‘Music for Peace’ Is Music Without Borders
“Music for Peace” is the official title of a concert at the Christian Union Church (27 Shore Road, North Truro) at 3 p.m. on Saturday, March 2. But according to pianist John Thomas, who will perform with cellist Chanthoeun Collins and clarinetist Mónika Veress, it’s also a concert of “music without borders.”
The concept of music without borders can help dispel prejudices, says Thomas. “Mark Twain said, ‘Travel is fatal to prejudice.’ The more that we open ourselves to hearing music of other cultures or seeing foreign films with subtitles or getting to know people from other countries, our prejudices melt away.” Music without borders leads to life without borders, he adds.
Thomas learned these lessons in his own life. Over the past decade, he says, he became determined to spend significant amounts of time abroad, and his travels have influenced the music he performs.
“Some people play only Baroque music, or they play only pop, or they play only Broadway,” says Thomas. “When I was a kid, most of my friends were listening to the Beatles. I was collecting LPs of movie soundtracks.” Film music, he says, can transcend borders: a Baroque piece on a movie soundtrack might transition into a pop song and then into a piece from Bulgaria or Ukraine.
The eclectic program at the Christian Union Church concert includes Ennio Morricone’s suites for the films Cinema Paradiso and The Mission; Hungarian songs and Romanian folk dances by Béla Bartók; Mykola Lysenko’s “Prayer for Ukraine”; selections from Erik Satie’s “Trois Gnossiennes”; Robert Schumann’s Fantasiestücke (Fantasy Pieces), and songs by Billie Eilish and Palestinian singer Basel Zayed. There will also be a selection by a Ukrainian composer that was yet to be decided upon as of press time.
Admission to “Music for Peace” is $20 at the door. A reception with refreshments will follow. See christianunionchurchtruroma.org for information. —Dorothea Samaha
Celebrating the Art of Richard Pepitone
Provincetown artist Richard Pepitone’s five-decade career is being celebrated in “Portrait of an Artist,” a retrospective currently on view at the Cape Cod Museum of Art (60 Hope Lane, Dennis).
Pepitone, who died in 2022 at age 86, was known for his mastery of multiple media. The exhibition, which is on view through May 19, includes sculptures (in bronze, copper, polyester resin, birch bark, and other materials), glass and ceramic vessels, paintings and drawings, stained-glass panels, monoprints, paper collages, and art made from found objects.
“He rejoiced in discovery and experimentation,” writes curator Bill Evaul in a statement accompanying the exhibition. “He would attack each new medium or method with the seriousness and focus of a laboratory scientist, noting what worked and what didn’t, and always gleaning the best results.” Evaul is a Provincetown printmaker and painter who first befriended Pepitone in the 1970s as his studio assistant.
The idea for the exhibition was born at Pepitone’s memorial service. Cape Cod Museum of Art director Benton Jones, who had known Pepitone for 30 years, talked to Evaul and Pepitone’s daughter, Michelle, who was cataloging Pepitone’s works and the collectors who owned them. Many of the more than 80 pieces in the retrospective were gathered from two dozen collectors, joining works from the CCMoA’s permanent collection and that of the Provincetown Art Association and Museum.
“Getting these sculptures was a bit of a trip down memory lane,” says Jones, who describes Pepitone as an inspiration for and collaborator with many other artists. “He was an unbelievable wellspring of artistry. He poured everything into his artwork — his money, his heart, his soul.”
Evaul will host a gallery talk at the museum on Thursday, March 7 at 4 p.m. Attendees will be invited to reminisce about Pepitone and his art, and a reception will follow at 5 p.m. See ccmoa.org/richard-pepitone for more information. —Kathi Scrizzi Driscoll
Pitchfork Brings an Eclectic Sound to Eastham Library
Close harmony is essential to Pitchfork’s sound. “We put a lot of time into making those harmonies really tight and beautiful,” says Jennifer Falk, who is half the duo with Colin Stevenson. “We like to choose songs that are challenging vocally and that have great harmonies. We work hard to make them spot-on and precise.” Falk and Stevenson will perform at the Eastham Public Library on Saturday, March 2 at 1 p.m.
The acoustic duo has “a very eclectic setlist,” says Falk, adding that its repertoire stretches “all the way from the 1950s to current music.” Some of the artists they cover include the Beatles, the Everly Brothers, Fleetwood Mac, and CeeLo Green. “It’s quite a hodgepodge,” she says.
Falk and Stevenson formed Pitchfork five years ago. Both had previously been in other bands. Their new partnership allowed them to choose songs they’d never had the chance to play before. “We love taking songs that we have no business doing as a duo and turning it into something that works,” Falk says. “We do things like Prince songs and Michael Jackson and Grand Funk Railroad.”
At the Eastham library, Falk says they will play a setlist for all ages. “We cover music for folks all the way from kids to age 99,” she says, including both familiar songs and “one-hit wonders that you totally forgot that you loved and that you haven’t heard in years.”
The concert is free. See easthamlibrary.org for information. —Eve Samaha
WHAT Offers More Theater Education
In line with its longtime goal to expand theater education opportunities on the Outer Cape, the Wellfleet Harbor Actors Theater is launching its first off-season after-school and weekend class program for students in grades 3 through 12. The classes begin March 2.
The program is part of a post-pandemic community outreach effort to increase access to the arts, something that WHAT producing artistic director Christopher Ostrom calls “essential in these troubling times.”
“Theater provides a lens that allows us to develop empathy and stimulates conversation, often around difficult topics,” says Ostrom. “For many young people, it can be their first opportunity to find their authentic voice and vehicle for personal expression.”
The workshop series follows WHAT’s Mask Project last fall, which involved 70 students in grades 3 through 5 at the Wellfleet, Truro, and Eastham elementary schools. The students were asked to develop original characters and interpret them with masks. The resulting artwork, which Ostrom describes as “extraordinarily thoughtful and creative,” is currently on display at WHAT.
The new classes include seven six-week workshops for 12 students each. Topics include acting, improvisation, mask-making, and lighting design. Classes will be taught by WHAT community engagement manager Tia Scalcione, who will collaborate with fellow artist and arts educator Dana Demers; Ostrom, who has designed or directed more than 70 productions at WHAT since 1997; actress Paige O’Connor; Katie Pentedemos, a founding member of IMPROVincetown; artist-musician Mike Sullivan; and actor-improv performer Geoff Borman.
The cost is $25 per class, with scholarships available through the Cape Cod 5 Foundation.
See what.org for more information. —Kathi Scrizzi Driscoll
