Concerts In New England

New England Music Camp celebrates 75th anniversary

FREE CONCERTS

New England Music Camp hosts free public concerts Saturdays and Sundays through Aug. 14 at 3 p.m. in the Bowl-in-the-Pines on campus, off Route 23 in Sidney. The camp also hosts free student and faculty recitals Wednesday and Friday evenings through Aug. 12, inside the camp’s 300-seat Alumni Hall. For times, call 465-3025.

PUBLIC CONCERT

Violinist Giora Schmidt, a distinguished New England Music Camp alumnus, will perform a public concert at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 6 at J. Duke Albanese Performing Arts Center at Messalonskee High School in Oakland. Schmidt has performed with symphony orchestras around the world; in 2003 he debuted at Carnegie Hall. According to www.gioraschmidt.com, Schmidt began playing violin at age 4. Schmidt’s parents are professional musicians from Israel. His mother was on the faculty at New England Music Camp for a decades. For tickets, call 465-3025.

In this, her third summer, Schnee auditioned for and was selected to play oboe during an honor recital.

"Now I get it," said Schnee of Rome.

"I can feel it rather than trying to survive the piece."

Schnee, whose younger brother Nathan also attends camp, said, "It's not about conquering the instrument, it's about being a part of it and of something bigger."

New England Music Camp, which is celebrating its 75th anniversary, is something bigger.

For three generations, Wiggin family members have directed the camp, which strives to foster a love of making music, development of responsibility, enjoyment of lakeside living and an appreciation of lasting friendships.

In 1937, Paul and Nina Wiggin started the camp for young musicians on the shore of Messalonskee Lake.

They ran the camp until 1969, when their son, Davis Wiggin and his wife, Jeanette, took over. They directed the camp for youth ages 11-18 through 2009.

Since 2010, Davis and Jeanette's son, John Wiggin, and his wife, Kim, have embraced continuing the camp's legacy.

The third generation of Wiggin camp directors met in 1973.

Kim Wiggin was a camper and her husband-to-be, who was four years older, was the music librarian and afternoon lifeguard.

Kim Wiggin, who laughs when she recalls volunteering to be John's cardiopulmonary resuscitation "dummy," said she knew from the moment they met that some day that she would marry him.

In addition to directing the camp, John Wiggin owns a construction business in Scarborough and Kim Wiggin is a teacher.

Free Summer Concerts In New England for 2011 | Day Trips in New ...

A good way to spend a nice summer night is to sit back and enjoy the music at a summer concert held on town greens or a beach with family and/or friends.  Typically, these Summer concerts are free and open to the public.  Some towns have their concerts on local beaches.  Bring along a picnic basket full of your favorite food and have a family picnic as you listen to the music.  Be sure to bring beach chairs or blankets as you may need a place to sit.

Individual towns may present a variety of music styles during their series to cover the many different tastes that people have in music.

Below are a few of the summer concert series that we were able to find for you.  As far as we can tell, these are free.

Do you know of a free Summer concert we missed? Leave a comment below and we will add it to the list.

Sunday Concerts on the Town Green – East Haven, Connecticut

Location: East Haven Green. Time: 7 p.m. Information: 203-468-3204.

The New England magazine

Frommer's New England

The National cyclopaedia of American biography

Who's who in New England

Puritans at Play, Leisure and Recreation in Colonial New England