Music People Who Come to Concerts

Melinda Arthur '25 speaks with Madge Briggs, a Music@Amherst subscriber since 2015.

"I moved here in 2007, about 15 years ago. I live in Northampton, so it's a bit of a drive, but I realized they had such a wonderful music program and so many student concerts, which were free. And then the Series: early on, I subscribed to that. I like to subscribe to something rather than just get the tickets at the last minute because that way I get it in my calendar, I know I'm going to go, I've already got the tickets, I don't put it off. And so I've loved having that Series for, I don't know, ten or more years and I think Amherst has an amazing quality of music..."

Lydia Silver '25 speaks with Diana Daniels '22 as she reflects on her time as an Amherst student.

"It's been quite a journey. I've been involved in Orchestra for all my time here. I play oboe and English horn. And I'm also in a jazz group. I've been involved in combos for all my time. I play alto saxophone currently, but have played around with tenor and soprano too. I did more big band stuff my first year...I'm currently president of jazz eboard. I've been involved in taking lessons also every year. So every semester, I take like two lessons for an instrument or voice or something like that, to either learn something new or keep my practicing up. So that's my involvement, I would say. Yes, I spend a lot of my time here..."

Nicholas Edward Levin '25 speaks with senior Marie Leou as she prepares to perform the Sibelius Concerto with the Amherst Symphony Orchestra. 

“Any time you’re able to play for an audience that isn’t necessarily classically trained but still able to connect and have that emotional response — that’s really meaningful to me.”