Fall 2026
All shows are free, with no tickets or reservations required. Performances begin at 7:30 PM at the Concord City Auditorium, 2 Prince Street, except Messiah at St. Paul’s Church.
The Walker Lecture Series grew from an 1892 bequest in the will of Abigail B. Walker. According to the terms of the will, the series offers free presentations for residents of the Concord, NH area. If you do not live in the Concord, NH area and wish to see a show, please click the “learn more” button to find other venues for each presenter.
Wednesday, September 16, 2026, at 7:30 PM
Vintage Rock’n’Roll with Richie and the High Street Rockers
Richie and the High Street Rockers are a Philadelphia power trio bringing the sound and spirit of 1950s and ‘60s rock and roll to the stage. Buckle up for fiery renditions of Elvis, Chuck Berry, and Buddy Holly, then lean back for smooth ballads of Dion and The Everly Brothers.
Wednesday September 23, 2026 at 7:30
Soulful Sounds with Lori Diamond, Fred Abatelli, and special guest Anelise
This dynamic duo will share their soul-stirring original songs wrapped in heavenly harmony. Award-winning songwriters Lori Diamond and Fred Abatelli deliver a musical flavor that will appeal to fans of Norah Jones, Carol King, Eric Clapton, Joni Mitchell and more. Along with their radiant and talented daughter Anelise, they will delight you with nostalgia as they share your favorite hits from the 70s with style, skill, and joy. This inclusion-loving family will lift your spirits with soulful harmonies.
Sunday, September 20, 2026
6:00 to 6:45 pm Arts Fair and Ice Cream Social, 7:00 pm Performance
Friends of the City Auditorium Arts Gala
Join fellow lovers of the performing arts to mingle, enjoy ice cream, and see previews of upcoming performances. This is not a Walker event, but we will be there and we hope to see you.
Wednesday, September 30, 2026
Japan: Spirited Away with Marlin Darrah
Join the world's most traveled filmmaker on a spectacular journey to Japan's Honshu and Hokkaido islands. Along the way, you'll savor historic sites and cultural parks, walk through Buddhist and Shinto shrines, enjoy music and dance performances, sample delicious cuisine, and meet a variety of friendly Japanese people. You'll experience modern and energetic Tokyo, Japan's biggest city, then travel south to the charming fishing-port town of Shimizu and to the photogenic Mount Fuji, then to the exciting city of Kobe. You will ride the train to Japan's most important cultural and historic city, Kyoto, then travel east to Hiroshima to see the powerful and poignant memorial park there. You'll see the massive and colorful fish market in the town of Fukuoka, then journey to Busan, Korea, for a taste of Korean culture - an interesting contrast to Japanese cities. Then travel back to Kanazawa and Akita, two coastal cities that show you what life is like in non-tourist cities. Tour the rice fields, sip the famous sake there and walk through beautiful parks during cherry-blossom season.
Wednesday, October 7, 2026
Early Beatles Tribute with Studio Two
Studio Two is a Boston-based tribute band that has been passionately playing the music of The Beatles since 2012. Specializing in the early Beatles years (1962-1966), they faithfully recreate the sound, energy, and excitement of their live performances—from their days at The Cavern Club to their groundbreaking American tours.
Wednesday, October 21, 2026
Irish Voices with Stephen Collins and
Edgar Allan Poe’s “The Raven” with Jeffrey Zygmont
Irish Voices with Stephen Collins
They call it The Norton Anthology of English Literature, and yet many of the writers included were born in Ireland. The commonality, of course, is the English language, but there are vast cultural differences which will be explored in this performance. Much Irish writing deals with the land, the past, the church, and the changing political landscape. Yeats, Joyce, Heaney, McCourt, and other prominent writers are represented in this dramatic offering.
Edgar Allan Poe’s “The Raven” with Jeffrey Zygmont
Greet Halloween with Edgar Allan Poe.
Hear a dramatic recital of Edgar Allan Poe’s most famous poem, “The Raven” – the perfect work of American art to put us in a spooky mood. With props to enhance the suspenseful, supernatural tone of the poem, Jeffrey Zygmont delivers the recital with commentary and a summary of Poe’s life and significance. The program includes Poe’s poem “The Bells,” plus some poems by Emily Dickinson that enhance the chilling atmosphere.
Wednesday, October 28, 2026
An Evening of Bluegrass with the Southern Rail Bluegrass Band
Southern Rail's concerts are high energy exuberant fun with stunning harmonies, irrepressible good humor and sparkling banjo, guitar and mandolin. Their repertoire is fresh and diverse, featuring lots of originals plus a kaleidoscope of covers (Mavis Staples, Paul Simon, Earl Scruggs, Crosby, Stills and Nash). Two of the band's founding members (guitarist Jim Muller and bassist Sharon Horovitch) were recently inducted into the Rhode Island Bluegrass Hall of Fame.
Wednesday, November 4, 2026
Connie Converse: Concord’s Cassandra with Howard Fishman
Concord High School class of 1942 valedictorian Connie Converse could see the future. A trailblazing songwriter, composer, performer, thinker, activist, writer, and community organizer, Converse (1924-?) spent her known life engaged with creative and intellectual pursuits that pointed toward many of today’s cultural preoccupations, including: pioneering the DIY indie musician model; railing against fascism; agitating against institutional racism: exploring the roots of human conflict; and experimenting with alternative methods of public education––all decades before such ideas and practices entered the mainstream. There was only one problem: she was invisible.
Like the mythological Cassandra, the character on whom she chose to base her final known musical project, Converse seemed cursed. Her music was ignored. Her ideas about society, conflict, and race were relegated to niche academic journals and sparsely attended lectures. Her deeply-rooted activism was anonymous. And her stubborn refusal to play by the gender rules of her day made her a misfit.
In 1974, frustrated by her lifelong inability to have her life’s work acknowledged, Connie Converse wrote notes to family and friends that spoke of her need to try to start over, somewhere else, and drove off. She was never seen again.
Fortunately, Connie Converse’s legacy did not disappear along with her. It lives on, preserved in a massive archive she left behind containing letters, diaries, music, artwork, photographs, intellectual projects and writing, and recordings of her music–the basis for Howard Fishman’s book To Anyone Who Ever Asks: The Life, Music, and Mystery of Connie Converse.
Saturday, December 12, 2026 10:00 AM open rehearsal Sunday, December 13, 2026, 4:00 PM concert
Handel’s Messiah
A musical rite of the holiday season, this Baroque-era oratorio still awes listeners more than 250 years after the composer’s death. Concord’s performance, conducted by Benjamin Greene, will include professional soloists and a community chorus.
Messiah will be performed at St. Paul’s Church, 22 Centre Street, Concord, NH. The main entrance is the set of red doors on Park Street across from the NH State House. The elevator is on the Main Street side of the building.
Frederick Moyer Holiday piano concert
Broadcast on Concord TV during the holiday season (not a live event)
Pianist Frederick Moyer celebrates the holiday season and Beethoven's birthday. (December 16, 1770.) Joining Moyer will be bassist Peter Tillotson and drummer Jim Gwin.
The winter concert will include:
Bach (arranged by Myra Hess): “Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring"
Beethoven: "Waldstein” Sonata (complete)
Bartok: Rumanian Christmas Carols
Jazz arrangements of "Let It Snow", “The Christmas Song", "Borukh Ate, Zingt Der Tate" (Hannukah song), "Christmas is Coming" and others.
