Concord Community Music School’s Bach’s Lunch series continues the first and second Thursdays in February, with a lecture, “The Art of Songwriting,” on Feb. 3, and a concert, “Spread the Love,” on Feb. 10. Both the lecture and concert feature the talents of Kent Allyn, Paul Hodes, and CCMS faculty member Peggo Horstmann Hodes. These free Bach’s Lunch programs will be presented on the music school’s Youtube channel. Attendees must register in advance to receive the event links. Please register online at tinyurl.com/bachs-lunch-2021 or call 603-228-1196.
Feb. 3, 12:10 p.m.
Peggo Horstmann Hodes, Paul Hodes, and Kent Allyn will each discuss their process of writing songs, some of which will be performed in the concert on Feb. 10.
Feb. 10, 12:10 p.m.
“P squared” and Kent have been musical partners for more than two decades, performing, recording multiple albums, and sharing beach bonfires. This concert will feature some original folk songs, with the debut of a brand new tune, “Until the End of Time,” and two songs written by Nashville singer-songwriter Ariana Hodes (yes, a close relation!), including the title song. We will also honor David Surette with a medley including his song, “Give Me One More Day.” There’s no better way to celebrate Valentine’s Day than this virtual concert at Concord Community Music School.
Kent Allyn, piano and guitar, is an in-demand accompanist and studio musician, as well as a key sideman for several groups and songwriters including Ben Baldwin & the Big Note, Susie Burke & David Surette, Cosy Sheridan, Paul & Peggo, and Kathy Lowe. His stellar bass, piano, and electric guitar work have been heard on numerous recordings. At Berwick Academy since 1989, he has taught private lessons in guitar, piano, and electric bass. Kent says his only claim to fame is that he took piano lessons from Constance (Mrs. T) Tallarico, Steven Tyler’s grandmother. When not playing or teaching music he can be found relaxing in a recreational rowing shell or sailing a peapod on Pepperrell Cove in Kittery Point, Maine.
Paul Hodes is a reformed lawyer and United States Congressman who has been playing guitar since he was 15, learning blues fingerstyle in the ‘60s from bohemians in a studio above the Folklore center in NYC’s Greenwich Village. He is a songwriter, producer, and recordist. He serves on the National Council on the Arts, is a former member of the Concord Community Music School Board, hosts radio shows/podcast on WKXL, and works as a renewable energy consultant.
Peggo Horstmann Hodes, soprano, is an extraordinarily versatile performer. She holds masters’ degrees in Elementary Education from Lesley College and in Vocal Pedagogy from New England Conservatory. Director of the Songweavers women’s chorus at the Concord Community Music School where she also presents Vibrant Voice workshops, Peggo has been a soloist with the New Hampshire Symphony, the Granite State Symphony, the Concord Chorale, and the Musicians of Wall Street. In recital, she has premiered works written for her by William Fletcher and Thomas Oboe Lee. In 2009, Peggo premiered “Kaddish,” a new work about the Holocaust by Lawrence Siegel. Peggo has recorded six CDs with her husband, Paul Hodes, in their groups Peggosus and Peggo & Paul, two of which won Parents’ Choice Awards. Peggo has recorded numerous other CDs, including with femme m’amie, a solo CD – Peggo: In Love, and Homeward Bound with Larksong Trio. Peggo loves to sing anytime … anywhere.
Bach’s Lunch programs are free and open to the public, and take place from 12:10 to 12:50 p.m. on the first and second Thursdays of each month, November through May, in the Music School’s Recital Hall, 23 Wall St., Concord.
The Bach’s Lunch Series is sponsored by The Timothy and Abigail B. Walker Lecture Fund.
For more information, please call 603-228-1196 or visit ccmusicschool.org.