Events

Discover the captivating arc of transformation in music with Concord Conservatory of Music’s own pianist and speaker, Jackson Carruthers, joined by guest violinist Sarah Whitney. Making this program extra special is an appearance by talented CCM students Henry Ziulkowski and Abigail Kirincich! Together, they will show how a single musical idea evolves and expands, much like our own personal paths from novice learning to expertise. 

Find your breath, your community, and discover the music within you through Native American Style Flute. Guest instructor John Gass from the Concord Conservatory of Music will present and demonstrate his flutes, and teach participants some basics of flute playing with a gentle, direct, and intuitive approach. He is passionate about helping others develop their own talents on the instrument and finding connection to nature, to the larger world, and to each other. No musical background is necessary.

Authors from Independent Presses provide a story hour for grown-ups with author Q&A and book sales and signing. November 20th Robyn Ryle and Emily Ross, authors with Galiot Press will read from SEX OF THE MIDWEST, a novel in stories, and SWALLOWTAIL, a mystery thriller.

The Umbrella's expanded Concert Series in partnership with Salt Lick Incubator showcases some of your future-favorite musical acts that have emerged through the Salt Lick program. Each concert spotlights the incredible talents of tomorrow's groundbreaking artists, creates support and lets you say you knew them back when! Featuring: Olivia Barton, Carter Benjamin, and Kieran Rhodes.

Join The Walden Woods Project and RESTORE: The North Woods for a special presentation from ecologist and wolf expert George Wuerthner. Wuerthner will provide background on the Endangered Species Act as it relates to wolf restoration, how wolves have shaped ecosystems like Yellowstone and how wolf restoration in Oregon and California has progressed. He will also discuss wolves in New England and opportunities for wolf restoration in the region. This is a virtual lecture, and registration is required. Co-sponsored by RESTORE: The North Woods.

Enjoy the best of classic, independent, and foreign films curated by The Concord Film Project at The Umbrella Arts Center, with pre-show dinner options. This November, join us for HOLY COW (2024, dir. Louise Courvoisier), a "luminous and joyful" coming-of-age film set against the picturesque backdrop of French dairy cow farming and cheese competitions. Not rated, but recommended for ages 16+ due to language and sexuality.  In French with English subtitles. 

To meet this moment, we all need to be movement organizers, at least a little bit; whether we're organizing for rallies, service ministry, or advocacy meetings. Long-time organizer Michael Ansara will offer thoughts and reflections on what any organizer or community leader—clergy or lay, secular or faithful—should know as we all strive to be present in the work at hand, of this moment. 

Join the CFPL for a fascinating author talk and book signing by award-winning nonfiction author Leila Philip.

In Beaverland, Leila Philip highlights how this "weird rodent with four orange teeth, humanoid hands, poor eyesight, and a paddle for a tail" plays an outsized role in American history and its future, with major economic and environmental contributions.

Attendance is free.

David Gessner is the author of thirteen books that blend a love of nature, humor, memoir, and environmentalism, including the New York Times bestselling All the Wild That Remains. Gessner is a professor at University of North Carolina Wilmington, where he also founded the literary magazine Ecotone. This year marks the 25th anniversary of David Gessner’s Return of the Osprey, which the Boston Globe hailed as “a classic of American nature writing” and chose as one of its top books of the year.

Join Pulitzer Prize-winning historian Edward Larson for a timely forum on his forthcoming book, Declaring Independence: Why 1776 Matters. As the nation approaches the 250th anniversary of its founding, Larson offers a powerful reexamination of the ideas, debates, and military turning points that made independence possible.