Holyoke Civic Symphony opens 60th season

HOLYOKE — The Holyoke Civic Symphony will open its 60th season Sunday at 3 p.m. with a free concert pairing a world premiere and a contemporary trombone concerto with Beethoven’s Symphony No. 5.

The program, “Old Wine in New Bottles,” launches the orchestra’s 2026-27 season, “Significant Figures.” The concert will be held at the Leslie Phillips Theater at Holyoke Community College, 303 Homestead Ave.

It opens with the premiere of Lauren Bernofsky’s “Overture on Themes from ‘The Mensch,’” drawn from her forthcoming opera “The Mensch.” Bernofsky describes the seven-minute overture as an energetic concert opener featuring some of the opera’s memorable melodies.

Guest soloist Matthew Russo will then perform Quinn Mason’s Trombone Concerto “Sonorous.” The concerto was commissioned by the Utah Symphony and premiered in 2024. Russo teaches trombone at the University of Connecticut and is on the faculty at Wesleyan University.

The concert closes with Beethoven’s Symphony No. 5.

The season marks the 60th anniversary of the orchestra’s founding. It is also David Kidwell’s 30th season as conductor, the longest tenure in the orchestra’s history.

Under Kidwell, the orchestra has expanded its educational programming to include educational concerts, pre-concert talks and open dress rehearsals. It has also commissioned nine new works and performed nearly 50 works by living American composers.

Kidwell has been a fixture of western Massachusetts music for decades. He served 22 years as minister of music at Edwards Church in Northampton. He was music director and pianist for the Broadway-style revue Le Cabaret and assistant conductor of the Pioneer Valley Symphony, and he has been music director for more than 50 musical and light opera productions. In 2004, he directed an Amherst Leisure Services production of “The Secret Garden” that won first prize at the International Maytime Festival in Dundalk, Ireland.

Admission is free. More information is at holyokecivicsymphony.org.

Historic Halloween Graveyard Tours in Belchertown

BELCHERTOWN — The Belchertown Historical Association will hold its Historic Halloween Graveyard Tours at Mount Hope Cemetery from 5 to 7 p.m. Oct. 25.

Community members in period costume will portray people buried in the cemetery who shaped Belchertown’s history. Visitors will meet 19th-century residents, along with the occasional spirit and lost soul wandering among the tombstones.

Tours start at the United Church of Christ parish house, where a storyteller will share tales of Halloweens past.

The event is free. Donations will support the continued reconstruction of the Washington District Schoolhouse. Organizers note that it is not a trick-or-treat event.

Domb sets October office hours

AMHERST — State Rep. Mindy Domb, D-Amherst, will hold community office hours for constituents of the 3rd Hampshire District at three locations this month.

Domb and her staff will be at the Amherst Survival Center, 138 Sunderland Road, from 12:30 to 1:30 p.m. Oct. 27, and at the Granby Free Public Library, 297 East State St., from 4 to 5 p.m. the same day. Office hours will also be held from 4 to 5 p.m. Oct. 30 on the first floor of Amherst Town Hall, 4 Boltwood Ave.

No appointment is needed. Residents can stop by anytime during the hour to share concerns about state legislation or seek help from Domb or a member of her staff.

People with urgent, time-sensitive or private matters, or who cannot attend, can reach the office at 413-335-1362, 617-722-2060 or mindy.domb@mahouse.gov. They should include their name, address and contact information.

Domb holds office hours in the district monthly.