Janet and Ku-chuan Hsiao, Sundays in September and October, Noon-2 p.m. and by appointmentJoin us for the “Birds and Blooms” exhibition featuring husband and wife team, Ku-chuan Hsiao and Janet Clingerman-Hsiao.
Ku-chuan Hsiao is a genetic engineer with advanced degrees in microbiology, human physiology and biophysics, specializing in drug discovery. It was quite by accident that he began his journey into bird/small animal photography. It all started when taking random reference photos of birds for his artist wife. Since their home abuts a wildlife refuge in the forests of New England, a large variety of birds fly through according to the season, and occasionally other small animals 
appear. 
As time progressed, Ku-chuan developed methods for photographing the birds in-flight so that the lovely fluid detail in the design of the wings could be seen. Some close-up shots even capture the different expressions of the birds’ “faces”, appearing as if each bird has its own personality. www.birdsnapshots.com www.facebook.com/birdsnapshots.
Since childhood Janet Clingerman-Hsiao has sketched and painted. At the age of 12, she took oil painting classes at the local Moose Lodge, where she fell in love with painting. Graduating with a BA in art, Janet went on to work as a graphic designer in Chicago. Some years later, she returned to painting and gardening. Intrigued by color and light in her flower gardens, she paints large 2 feet by 3 feet flowers as well as small 6 inch by 6 inch flowers.
“I focus on the lovely flowing edges, the delicate color and the inner beauty of the flower – bringing the flower to life.” She has been juried into Catharine Lorillard Wolfe Art Club’s Annual Juried Exhibitions in NYC, and several juried online National Oil and Acrylic Painter’s Society (NOAPS) shows. www.janetclingermanhsiao.com, www.facebook.com/JanetClingermanHsiao.
Visit with Janet and Ku-chuan Hsiao during Gallery Hours on Sundays, Noon – 2 p.m. beginning Sept 10th through Oct. 29, or by appointment.
Westford Chorus Tuesday evenings, beginning September 5th, 7:15 p.m.
Love to sing? Check out the Westford Chorus, a non-audition community chorus under the direction of Jim Barkovic and Terry Halco. Rehearsals begin at the PCA onTuesday, September 5, 2017 from 7:15-9:30 PM. Westford Chorus performs a Holiday Concert with a brass quartet on December 9th and 10th, 2017 in Westford and Chelmsford. The Spring Concert on April 28th and 29th, 2018 will feature jazz music for chorus, keyboard, double bass, and drums.Please visit www.westfordchorus.org, email info@westfordchorus.org or call 508-423-1680 for more information on a fun way to spend your Tuesday evenings.
Kripalu Yoga Wednesdays (moderate) and Fridays (gentle), beginning Sept. 6, 9:30
a.m.
As part of the Kripalu tradition, Shekhinah Yoga empowers people to realize their full potential through the transformative wisdom and practice of yoga. Inviting the breath to lead movement enables the practitioner to develop a sense of compassionate self-awareness, inviting us to open up and let go. Leave class with a sense of calm and well-being.
Suitable for adults and teens. Please bring a yoga mat. For further information, or to register, contact: Nancy Dorenfeld, BA, RYT Kripalu certified Yoga instructor, 978-692-5713; ndorenfeld@gmail.com, or visit: shekhinahyoga.com
Creative Motivation Thursdays, beginning Sept. 7, 9:30-11:30 a.m.
Get out of the house and join fellow artists for motivation and fun. Exchange ideas and information. Your art, your craft, whatever it is! $5 drop-in fee per session
Contact Gail Flannery, 978-692-4560 orwatercolor7@verizon.net for more information.
Katie McNally and Friends – Benefit Concert for NuDay Syria Saturday, Sept. 9, 7 p.m. (doors open 6:30 p.m.)
Katie McNally grew up right here in Westford participating in the local school’s strings program, and found her calling as a now internationally-recognized player and modern-day composer of the Scottish- and Cape Breton-style repertoire. Appearing on the cover of Fiddler Magazine in 2014, and in a 2017 feature article in Strings Magazine, Katie has delighted audiences from The Newport Folk Festival to Benaroya Hall in Seattle, from venerable folk institutions like The Freight and Salvage in San Francisco to Club Passim in Cambridge to tours in Britain, Spain, and more. Called “the new face of Scottish fiddling in the USA” by The Living Tradition, Katie’s playing is infused with passion, drive and a great deal of high-energy fun!
Join Katie right back here at home with a group of very talented friends assembled from the thriving Boston Folk / Indie music scene in a concert for the benefit of NuDay Syria, a local NGO with international reach. The evening’s concert will feature an extraordinary lineup including Matt and Shannon Heaton, Emerald Rae, Mariel Vandersteel and Louise Bichan. We also welcome special guest, 2017 James W. Foley Humanitarian Award Honoree, and founder of NuDay Syria, Nadia Alawa.
Guided by the motto, “One Person at a Time, One Humanity,” NuDay Syria was founded by local mother turned activist, Nadia Alawa, to provide aid to refugee mothers and children in Syria. According to Nadia, “All you have to do is care, and want change in Syria to happen. Together we can help and make a difference.” All proceeds from this event go to NuDay Syria (a NH registered 501(c)3 non-profit organization).
Tickets: $25 http://mktix.com/pca
For more on Katie, go to http://www.katiemcnally.com
To learn more about the work of NuDay Syria, visit http://nudaysyria.net
Open Mic Night Sundays, Sept. 10 and 24, 6:30 p.m.
Come out to the PCA and share a song, tune or poem with a roomful of supportive listeners. All ages and talent levels are welcomed. If you have never played in front of an audience before this is a great place to start. If you are an old hand at performing this is a great place to meet other performers and share your talents with new performers. We also have a professional or semi-professional featured act at each 
open stage that plays for about a half hour. From September to June we do the full blown open stage with a professional sound system, stage lights and all.
See what it’s all about here! $5 cover charge benefits the PCA.
For more information email openmikes@johnferullo.com.
Superior Sound Workshop Saturday, Sept. 16, 1 to 4 p.m., FREE.
Instructor: Rick Posch
Adults & TeensGain hands-on skills with the PCA’s sound system. Appropriate for all levels of experience: course is custom-tailored for each student’s experience level, beginner through advanced.Please register in advance by calling 978-692-6333. Limit 6 students. FREE.
Comedy Show, ImprovBoston Saturday, September 23rd, 8:00 p.m. (doors open 7:30)
This year we are bringing members of the talented ImprovBoston troupe to the PCA! For over 30 years, ImprovBoston has been New England’s leading theater and school dedicated to the art of comedy in all its forms. Voted “Best of Boston” by The Phoenix, The Improper Bostonian, and The Weekly Dig, performers, teachers and students have included film stars, Emmy Award-winning comedians, and acclaimed producers, directors, musicians and writers. ImprovBoston alumni are featured on The Daily Show, America’s Got Talent, Funniest Wins, Real Time with Bill Maher, Last Comic Standing and John Oliver’s Last Week Tonight, to name a few. Join us for an innovative night of laughs created especially for the PCA!
Tickets: $20/PCA Members; $22/Non-Members. Buy tickets here!
Chamber Concert, featuring Mozart & Mendelssohn Sunday, Sept. 24, 3 p.m.
Yilin You, piano; Nathaniel Farny, violin; Shay Rudolph, cello
Mozart: Piano Trio in B-flat Major, K502
Mendelssohn: Piano Trio #1 in D Minor, Opus 49
Pianist Yilin You and violinist/violist Nathaniel Farny return to the PCA to present a beautiful program of Piano Trios. Composers W.A. Mozart and Felix Mendelssohn, despite living 50 years apart in different musical eras, had many similarities in their early lives. Both were child prodigies, both were taught piano by a parent (Mozart by his father, Mendelssohn by his mother), both had notably musical sisters, and sadly both died prematurely in their 30’s. Both pieces in this program were written when these grown-up child prodigies were a mature age of 30, at the height of their musical careers.ABOUT Shay Rudolph, Artistic Director -New to the PCA this year, Shay Rudolph is an active freelance cellist living in Chelmsford. She is a member of the Orchestra of Indian Hill, assistant principal cellist of the New Bedford Symphony, principal cellist of the New Hampshire Philharmonic, and toured internationally with the official “Star Wars: In Concert” orchestra. Shay’s greatest musical passion is chamber music, studying at the Boston University College of Fine Arts with the Muir Quartet and at chamber music festivals with the Miro, Lydian, and Turtle Island String Quartets.
Tickets: $12 PCA Members/Seniors; $15 Non-members; $8 Teens and College Students; $5 Children 12 and under. Buy tickets here!
PIANO AND STRING STUDENTS FREE (up to 2) WITH ATTENDING ADULT!
