World of Music at MCC
Exploring the World Through Music!
"A World of Music" concert series, featuring free concerts open to the community.
During each Fall and Spring semester, the College welcomes a variety of performers to put on diverse and vibrant free concerts for the community. Coordinated by MCC's Music Department Chair, Carmen Rodríguez-Peralta, every performance highlights diverse music and musicians from around the world, including Middlesex faculty and students.
All World of Music concerts are FREE and open to the public. If you are visiting MCC for the first time, review MCC's Transporation & Parking page.
Spring 2025
Lowell Chamber Orchestra
The Lowell Chamber Orchestra, conducted by MCC faculty member Orlando Cela, will perform
three colorful pieces which feature the woodwinds, brass, and percussion sections.
Danse Nègre by Samuel Coleridge-Taylor, third little symphony by Kevin Scott, and
Antonin Dvořák’s beloved Serenade for Winds will be performed.
7:30 p.m., Saturday, February 1
Donahue Family Academic Arts Center, Theatre, Lowell Campus
Online Saturday Arts Concert featuring MCC Faculty, Alumni and Students
In collaboration with Dracut Arts, this concert will feature a variety of performers
and music. MCC faculty members Carmen Rodríguez-Peralta, pianist; Raley Beggs, guitarist;
and Daniel Fridley, bass; MCC alumni Sarah Kiel, Baroque violin and violin; Anthony
Lumenello, pianist; Lucas Vaudo, baritone; and MCC students Lila Ablimit, pianist;
Navarre Williams, guitarist, and members of the MCC Guitar Ensemble will perform.
Short works by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Johann Kaspar Mertz, Heinrich Ignaz Franz
Biber, Stefano Donaudy, Leo Brouwer, Johann Sebastian Bach, Samuel Coleridge-Taylor,
Carl Loewe, Alberto Ginastera, and Joseph Kosma will be featured.
4 p.m., Saturday, March 8
Register at Dracut Arts.
Know Orchestra
Know Orchestra is a versatile contemporary quintet that blurs the boundaries between
classical, jazz, and singer-songwriting. MCC faculty member Todd Brunel will be featured
on clarinets and saxophone, along with his bandmates Gary Fieldman, percussion; Íma
Jónsdóttir, violin and voice; Valerie Thompson, cello and voice, and Dan Shaud, French
Horn, piano, and voice. This will be a fun afternoon of all original compositions
and songs.
3 p.m., Sunday, March 23
Donahue Family Academic Arts Center, Recital Hall, Lowell Campus
Piano Recital by Anastasia Seifetdinova
Noted Ukrainian pianist Anastasia Seifetdinova has performed throughout Europe, the
United States, Japan, and Mexico. She will perform works by Felix Mendelssohn, Franz
Joseph Haydn, Robert Schumann, and short pieces by Ukrainian composers Nestor Nyzhankivsky,
Boris Lyatoshinsky, and Vsevolod Zaderatzky.
8 p.m., Friday, April 4
MCC Concert Hall, Bedford Campus
Guqin and Viola in Musical Dialogue
Simon Debierre, who plays the Guqin, and Ruixin Niu, violist, will bring together a revered Chinese instrument with over
two thousand years of history, and the viola, known for its warm, expressive tone
and versatility. This program will feature traditional Chinese music, modern compositions,
and French works influenced by Chinese pentatonic scales, offering a rich tapestry
of sounds that bridge ancient traditions and contemporary creativity. The concert
will open with a demonstration of Niu’s 3-D printed hybrid violin/viola with LED lights,
which helps to illustrate these special Chinese scales.
8 p.m., Friday, April 11
MCC Concert Hall, Bedford Campus
Lowell Chamber Orchestra
Entitled “Voices Near and Far,” this program features music from the past and present.
Till Voices Wake Us by Simon Andrews, the winner of the 2024 LCO Call-for-Scores, will be performed,
and violist Jeremy Kienbaum, winner of the 2024 LCO Young Artist Competition, will
be the soloist in Two Romances by Adolphus Hailstork. The concert will also include
works by Felix Mendelssohn, Max Bruch, and Igor Stravinsky.
7:30 p.m., Saturday, April 26
Donahue Family Academic Arts Center, Recital Hall, Lowell Campus
Student Recital
MCC student singers and instrumentalists, along with works by music technology students.
12:30 p.m., Monday, April 28
MCC Concert Hall, Bedford Campus
Contact Us!
Carmen Rodríguez-Peralta
Chair of Music, Director of A World of Music Concert Series
PeraltaC@middlesex.edu
781-280-3923
Past Selected Performances
Below is an archive of past performances where you will find a description and a link to view a recording of each performance.
Lowell Chamber Orchestra
The Lowell Chamber Orchestra, conducted by MCC faculty member Orlando Cela, will present
a program entitled “Music of Reflection.” Works by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Cory Brodack,
Erich Wolfgang Korngold, and the world premiere of La Balena by Betsy Schramm will be performed. Katharina Radlberger will be the soloist in Mozart’s
Violin Concerto No. 3 in G Major.
Duos and Trios Featuring Cello, Piano, and Flute
MCC faculty member Carmen Rodríguez-Peralta, pianist, will be joined by cellist Jesús
Castro-Balbi and flutist Jill Dreeben. Colorful works by Johann Sebastian Bach, Arthur
Foote, Larry Bell, Claude Debussy, and Gaspar Cassadó will be performed.
Phantom of the Opera with Live Music
This haunting American silent film from 1925 will be presented with music by the Dylan
Jack Quartet, led by MCC music alumnus Dylan Jack, drummer. The ensemble, which also
includes Eric Hofbauer, guitar; Jerry Sabatini, trumpet, and Tony Leva, bass and electronics,
will play an original soundtrack, both composed and improvised.
Afro- Brazilian Music with Marcus Santos
MCC faculty member Marcus Santos, drummer, will give a lecture recital which explores
the vibrant rhythm and rich heritage of Afro-Brazilian culture. Examples of drumming
and dancing from traditions like maculelê and samba-reggae will be featured. He will be joined by dancer Kaitlyn Jolly and percussionist Jobeth
Umali.This event is co-sponsored by the MCC Commonwealth Honors Program
Lowell Chamber Orchestra
A concert of music in the 18th-century style, featuring a small number of players,
will be performed. Works by Classical Era composers Joseph Boulogne and Franz Joseph
Haydn, and contemporary composer Robin Haigh, the winner of the LCO Call-for-Scores,
will be performed.
Student Recital
MCC student singers and instrumentalists, along with works by music technology students.
Duos and Trios for Oboe, Flute, and Piano
John Ferrillo, Principal Oboe of the Boston Symphony Orchestra, and Elizabeth Klein,
Associate Principal Flute of the BSO, joined Carmen Rodríguez-Peralta, piano, for
a program of works for oboe/piano, flute/piano, and flute/oboe/piano by Benjamin Britten,
Ludwig van Beethoven, Charles-Marie Widor, and Madeleine Dring. A short piano solo
by Larry Bell was also featured.
Lowell Chamber Orchestra
The Lowell Chamber Orchestra performed Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s Requiem with The
Boston Cecilia chorus and soloists.
Duo du Sud
Guitarists Raley Beggs (MCC faculty member) and Carl Straussner presented an eclectic
concert featuring western classical music and works by South African composers inspired
by traditional African music. Works by Robert Johnson, Johannes Kapsberger, Ali Farka
Touré, and David Hewitt were performed.
Online Saturday Arts Concert featuring MCC Faculty and Alumnus
In a collaboration with Dracut Arts, MCC faculty members Carmen Rodríguez-Peralta,
pianist; Orlando Cela, flutist, and Raley Beggs, guitarist, with MCC alumnus Nathaniel
Abreu, cellist, performed a colorful program of music from Europe, the United States,
Latin America, and South Africa.
View performance by alumnus and faculty.
Literature through Music
MCC faculty members Daniel Fridley, singer; Orlando Cela, flutist; Carmen Rodríguez-Peralta,
pianist; Raley Beggs, guitarist; Todd Brunel, clarinetist/bass clarinetist, and Karen
Oster, narrator, presented a lecture/concert featuring musical works inspired by literature
from many countries. English faculty member Tom Laughlin read his poem Jazz while Todd Brunel improvised. This event formed part of the 2023 Lowell City of Learning Festival.
Lowell Chamber Orchestra
View Pasquale Tassone's Rhapsody for Flute and Strings performance by Orlando Cela.
Aroma Duo
MCC faculty member Johnny Mok, cellist, and pianist Tianhong Yang performed a varied
program of works by Johann Sebastian Bach, Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky, Franz Liszt,
and new works by Turkish composer Fazil Say, and Afghan composer Arson Fahim.
View performance by faculty and pianist.
Latin American Music Featuring the Cello
Noted Peruvian cellist Jesús Castro-Balbi joined MCC faculty members Carmen Rodríguez-Peralta,
pianist, and Orlando Cela, flutist, for a colorful program of music from Mexico, Peru,
Argentina, and Brazil, as well as a piece by a Peruvian-American.
View O Canto do Cysne Negro (Song of the Black Swan) by Heitor Villa-Lobos.
Lowell Chamber Orchestra
The winner of the LCO concerto competition, Roi Karni, bassett clarinet, performed
the Clarinet Concerto by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart.
View their performance.
Raley Beggs, Guitarist
MCC faculty member and noted guitarist Raley Beggs performed a program of colorful
music for solo guitar by Francesco da Milano, Francisco Guerau, Isaac Albéniz, Giulio
Regondi, Maurice Ravel, and Johann Sebastian Bach.
View Beggs's performance.
Past Student and Alumni Performances
MCC music students and alumni are active as performers and composers, and each semester we offer recitals which feature their work. Below is an archive of past performances where you will find a description and a link to view a recording of each performance.
Student Recital, April 2024
Bedford Concert Hall
Student Recital, December 2023
Bedford Concert Hall
Student Recital, May 2023
Bedford Concert Hall
View the student performance
Student Recital, December 2022
Bedford Concert Hall
View the student performance
Student Recital, May 2022
Bedford Concert Hall
View the student performance
Nathaniel Abreu, cello - Fall 2023
with MCC faculty members Orlando Cela, flute, and Carmen Rodriguez-Peralta, piano
Donahue Family Academic Arts Center, Recital Hall
Nathaniel Abreu, cello - January 2022
Bedford Concert Hall
MCC Music Outreach Program
The MCC Music Department Outreach Program, begun in 2005, offers a variety of concerts, lectures, demonstrations, master classes and workshops to students at Lowell High School, the Middlesex Charter School and other area schools. Presentations are given both at the schools and at the MCC Academic Arts Center, Recital Hall and the Concert Hall of the Bedford Campus. These events afford high quality musical experiences, which go beyond the normal high school curriculum, and create a dynamic relationship between Middlesex Community College and the K-12 Fine Arts Pathway initiative. Programs are also given for LIRA, UMass Lowell’s arts program for retirees.
- Vocal workshops
- MCC music faculty performances
- Informal lecture/recitals given by members of the Boston Symphony Orchestra
- Presentations/demonstrations by Cambodian musicians
- Performances of North Indian/Hindustani music
- Performances by jazz musicians
- Performances of Brazilian music
September 25, 2024
Given by Orlando Cela, conductor (MCC faculty) and members of the Lowell Chamber Orchestra
for For LIRA (Learning in Retirement Association)
Donahue Family Academic Arts Center, Recital Hall
July 17, 2024
Given by Raley Beggs, guitar (MCC faculty) for Lowell Youth Leadership Program
Donahue Family Academic Arts Center, Recital Hall
April 23, 2024
Given by Raley Beggs, guitar, and a group of his MCC guitar students for students
from Bromfield High School
Donahue Family Academic Arts Center, Recital Hall
April 20, 2024
Given by Raley Beggs, guitar, and a group of his MCC guitar students for Bedford Council
on Aging
Bedford, Mass.
April 18, 2024
Given by Raley Beggs, guitar for Lowell Girls, Inc.
Donahue Family Academic Arts Center, Recital Hall
February 20, 2024
Given by Raley Beggs, guitar for Lowell Health Center (Teen Block) tour in Lowell
Donahue Family Academic Arts Center, Recital Hall
November 9, 2023
Given by Raley Beggs, guitar for Collegiate Charter School of Lowell
Donahue Family Academic Arts Center, Recital Hall
July 19, 2023
Given by Raley Beggs, guitar for Lowell Youth Leadership Program
Donahue Family Academic Arts Center, Recital Hall
April 21, 2023
Given by Raley Beggs, guitar for Girls Inc. of Greater Lowell
Donahue Family Academic Arts Center, Recital Hall
March 20, 2023
Given by Orlando Cela, flute/Native flute (MCC faculty) for Eliot Upper School
Boston, Mass.