concerts

Music Mountain and Wethersfield present Ulysses Quartet in concert

Music Mountain and Wethersfield present Ulysses Quartet in concert

Ulysses Quartet

Lara St. John

Music Mountain is partnering with Wethersfield Estate & Garden in Amenia to present the acclaimed Ulysses Quartet, joined by clarinetist and Music Mountain artistic director Oskar Espina Ruiz. The performances, on Saturday and Sunday, Nov. 15 and 16, will open Music Mountain’s Winter Concert Series — an extension of the beloved summer festival into the colder months and more intimate venues.

The program features Seth Grosshandler’s “Dances for String Quartet,” Thomas Adès’s “Alchymia for Clarinet Quintet,” and Mendelssohn’s String Quartet in E Minor, Op. 44, No. 2. Adès’s 2021 composition draws inspiration from Elizabethan London. Each movement is “woven from four threads,” writes the composer with titles that refer to Shakespeare’s “The Tempest,” John Dowland’s lute-song “Lachrymae,” variations on the playwright Frank Wedekind’s “Lautenlied” and more.

Praised for their “otherworldly magic” (The Millbrook Independent), the Ulysses Quartet brings a remarkable chemistry to the stage, one honed through years of international accolades and residencies. Espina Ruiz, known for his “tender warmth” and “rhapsodic ease” on clarinet, will join the quartet for Adès’s modern masterwork.

The Carriage House at Wethersfield, with its singular acoustics and historic charm, offers an ideal setting for this blend of heritage and innovation. A reception with the artists will follow each performance.

Tickets are available at wethersfield.org or by calling (845) 373-8037. Doors open at 2:30 p.m. Performances at 3 p.m.

concerts

Latest News

Ski jump camp for kids returns Dec. 27, 28

Ski jump camp for kids returns Dec. 27, 28
Ski jump camp for kids returns Dec. 27, 28
Photo provided

The Salisbury Winter Sports Association (SWSA) will host its annual Junior Jump Camp, a two-day introduction to ski jumping, on Saturday and Sunday, Dec. 27 and 28, from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Satre Hill in Salisbury.

The camp is open to children ages 7 and up and focuses on teaching the basics of ski jumping, with an emphasis on safety, balance and control, using SWSA’s smallest hill. No prior experience is required.

Keep ReadingShow less

Six newly elected leaders join Northwest Hills Council of Governments

Six newly elected leaders join Northwest Hills Council of Governments

Jesse Bunce, first selectman of North Canaan.

Photo provided

LITCHFIELD — The Northwest Hills Council of Governments welcomed six newly elected municipal leaders Thursday, Dec. 11, at its first meeting following the 2025 municipal elections.

The council — a regional planning body representing 21 towns in northwest Connecticut — coordinates transportation, emergency planning, housing, economic development and other shared municipal services.

Keep ReadingShow less

Mountaineers fly high in preseason basketball

Mountaineers fly high in preseason basketball

Ryan Segalla takes a fadeaway shot over a defender.

By Riley Klein

FALLS VILLAGE — Housatonic Valley Regional High School’s boys basketball team defeated Pine Plains High School 60-22 in a scrimmage Tuesday, Dec. 9. The non-league preseason game gave both sides an opportunity to run the court ahead of the 2025-26 varsity season.

HVRHS’s senior-heavy roster played with power and poise. The boys pulled ahead early and kept their foot on the gas through to the end.

Keep ReadingShow less

Kent toy drive brightens holiday season

Kent toy drive brightens holiday season

Katie Moore delivers toys to the Stuff a Truck campaign held by the Kent Volunteer Fire Department last weekend. Donated toys are collected so that parents, who need some assistance, may provide their children with gifts this Christmas. Accepting the donation are elves Fran Goodsell and Karen Iannucci

Photo by Ruth Epstein

KENT — Santa’s elves were toasty warm as they collected toys for the children of Kent.

Keeping with annual tradition, Fran Goodsell and Karen Iannucci manned the Stuff a Truck campaign sponsored by the Kent Volunteer Fire Department on Saturday, Dec. 6, and Sunday, Dec. 7. Sitting in front of a fire pit in the firehouse parking lot between donations from residents, they spoke of the incredible generosity displayed every season. That spirit of giving was clear from the piles of toys heaped on a table.

Keep ReadingShow less