For many of those in the work force, lunch time is your best opportunity to check personal emails, respond to text messages and catch up on the news of the day.
It’s also a popular time to take a walk or go to the gym, while mentally going over your never ending to-do list of what needs to be accomplished once the work day is over.
So while it’s supposed to be a time to break from the stressors of work, it can be just as busy during that allotted time you get each day.
Oh yeah, and you should probably fit in actually eating your lunch somewhere in there.
Well, twice a month, on the first and second Thursdays, you might want to forget everything you have going on, tell the boss you’re taking a long lunch and head down to the Concord Community Music School.
From November to June, the Bach’s Lunch program features back-to-back weeks of musical fun, with lectures on the first Thursday and concerts the following week – all free and open to the public.
“It’s not unique to us, lots of music school venues have lunch time concerts,” said music school President Peggy Senter.
Each month, the topics, speakers and performers change, but it’s all within the theme for this year, “Music of the Americas.”
“We make a lot of music in America that’s really different and it all has roots,” Senter said.
This also happens to be the 30th season of the Bach’s Lunch series, so it might just be one of the best kept secrets in the city. Oops, this might kind of ruin that – in a good way, of course.
Last year, the theme was “Musical Migrations,” which included examples from all over the globe.
The lectures and concerts are held in Recital Hall, so there’s plenty of room to sit down and enjoy your lunch, while learning something about music.
The Bach’s Lunch programs are held from 12:10 to 12:50 p.m. So if you get an hour break and happen to be within 10 minutes of the music school, you won’t even need to take that long lunch you asked for.
Just this past week, the school wrapped up its February Bach’s Lunch schedule with a concert entitled, “P.S. I Love You: Love Letters,” featuring the duo of Peggo Horstmann Hodes and Kent Allyn. It is, after all, Valentine’s month.
“They’ve had the Valentine’s spot for many years,” Senter said of the duo.
And let us tell you, it was quite the show. Horstmann Hodes put some real feeling behind her singing performance of all those songs about love by Johnny Mercer, Wayne Carson and members of the Beatles.
Allyn treated the audience to his wide array of musical talents, playing the piano, bass and guitar.
“He’s just such an incredible musician,” Senter said.
The duo worked wonderfully together, showing a real musical connection. Their stories and interaction with the audience really added to the experience. And for a few songs, Paul Hodes, Horstmann Hodes’s husband, joined in on the guitar.
It was light hearted and engaging, we even got asked to play a fake kazoo.
The week prior, music school faculty member and jazz musician Matt Langley did a talk entitled, “The Great American Songbook – A Jazz Love Affair.”
“We try really hard to show off the music that we teach,” Senter said.
But it’s not a sit down and just listen kind of lecture. There’s live music, recorded music and a chance to ask questions.
“It’s not at all formal during the lecture weeks,” Senter said. “It’s like a conversation.”
Whether you’re a musician, you just love music or you don’t know much about it, this twice a month program is for anyone – and informative.
“You’re always going to learn something,” Senter said.
It’s completely free to go thanks to the Timothy and Abigail Walker Lecture Fund (and other sponsors). And you’re encouraged to bring your lunch. There’s a coffee and water station, but no microwave, so this might be a good day to bring a sandwich.
We went with a trail mix, and yeah, almost dropped it all over the ground. That would have been embarrassing.
As we said before, the Bach’s Lunch series is held monthly. There have already been lectures and concerts on the military, the winter solstice/Christmas and the Carter Family.
“It’s a wonderful mix and it’s one of the many things I love about Bach’s Lunch,” Senter said.
On March 1, Jose Lezcano will give a talk, “The Guitar in Latin America.” But as we mentioned before, there will also be some live music played.
The following week (March 8), faculty member and classical guitarist, David Ross will give a concert in Recital Hall titled, “South American Seasons: Music of Piazzolla & Villa-Lobos.”
“We have so many kinds of musicians on our faculty, so it’s always a good mix,” Senter said.
April’s program will be centered on the history, traditions and sound of Nepalese, Bhutanese, and Indian music, followed by jazz trios in May. The final installment of the 30th year in June is still a work in progress.
“It’s a pretty good mix of genres,” Senter said. “We’ve had some pretty far-out-there topics and musical combinations.”
For more information, visit ccmusicschool.org.
