“Sometimes crazy ideas work,” said musician Andrew Arceci.
In June 2016, he founded the first Winchen Dong Music Festival to debut over the weekend with three free concerts in Baroque, Jazz and Folk programs. He is the highly acclaimed concert performer himself, but Arceci didn’t know what to expect. He didn’t even live in Winchendon.
But something obviously worked. On May 31st, Winchen Dong Music Festival celebrates its 10th anniversary with a free concert by the Arpeggione Ensemble. Classical instrumentalists, including Arceci (Bass), will perform Beethoven’s septet at E-Flat Major at 7pm at Murdock-Whitney House, 151 Front St. Winchendon.
Four other free concerts will be held this season in June and October, but more will be held when additional funding arrives from sources such as grants and foundations.
“It’s exciting that we survived for 10 years,” Arcesi said. “It evolved into a completely nonprofit organization (organization).” He is the founder and director of the festival.
The idea for the festival was intentional, not crazy. Arceci’s parents and grandparents are from Winchendon and he never lived there, but “it’s one of the planets I’ve come and go in and out of my life,” he said in a previous interview. His father, Dr. Robert J. Arcesi, an internationally respected pediatric oncologist, was killed in a motorcycle accident in 2015 while working in Scottsdale, Arizona. In addition to science, he was passionate about art. The Winchen Don Music Festival is dedicated to the memory of Dr. Arcesi, buried in his hometown of Winchen Dong.
The idea for a music festival in town “feels like something useful to the community,” Arceci said.
“It’s a small town, but over the years we’ve been attracting some buzz from many places.”
Winchendon Music Festival brings local, national and international musicians to the towns of Northern Worcester County, bringing classical, folk, jazz, historic performances and world music to the towns of Northern Worcester County, with a population of around 10,000 people.
There have been challenges over the years. The onset of the Covid-19 pandemic has now cancelled the live show, the 2020 and 2021 seasons, which had online programming instead. The live concerts resumed in 2022, but it was announced in early 2024 that the festival lacked funds to advance the program they had hoped to take place in the summer. Luckily, a few months later, the festival said it had secured support for six concerts held in September and October.
Duo Sorolla will perform on June 3rd at Wan-Chi Su, Piano, Ismar Gomes, Cello and Winchendon Music Festival.
The rest of the 2025 season announced so far includes:
John Arcaro and Band, 7pm on June 2nd, Murdoch Whitney House. Alcaro, a music professor at Berklee College of Music in Boston, leads the Great American Songbook programme, supplemented by contemporary jazz compositions.
Duo Sorolla: Ismar Gomes, Cello & Wan-chi Su, piano (classical)))Murdoch Whitney House, June 3rd at 2pm.
Double Bill: Chris Moyce, singer-songwriter Floydlow (Folk/Newgrass). October 3rd, 7pm, Flower Shop, 172 Central St., Winchendon.
Worcester Jazz Orchestra (Jazz): 2pm on October 4th, Winchen Dong Amphitheater, 86 Engleside Drive, Winchen Dong.
Other musicians in the Boston Regional Arpeggion Ensemble are Thomas Carroll (clarinet), Elizabeth Addel (horn), Sally Merriman (bassoon), Rebecca Nelson (violin), Anna Griffith (viola), and Karen O’Neill (Cero). The Beethoven sceptette, an E-Flat major, is “a truly exciting piece,” Arceci said.
The Baltimore native will be performing for the first time at the Winchendon Music Festival. The concert program features 20th century works by Reynald Haan de Eche Nagusia, Constantino Vicentegait, Heiter Villa Lobos, Gasparcassad I Moru and Astor Pantarelin Piazzola.
All other performers have been returning to some degree. Arcaro, who is also a festival board member, performs at festivals every year. Moys is from Nashville, and Floydlow is a British-American group including Hailee Fukua (soprano), Takeuchi Asano (violin), Jackley Wood (violoncello and banjo), George Licodiannis (accordion and piano), Mike Williams (percion manden), Alicion, Alicion, Alicion, Alicion, Alicion, Alicion, Alicion, Alicion, Alicion, Alicion, Alicion, Alicion, Alicion, Alicion, Alicion, Alicion, Alicion, Alicion, Alicion, Alicion, Alicion, Alicion, Alicion, Alicion, Alicion, Alicion, Alicion, Alicion, Alicion, Alicion, Alicion, Alicion, Alicion, Alicion, Alicion, Alicion, Alicion, Alicion, Alicion, Alicion, Alicion, Alicion, Alicion, Alicion, Alicion, Alicion, Alicion, Alicion, Alicion, Alicion, Alicion, Alicion, Alicion, Alicion, Alicion, Alicion, Alicion, Alicion, Alicion, Alicion, Alicion, Alicion, Alicion, Alicion, Alicion, Alicion, Alicion, Alicion, Alicion, Alicion, Alicion, Alicion, Alicion, Alicion, Alicion, Alicion, Alicion, Alicion, Alicion, Alicion, Alicion, Alicion, Alicion, Alicion, Alicion, Alicion, Alicion, Alicion, Alicion, Alicion, Alicion, Alicion, Alicion, Alicion, Alicion, Alicion, Alicion, Alicion, Alicion, Alicion, Alicion, Alicion, Alicion, Alicion, Alicion, Alicion,
Going forward, Winchendon Music Festival players will perform with Worcester Chorus at Mechanics Hall on January 24th as part of the “The Complete Bach” project. The project and chorus are led by Chris Shepherd. “I’ve known Chris Shepherd for years,” Arceci said.
Arceci’s connections have played a major role in bringing musicians to Winchendon. Arceci is an internationally renowned multi-instrumentalist (including Viola Da Gamba, Violone and Double Bass), concert performer, recording artist, composer/arranger, academic and teacher. He has previously taught at Worcester State University. He is the former artistic director of Northampton’s honorable Arcadia player, splitting time between Europe and Massachusetts.
The festival’s programs are free to the community, but they are not freely worn, Arceci noted.
“We need support to pay artists. They are high-level artists,” he said. Next, there are items such as insurance costs.
The festival relies on grants from local councils and foundations, as well as contributions from local businesses and individual donors in other communities as well as in Winchendon area communities, Arceci said.
“We have to prove that it’s worth every year,” he said.
“We work on a yearly basis. If we learn more from the foundation, we can plan. We are always looking for additional support.”
Such an approach and model, he said, doesn’t actually work in major cities. “But that’s a model that worked for us.”
The concert venue is small, but I often attend.
“We offered these programs and hopefully people enjoy them,” Arceci said.
“There’s a lot behind the scenes in all of this, but when it draws everything, it’s really exciting.”
This article was originally published during the 10th anniversary season of the Telegram & Gazette: Winchendon Music Festival set
