AMC Mountains and Music

nkham Notch and Sargent Center in Hancock, NH. The February weekend, over Presidents Day weekend, offers 2- and 3-day options. Participants arrive Friday afternoon/evening. Accommodations are clean and comfortable. There are shared rooms for 4 as well as a few private rooms. Hearty delicious meals are provided. Musicians play chamber music and also join together in the orchestra. Singers participate in the chorus and also have the opportunity to sing in smaller informal groups. There is a Saturday night informal concert complete with orchestra, chorus, talented and inspiring conductors and listeners. On Saturday, hikes, ski & snowshoe trips of various lengths and levels of difficulty are led by AMC-trained leaders. Choose from trips like a morning walk to Lost Pond, a full-day trip up Mt. Monadnock, or skiing at Great Glen. Many trails are onsite at both of our locations. In the winter, participants enjoy cross-country and downhill skiing, snowshoeing, and tubing. Indoors others enjoy reading by the fireplace, games, puzzles, conversation and camraderie. After the day’s activities, all return to the lodge for more music making and then supper, followed by an informal evening event featuring the orchestral and choral pieces that have been rehearsed the night before — perhaps a Schubert symphony and a Mozart Mass. After a dessert reception with socializing, most are ready to call it a day, although some stay up and head to the late nite cabin to make music into the night. Sunday features more music and more outdoor activities. Those staying a third night have the pleasure of participating in or enjoying a talent show. Folks also play games and join in impromptu singalongs. Finally, it is time to bid a fond farewell to musical partners and friends until the next AMC Mountains and Music Weekend. The First Mountains and Music Weekends

These weekends, began about 30 years ago, the brainchild of AMC member Arnold Reif, an amateur pianist and then chair of the AMC Boston Chapter Ski Committee. Inspired by a combination skiing and music workshop held at Christmas time in Norway since 1959, Reif imagined that a group of like-minded people might be found in the Boston area. At the time, the Ski Committee sponsored an annual Cross Country Carnival in conjunction with the Downhill Tuckerman Ravine Workshop, and, at Reif’s suggestion, a Music and Skiing Workshop was substituted for the Carnival. He enlisted the help of Leonard Berman, an amateur flute player, and together they came up with plans for the first Music and Mountains Weekend, which was held March 6-7, 1976, at the AMC’s Pinkham Notch Camp. The cost for the weekend was $26 with a $1 discount for AMC members. It was a big success, and the AMC Mountains and Music Committee was born. AMC Mountains and Music Weekends Today

Now people arrive from all over the Northeast to take part in our weekends. The playing spaces available, which were few in number back in 1976, have expanded to include all public areas of both Pinkham Notch Lodge and Sargent Center. The Committee has amassed a formidable collection of both chamber and choral music, the use of which is available to all during the weekend. There are two or three pianos at both sites. Conductors for the chorus and orchestra are chosen from among the many talented conductors in the New England area. Participants range from relative beginners to accomplished amateur players. Being able to read music is the only prerequisite. Anyone who wishes to join or form a chamber group can go to a central location to be matched with other players. The atmosphere is inclusive and enthusiastic, and a special effort is made to include newcomers in planned activities. One Day Play-ins

Our weekends have inspired the creation of an annual one-day chamber music play-in held each spring in the Boston area. From 40 - 70 musicians attend, bringing refreshments to share, their instrument, and stands. Some pianos are available. We help attending musicians form compatible groups for four 45-minute playing sessions. If you like music and the outdoors please join us at an AMC Mountains and Music event soon.