Art & Music in the Gallery

The Gallery hosts a new exhibit every month.

Annual highlights are the Squanicook Colonial Quilt Guild show in the spring, and the student art show in the summer. In December, the Gallery transforms into a winter wonderland!
See video of past shows on our YouTube channel.

In June, the gallery will feature the Student Art Show.

Free Concert

Among the many cultural contributions of coastal European countries, music from Italy, Spain, France, the British Isles, and Scandinavia has enriched not just locally, but worldwide, inspiring each nation’s diaspora as well as the broader society. Please join the Nissitissit String Quartet at 7pm on Friday, June 21 in the Gallery at for our European Cruise concert as they touch on the music of each nationality, often contrasting a beloved classical work from centuries ago with something contemporary and iconic.

The French set, for example, pairs The Swan, the soaring cello solo from Carnival of the Animals by Saint-Saëns with our arrangement of the Ragtime movement from Claude Bolling’s Suite for Violin and Jazz Piano. The British set begins with a classical gem on a Welsh theme by Vaughan Williams and ends with Queen’s Bohemian Rhapsody via an Irish medley, the Scottish Air “Loch Lomand,” and The Nightingale Sang in Berkeley Square in between. Up north, Grieg’s Wedding Day at Troldhaugen starts the Scandinavian tour in Norway, setting the stage for a Swedish finale of Abba’s Dancing Queen.

Based in the pastoral region of Northwest Middlesex County, the Nissitissit String Quartet is four long-time colleagues and friends with a mutual desire for a fresh and fun performance experience. Musical treasures specially crafted from jazz standards, ragtime, Latin, classical, folk and fiddle, pop, rock, Broadway, and Hollywood make up multi-generational concerts that are upbeat and engaging for a wide audience. Concertgoers always seem to appreciate the ensemble’s take on recognizable classics surprisingly arranged for the rich textures of a string quartet.

Lisa Kempskie has a degree in violin from UMass Lowell and has done graduate work at the UConn, Storrs. Equally comfortable on violin and viola, she is principal viola of the Lexington Symphony. Peter Stickel is the violinist for the New England Tenors. He is co-founder and long-time executive director of New England String Ensemble. Valerie Callahan has taught and performed on the violin and viola since childhood. She has a Master's in String Performance from the Boston Conservatory and heads the string program in Dracut. Co-founder of New England String Ensemble, John Bumstead is a Boston area freelance musician performing regularly with Symphony by the Sea and North Shore Music Theater. John is cello professor at UMass Lowell. Please see www.nissitissitstringquartet.org for more information on the group.

Music events are held in the intimate, smoke-free environment of the Art Gallery. Fantastic acoustics draw musicians and listeners from throughout New England. All programs are free and open to the public, and funded by the Pepperell Cultural Council.

Light refreshments are available; coffee and refreshments provided by the Friends of the Library. Donations for PACH, our local food pantry, are welcome at all of our music events.

Open Mic Night is on the 3rd Friday of the month (September through  May), hosted by guest emcees. If you are interested in being an emcee, please contact Deb at email hidden; JavaScript is required. Join us on Friday, May 17th!

Welcome to the inaugural season of the Classical Collective of Pepperell. Our last concert of the season features Lauren Nelson on September 27th. Pepperell resident and violist Lauren Nelson presents a concert of duo and solo music, along with pianist Trevor Berens. Rebecca Clarke’s virtuosic Viola Sonata and Toru Takemitsu’s late work “A Bird Came Down the Walk” will be performed along with other music to be announced!

Classical Collective of Pepperell and the Lawrence Library  is supported in part by a grant from the Pepperell local cultural council, a local agency which is supported by the Mass Cultural Council, a state agency, and by the Friends of the Lawrence Library.

Music events are held in the intimate, smoke-free environment of the Art Gallery. Fantastic acoustics draw musicians and listeners from throughout New England. All programs are free and open to the public.