Musicians who worked with Monadnock Music founder James Bolle come together this Sunday to honor his memory with a memorial concert.
Organized by Bolle’s family, the concert is planned to be held at the Nelson Congregational Church, the birthplace of what later became Monadnock Music, and is to feature music written by and performed by those close to Bolle.
“Our hope is to create something in the spirit of what he did,” Bolle’s daughter, Susanna Bolle said. “It’s an eclectic program. I think he would be pleased with it.”
Bolle died in April of complications from Parkinson’s Disease.
Musicians will play music composed by Bolle himself, his teacher Darius Milhaud, his son Ned Bolle, as well as Virgil Thompson, August Kughardt and Johan Sebastian Bach.
The program will be performed at the Nelson Congregational Church, the location of the first Monadnock Music concerts in 1966, when Bolle found himself fascinated by the church’s acoustics and wanted to record there.
“It really is ground zero for Monadnock Music,” Susanna Bolle said. “It’s a very apt space for him, because it’s an unusual space with beautiful acoustics. It has challenges, but it’s worth it.”
Featured musicians will include Leslie Amper on piano, Robert Black on bass, Ned Bolle on guitar, Virginia Eskin on piano, Willa Henigman on oboe, Leonard Hindell on bassoon, James Maddalena on baritone, Rafael Popper-Keizer on cello, Joel Pitchon on violin, Basil Reeve on oboe, Consuelo Scherba on viola and Michael Sussman on clarinet.
The James Bolle Memorial Concert is planned to be held on Sunday at 3 p.m. It is free and open to the public, but space is limited.
Monadnock Music is also planning a memorial concert in honor of Bolle on Oct. 20 at the Peterborough Town House.
The Peterborough concert will feature the Monadnock Festival Orchestra and Chorus, conducted by Gil Rose, performing the Complete Beethoven Symphony Cycle featuring Beethoven’s 9th Symphony.. For more information visit http://www.monadnockmusic.com