„Sometimes crazy ideas work,“ said musician Andrew Arceci.
In June 2016, he founded the first Winchendon Music Festival which debuted with three free concerts over the course of one weekend with Baroque, jazz and folk programs. While he is an acclaimed concert performer himself, Arceci did not know what to expect. He had never even lived in Winchendon.
However, something clearly worked. On May 31, the Winchendon Music Festival will begin its 10th anniversary season with a free concert by the Arpeggione Ensemble. The classical instrumentalists, including Arceci (bass), will perform Beethoven’s Septet in E-flat Major at 7 p.m. in the Murdock-Whitney House, 151 Front St. Winchendon.
There will be four other free concerts this season in June and October, with the possibility of more if additional funding comes through from sources such as grants and foundations.
„It’s exciting that we’ve survived 10 years,“ Arceci said. „It’s evolved to a full nonprofit (organization).“ He is the festival’s founder and director.
The idea for the festival was well-intentioned rather than crazy. Arceci’s parents and grandparents are from Winchendon and although he never lived there, „it’s one place on the planet I’ve been in and out of my entire life,” he said in an earlier interview. His father, Dr. Robert J. Arceci, an internationally respected pediatric oncologist, was killed in a motorcycle accident on his way to work in Scottsdale, Arizona, in 2015. In addition to the sciences, he was passionate about the arts. The Winchendon Music Festival is dedicated to the memory of Dr. Arceci, who is buried in Winchendon, his hometown.
The idea of a music festival in town “seemed like something that could be useful for the community,” Arceci said.
„It’s a small town, but over the years we’ve attracted some buzz from many places.“
The Winchendon Music Festival has brought local, national and international musicians of classical, folk, jazz, historical performance and world music to the Northern Worcester County town with a population of about 10,000 people.
There have been challenges over the years. The onset of the COVID-19 pandemic led to the cancellation of the live, in-person 2020 and 2021 seasons with some online programing instead. Live concerts resumed in 2022, but early in 2024 it was announced that the festival did not have the funding to proceed with the programs it was hoping to put on in the summer. Happily, a few months later the festival said it had secured support for six concerts that took place in September and October.
The rest of the 2025 season as announced so far includes:
John Arcaro & Band, 7 p.m. June 2, Murdock-Whitney House. Arcaro, professor of music at Berklee College of Music in Boston, leads a program of works from the Great American Songbook, complemented by contemporary jazz compositions.
Duo Sorolla: Ismar Gomes, cello & Wan-Chi Su, piano (classical), 2 p.m. June 3, Murdock-Whitney House.
Double bill: Chris Moyse, singer-songwriter, & Floyds Row (folk/newgrass). 7 p.m. Oct. 3, The Flower Shop, 172 Central St., Winchendon.
Worcester Jazz Orchestra (jazz): 2 p.m. Oct. 4, Winchendon Amphitheater, 86 Ingleside Drive, Winchendon.
The other musicians in the Boston-area Arpeggione Ensemble are Thomas Carroll (clarinet), Elisabeth Axtell (horn), Sally Merriman (bassoon), Rebecca Nelson (violin), Anna Griffis (viola) and Cullen O’Neil (cello). Beethoven’s Septet in E-flat Major „is a really exciting work,“ Arceci said.
Duo Sorolla, from Baltimore, will be performing at the Winchendon Music Festival for the first time. The program for the concert features 20th-century works by Reynaldo Hahn de Echenagucia, Constantino Vicente Gaito, Heitor Villa-Lobos, Gaspar Cassadó i Moreu, and Astor Pantaleón Piazzolla.
The other performers are all returnees to some degree. Arcaro, also a festival board member, has performed at the festival every year. Moyes is from Nashville, while Floyds Row is a British-American group with Hailey Fuqua (soprano), Asako Takeuchi (violin), Jacques Lee Wood (violoncello and banjo), George Lykogiannis (accordion and piano), Mike Williams (percussion), and Arceci (bass and mandolin).
Looking ahead, the Winchendon Music Festival Players will perform with the Worcester Chorus as part of „The Complete Bach“ project on Jan. 24 in Mechanics Hall. The project and the chorus are led by Chris Shepard. „I’ve known Chris Shepard for years,“ Arceci said.
Arceci’s connections have played a large part in bringing the musicians to Winchendon. Arceci is an internationally renowned multi-instrumentalist (including viola da gamba, violone and double bass), concert performer, recording artist, composer/arranger, scholar and teacher. He has previously taught at Worcester State University. He is the former artistic director of the prestigious Arcadia Players in Northampton and divides his time between Europe and Massachusetts.
While the festival’s programs are free to the community, they are not free to put on, Arceci noted.
„We need support to pay the artists. They’re high-level artists,“ he said. Then there are items such as insurance costs.
The festival relies on grants from local councils and foundations, and contributions from local businesses and individual donors not only in the Winchendon-area community but also other communities, Arceci said.
„We have to prove each year that we are worth it,“ he said.
„We work on a year-to-year basis. Once we know more from the foundations, then we can make plans. We’re always looking for additional support.“
Such an approach and model would not really work in a major city, he said. „But it’s a model that’s worked for us.“
The venues for the concerts are small but are well attended.
„We’ve offered these programs and hopefully enough people have enjoyed them,“ Arceci said.
„There’s much behind the scenes with all of this, but it’s really exciting when it all pulls together.“