Music and more at Maudslay State Park

The open-air, performing arts center has a lineup of new artists and activities in store for the 1999 season.

The program is varied, with a variety of sounds to suit music-lovers of all tastes. Listeners will be treated to a selection of country, jazz, folk, popular, big band, pops, blues, classical, Cajun, and swing music as well as dance performances at the outdoor amphitheater.

The program features 10 Saturday night concerts geared to a more adult audience, with popular performers such as jazz singer Rebecca Parris and the Boston Jazz Pops Ensemble paying a return visit.

Family entertainment is the focus of the dozen Sunday afternoon concerts that run from mid-June through September. Music will range from classical to swing.

The Maudslay Arts Center Community Concert Band, made up of musicians from throughout the region, will also give three free, Wednesday night concerts.

The series kicks off Saturday, June 12, with a free concert of patriotic and popular music featuring the U.S. Air Force Band of Liberty.

Audience members are encouraged to take in the concerts from patio seats set up around tables or pack a picnic and relax on the lawn area, which is within 10 feet of the stage. Children age 12 and under are always admitted free to the lawn.

In the event of poor weather, concerts are moved to the converted cow barn adjacent to the stage.

The park is also home to Theater in the Open, a theater in permanent residence at Maudslay, which is also offering a full slate of performances this summer.

Maudslay State Park also features eight miles of walking, biking, hiking, horseback riding, and cross-country skiing trails winding through 480 acres of forests and gardens with 1 1/2 miles of frontage on the Merrimack River.

The state sponsors many activities, including guided recreational walks, fall horse-drawn hayrides, nature walks, craft workshops and children's games.

The annual Laurel Day Festival is planned for Saturday, June 19, with a rain date of Sunday, June 20.

The park is open daily from 8 a.m. to sunset. There is a comfort station adjacent to the parking lot off Curzon Mill Road.

Disabled individuals and senior citizens may arrange for the park's access program by calling ahead before they visit.

For more information on park programs, call 465-7223.

For more information on Maudslay Arts Center performances, call 499-0050. Patio tickets may be reserved by calling the Firehouse Arts Center in Newburyport's Market Square at 462-7336. Lawn tickets are sold at the Maudslay box office one hour prior to each show, and need not be purchased in advance.

For more information on the Theater in the Open schedule, call 465-2572.

1999 Summer Performance Series

Saturday Night Concerts start at 7 p.m.

Children 12 and under are always admitted free to the lawn.

June 12: U.S. Air Force Band of Liberty's Concert Band, free.

June 19: Mac McHale & the Old Time Radio Gang, vintage country music; $12 patio seats/$9 lawn seats.

June 26: Seacoast Dance Company of New Hampshire Academy of Performing Arts, Celtic music and dance; $12 patio/$9 lawn.

July 10: Harry Skoler Jazz Quartet, tribute to Benny Goodman; $12 patio/$9 lawn.

July 17: New Black Eagle Jazz Band, classical and traditional jazz; $15 patio/$12 lawn.

July 24: Kingston Trio, folk; $15 patio/$12 lawn.

Aug. 7: The Seacoast Big Band, big band music; $12 patio/$9 lawn.

Aug. 14: The Shaw Brothers; $15 patio/$12 lawn.

Aug. 21: Rebecca Parris, jazz; $15 patio/$12 lawn.

Aug. 28: Boston Jazz Pops Ensemble; $15 patio/$12 lawn.

Sunday Afternoon Family Concerts start at 2 p.m.

Tickets: All patio and lawn seats, $7; Children 12 and under free to the lawn.

June 13: The Merrimack Valley Philharmonic Orchestra, pops concert.

June 20: Boston Baked Blues, blues band.

June 27: Seacoast Wind Ensemble, light classical music.

July 11: North of Center, rhythm and blues.

July 18: Herb Pomeroy & Ed Saindon, jazz classics.

Aug. 8: Krewe de Roux, Cajun music.

Aug. 15: Windham Community Band, popular classical music.

Aug. 22: Atwater Donnelly, folk.

Aug. 29: Bill Staines.

Sept. 5: Italian Serenaders, musical tour of Italy.

Sept. 12: Sweet Hot & Sassy, swing and country blues.

Sept. 19: The Middlesex Band, popular classical music.

Free Wednesday Night Concerts

June 30, July 14, July 28: Maudslay Arts Center Community Concert Band, 7 p.m., free.

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