New Hampshire Music Festival Summer Concert Series

July 23 @ 7:30 pm
Hanaway Theatre

Children’s Theatre

July 25 @ 2:00 pm
Smith Recital Hall

ALL SHOWS START AT @2PM  and are $8 with the Box Office being open an hour before show time.  There is NO TICKET PURCHASE FEE For this show!

IMPACT (Imagination & Music – Professional Artistry in Children’s Theatre) is the professional children’s performance company of Jean’s Playhouse.  The company writes and performs eight children’s musicals every summer – each is different and all promise a good time for both you and your kids!

THE LITTLE MERMAID
July 11, 2019
Under the sea magic follows a young mermaid as she looks to discover a world beyond the ocean walls. With the help of an evil sea witch, she is able to cast off her fins for a pair of legs, but she might be in over her head when she realizes the sea witch’s true intentions!

THE WIND IN THE WILLOWS
July 18, 2019
Mr. Toad’s zany personality leads him and his friends into a wild adventure full of music, mayhem, and one unpleasant weasel! Beyond the comfortable river bank is a giant scary world just waiting for this motley crew, but in the end, true friendship can help them through anything.

TOM SAWYER
July 25, 2019
For Tom Sawyer and his best friend, Huck Finn, Lazy days of fishing and swimming are constantly interrupted by Aunt Polly’s list of chores. But on this particular day, Tom and Huck decide to skip white washing the fence so they can go on an old fashioned treasure hunt!

LOST IN WONDERLAND
August 1
Following a white rabbit leads Alice on a very strange adventure. In a place where up means down and right means wrong, Alice discovers a world filled with a strange smiling cat, a wild tea party, and a Queen whose temper is as red as the hearts on her dress!

THE FROG PRINCE
August 8
A spoiled princess learns the importance of keeping promises after accepting the help of a nearby frog. In a kingdom filled with magic, not everything is what it seems, and no one should judge a book by its cover … or a frog by its webbed feet!

JACK & THE BEANSTALK
August 15
Young Jack is heartbroken when he must sell his best friend, a cow, at the market. But when a mysterious man trades magic beans for the cow, it opens up a world larger than life where Jack can go on adventures beyond his wildest dreams!

Faculty Recital – Aubrie Dionne, Flute

September 8 @ 3:00 pm
Smith Recital Hall

Afternoon Serenade features music from Bach, Beethoven, and Haydn. Listen to Bach’s Double Violin Concerto in a fresh new way – uniquely arranged for flute and violin as the dueling voices. It will also feature a sweet arrangement of Beethoven’s lovely Serenade and one of the cheerful London trios by Haydn. The concert will be performed by MCMS faculty members Harel Gietheim (cello), Aubrie Dionne (flute), and Mark Latham (violin).

Free and open to all!  Tickets not required!

Eagle Pond Authors’ Series: Robin Becker

September 10 @ 7:00 pm
Smith Recital Hall

Robin Becker’s many books in the Pitt Poetry Series include Lambda-Award winning All-American Girl (1996) and, most recently, The Black Bear Inside Me (2018). Her poems have also appeared widely in magazines and journals, including American Poetry Review, the Boston Globe, Georgia Review, Kenyon Review, and Prairie Schooner. Professor Emerita in English and Women’s Studies from Penn State, Becker spent spring semester of 2019 as Visiting Poet at Westminster College, in Salt Lake City. Generous support from the Follett Higher Education Group at the PSU Bookstore helps keep this series free and open to the public. A book signing and reception will follow the reading.

Free and open to all but TICKETS are REQUIRED!

Faculty Recital – Meghan Davis, Clarinet

September 15 @ 4:00 pm
Smith Recital Hall

Faculty clarinetist Meghan Davis and Acacia Chamber Music perform works by Jennifer Higdon, Michel Merlet, Johannes Brahms, Clara Schumann, and more.  Rich textures, vibrant and energizing rhythms, and lyrical melodies weave throughout the evening’s program, which also includes two new transcriptions for clarinet and bass clarinet by Ms. Davis.

Sidore Lecture: Dr. Alison McLetchie

September 17 @ 7:00 pm
Smith Recital Hall

Title: The Southern Strategy: The Role of Race in US Elections “This lecture considers the role of race in US elections. Taking a historic approach, starting with Reconstruction, this discussion centers on the ways the political/electoral system, political parties and politicians have used race, racialized language, race baiting and racial groups to shape the US electoral process. The result of these manipulations, this lecture argues, is a version of democracy that is uniquely American. The long-standing influence of race in US elections has meant that social inequality has been sustained and become entrenched in American society directly contradicting the American narrative of equality, justice and fairness. Bio: Alison Mc Letchie obtained her Ph.D. in Sociology in 2013, a M.A. in Anthropology, and a Certificate in Museum Management in 2003 from the University of South Carolina (USC). Her primary research areas are: race and ethnicity, economic inequality, music and religion. Some of her current projects include a comprehensive ethnography of Catholic Hill, SC, an African-American Catholic community in rural South Carolina, Caribbean Carnivals in the Carolinas, behavioral and sexual health among HBCU students, inclusion and diversity on HBCU campuses and an investigation of Caribbean Catholic music. Dr. Mc Letchie is an Assistant Professor at Claflin University where she teaches sociology in the Department of Social Sciences.

Free and open to all but TICKETS are REQUIRED!

Faculty Recital – Adam Mayon, Piano

September 22 @ 1:00 pm
Smith Recital Hall

Adam Mayon, PSU’s new professor of piano and collaborative piano presents his debut solo recital in Smith Recital Hall.  Mayon, who is in first year directing piano studies and the collaborative piano program, will present an all-Schumann program!

Free and open to all!  Tickets not required!

Faculty Recital – Brendan Buckley / Francis Page / Justin McCarthy

September 29 @ 4:00 pm
Smith Recital Hall

Faculty members Francis Page and Brendan Buckley, accompanied by Dr. Justin McCarthy, will present a recital of Classical and Musical Theater solos and duets, covering audience favorites and introducing less well-known repertoire to entertain and expand horizons.

Free and open to all!  Tickets not required!

The Addams Family

October 17 @ 7:00 pm
Hanaway Theatre

The Addams Family is a delightful musical comedy, featuring the wackiest, darkest, and funniest cast of characters to ever grace the stage, Gomez, Morticia, Wednesday, Uncle Fester, and the rest of the Addams clan discover that love, family, and growing up is filled with surprises. Gomez must deal with a father’s ultimate nightmare, his daughter Wednesday, who as a girl redefined darkness, has matured into a young lady and has fallen in love with a clean cut, polite young man from a respectable family. With Wednesday’s new beau and his family coming to dinner, each member of the Addams family must try to be as normal as possible. It’s the perfect setup for hilarious comedy, outrageous revelations, and romantic encounters. With music and lyrics by Louis Lippa and a book by Marshall Brickman and Rick Elice, The Addams Family offers all families a light and touching night at the theatre. The Addams Family is directed by Paul Mroczka, with musical direction by Hannah Murray and choreography by Lisa Travis.

Tickets from $10-$24

Thursday October 17th @ 7pm

Friday October 18th @ 7pm

Saturday October 19th @1pm and 7pm

Sunday October 20th @1pm

Sidore Lecture: Gregory Samuels

October 22 @ 7:00 pm
Smith Recital Hall

Title of Talk: Promoting Critical Thinking through Media & Racial Literacy in an Era of Fake News

Abstract of Talk:

Regardless of how we use our literacy skills to seek truth in moments of controversy, we must practice social justice initiatives to empower students, community members, family, and friends to think critically about what they consume and experience every day. This presentation of the Sidore Lecture Series will encourage attendees to consider controversies connected to a lack of understanding or distortions of media and racial literacy in recent history related to socio-political contexts. Attendees will explore social justice initiatives centered around race and racism to promote critical thinking that encourages more accurate and truthful media and racial literacy for students in our classrooms as well as community members and other stakeholders in an era of fake news.

This event is FREE but TICKETS ARE REQUIRED

Instrumental Lab Band Concert

October 25 @ 8:30 am
Studio Theatre

The Instrumental Lab ensemble is comprised of area home-schooled students in addition to music education majors performing on a secondary instrument. The ensemble is led by student conductors who select the music, rehearse the ensemble, market the event, prepare programs, and conduct in a final concert.

Free and open to all!  Tickets not required!

Piano Alumni Concert

October 27 @ 4:00 pm
Smith Recital Hall

Alumni piano majors from 1973-2019 will perform a concert featuring solo and ensemble repertoire from the standard literature as well as original compositions written especially for this event. All the alumni were piano majors with Professor Dr. Carleen Graff, who is retiring after 46 years of teaching at PSU.

Free and open to all!  Tickets not required!

PSU Symphonic Band Concert

October 28 @ 7:00 pm
Hanaway Theatre

Join the Plymouth State University Symphonic Band for their first concert of the season.

Tickets range from $6-$15

Eagle Pond Authors’ Series: Sandy Yannone

October 29 @ 7:00 pm
Smith Recital Hall

Sandra Yannone grew up near the edge of the Atlantic Ocean off Long Island Sound in Old Saybrook, Connecticut. She is the author of Boats for Women (Salmon Poetry, 2019). Her poems and book reviews have also appeared in numerous print and online journals including Ploughshares, Prairie Schooner, The Stony Thursday Book, Glass: A Poetry Journal, Women’s Review of Books, The Gay and Lesbian Review (Worldwide), CALYX, and Seattle Review. Currently, she is the Faculty Director of the Writing Center at The Evergreen State College in Olympia, WA. Generous support from the Follett Higher Education Group at the PSU Bookstore helps keep this series free and open to the public. A book signing and reception will follow the reading.

Free and open to all but TICKETS are REQUIRED!

Sidore Lecture: Harold Meyerson

November 5 @ 7:00 pm
Smith Recital Hall

Title: Should America Become More Socialistic? Throughout the 20th century, as other industrialized democracies developed socialist and social democratic parties and governments, the United States stood out as the one advanced democracy without either — though the New Deal and Great Society enacted widely popular programs that were essentially social democratic. In recent years, as American capitalism increasingly rewarded only the rich, record numbers of Americans — particularly young Americans — have come to look positively on socialism. What would a more socialist America look like, and how many Americans actually want the country to become more socialistic? Bio: Since 2001, Harold Meyerson has been an editor of The American Prospect, the Washington-based liberal magazine, oscillating between the posts of executive editor (his current position) and editor-at-large. From 2003 through 2015, he was a weekly op-ed columnist for The Washington Post, writing chiefly on politics and the economy, and currently is a contributing columnist to the op-ed page of the Los Angeles Times. From 1989 through 2001, he was executive editor and chief political writer at L.A. Weekly, then the nation’s largest metropolitan weekly newspaper. He has also contributed articles to The New Yorker, The New York Times, The Atlantic, The New Republic, The Nation, Dissent, The Guardian, The New Statesman, and numerous other publications. The Atlantic has called him one of the nation’s 50 most influential opinion journalists, and his journalism has won numerous awards. He is also the co-author of Who Put The Rainbow in The Wizard of Oz?, a critical biography of Broadway and Hollywood lyricist Yip Harburg, and has published a range of articles on American culture in the first half of the 20th century. Educated in Los Angeles public schools and at Columbia University, Meyerson currently lives in Washington, D.C.

Free and open to all but TICKETS are REQUIRED!

All New England Choral Festival

November 7 @ 7:00 pm
Hanaway Theatre

Over 200 high school students from 50 schools throughout New England spend the day in workshops and rehearsals centered around the theme “Will the Circle Be Unbroken.” The day culminates in a concert that features the Plymouth State University Chorale, Chamber Singers, Mixed Emotions and Vocal Order (student a cappella groups), a featured guest high school choir, and the combined choirs of 300 singers.

Tickets range from $12-$20