2024-2025 PACC Concert Series
Advance Tickets: $18 adults, $12 seniors/students
Tickets at the door: $23 adults, $15 seniors/students
concertseriestix@pacc-ucc.org, 781-643-8680
Harvest Home
Sunday, November 3, 2024, 3 PM
Shelley Otis (Celtic harp, voice) and Karen Burciaga (fiddle, voice) of the Celtic music group, Ulster Landing, will take us on an autumnal tour including energetic Irish reels and hornpipes, trance-like Breton dances, soul-stirring Scottish laments, lilting Manx waltzes, and more. Twin voices intertwine with harp and fiddle in evocative songs of harvest and fireside, and even a spooky tune or two in honor of All Hallows Eve!
Christmas Favorites
Sunday, December 8, 2024, 3 PM
Our 34th annual PACC Christmas Concert is offered in person this year with adult singers led by Jeffrey Brody, and young singers under the direction of Andrea Hart, as well an instrumental offering and a wide range of Christmas favorites. These include several versions of “Ave Maria,” well-known traditional carols and a chance to sing along with the choirs. While this concert is PACC’s gift to the community, we appreciate support for our pipe organ and music program with a suggested donation of $15.
An Afternoon with the Saxyderms
Saturday May 10, 2025, 3 PM
Beginning as a saxophone quartet at Tufts University, this group has grown to become New England’s favorite all-saxophone ensemble. In addition to enchanting audiences in the Boston area and beyond, they strive to provide a fun and warm environment for their members to make new friends while playing a very wide range of music including popular, movie themes, classical, folk, and jazz. This concert will include a wide range of musical genres, bolstered by a percussion section.
About the series
In 1989, the Music Committee of the Park Avenue Congregational Church undertook the task of restoring our historic Skinner organ. At that time, a price of $60,000 was quoted for the restoration work. Restoration work proceeded slowly due to budget constraints. In 1991 our then choir director, John Cavicchia, directed a Christmas Concert with our Choir, putting the money raised towards the restoration fund. This was the start of the PACC Concert Series.
In addition to our annual Christmas concert, we have invited a number of soloists and groups, all professionals, to perform in the acoustically vibrant Sanctuary as well as more informally in the Parish Hall. Concerts have ranged from classical, to choral, to folk coffeehouses. While the initial restoration process is nearly complete, good stewardship of our beautiful instrument means we need to establish an on-going fund for future repair and maintenance so that we will never again be faced with such a large task for restoration. As a result, the Music Committee has decided to continue its mission of promoting local musicians in the PACC Concert Series, which will raise funds for additional projects in the Music program at PACC and establishing a permanent fund for the E. M. Skinner Organ Maintenance.
Our Sanctuary seats about 300 and features a handsome brick interior with exceptional acoustics – chamber music and a capella groups particularly enjoy using our Sanctuary as a performance space. It is large enough for a good sized concert, yet intimate enough that everyone can see the performance easily.
We have some recordings of Concert Series performances for you to hear.
If you are an artist looking for a venue or looking for information about participating in our Concert Series, contact the Concert Series Committee.
Prior seasons
Be sure to explore the names of performers from some of our prior seasons, and try to see them again this year when they perform in the New England area:
- 2023-2024 season
- 2019-2020 season
- 2018-2019 season
- 2017-2018 season
- 2016-2017 season
- 2015-2016 season
- 2014-2015 season
- 2013-2014 season
- 2012-2013 season
- 2009-2010 season
- 2008-2009 season
- 2007-2008 season
- 2006-2007 season
- 2005-2006 season
Press releases for the concert series have appeared in modified form in the Arlington Advocate and on YourArlington:
- 2015-2016 season
- Trio Klaritas, September 2015, Kathleen Fink
- 2014-2015 season
- A Family Affair: Music of Liszt, von Bülow, & Two Wagners, October 2014, by Kathleen Fink
- Christmas Past and Christmas Present, December 2014, by Kathleen Fink
- Spring Fling Concert with Joanna Porackova and Friends, March 2015, by Kathleen Fink
- Vox Lucens Performing “On the Edge of Baroque”, May 2015, by Kathleen Fink
- 2013-2014 season
- Conversations from the Piano, October 2013, by Kathleen Fink
- A Figgy Pudding Christmas, December 2013, by Kathleen Fink
- Widening Circles of Influence, January 12 2014, by Kathleen Fink
- Sweet May Hath Come, May 2014, by Kathleen Fink
- 2012-2013 season
- Peace on Earth, December 2012
- A Musical Journey through Europe, February 2013
- Cabin Fever Coffeehouse with einstein’s little homunculus, March 2013
- Bach and the Lyric Trumpet & Organ, April 2013
- 2011-2012 season
- Cello through the Ages, November 2011
- The Joy of Christmas, December 2011
- Arias, Songs and Duets with Passion and Drama, March 2012
- From Formal to Fanciful… Music for Flute and Piano, May 2012
- 2010-2011 season
- Persian Blue Coffee House and concert pictures, October 21, 2010, by Kathleen Fink
- Celebrating 20 years of Christmas, December 2, 2010, by Kathleen Fink
- Trumpet and Organ in Concert, March 3, 2011, by Kathleen Fink
- Vox Lucens Performing Stories in Song, April 2011, by Kathleen Fink
- 2008-2009 season
- PACC Annual Christmas Concert, December 4, 2008, by Connie Dugan
- 2007-2008 season
- Cabin fever coffeehouse with elh, February 2008, by Merrith Sabo-Jones
- Vox Lucens, November 2007, by Merrith Sabo-Jones
- 2005-2006 season
- Swing into summer, May 2006, Merrith Sabo-Jones
- Other
- Longwood Opera, May 2009