A World of Music
An introduction to our concert series:
https://youtu.be/aAeGvIeheZY
Fall 2024
Lowell Chamber Orchestra
The Lowell Chamber Orchestra, conducted by MCC faculty member Orlando Cela, will present a program entitled “Music of Reflection.” Works by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Cory Brodack, Erich Wolfgang Korngold, and the world premiere of La Balena by Betsy Schramm will be performed. Katharina Radlberger will be the soloist in Mozart’s Violin Concerto No. 3 in G Major.
3 p.m., Sunday, September 8
Donahue Family Academic Arts Center, Theatre, Lowell Campus
Duos and Trios Featuring Cello, Piano, and Flute
MCC faculty member Carmen Rodríguez-Peralta, pianist, will be joined by cellist Jesús Castro-Balbi and flutist Jill Dreeben. Colorful works by Johann Sebastian Bach, Arthur Foote, Larry Bell, Claude Debussy, and Gaspar Cassadó will be performed.
3 p.m., Sunday, October 6
MCC Concert Hall, Bedford Campus
Phantom of the Opera with Live Music
This haunting American silent film from 1925 will be presented with music by the Dylan Jack Quartet, led by MCC music alumnus Dylan Jack, drummer. The ensemble, which also includes Eric Hofbauer, guitar; Jerry Sabatini, trumpet, and Tony Leva, bass and electronics, will play an original soundtrack, both composed and improvised.
7:30 p.m., Thursday, October 17
Donahue Family Academic Arts Center, Theatre, Lowell Campus
Afro- Brazilian Music with Marcus Santos
MCC faculty member Marcus Santos, drummer, will give a lecture recital which explores the vibrant rhythm and rich heritage of Afro-Brazilian culture. Examples of drumming and dancing from traditions like maculelê and samba-reggae will be featured. He will be joined by dancer Kaitlyn Jolly and percussionist Jobeth Umali.This event is co-sponsored by the MCC Commonwealth Honors Program
11 a.m., Tuesday, October 22
MCC Concert Hall, Bedford Campus
Recording of lecture recital
https://youtu.be/YjMxnDzyXaY
Lowell Chamber Orchestra
A concert of music in the 18th-century style, featuring a small number of players, will be performed. Works by Classical Era composers Joseph Boulogne and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, and contemporary composer Robin Haigh, the winner of the LCO Call-for-Scores, will be performed.
7:30 p.m., Saturday, November 23
Donahue Family Academic Arts Center, Recital Hall, Lowell Campus
Student Recital
MCC student singers and instrumentalists, along with works by music technology students.
12:30 p.m., Monday, December 2
MCC Concert Hall, Bedford Campus
All concerts are FREE and open to the public.
Email Carmen Rodríguez-Peralta, Director of A World of Music Concert Series, at peraltac@middlesex.edu or call her at 781-280-3923 for more information.
View performances by students and faculty https://www.youtube.com/@MCCWorldofMusic/videos
Selected Performances from Spring 2024
Duos and Trios for Oboe, Flute, and Piano
John Ferrillo, Principal Oboe of the Boston Symphony Orchestra, and Elizabeth Klein,
Associate Principal Flute of the BSO, joined Carmen Rodríguez-Peralta, piano, for
a program of works for oboe/piano, flute/piano, and flute/oboe/piano by Benjamin Britten,
Ludwig van Beethoven, Charles-Marie Widor, and Madeleine Dring. A short piano solo
by Larry Bell was also featured.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dv_LjvC2Dbg
Lowell Chamber Orchestra
The Lowell Chamber Orchestra performed Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s Requiem with The
Boston Cecilia chorus and soloists.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k8f471ywAwo
Duo du Sud
Guitarists Raley Beggs (MCC faculty member) and Carl Straussner presented an eclectic
concert featuring western classical music and works by South African composers inspired
by traditional African music. Works by Robert Johnson, Johannes Kapsberger, Ali Farka
Touré, and David Hewitt were performed.
https://youtu.be/P_jHd2iFl1w
Selected performances from fall 2023
Online Saturday Arts Concert featuring MCC Faculty and Alumnus
In a collaboration with Dracut Arts, MCC faculty members Carmen Rodríguez-Peralta,
pianist; Orlando Cela, flutist, and Raley Beggs, guitarist, with MCC alumnus Nathaniel
Abreu, cellist, performed a colorful program of music from Europe, the United States, Latin America, and South
Africa.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vVguZlmFChQ
Literature through Music
MCC faculty members Daniel Fridley, singer; Orlando Cela, flutist; Carmen Rodríguez-Peralta,
pianist; Raley Beggs, guitarist; Todd Brunel, clarinetist/bass clarinetist, and Karen
Oster, narrator, presented a lecture/concert featuring musical works inspired by literature
from many countries. English faculty member Tom Laughlin read his poem Jazz while Todd Brunel improvised. This event formed part of the 2023 Lowell City of Learning Festival.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FaqEgjiGyMU
Lowell Chamber Orchestra
The Hollow Men by Vincent Persichetti
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6hrXpJItcLE
Selected performances from spring 2023
Lowell Chamber Orchestra
Pasquale Tassone's Rhapsody for Flute and Strings performed by Orlando Cela
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5M7LGuYKeTg
Aroma Duo
MCC faculty member Johnny Mok, cellist, and pianist Tianhong Yang performed a varied
program of works by Johann Sebastian Bach, Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky, Franz Liszt,
and new works by Turkish composer Fazil Say, and Afghan composer Arson Fahim.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aq3kkVGOefY
Latin American Music Featuring the Cello
Noted Peruvian cellist Jesús Castro-Balbi joined MCC faculty members Carmen Rodríguez-Peralta,
pianist, and Orlando Cela, flutist, for a colorful program of music from Mexico, Peru,
Argentina, and Brazil, as well as a piece by a Peruvian-American.
Heitor Villa-Lobos: O Canto do Cysne Negro (Song of the Black Swan) for cello and piano
https://youtu.be/7yFq7TF2_ZU
Gabriela Lena Frank: Hombre-Pájaro de Parácas for flute and cello
https://youtu.be/RwN_XiNA4Gw
Camargo Guarnieri: Ponteio e Dansa for cello and piano
https://youtu.be/oXHklKMW0fI
Selected performances from fall 2022
Lowell Chamber Orchestra
The winner of the LCO concerto competition, Roi Karni, bassett clarinet, performed
the Clarinet Concerto by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sk2pSQUi_8A
Raley Beggs, Guitarist
MCC faculty member and noted guitarist Raley Beggs performed a program of colorful
music for solo guitar by Francesco da Milano, Francisco Guerau, Isaac Albéniz, Giulio
Regondi, Maurice Ravel, and Johann Sebastian Bach.
https://youtu.be/9_HX6Vj57ZM
Selected performances from spring 2022
Lowell Chamber Orchestra
The Lowell Chamber Orchestra, conducted by MCC faculty member Orlando Cela, presented
works from the Baroque Era, combined with later pieces inspired by this era. The Double
Concerto for Recorder and Traverso by Georg Philipp Telemann, featuring Aldo Abreu
and Orlando Cela as soloists, and the Suite from Castor et Pollux by Jean-Philippe Rameau were performed. Suite Française après Gervaise by Francois Poulenc and the world premiere of Greyed Rainbow by Dana Kaufman reflected the influence of the Baroque.
https://youtu.be/iTaBKg-8sgU
Featuring MCC Music Faculty
MCC Music faculty members Todd Brunel, clarinetist; Orlando Cela, flutist; Johnny
Mok, cellist; and Carmen Rodríguez-Peralta, pianist performed works for various combinations
of instruments by Gabriel Fauré, Mikhail Glinka, Manuel de Falla, Guillaume Connesson
and Carlos Gardel. A piano solo by Larry Bell and Jazz improvisations for bass clarinet
were also featured.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IdkIo54lTd0
Selected performances from fall 2021
The Black Cat
Celebrate Halloween year round by experiencing The Black Cat by Larry Bell for cello, piano and narrator, based on the short story by Edgar Allan
Poe. Additional haunting music by Gabriela Lena Frank, Edvard Grieg and Camille Saint-Saëns
is featured. MCC faculty members Carmen Rodríguez-Peralta, pianist, and Orlando Cela,
flutist, are joined by Sam Ou, cellist, and Larry Bell, composer/narrator.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1jsY7d_Qywg
Live concert from summer 2021
Rasa String Quartet performing a colorful and varied program by Florence Price, Amy
Beach, Wei-Chieh Lin, José Elizondo, Felix Mendelssohn and some traditional Danish
folk music.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BjWlp0HCPbE
Selected live recording performances from spring 2021
Celebrating Black Composers from Europe, Africa, United States and South America
MCC faculty members Todd Brunel, clarinet/saxophone; Orlando Cela, flute; Eunghee
Cho, cello; Carmen Rodríguez-Peralta, piano and Marcus Santos, drums presented a colorful
program illustrating a variety of styles from the 1700’s to the present. Works by
Joseph Bologne (Le Chevalier de Saint Georges), Florence Price, Samuel Coleridge Taylor,
“Blind Tom” Wiggins, Bongani Ndodana-Breen, and Jazz greats Geri Allen and Duke Ellington
were featured. There was also a selection featuring Afro-Brazilian drumming with guest
dancer Kaitlyn Jolly.
https://youtu.be/W2DpaqH00q4
Lowell Chamber Orchestra: Miniature Universes
The Lowell Chamber Orchestra, conducted by MCC faculty member Orlando Cela, performed
Dance Preludes (third version) by Witold Lutosławski; Sinfonietta, Op. 1 by Benjamin
Britten, and Symphony No. 5 by Franz Schubert.
https://youtu.be/q0SS7O2byYU
Selected live recording performances from fall 2020
Piano Recital of Carmen Rodriguez-Peralta
Works by J.S. Bach, Larry Bell, Beethoven, Debussy and Ginastera
Recorded by Bedford TV
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9njSegpDIC8&feature=youtu.be
Lowell Chamber Orchestra: Hidden Landscapes
The LCO, conducted by Orlando Cela, performed works by Bongani Ndodana-Breen, Evan
Williams and Appalachian Spring by Aaron Copland.
https://youtu.be/8lLKSBML0Go