Forest of Melody Weather Update
The bad news: The skies are looking ominous for Sunday afternoon, 6/23. Outdoor events are always a risk, especially during thunderstorm season!
The good news: Our friends at Retreat Farm have agreed to let us use their newly renovated North Barn in the event of rain.
What you need to know:
- There will be only three showtimes: 2:30PM, 3:30PM, and 4:30PM. You and your party can attend any, though we suggest coming to the one closest to your ticket.
- We understand that this is not the magical experience of meandering through BEEC’s fields and forest to enchanting music so if you would prefer a full refund for your ticket, please reach out to . However, as this is a fundraiser, we hope you will still attend to support BEEC. On the plus side, you will get to enjoy a sneak peek of the Retreat Farm’s new amazing venue. The Retreat Farm is located at 45 Farmhouse Square in Brattleboro, and The Thirsty Goat, their cash bar, will be open.
______________________________________________________________________________
Discover the magic of nature’s stage, join us for an enchanting musical event celebrating midsummer at BEEC!
Forest of Melody is a harmonious fusion of music, dance, nature, and community, celebrating the arrival of summer in all its splendor. Enjoy a variety of short, live musical performances dotted along trails through meadows and woodlands.
This event serves as a fundraiser to help BEEC continue its important work throughout the year. Your participation and generosity make a significant difference.
Secure your spot for this magical journey and celebrate the wonders of midsummer with us.
Online ticket sales have ended. Tickets will be available for purchase at the door.
JJ Beck
Percussion
Sound Planet
Percussion
Sound Planet
Heather Sommerlad
Violin
Excerpt from Midsummer Night Moon
by Rebecca Clarke
Violin
Excerpt from Midsummer Night Moon
by Rebecca Clarke
Michelle Erard
Flamenco!
Modo Verano
Flamenco!
Modo Verano
Rachel Clemente
New England-based pedal and traditional Scottish harpist.
Countryside Quiet
New England-based pedal and traditional Scottish harpist.
Countryside Quiet
Very Little Fuss:
Emma Hileman &
Lisa Nichols
Flute duo featuring music from many lands and times
Mendelssohn A Midsummer Night's Dream Scherzo
Flute duo featuring music from many lands and times
Mendelssohn A Midsummer Night's Dream Scherzo
Hannah Ruth
Place-inspired dance
Among the Trees
Place-inspired dance
Among the Trees
Place-inspired dance
Among the Trees
Dan Houghton
Scottish traditional pipes
Cronan na Cailleiche sa Bheinn Bhrie
Scottish traditional pipes
Cronan na Cailleiche sa Bheinn Bhrie
Date: Sunday, June 23, 2024
Location: Bonnyvale Environmental Education Center, 1221 Bonnyvale Road, Brattleboro, VT 05301
Times: Journeys begin every 20 minutes, from 2:30PM – 5:10PM, and are about one hour long.
Tickets: $30 Adult*/ $20 Child**. Member Discount: $25 Adult*/$15 Child**.
*Adult: 17 years and older, **Child: 3 to 16 years, Infant: 2 years and under (free)
Information for your journey:
- Please arrive at least 15 minutes before the start of your journey so that you are ready for your group’s departure into the Forest of Melody.
- You will travel together on a trail that is about 1/2 mile in length for roughly one hour. Sturdy shoes and bug spray are recommended. Please feel free to bring a walking stick or hiking poles if they will help you to navigate the trails.
- Children must be accompanied by an adult and stay within their immediate proximity.
- Some light refreshments will be available for purchase, or you can bring your own portable beverages and snacks. Recycling and refuse bins will be available at the entrance/exit.
Contact Us:
- Please email if you have any questions, are having trouble purchasing tickets, or are unsure about the status of your membership.
Meet the Performers
JJ Beck
JJ Beck received a BA in Music Composition, Performance, and Recording at Bennington College, studying under the likes of Milford Graves, Allen Shawn, Scott Lehrer and Nick Brooke. His studies at Bennington, in particular with Professor Graves, led him to NYC where he worked as the Drumming Instructor at Sunnyside After-School Program in Queens, NY, primarily focused on the Drumming and Rhythms of West Africa. Throughout his time in NYC, on weekends and late nights, J.J. performed on Drum Kit with a number of alternative rock and pop, and pop-classical bands based out of Brooklyn NY and Manhattan NY, such as Horse’s Mouth, Firefoot, ANAWAN, and Shimmerplanet.
Alongside teaching and performance, J.J. also was co-engineer at Motherwest Studios in Manhattan, NY, where he worked with artists such as The Magnetic Fields, The Davenports, Jon Derosa, Thomas Dolby, Kris Gruen, Pat Hull, and many more.
Michelle Erard
Michelle Erard is a dance artist and educator trained in non-western dance forms and physical theater, the traditions of which underpin her artistic work and teaching. Michelle’s artistic work collages emergent movement, sound, and language to explore layered memories and histories. Themes of identity and place often arise. Her work has been presented at the Providence Fringe Festival, Museum of the White Mountains, Tricklock Company, Smith College, University of New Mexico, and other US venues. Michelle has performed in works by Angie Hauser, Marilyn Sylla, Barbie Diewald, Rujeko Dumbutshena, Bill Walters, Tomaz Simatovic, Sonia Olla, Alejandro Granados, and with the companies Walking Backwards, Los Flamencos, Alma Flamenca, and Afriky Lolo. Michelle trained at the Conservatory of Flamenco Arts, received her BA from University of New Mexico, and her MFA from Smith College. She is a certified teacher of Action Theater and Open Source Forms and is currently on faculty at Keene State College and Rutgers University.
Rachel Clemente
New England-based pedal and traditional Scottish harpist, Rachel Clemente, has had a passion for music from the early age of five. She began her harp training as a student of the Suzuki method and is now a certified teacher and avid supporter of the methodology of nurturing the whole child/student.
She is a graduate of the renowned arts boarding high school Interlochen Arts Academy and the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland in Glasgow where she obtained a bachelors degree in traditional Scottish music. Her accolades include being the winner of U.S National Scottish Harp Championship in 2016 and the winner of the Princess Margaret of the Isles Clàrsach Competition (USA) in 2021.
Since moving to Vermont in 2019, Rachel has focused on establishing herself in the New England folk scene as a soloist as well as performing in her duo, If You Must Know, with bagpiper Dan Houghton. She is an advocate for both the lever harp and traditional/contemporary Scottish music and works to spread awareness and access to the lever harp through her harp-building program, Hands on Harps.
Currently, Rachel is recording her debut solo album which features unique instrumentation and much of her compositional work.
Heather Sommerlad
Heather Sommerlad is a musician, writer, and educator in Guilford, VT. She was born and raised in El Paso, TX, where music became the foundation for her continuing studies at Bennington College. As part of the string faculty at the Brattleboro Music Center, Heather teaches the Music in the Schools program, and conducts the Youth String Orchestra. She also coordinates the BMC’s EOS social justice project, an ongoing effort designed to address and acknowledge bias in our concert halls.
Very Little Fuss: Emma Hileman & Lisa Nichols
Very Little Fuss is a flute duo featuring music from many lands and times.
Emma Hileman grew up in Southwestern Virginia and began playing flute in middle school using her mother’s flute from college. She played all throughout her undergraduate program at Ithaca College, graduating with a Science degree in 2011, and has continued to perform in community groups and ensembles throughout the many states she’s lived in since. Most recently she performed in Rutland in a production of the Wizard of Oz and The Planets for wind ensemble with the Valley Symphonic Winds. She enjoys ensembles of all sizes, and has a fondness for playing in a summer quintet at Vermont Music and Arts camp in Londonville, Vermont.
Lisa Nichols grew up in New Hampshire, where she studied flute with Julie Armstrong and Alex Ogle. After completing a psychology degree, she studied flute performance with Katie McElrath at Southern Oregon University, graduating at age 32. She has performed in the Rogue Valley Symphony, Jefferson Baroque, and National Association of Composers of the United States of America (Jackson Country). Lisa enjoys education, teaching an active studio of all ages, and performing in schools and libraries to share the excitement and stories behind classical music.
Hannah Ruth
Hannah Ruth Brothers (they/them) is an abundantly bodied, queer dance artist based on Abenaki land in Brattleboro, VT. They have danced with beaches, mountains, subway stops, grocery stores, and parking lots, as well as on many stages. Hannah Ruth graduated with high honors from Marlboro College, VT, with a BA in Dance. Their work carries influences from their training in ballet, modern dance, contact improvisation, dance improvisation, somatic practices, West African dance, and qi gong. Since 2016, they have managed their massage therapy practice, serving clients of all ages, identities, and abilities. They returned to Brattleboro from their hometown of Santa Barbara, CA in 2023. To learn more about Hannah Ruth’s massage work, visit their website, hannahruthmassage.com.
Dan Houghton
Dan Houghton is a gifted Scottish, traditional musician who plays Highland Bagpipes, smallpipes and borderpipes, flute, guitar, and cittern, and he sings–though not all at the same time. He is the progeny of two Scottish Country Dance teachers–both of whom are also folkies—as a result of which he began his Scottish musical training several months before he inspired his first lungful of air.
Since those far off, halcyon days he has come to have a profound impact on audiences throughout Britain, The Continent, North America, and even the antipodes.
His accomplishments are many and varied. His very first instruments were the recorder and viola, which he was obliged to take in school. Dan started his bagpipe training as a competition piper and played with both the MacAlister (sic.) College pipe band, studying under Andrew Hoag, and the City of Dunedin (New Zealand) pipe band, studying under Airdrie Stewart. Following his return to the northern hemisphere Dan took occasional lessons with Dougie Pincock and Ailean Domhnullach Mac a’ Whaler. More recently, he has taken tuition with Donald F. Lindsay.
During his years in Dunedin Dan began intermittently playing with several local pub and ceilidh bands and eventually weaseled his way into the band Blackthorn. Whilst working on his graduate degree he was involved in the formation of the Scottish Power-Trad band, Cantrip (formerly known to MI5 as the Edinburgh Four), to which he retains his membership twenty some years on. Since Cantrip’s inception he has also worked, peripherally, with groups such as Salsa Celtica, Doolin and the Vermont, “Celtic” rock-folkers, Prydein. In more recent years he has been a part of Pipers’ Den, with Hazen Metro and Tristan Henderson; Anxty, with Eric McDonald (sic.) and If You Must Know, with Rachel Clementé. He also devotes many hours of his energy and limited concentration to playing for Scottish Country Dancing , chiefly with A Parcel of Rogues, whose constituents include Sue Petrov and Calum Pasqua as well.
These days, when not performing, practicing, or teaching Dan whiles away his time in the forests of Vermont working as a carpenter and general maker and repairist of things.