Mission
The Wolfeboro Friends of Music is dedicated to artistic excellence in music, presenting affordable, live and diversified musical performances to greater Wolfeboro area audiences. The organization advances appreciation of the performing arts for area students by presenting and funding educational programs for Lakes Region student audiences including in school performances, workshops, masterclasses, and residencies featuring professional performing artists. The Wolfeboro Friends of Music contributes to establishing Wolfeboro as a center for the musical arts for the cultural benefit and enhancing commerce in our community.
Our Story
1935
The Origin Story
Amy Cheney Beach (1847- 1944) was an acclaimed concert pianist and orchestral composer in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. She performed throughout the United States and Europe. Born in Henniker NH, Amy Beach opened the door for women aspiring to careers as professional musicians and composers.
Ella Lord Gilbert, a Wolfeboro resident, was an accomplished pianist and authority on American music. She met and befriended Amy Beach at the MacDowell Colony in Peterborough NH, where they gave lectures and performed piano recitals dedicated to the promotion of American art music (classical style). The world-famous artists’ retreat is named after the late Romantic Period composer Edward MacDowell and is located on the property of his NH summer residence.
In 1935, Ella Lord Gilbert formed an American music association, named after her mentor, the Amy Beach Club. It showcased and advocated for American art music, primarily for and by women. In 1941, Ella brought the Amy Beach Club to Wolfeboro NH. For much of its early history, the Amy Beach Club was an intimate concert association, often with concerts in private homes featuring New England or NH based artists.
Mid-20th Century
Growth & Program Development
In 1960, the Amy Beach Club annual banquet was held at the Sunny Villa, Rt. 16, Ossipee, NH overlooking Green Mountain. The guest speaker was popular NH Governor, Wesley Powell who praised the association’s cultural contribution to the Lakes Region and the State of NH. He noted the participation of Congressman and Mrs. Chester Merrow who were members and frequent performers. It was around this time that the association took on a more public profile and presented concerts open to the general public featuring nationally touring artists with enhanced promotion and recognition in the media. The artistic focus evolved from ‘American classical’ to a more diverse palette that welcomed such musical genres as jazz, blues, Broadway, and pop, both American and International. The criteria for selection was always a ‘high bar’, the legacy of Amy Beach and Ella Lord Gilbert, who died shortly after on December 26, 1967.
In 1981, the organization changed its name to ‘Wolfeboro Friends of Music’.
In 1991, WFOM obtained its not-for-profit status with a 501-c-3 IRS designation, a proud tradition and legacy for the advancement of great music and culture.
Present Day
Looking towards the future.
In 2023/24, Wolfeboro Friends of Music changed its fundamental operating status as an all-volunteer, board of directors driven organization, with the introduction of the Executive Director staff position. This provides the opportunity to more fully explore the vast menu of professional musicians and artists worldwide and more completely develop its audience and creative community of patrons. It also allows the organization to develop its production capacity with technological advances in sound, lighting, and creative resources for presentation.
The Wolfeboro Friends of Music invite you to the party!
Be part of history as we shape the next 90 years of artistic service to Wolfeboro, NH’s Lakes Region, the Ossipee Mountain Region, and beyond.