Matthew M. Bellocchio is elected president of the Board of Trustees of Methuen Memorial Music Hall, Methuen, Massachusetts.
An organbuilder with over fifty years of experience, Bellocchio has also served as president of the American Institute of Organbuilders (2012–2015) and has authored many published articles on pipe organ history and technology appearing in national and international industry journals. He succeeds Chad P. Dow, who served as interim president following the January 2020 passing of Edward J. Sampson, who was president of Music Hall for nearly forty years.
The year 2021 marks the 75th anniversary of the 1946 acquisition and incorporation of Music Hall as a private, nonprofit community cultural center. Designed by the English architect Henry Vaughan and completed in 1909, the building was erected to house the famed “Great Organ,” the first concert organ in the United States. Originally built between 1857 and 1863 by the E. F. Walcker firm of Ludwigsburg, Germany, for the Boston Music Hall, the instrument was purchased in 1897 by Edward F. Searles of Methuen, who had the organ rebuilt and installed in the purpose-built hall. In 1947, the Aeolian-Skinner Organ Company of Boston completed an extensive renovation of the instrument. Today, the organ’s resources include four manuals, five divisions, 85 stops, 116 ranks, and 6,000 pipes.
Music Hall has presented an annual summer concert series attracting organists from around the world, with 2021 marking the 75th consecutive year. In 2020, the hall began livestreaming concerts and expanding its reach.
For information: www.mmmh.org.
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