Music from 17th Century South Germany to be performed May 8 at Goethe-Institute
Newton Baroque presents Music from 17th Century South Germany featuring Bertali, Schmelzer, Biber, and Capricornus on Friday, May 8, at 7:30 p.m., at Goethe-Institut, located at 170 Beacon St.
Long before Mozart, Vienna was already an important musical center. This concert highlights musicians active in mid-17th-century Vienna. Their music is full of invention, wit, and charm, with a wide expressive range, at times sounding as if from another sphere, and at others like the music of a farmer’s fiddle.
Performing musicians include Susanna Ogata, violin; Laura Jeppesen, viola da gamba; and Andrus Madsen, harpsichord.
Tickets are available online at https://www.zeffy.com/ticketing/music-from-17th-century-south-germany-bertali-schmelzer-biber-capricornus, or visit https://www.newtonbaroque.org/ for more information on the concert.
West End Museum to offer upcoming programming
The West End Museum will offer “Body Revealed, the Spirit Unbound: The Art of Hyman Bloom and the Music of Hovhaness and Sibelius” is then scheduled for May 10 at 3 p.m. Join The WEM at The HUB50 Community Room for a musical performance and lecture featuring the art of the West End’s Hyman Bloom alongside the music of his contemporaries Alan Hovhaness and Jean Sibelius. Together, these works invite reflection on the body as both material and vessel: a site of decay, transformation, and perhaps – spiritual continuity. This musical performance will be preceded by a short lecture from Vanessa Formato, Archivist at Mass Eye and Ear Institute’s museum and archives. Formato will be discussing the work of Bloom’s relationship to the larger history of anatomical art.
“Remnants of Urban Renewal Walking Tour” takes place May 16 at 11 a.m., kicking off outside the museum at 150 Staniford St., Suite 7. Get outside with former museum curator Duane Lucia during a one and a half hour walking tour exploring the few buildings that were not destroyed by urban renewal in the 1950s and ‘60s when more than 50-acres of tenement buildings occupied by roughly 7,000 residents that were demolished under the premise of ‘slum clearance’ in The West End. Those that remain represent an impressive lineage of early Boston architects and the legacy of the neighborhood that was turned to rubble.
Finally, WEM’s Boston Themed Trivia returns May 21 at 6 p.m. to The Pennyweight Hotel. Flex your local knowledge and enjoy tasty food and drinks. This event is not to be missed.
More information and links to purchase tickets can be found online at: thewestendmuseum.org
Rep. Livingstone to hold upcoming community office hours
Rep. Jay Livingstone will hold community office hours via Zoom on Tuesday, May 12 at 5 p.m., as well as in-person for West End constituents on Wednesday, May 13, at 10 a.m. at the West End Neighborhood Center at 75 Blossom Court.
Due to limited availability, only constituents of the 8th Suffolk District are invited to attend in-person office hours. Rep. Livingstone is also available to meet with constituents at an alternative time, outside of in-person office hours.
To receive the link for virtual office hours or for more information, email [email protected].
WECA meeting set for May 14 in West End Neighborhood Center
The next meeting of the West End Civic Association (WECA) will be held Thursday, May 14, at 6 p.m. in the West End Neighborhood Center on Thoreau Path.
This will be a Neighborhood Forum. WECA wants to hear residents’ thoughts about living in the West End. What do residents want for the neighborhood? What do residents love about living here and what are their gripes? What environmental obstacles do residents encounter in their day-to-day lives that could be addressed? And what do residents miss in their environment?
Join in the discussion to start building a vision for the West End of today and into the future.
West Enders have long learned that if the neighborhood, as a group, doesn’t plan for its future, someone else will, so they should be ready. Members of the WECA Zoning and Planning Committee are already at work on such a project, and some of them will facilitate the discussion.
All West End residents are welcome to attend.
Blackstone’s to offer knife-honing class on May 14
Blackstone’s of Beacon Hill, located at 40 Charles St., is offering a knife-honing class, ‘Keep Your Edge Knife Honing 101,’ on Thursday, May 14, from 6-6:30 p.m.
The cost per guest is $35 and includes Wusthof hone. Register instore, or online at www.blackstonesboston.com.
Upcoming sessions sponsored by MGH’s Blum Center
The Blum Patient and Family Learning Center (Blum Center) at Massachusetts General Hospital is hosting a few in-person educational and wellness sessions at the Blum Center (MGH Main Campus, White 110), including Awareness to Access: A Conversation on PrEP on Monday, May 11, from noon to 1 p.m.; Skin Cancer & Sun Safety on Tuesday, May 12, from 1-2 p.m.; Sound Therapy, Reiki, and Acupressure Open House Healing Event, (with two dates) on Tuesday, May 19, from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., as well as on Tuesday, May 26, from 3:30-5:30 p.m.; Managing Your Medicines with Confidence on Wednesday, May 13, from 4-5 p.m.; Stroke Prevention Education for Patients, Families, and Caregivers on Wednesday, May 27, from noon to 1 p.m.; From Sprains to Gout: Making Sense of Joint Pain on Wednesday, May 27, from 4-5 p.m.; and Well-Being Series: The Heart–Mind Connection: Emotion, Intuition, and Coherence on Thursday, May 28, from noon to 1 p.m.
All sessions are free. For more information, call the Blum Center at 617-724-7352.
Watercolor Painting Workshop series returns to city parks
The Boston Parks and Recreation Department has announced the return of its popular ParkARTS Summer Watercolor Painting Workshop series, including stops at Christopher Columbus Park in the North End on Sunday, May 31; the Public Garden on Sunday, June 7; and the James P. Kelleher Rose Garden in the Back Bay Fens on Saturday, June 13.
All classes are held from 10 a.m. to noon, weather permitting, for these free workshops offered as part of Boston Parks’ 2026 ParkARTS program, which brings arts and cultural programming to parks across the city.
Open to Boston residents ages 9 and up, the Watercolor Painting Workshops welcome artists of all skill levels to create their own green space-inspired masterpieces. Materials and instruction will be provided by a local instructor. Pre-registration is required. For more information, visit boston.gov/watercolor-workshops.
Beacon Ensemble’s Beacon New Music Festival Volume II coming June 5-7
Beacon Ensemble’s Beacon New Music Festival Volume II is coming June 5 to 7.
Opening night of the festival with Mink Duo is set for Friday, June 5, at 7 p.m. at Beacon Hill Friends House, located at 6 Chestnut St. on Beacon Hill.
Night two of the festival follows with Reflections Duo on Saturday, June 6, at 7 p.m., again at Beacon Hill Friends House.
The finale performance of the festival features event host, Beacon Ensemble, on Sunday, June 7, at 7 p.m. at Church of the Covenant, located at 67 Newbury St. in the Back Bay.
Visit https://www.beaconensemble.org/beacon-new-music-2026festival for more information on the festival.
Nichols House Museum offering tours
The 1804 Nichols House Museum at 55 Mount Vernon St. was home to an early 20th-century family of artists and activists, along with their domestic staff. The house was preserved as a museum by Rose Standish Nichols, a pioneering woman landscape architect. It is furnished with an original collection, including works by the sculptor Augustus Saint-Gaudens, as well as furniture and textiles handcrafted by Rose and her sister Margaret. Tours are offered on Thursday through Saturday at 10 and 11 a.m., and noon; on Sundays at 11 a.m., noon, and 1 p.m.
For more information, tickets, and to register, visit: nicholshousemuseum.org
Come play Mah Jongg at the West End Community Center
Whether you are a beginner or an experienced player, you are invited to join the friendly Mah Jongg group. Instructors will be available to help new players, and everyone is welcome. Come meet new people, socialize, and play the game.
The group meets on the first and third Wednesdays of each month from 1:30-3:30 p.m. at the West End Community (within the West End Neighborhood Center), 75 Blossom Court (entrance on Thoreau Path).
To sign up or for more information, email Audrey Tedeman([email protected]) or Sandy Connor([email protected]).