Music in Peterborough & the Monadnock Region

A hundred-seat hall, a concert barn, a contra dance or a town-band performance: music around Peterborough comes in wonderfully different settings. Summer brings traveling classical concerts and chamber music in Nelson, while the dance traditions put you among the musicians and other dancers.

Classical Music Across the Villages

Monadnock Music describes its approach as bringing music to intimate, informal settings in the region’s towns and villages since 1966. Its history begins with recordings and concerts in the Nelson Meeting House. Its summer programs combine larger ticketed productions with free traveling performances rotating among 22 towns around the mountain, mixing classic and contemporary composers.

Its history names Aaron Copland, Virgil Thomson, Joan Tower and John Adams among composers who have come to hear, play, coach or conduct their works. The organization is headquartered in Peterborough. Its schools program, begun in 1985, brings brass, string and woodwind ensembles into regional classrooms and has served more than 25,000 children.

Chamber Music in a Barn

Founded in 1971, Apple Hill Center for Chamber Music occupies 100 acres of fields and woodland in Nelson, combining performance and education. Its resident Apple Hill String Quartet and workshop faculty are central to its concerts. Its Playing for Peace program pairs students across cultural and political differences in small ensembles, placing listening and collaboration within its educational work.

The Tuesday Summer Concert Series takes place in the Louise Shonk Kelly Concert Barn. Apple Hill lists a 7:30 p.m. concert start and a free pre-concert talk at 6:45 p.m. Outdoor concert seating is free, and the concerts are wheelchair accessible.

Folk Music in a Hundred-Seat Hall

Peterborough Folk Music is an all-volunteer nonprofit that grew out of the Folkway coffee house. The Folkway opened in 1975 and closed on January 1, 1996; the society’s first concert followed seven days later, featuring Dar Williams and Peter Mulvey. Past performers include Odetta, Richie Havens, Tom Rush and Le Vent du Nord.

For 2026, the organization lists Bass Hall at the Monadnock Center, the UU Church in Peterborough and the Park Theatre in Jaffrey as venues. Downtown, Bass Hall seats 100 inside the Monadnock Center for History and Culture. The society’s Bass Hall description notes visiting musicians’ praise for its acoustics; the society also reports that concerts there often sell out in advance.

Contra Dancing in Nelson and Peterborough

The Monadnock Folklore Society was founded in 1980 to increase the visibility of folk dance and music in southern New Hampshire. Most of its concerts take place in Nelson Town Hall, with traditions ranging from Irish and Cape Breton music to Cajun, Balkan and Delta blues.

The society publishes a Nelson Monday Night Dance at 7:30 p.m., with a musicians’ jam beginning at 6 p.m. and admission by donation. The society makes a point of welcoming beginners. The dance began in January 1978, spending its first five years in Harrisville before moving to Nelson.

Its Peterborough contra dance is listed for the first Saturday of each month at the Peterborough Town House, with a beginners’ workshop at 7:30 p.m. and dancing at 8 p.m. Partners form lines and progress through sequences with other couples; the role terms are Larks and Robins.

The Town-Band Tradition

The Temple Band describes itself as “America’s First Town Band.” Its history traces an initial formation to 1799 and a performance at Temple’s memorial service for George Washington in February 1800. The band has formed and re-formed several times, with its present incarnation beginning in 1975. Summer appearances bring its volunteer musicians to town commons and bandstands in Colonial-style uniforms, with marches, light classics and medleys on the program.

Planning an Evening

Music is one part of the region’s wider arts and culture, alongside theatre and film. An afternoon exploring fine arts and craft pairs naturally with an evening concert. Check each presenting organization’s calendar for the date, venue and current arrangements before you go.