A family affair: beginning as a memorial to his father, Andrew Arceci’s Winchendon Music Festival has grown into a community enterprise

The Murdock-Whitney House, Winchendon History & Cultural Centre

Andrew Arceci is an American viola da gamba, violone, and bass player who studied at the Peabody Conservatory, The Juilliard School, and at Oxford. His UK performances have included the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment, Oxford Baroque, and Brighton Early Music Festival. Andrew is also the artistic director and founder of the Winchendon Music Festival. 

Andrew Arceci (Photo: Jeffrey Hornstein)

Winchendon is a small New England town with a population of around 10,000, located approximately two hours by car from Boston. Andrew’s family is from the area, and though his family moved around a lot when he was a child, Winchendon was the one constant. Ten years ago, Andrew’s father, a paediatric oncologist, was killed in an accident while riding his bike and was buried in Winchendon. Andrew organised a memorial weekend of concerts, including one featuring his mother’s cousin, a jazz musician. There was sufficient interest for them to repeat the weekend the following year. Since then, the festival has developed and is now celebrating its tenth anniversary.

The concerts are very much a community enterprise; they are free to the community and rely on support. Andrew comments that each year, they have to prove themselves to attract support for the next season. Audiences come not only from Winchendon but also from the surrounding areas, including Worcester. As Andrew works as a professional musician, he tries to coordinate with colleagues and pull them to Winchendon, and performers enjoy the intimate nature of the festival’s concerts. Coordinating schedules can be tricky, but he finds it exciting when things pull together. 

Andrew encourages performers to discuss both the pieces they are performing and their travels, sharing information about themselves and their instruments. He feels that the communal aspect of the festival’s performance would not work in a big city. In Winchendon, the venues are all intimate, so it is easy for performers to chat to the audience.

Over the years, they have reached many of the people in the area interested in classical music and jazz, and these programmes do well. They also include World Music programmes, and Andrew feels that this variety gives people a chance to explore different genres. World Music gives them a chance to present other languages, other approaches to music making that are generally not available in small towns. 

The Arpeggione Ensemble at the Murdock-Whitney House at Winchendon Music Festival 2025

When I chatted to Andrew, they had just presented three concerts during June 2025, Beethoven’s Septet on period instruments, including Andrew himself, the jazz vocalist John Arcaro and his quintet, and a cello and piano duo performing Spanish and Latin American music from the 19th and 20th centuries. 

In October, they are presenting further concerts. One is a double bill featuring singer songwriter Chris Moyse, and the folk collective Floyds Row [as part of a New England tour]. And another festival date in October features the Worcester Jazz Orchestra, a 17-piece big band playing music by Glen Miller, Buddy Rich and others.

Floyds Row features a mix of Early Music, Classical, folk and Blue Grass played by a mix of performers, including Andrew, all interested in old tunes that are often still around today. The ensemble originated when Andrew was in Oxford (UK) in 2012, and their first collaborations led to their debut recording The Oxford Sessions (2018). The group further developed after Andrew moved back to the USA, and the ensemble continues to tour with a line-up that varies according to each project’s repertoire. 

Further ahead, the festival has a joint project with the Worcester Chorus, director Chris Sheppard. The chorus has a grant which is enabling them to programme Bach’s music over ten years, and they are partnering with various organisations, including the Handel & Haydn Society in Boston. They will be bringing the choir to Winchendon in January 2026, performing three cantatas from the Christmas Oratorio with period instrument Winchendon Players, and taking the performance to Worcester as well. Such projects are exciting, but a challenge to coordinate in advance.

The festival does not currently have a website, though this is currently on the list. They rely very much on their mailing list, press coverage and social media, but word of mouth is still very useful. Andrew admits that the festival evolved a certain way; there was no plan. They have managed to hold on for ten years, and Andrew is pleased that it is successful.