Winchendon Music Festival founder Andrew Arceci named artistic director of Arcadia Players

In a recent performance of a program titled "The Migration of Italian Music," six members of Arcadia Players, the prestigious Western Massachusetts-based Early Music ensemble, were joined by viola da gamba, violone and baroque bass instrumentalist Andrew Arceci.

Arceci, who is founder and director of the Winchendon Music Festival, played with and conducted the ensemble. "I conduct with one hand. Sometimes with one of my bows. There's a lot you can do," he said about playing and conducting.

Leading a performance from among the instruments rather than standing on a dais is quite common with Early Music/Baroque chamber groups, Arceci noted.

"It's not conducting with a baton, it's conducting with an instrument," he said.

And Arceci was hoping to make a good impression with Arcadia Players (whose numbers can range depending on the concert, and, these days, the prevailing conditions) in several respects.

That included leading a fine performance with the fellow musicians he was playing with, and impressing the Arcadia Players Board of Directors.

Ensemble artistic director finalist

Arceci was one of three finalists to become the ensemble's next artistic director.

Arceci and violinists Jude Ziliak and Daniel Lee led artistic director audition programs that were recorded over the summer and live-streamed on YouTube in October.

The violin along with keyboards are more traditional instruments to lead an ensemble from.

"It's certainly unusual to be a violone bass playing conductor," Arceci said.

However, it was Arceci who was was handed, well, not the baton on this occasion, but the job.

"I'm honored to be chosen as the new artistic director," Arceci said.

Added Jon Solins, president of the Board of Directors of Arcadia Players: "We are delighted that Andrew Arceci will be joining us as we move into the new realities and new opportunities of the post-COVID era. We look forward to working with Andrew to continue our long tradition of bringing inspired historically-informed performances of great music to audiences in the Pioneer Valley and beyond."

If Arceci has become known to people locally through the Winchendon Music Festival (he also taught for a year at Worcester State University), his predecessor is likely a familiar name as well.

Ian Watson, organist, harpsichordist, pianist and conductor, led Arcadia Players for 10 years, departing after the 2018 concert season. Although originally from England, Watson was former director of music at St. Paul's Cathedral in Worcester and a co-founder and former member of the Worcester Chamber Music Society.

Watson brought Arcadia Players to Worcester on several occasions, including opening the 155th anniversary season of the Worcester Music Festival in 2014 in an all-Beethoven celebration with the Worcester Chorus.

"I've worked with Ian on and off for several years," Arceci said, including performing with the Arcadia Players. However, "I haven't been in touch with him recently."

Founded in 1989

Arcadia Players was founded in 1989 by Margaret Irwin-Brandon and in usual times presents a series of concerts each year performing chamber music, opera, orchestral and choral repertoire, including highly acclaimed performances of Handel's "Messiah."

Arcadia Players says it "embraces historical performance practice to illuminate and invigorate the great Western heritage of vocal and instrumental music." That typically means historically accurate performances on authentic period instruments.

Based in Northampton, Arcadia Players is in residence at the Arthur F. Kinney Center for Interdisciplinary Renaissance Studies at the University of Massachusetts in Amherst.

Watson led Arcadia Players as a keyboardist. "It's more traditional to have a keyboard player. (But) one can conduct from any instrument," Arceci said of leading from the bass.

Among groups Arceci has led that way is the Collegium Musicum at Wellesley College.

He said he was thankful for the Arcadia Players board for giving him the opportunity.

"It was a long process with several rounds culminating with three finalists (on a video program)," he said.

Arceci said the board may have been hoping for three live in-person concerts but with COVID still an issue, the decision was made to have each finalist record a program.

Arceci put together his own program, "The Migration of Italian Music," which explored the spread of Italian styles across Europe and beyond (as far away as China) in the 17th century and early 18th century. Featured composers included Arcangelo Corelli (1653-1713), Antonio Vivaldi (1653-1713), Alessandro Piccinini (1566-c.1638), Jean-Baptiste Lully (1632-1687), Teodorico Pedrini (1671-1746), Domenico Zipoli (1688-1726), Francesco Barsanti (1690-1775), and Francesco Geminiani (1687-1762).

"It's exciting. I like to think my colleagues liked the program that I led," he said.

"I enjoy putting those programs together … I was looking for sets that featured my colleagues. There were limitations, but it was nice to be in a room making music with live humans."

Arceci said he treated the program "like a concert not a recording program." The musicians sat in a semi-circle, and Arceci spoke between works as he would at a live concert he was leading.

Solins noted that it was "a long and complex audition process, in which we had to make a very difficult choice among three gifted and creative finalists."

Besides being an internationally acclaimed multi-instrumentalist and concert performer, Arceci is a recording artist, composer/arranger, scholar and teacher. He holds degrees from the Peabody Conservatory, The Juilliard School, and the University of Oxford. He directed the Collegium Musicum at Wellesley College from 2015-20, and since 2016 has led the Winchendon Music Festival in Winchendon.

Arceci resides in Acton with his wife, violinist Asako Takeuchi, and their two children. However, he was speaking just before Christmas from Italy where he was doing some research.

Being artistic director of the Arcadia Players will see Arceci doing administrative work as well as conducting and performing.

He'll be looking at how to "weave an interesting theme" in programing, "how to rehearse … how to navigate the new world with COVID. It takes a long time to plan a live concert."

Family roots in Winchendon

Arcadia Players hasn't performed live and in-person since the onset of COVID, although there have been some online offerings. A live program that had been scheduled in 2020, and then again in 2021, is now planned for April. In addition, "I will likely lead one program in the spring, then I'm looking forward to programing a new season," Arceci said.

"I think one of the big questions in the industry is what will be possible through the winter months. We have these waves of COVID that have come and gone."

Another question that remains is how to incorporate vocalists and wind instruments/brass.

"Maybe we start with some chamber programing," Arceci said. "I have a draft of ideas but it's hard to know what is possible."

Still, "I hope we can have a full season," he said. "I think most arts organizations are trying to navigate these issues. Hopefully we'll have more information. I hope to do as much live music making as possible."

Looking ahead a bit further, "I'd like to record with the Arcadia Players and tour when that's an option." By the same token, "Arcadia has been in Northampton for a long time and we will continue to be committed to that scene," Arceci said.

The Winchendon Music Festival is facing similar questions in terms of its programing of live in-person concerts.

The festival is well regarded nationally and internationally and Arceci is the driving force. He has said he always felt a strong bond with Winchendon although he never lived there. His parents and grandparents are from Winchendon and he dedicated WMF to the memory of his late father, Dr. Robert J. Arceci.

The first four years saw WMF rapidly grow to become a world class event in the small north Worcester County town of about 10,000 people. Concerts held mostly in June featured artists from a variety of genres including classical, folk, jazz, historical performance and world music. In 2020, the festival would have celebrated its fifth year with 12 concerts in June, featuring local, national and international artists.

Bill Staines had been in lineup

With the arrival of COVID-19, the idea then was to shift the June 2020 lineup to June 2021. Several virtual programs were offered. Last year WMF again postponed live concerts and looked ahead to 2022.

Sadly, one of those 2020 appearances was to have featured New Hampshire folk artist and singer-songwriter Bill Staines, who passed away in December. "Bill Staines was one of the artists we were hoping to present as soon as we could," Arceci said.

"We're on hold mostly because of COVID. The Winchendon venues are quite intimate. We just don't have the resources to deal with COVID. It's very hard to know when we will start and what we will look like."

The intent is that "When we do start it will be that 2020 lineup (of 12 concerts)," Arceci said.

And in the light of some positive recent developments there could well be a new interesting programing note when the Winchendon Music Festival does get up and running again.

"I hope to bring the Arcadia Players to the Winchendon Music Festival," Arceci said.

For more information about the Arcadia Players, visit www.arcadiaplayers.org; for more information on the Winchendon Music Festival, connect on Facebook.

This article originally appeared on Telegram & Gazette: Andrew Arceci named artistic director of Arcadia Players