The Nissitissit String Quartet launches their 2023 series the first week of spring with “American Originals.”

The program covers musical genres from revolutionary times to the present, starting with an early American suite,

a Joplin rag, jazz standards from Harold Arlen, George Gershwin, and Cole Porter, folk masterpieces including Aaron Copland’s “Hoedown,”

rock tunes from Elvis to the Beach Boys, Broadway favorites featuring the Beauty and the Beast theme and selections from West Side Story,

and a nod to Hollywood with a medley from Pirates of the Caribbean. 

The Nissitissit String Quartet is four long-time colleagues and friends who have migrated from the Boston area and are committed to serving Northwest Middlesex County communities, offering multi-generational concerts that are fun and engaging for a wide audience.  Lisa Kempskie has a degree in violin from UMass Lowell and has done graduate work at the UConn, Storrs. Equally comfortable on violin and viola, she is principal viola of the Lexington Symphony. Peter Stickel is the violinist for the New England Tenors. He is co-founder of New England String Ensemble. Valerie Callahan has taught and performed on the violin and viola since childhood. She has a Master's in String Performance from the Boston Conservatory and heads the string program in Dracut. Co-founder of New England String Ensemble, John Bumstead is a Boston area freelance musician performing regularly with Symphony by the Sea and North Shore Music Theater. John is cello professor at UMass Lowell.

“This program is supported in part by a grant from the Townsend Cultural Council, a local agency which is supported by the Mass Cultural Council, a state agency.”