In August of 2010, Andrew Sheranian took up the post of Organist and Master of Choristers at the Parish of All Saints, Ashmont in Boston, an Anglo-Catholic church known for its commitment to excellence in liturgy and music. The position at Ashmont includes recruiting, training and conducting the Choir of Men and Boys, as well as playing the C.B. Fisk organ (Opus 103) for Masses and Evensongs. Before starting work in Boston, Mr. Sheranian was employed for seven years as the Organist and Choirmaster at Christ's Church, in Rye, New York, a position which included working with a large semi-professional adult choir, as well as a choir of boys and girls.

Prior to his appointment in Rye, Mr. Sheranian was enrolled at Yale University through the Institute of Sacred Music, where he completed his Master of Music degree. While enrolled at Yale, Mr. Sheranian was engaged as Fellow in Church Music at Christ Church New Haven, where he worked with Martin Jean and Robert Lehman. His undergraduate training was completed at the New England Conservatory of Music, under the tutelage of William Porter. As a student in Boston, he worked with Michael Kleinschmidt as Assistant Organist at All Saints, Ashmont. He has given solo recitals at Boston's Old West and Old South Churches, Busch Hall at Harvard University, St. Mary the Virgin and St. Thomas Church Fifth Avenue in New York City, Woolsey Hall at Yale University and on Temple Square in Salt Lake City. In February of 2006, Mr. Sheranian undertook a concert tour of Japan, where he played solo recitals at Suntory Hall in Tokyo, and Minato Mirai Hall in Yokohama. This season, in addition to playing here in Essex, he has given solo recitals at the Cathedral of the Madeleine in Salt Lake City, Methuen Memorial Music Hall in Massachusetts, the Cathedral of the Incarnation in Garden City, New York, and at Trinity Church, Copley Square in the City of Boston.

In addition to his church and concert engagements, Mr. Sheranian is involved as a member of the Association of Anglican Musicians, and has served as a Regional Chair of that organization. He is currently serving on the Board of Directors of the Royal School of Church Music in America.

Andrew returns to Essex after a very favorable reception last summer.

The Meadowmount School of Music in Westport will offer a performance by one or more of its talented students. Meadowmount students are among the most able and promising, and hail from all parts of the USA and abroad. Students have performed in the Essex Community Concerts several times in the past. Famous Meadowmount alumni include Yo Yo Ma and Itzhak Perlman.

For more information: www.meadowmount.com

Herm Matlock has taught at all possible levels; elementary, junior high, high school, college, and graduate levels. He taught at SUNY Plattsburgh from 1977 until 1986, directing the jazz ensemble, teaching applied brass, directing the symphonic band, and teaching a number of courses for the major as well as the non-major. He also served as department chairman for four of those years.

After leaving SUNY Plattsburgh, he directed the Crane Jazz Ensemble at the Crane School of Music, and was director of bands at Franklin Academy in Malone, New York. As a professional musician he has performed with many jazz and pop luminaries, including Clark Terry, Slide Hampton, Phil Woods, Aretha Franklin, and The Temptations.

A former student of Renold Schilke, Herm is now retired and teaching as an adjunct faculty member at SUNY Plattsburgh as well as at North Country Community College in Saranac Lake, New York.

Martha Gallagher has been sharing her distinctive and richly varied performances with audiences for over 30 years. She has a diverse musical background; from classical flautist in a symphony orchestra to lead singer in rock and jazz/blues bands. Martha has performed with such luminaries as six-time Grammy winners, The Chieftains. The 2007 premiere of her innovative original work featuring Celtic harp, voice, and taiko drums marked a world's first of this performance configuration. Martha's extensive solo tours have taken her around the US and into Canada, with several tours sponsored by The National Endowment for the Arts. She has been featured on numerous television and radio programs; appearances include BBC Television, Northeast Public Radio, North Country Public Radio and Good Morning Arizona.

Martha has been a guest artist/clinician at The Berklee College of Music and The Boston Conservatory. She has been a featured guest performer and workshop presenter at national harp conferences and festivals, including The American Harp Society National Conference, The Somerset Harp Festival, The Big Sky Harp Festival, The Southeastern Harp Weekend and HarpCon. Several of her articles have been published in both The American Harp Journal and the Folk Harp Journal.

Martha has delved into working with a variety of ensembles, arranging and performing many of her original works with symphonies, vocal ensembles, hand bell ensembles, and other groups. She has produced and recorded five CDs of primarily original music on her independent label, Singing Strings.

Martha's theatre training and creative movement work includes intensive studies with Shakespeare and Co. and The Celebration Barn Theatre. An actress, storyteller and poet, her live performances go "beyond concert" and into the realm of a one-woman show.

Jessica Roemischer is an internationally acclaimed pianist, writer, and teacher whose transformational model, The Duet Paradigm(R) has been developed over the course of three decades working with individuals of all ages and backgrounds. In performances, workshops, coaching sessions, retreats and lessons, Jessica is sharing the catalytic power of her work.

A consummate artist, her piano interpretations have a rare beauty and authenticity. More than just an accomplished solo musician, Jessica calls upon her abilities to help awaken others to their own true nature. Using her pioneering approach to piano duet improvisation, The Duet Paradigm(R) Jessica has improvised side-by-side at the piano with hundreds of individuals, including those with disabilities. Her wide experience has given rise to a profound understanding of the human condition while revealing the dynamics of healing and change. The result: a potent transformational framework that can be applied with or without music in personal, educational, organizational, and geo-political contexts.

Born into a musical family, Jessica began piano at age six and was improvising and composing from the outset. Her pedagogical lineage through her mother, pianist Miriam Roemischer, links directly to Frederic Chopin and Ludwig van Beethoven. Captivated by the timeless beauty of classical music, Jessica was also a "child of the '60's" (and '70's) and found herself equally as compelled by the soaring harmonies of Crosby, Stills, and Nash, the inimitable guitar of Led Zeppelin, and the hypnotic vocalizations of Van Morrison. Learning to play her favorite songs by ear, she simultaneously pursued classical piano studies with Marilyn Sophos and won awards at the Westchester (NY) Symphony and Westchester Conservatory Concerto competitions, among others.

Since graduating magna cum laude from Princeton University in 1982, Jessica has taught on four continents. Her innovative work in music is informed by a life-long study of philosophy, aesthetics, spirituality and evolutionary thought.