Music Committee
The Music Committee of the Friends of the Weston Public Library oversees the presentation of an annual concert series in the Library’s Community Room. The Committee’s mission is “to promote the appreciation and love of music and to expand the cultural opportunities available in Weston by enabling the Library to present a variety of musical programs which are free and open to the public.”
The Music Committee generally presents nine concerts on Sunday afternoons from September through May (with a “winter break” between mid-December and early March), along with an annual MusicFest, an all-day event in May featuring Weston musicians of all ages. Performances in the concert series are varied, ranging from solo piano programs and string quartets to fiddle music and Dixieland Jazz. The Committee is also responsible for supervising the use of the Library’s Steinway piano to ensure that it remains in excellent condition.
Enjoy our popular Sunday concert series from the comfort of home with all new performances. Performances will post at 3:00 PM and will be available on demand thereafter.
- December 13 - Jon Sakata and Jung Mi Lee, piano 4-hands
- January 10- May Phan, solo piano
- January 31 – Duo Ami, piano and cello
- February 14– Minkyung Oh, solo piano
- February 28– Sayuri and Joel, piano and oboe
- March 14- Shelly Otis, harp with percussion and lecture
- March 28 – Natalie Zhang, solo piano
- April 11 - ArtiQue, string ensemble
- April 25 - Jon Sakata and Jung Mi Lee, piano 4-hands
Coming December 13th at 3 PM
Sunday, December 13 at 3 p.m. Virtual Piano Four Hands Concert featuring Jon Sakata and Jung Mi Lee. The Music Committee of the Friends of the Weston Library is delighted to announce the first performance in its innovative Virtual Concert Series, which will consist of nine concerts aired online and on local cable channels between this December and next April. Jon Sakata and Jung Mi Lee, two renowned concert pianists beloved by the Library’s audiences ever since they first performed in the Community Room over 20 years ago, will launch the Series in a spectacular fashion, performing a piano four hands concert featuring Mozart’s “Fantasy in F minor,” Leopold Godowsky’s “Symphonic Metamorphoses on Künstlerleben (Artist’s Life) by Johann Strauss II,” and Maurice Ravel’s “La Valse—poème chorégraphique.”
Jon and Jung Mi filmed these pieces in the stunning Bowd Concert Hall at Phillips Exeter Academy in New Hampshire, where both are on the faculty. The première of this performance will be aired on Sunday, December 13th at 3 p.m. on the Library’s Facebook, YouTube, and Instagram platforms, as well as by the Weston Media Center’s Video On Demand service. For audience members unable to access the Internet, the Media Center will also broadcast the concert on its public channels, Verizon Channel 45 and Comcast Channel 9. After each première, concerts will continue to be available online and on the local cable channels for viewers to enjoy. Audience members will receive email links to each performance in advance, and links will also be available on the Library’s and Weston Media Center’s websites. The Music Committee encourages concert-goers old and new to join us in this exciting and moving virtual musical adventure.
What is MusicFest?
MusicFest is a daylong celebration of music and Weston musicians sponsored by the Music Committee of the Friends of the Weston Public Library. On Saturday in the spring, the library will host a series of musical programs of approximately 45 minutes in length that present students of any age and instrument who have a Weston connection. The performances, which are open to the public, will be presented informally in the Community Room of the Weston Public Library. Light refreshments in the Art Gallery will follow each concert.
Who can participate?
Young people of all ages who have a connection to Weston are invited to participate. They may be Weston residents, students of Weston teachers, Weston school students, or in groups that have at least one Weston resident member.
MusicFest is open to any form of music, including voice, and any instrument appropriate to be played in a library. Participants may play for a few minutes or advanced groups may plan a program of up to twenty minutes. There is a beautiful Steinway grand piano in the Community Room. There is no rehearsal time available on the piano itself. An accompanist is available upon request. Rehearsal time will be arranged with the Accompanist.
More questions?
Contact westonmusicfest@gmail.com or call Sara at 617-763-5469.
Join the Music Committee
Want to help bring music to the WPL? Apply to become a music committee member!
The Committee meets at the Library at 9:30 a.m. on the third Tuesday most months in order to consider potential performers, establish a concert schedule, and assign volunteer duties connected with the concerts. Beyond its tasks of identifying and vetting performers, the Committee makes all the arrangements for each concert. More specifically, Committee members share the following responsibilities:
- Scheduling: Contacting each performer to schedule a performance date; arranging for a mutually acceptable contract, coordinating with the Library to ensure that the Community Room is available and correctly configured for the performances’ and scheduling piano tuning, if necessary;
- Publicity: Collecting biographical information about each performer and musical information for each program in order to publicize the concerts on the Library’s website, on email lists of concert-goers developed by both the Friends and the Committee, and through articles in local newspapers and online arts websites, making posters to announce each concert, and producing the programs for the performance itself; and
- Concert Duties: Organizing Committee volunteers to assist at concerts, meeting the musicians and assisting them in getting settled, introducing the performers, ushering, and providing refreshments for a reception following each concert.
The Committee is responsible for roughly one performance every two or three weeks during the concert season. While it should not be viewed as a requirement to be present at concerts, it is obviously desirable, as staffing the concerts is a vital part of the success of the series. Committee members need not live in Weston; music lovers from other communities are also welcome to apply for membership.
For more information about the Music Committee, contact Inge Thorn Engler at Engleringe@aol.com or (617) 244-1962.
Recital and Piano Use Information
Under certain conditions, the library and Music Committee occasionally permit the use of the Community room and piano for recitals (up to 2 hours in length). In order for a recital application to be considered, the teacher's studio must either be in Weston or the majority of their students must live in Weston. Please contact the library for more information.