By Melanie Petrucci, Senior Community Reporter
Shrewsbury – The First Congregational Church, 19 Church Road in Shrewsbury, was the place to be Dec. 8 as the New England Ringers (NER) performed complex and joyful Christmas melodies as part of its “Arts on the Green” concert series. From the delicate chimes of “Silent Night” to the crescendo of the base notes of “Joy to the World,” the concert provided a welcome respite from the holiday hustle and bustle.
The concert, “Christmas with All the Bells & Whistles,” was conducted by new Music Director Brian Seemann, who interjected whimsical anecdotes in between selections. Accompanied by organist Brandon Santini from Saint Theresa’s Church in West Roxbury, the event included new arrangements of the holiday classics as well as original compositions. The ensemble performed with approximately 300 instruments including Schulmerich Handbells and Malmark Choirchimes.
“Arts on the Green started about seven or eight years ago when our church went through an evaluation to determine what are we good at and what can we offer the community,” explained Ann Cairns, a longtime church member and part of the Arts on the Green team. “We have a very strong music program and history here at this church. Our then music director, Malcolm Halliday, thought, ‘How can we bring music in a very approachable way to the community?’ and so we started the [series].”
Halliday is well known in the Worcester music scene and has since retired.
“I love that we have this concert series as an outreach to the greater Shrewsbury community,” noted singer and interim Music Director Jeff Cutts. “I’ve planned a few of the concerts for the New Year including a professional choir called ‘Diamonds from the Dust’ from Worcester who will be singing at the church in March. Malcolm and I have talked about performing a recital together in May as part of the series… He is a phenomenal pianist.”
The series began with an event about every other month and all the events are family oriented. Performances have run the gamut from college acapella groups to an organist who accompanied a silent film featuring Buster Keaton. The series has hosted performances from all musical genres.
“It’s a great way to get people from the community to come; it’s always nice to see unfamiliar faces. We are here in the center of town and we want to make sure that our doors are open and people from the community are welcome to come,” Cairns said.
The next event presented by Arts on the Green is the holiday favorite event, “Caroling on the Common” that is scheduled for Saturday, Dec. 23, at 7 p.m.
For more information about the Arts on the Green concert series, visit https://fccsm.org/music-concerts/ or on Facebook.
