantown Swing, the premier swing orchestra on the north shore, to spend a day giving jazz master classes at the high school, followed by a joint concert in the evening. This will be more than just a concert! The orchestra pit will be turned into a dance floor for the evening while the band plays on the stage above.