MCC’s Concert Series Turns 20 and Features Jack Kerouac’s works set to New Musical Compositions

Celebrating 20 years of the “A World of Music” concert series, Middlesex Community College will return to in-person performances. Carmen Rodríguez-Peralta, MCC’s Chair of the Music Department, is “delighted to celebrate this milestone” and once again perform for a live audience.

“The performers enjoy connecting directly with students and the community through the great variety of music we offer, and we all look forward to these live performances,” Rodríguez-Peralta said. “This fall, we will present new compositions set to the text of Jack Kerouac, offer a Halloween concert, feature a ground-breaking opera examining the trans experience, and conclude with an MCC student recital.”

In collaboration with the “Lowell Celebrates Kerouac Festival” and the Lowell Chamber Orchestra, this event will feature a panel discussion on Jack Kerouac’s works and how to craft musical meaning when setting his text to music. Three new compositions by MCC faculty member Aaron Rosenberg, former MCC faculty member Mark Berger and Karl Henning, set to selected texts by Kerouac, will be premiered.

MCC President Phil Sisson will conclude the program by reading a Kerouac poem while Todd Brunel, bass clarinet, improvises a Jazz solo.

“I am thrilled to participate in the kick-off performance of this fall’s ‘A World of Music,’ concert series and celebrate 20 years of what has become a musical institution at our college,” President Sisson said. “Not only is it exciting to be able to return to live performances, but this event also highlights the wonderful partnerships Middlesex shares with the Lowell Chamber Orchestra and Lowell Celebrates Kerouac Festival.”

Performers will also include members of the Lowell Chamber Orchestra with soprano Rose Hegele and MCC faculty members Rodríguez-Peralta and Rosenberg playing the piano on different selections.

The performance will take place at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday, October 7 at MCC’s Richard and Nancy Donahue Academic Arts Center in the Recital Hall in Lowell. While all of the performers and speakers have agreed to be fully vaccinated, the college is requiring audience members to wear masks to performances throughout the duration of the Fall 2021 concert series.

Other performances throughout the semester include a Halloween concert featuring MCC faculty members, “The Black Cat” at 8 p.m. on Friday, October 29 in Bedford; the Lowell Chamber Orchestra in “Opera: As One,” at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday, November 20 in Lowell; and a Middlesex Student Recital at 12:30 p.m. on Monday, December 13 in Bedford.

All “World of Music” concerts are free and open to the public. For more information about MCC’s Fall 2021 concert series, visit www.middlesex.mass.edu/worldofmusic/ or contact Rodríguez-Peralta at [email protected] or 781-280-3923.

MCC’s Academic Arts Center is located at 240 Central Street in Lowell. With parking not available on site, the nearest public parking facility is the Early Garage on 135 Middlesex St. in Lowell. Visit www.middlesex.mass.edu/transportation/ for more information.

There is still time to register for MCC’s Fall Mini-mester session II, starting on Monday, November 1. Visit www.middlesex.mass.edu/registration/ or call 1-800-818-3434 to register.

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