Wolfeboro Friends of Music presented and funded a student matinee performance for the entire student body and faculty of Brewster Academy, Wolfeboro NH. 

 

The performance featured Daniel Kelly, one of America’s great jazz pianists, a talented composer, and a jazz educator who has been called “stunningly original” with “a visionary imagination.” His music draws inspiration from literature, visual art and journalism, captivating audiences across the country. A prolific composer and tireless musical explorer, Kelly continually seeks out new avenues for his creativity.

 

“Shakespeare in Jazz” included a concert presentation based in iconic passages, scenes, and characters from the plays of William Shakespeare. The trio of artists included Daniel Kelly on piano, a professional actor offering text from Shakespeare, and highly diverse and expressive percussion. During student performances, Mr. Kelly engaged with students and music and literature faculty about his creative methods in adapting the text/scripts of Shakespeare to contemporary Jazz compositions (works).

Wolfeboro Friends of Music hosted Stuart Paton of Burlington Taiko on January 6 and 7. The two-day clinic was primarily presented to the cast of Kingswood Theater’s “The Last Firefly,” as well other students of the Kingswood Arts Center.

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Paton, founder and artistic director, spent the better part of two days teaching 20 high school students the art, history and culture of Taiko. 

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Paton's formal study of Taiko began in 1984 during a summer apprenticeship with Grandmaster Seiichi Tanaka, founder of San Francisco Taiko Dojo — the first Taiko group in North America. In 1986, not long after settling in Vermont, he founded the Burlington Taiko Group.

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Kingswood’s production of “The Last Firefly,” which uses Taiko drumming in its storytelling, debuted on the Kingswood Arts Center stage and at the NHETG Theatre Festival in March of 2026. Paton’s instruction was a key first step to the students’ production.

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“This is precisely why the Kingswood Arts Center was built,” said theater director and Arts Center Coordinator Scott Giessler. “I am just so incredibly grateful for the generosity of The Friends of Music, and their willingness to provide this opportunity for our students. The amount of knowledge imparted to our students in just two short days was nothing short of stunning. We couldn’t have done it without them.”

Barron Ryan, a nationally touring classical and jazz pianist based in Tulsa Oklahoma, presented an interactive student performance and discussion about the relationship between Classical, Jazz, and African-American Pop music. 

 

Mr. Ryan performed on a Steinway Concert Grand Piano donated to Kingswood Regional High School by Wolfeboro Friends of Music.

 

About the Artist:

Barron Ryan’s love for music has always been divided. The son of two musicians, he grew up in a house filled with the sounds of artists ranging from Mozart to Michael Jackson.

 

After beginning piano lessons at age four with his father, Barron seemed destined for a career in music. Thanks to winning a competition that resulted in a concert tour of Israel, Barron found his artistic voice. He discovered the joy of jazz- and ragtime-inspired concert music that formed the basis of his debut album, Classical with Attitude. He learned from great jazz pianists by replaying their solos on his second album, ‘The Masters’ Apprentice’.

 

In 2021, Barron was commissioned by Chamber Music Tulsa to produce a work to commemorate the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre. He wrote a piece for piano trio entitled “My Soul Is Full of Troubles” and was named one of “Ten Innovators To Watch” by Smithsonian Magazine.

The Westerlies, a nationally touring brass quartet comprised of 2 trumpets and 2 trombones, presented a student performance based in the origins of American 19th Century music. They then invited 25 student musicians to join them on-stage for an experimental session in music improvisation.

 

Note: The Westerlies are one of the only Trumpet/Trombones brass ensembles in the world.

 

About the Artists:

The Westerlies, “an arty quartet…mixing ideas from jazz, new classical, and Appalachian folk.” (New York Times) are a New York-based brass quartet comprised of childhood friends from Seattle. From Carnegie Hall to the Baryshnikov Arts Center, The Lied Center of Kansas, the Bermuda Festival of Performing Arts, and the New York Philharmonic Sidewalk Series.

 

The Westerlies navigate a wide array of venues and projects with the precision of a string quartet, the audacity of a rock band, and the charm of a family sing-along.

 

Formed in 2011, the self-described “accidental brass quartet” are “Skilled interpreters who are also adept improvisers” (NPR’s Fresh Air), The Westerlies explore jazz, roots, and chamber music influences to create the rarest of hybrids: music that is both "folk-like and composer-ly, lovely and intellectually rigorous” (NPR Music).