Background, history & what's in a name?
The Claflin Hill Music Performance Foundation is a nonprofit organization dedicated to bringing live music to the Greater Milford area and Central Massachusetts. It accomplishes that mission through four different concert series each year: The Claflin Hill Symphony Orchestra, The Memorial Hall Chamber Series, Adventures In Listening Children’s Concerts and Family Night at the Bandstand Summer Park Concerts, as well as the newly created Adventures In Listening—The Class, an adult education course in music appreciation.
In 1996, Paul Surapine, manager and
clarinetist for The Milford Concert Band-- a professional wind ensemble dating
back to 1946-- started Family Night at the Bandstand at Milford Town
Park. Surapine recognized the importance of creating community events with these
free concerts and the potential to work with the corporate world providing it
with a vehicle to give back to the region in a meaningful way. Surapine
enlisted the support of local businesses to offset the costs of hiring various
musical ensembles which performed weekly concerts. One of the first Family
Night at the Bandstand sponsors was The Benjamin Franklin Savings
Bank. In August of 1997, Surapine founded and incorporated The Claflin
Hill Music Performance Foundation, Inc. as a nonprofit. The Family Night at
the Bandstand audience quickly grew from less than a hundred to currently
over a thousand people each week.
Family Night at
the Bandstand continues to be the most popular of
Claflin Hill’s music series. Each summer, the list of sponsors continues to grow
along with the audiences. In 2004, the Milford Concert Band, a mainstay
ensemble
of Family Night, was renamed The Claflin Hill Summer Winds.
The Summer Winds also enjoys a following “on the road” with annual
engagements in Hudson, Holden, Norwood, Uxbridge and more. Every outing
introduces new people to the quality and professionalism that is Claflin Hill.
Surapine realized the need to continue to educate, elevate and entertain the audience that was being cultivated with Family Night at the Bandstand. He moved the ensemble indoors and created Adventures In Listening, a children’s concert series, which performs throughout the school year. “It is so important to foster and develop an inherent love of the arts-- and in particular music-- in our children. They are the future,” Surapine stated. “School cut-backs have decreased and even eliminated music programs. Claflin Hill supplements culture for children who may not normally have an opportunity to witness the creation of live music.”
Building on the successes of both
Family Night at the Bandstand and Adventures In Listening, Surapine
recognized that the region was prepared for the pinnacle of classical music—a
symphony orchestra. The Claflin Hill Symphony Orchestra (CHSO) gave its
first performance in May of 2000. Since that time, the CHSO has presented a
full season of symphony concerts including the re-birth of opera with in-concert
performances of Tosca, Carmen and Viva Verdi! hosted by Ron
Della Chiesa. In November of 2003, the CHSO was the third orchestra ever to
perform Peter Boyer’s Grammy Award nominated Ellis Island: The Dream of
America.
The CHSO is comprised of the finest
musicians residing in Central Massachusetts and New England. Many CHSO
musicians were born in Eastern Europe and Asia. They came to the United States
to continue their studies in music. They realized their youthful dreams by
persuing excellence. Together, the talented musicians of The Claflin Hill
Symphony Orchestra represent a “Millennium of Dedication and Excellence.” All
the years of private lessons and study combined with all the years of
performance and honing the craft of musicianship unite to create the finest
classical music ensemble currently performing in Central Massachusetts.
In 2005, Claflin Hill entered into a relationship with The MetroWest Youth Symphony Orchestra (MetYSO), based in Framingham. (MetYSO is in residence at Mass Bay Community College, 19 Flagg Street, Framingham.) Surapine was eager to complete the missing link of the organization with the creation of a youth symphony—a training ensemble where young talented musicians from the region could play challenging music in concert with other young people. MetYSO was looking for qualified pedagogues interested in mentoring the ensemble. Surapine placed professional musicians in sections of the orchestra. He also implemented sectional rehearsals where mentors and students ‘took apart’ the music and improved their skills. Claflin Hill knows the potential that can be realized through dedicated study. Our musicians are testament to that possibilty. CHSO mentors impart that essence to the the youths in MetYSO.
As part of implementing a strategic plan developed in January of 2005, the newest addition to the Claflin Hill line-up is Adventures In Listening—The Class. Surapine contacted the Milford Community School Use Program to initiate an adult education class. The purpose of the class is to educate adult listeners regarding classical music. With a working musician’s point of view, Surapine is eager to continue the ongoing mission of Claflin Hill— to educate, entertain and enhance the lives of the diverse community located in Central Massachusetts. Members of the class will receive complimentary tickets to an upcoming symphony concert.
None of this monumental progress would be possible without the continuing and ongoing support from local businesses, corporations and foundations, as well as private donors. Whether it’s a $20 donation from a senior citizen or a $10,000 from a foundation like The Benjamin Franklin Bank Charitable Foundation, it is all so important to building a community rich in culture; a culture that is absolutely necessary to the development of happy healthy families.