K-ZONE WPKZ FM105.3/AM 1280

Your Hometown Radio

listen nowLISTEN NOW
listen nowLISTEN NOW
K-Zone Studio Line 978.348.1280

Fitchburg State

Fitchburg State, Worcester Symphony Orchestra present ‘A Symphonic Christmas Carol’

by

FITCHBURG — The North Worcester County Symphony Orchestra, in partnership with Fitchburg State University, will present “A Symphonic Christmas Carol” at 7:30 p.m. Friday, Dec. 8 and Saturday, Dec. 9 at Weston Auditorium, 353 North St.

The concert will feature the music of Christmas past, present, and future, which will be performed, over the course of the evening, by over 350 musicians from eight different musical ensembles from across the region.

The North Worcester Count Symphony Orchestra will perform with Fitchburg State’s Concert Choir, Chamber Choir and Concert Band. In addition, the evening event will feature the Nashoba Valley Chorus, the Westford Chorus, the Greater Gardner Community Choir, and Perfect Alibi.

Tickets range from $15 to $30 and may be ordered online at nwcsorchestra.org/upcoming-season/a-symphonic-christmas-carol. This is a reserved seating event. Admission is free for Fitchburg State students and staff, and complimentary tickets may be ordered by contacting the orchestra at info@nwcsorchestra.org.

The North Worcester County Symphony Orchestra was founded in 2021 on the principles of access to classical, pop, jazz, musical theater, and other genres of music to culturally enrich the quality of life in the Twin City area and surrounding region. The principal goal of the organization is to make this music accessible to everyone at an affordable cost.

At the beginning of the academic year, Fitchburg State and the North Worcester County Symphony Orchestra announced the start of a partnership between the school’s musical ensembles and the regional orchestra. The partnership between the two groups was created to offer the public more performances each season that include a wider variety of musical genres and feature more musicians.

Learn more about the North Worcester County Symphony Orchestra at https://www.nwcsorchestra.org/about-us/who-we-are, and read about Fitchburg State’s offerings at fitchburgstate.edu/music.

Fitchburg State Concert Band performs LGBTQ composers Nov. 16

by

FITCHBURG — Fitchburg State University’s Concert Band and Community Orchestra will perform their fall concert, “We Are One Sound,” at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 16, in Weston Auditorium, 353 North St. Admission is free and open to the public.

The Concert Band will be featuring music by LGBTQ composers. This is the culminating semester concert for the Fitchburg State Concert Band and http://gty.im/154932887 http://gty.im/1753041765 http://gty.im/1730512275 ensembles.

“We are excited to present a concert of music by LGBTQ composers of the 20th and 21st centuries, including Aaron Copland, Randall Standridge, Omar Thomas, Julie Giroux and Rossano Gallante,” said Assistant Professor Amy McGlothlin, a member of the university’s Humanities Department faculty and the conductor of the Concert Band.

While admission is free, the university will be collecting donations of non-perishable microwavable meals to stock the Falcon Bazaar, the campus food and necessities pantry.

The Concert Band at Fitchburg State is open to all people with experience playing a band instrument and includes students, alumni, faculty and members of the surrounding community.

The Fitchburg State Community Orchestra, led by Prof. Hildy Schilling, is also composed of students, faculty members, and other musicians who live in the Greater Fitchburg community. The orchestra performs at numerous campus and community events.

Learn more about Fitchburg State’s musical offerings at fitchburgstate.edu/music.

(Courtesy Fitchburg State University)

Local roundup: Leominster falls in round of 16

by

The 16th-seeded Leominster High boys soccer team saw its season come to an end on the road Wednesday, falling 2-1 to No. 1 Concord-Carlisle in the Division 1 round of 16.

The Blue Devils end the 2023 campaign with a record of 12-5-3.

Ashland 1, North Middlesex 0: The 12th-seeded Patriots fell in the Division 3 round of 16 to No. 5 Ashland, ending their season at 12-5-3.

Tahanto 2, Ayer-Shirley 1: Colm Fallon netted the lone goal for the Panthers (13-6-2) in their Division 5 round of 16 loss.

Girls soccer

Nashoba 6, Marlboro 1: Maddie Dempsey had a hat trick for the second-seeded Wolves in their Division 2 round of 16 victory.

Cohasset 7, Lunenburg 1: The 14th-seeded Blue Knights were bested by No. 3 Cohasset in a Division 4 round of 16 game, closing the fall at 13-6-1.

Women’s basketball

Wentworth 62, Fitchburg State 47: The teams traded buckets to open the contest as juniors Morgan Genness  and Rylie Harlow connected on buckets for Fitchburg State, while freshman Samantha Jones notched a jumper for Wentworth.

Junior Maddy Foster  netted a layup for the Leopard to trim the deficit to 13-12 before Falcons junior Kathryn Hart buried a 3 and classmate Stephanie Hart added a jumper to push the lead to 18-12.

The hosts extended the lead to 20-16 as Harlow registered another layup, but the Leopards battled back to reduce the lead 24-23 in the second quarter. The Green and Gold upped the lead to 28-23 on baskets from Stephanie Hart and junior Caileen Hurley before junior Brianna Carroll knocked down a 3-pointer for Wentworth to make the score 28-26 going into the break

Wentworth went on a 10-2 run to start the third frame, led by Carroll’s back-to-back 3s for a 36-29 advantage. Fitchburg State answered back on a Kathryn Hart jumper, but the Leopards closed out the frame on a Amoddio jumper for the 48-38 edge.

The Leopards took the largest lead of the contest at 60-38 with sophomore Reagan Madonia sinking a jumper before the Falcons capped the scoring on a 3-pointer from senior Olivia Almeida and layup by sophomore Aliza Som, but the hosts couldn’t pull even.

The Falcons were led by Harlow’s 14 points, four steals and three assists, while Som added seven points, three boards and three steals.

Men’s soccer

Fitchburg State senior Joshua Atemkeng and freshman Dante Ramadan have been named to the 2023 Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC) Men’s Soccer All-Conference Teams

Atemkeng was named to the MASCAC First Team as a defender for the first time in his career. As a defender and a leader, he stood out this past season by anchoring the Falcons back line.

Ramadan was named to the MASCAC Second Team at midfield. Offensively, he had three points, with one goal and one assist in his freshman season.

Local roundup: Patriots start hot, but fall in tourney

by

The Patriots came out hot, but couldn’t hold on in a tough contest on the road.

Sixth-seeded Old Rochester Regional erased an early deficit and scored the final 28 points of Friday’s game, besting No. 11 North Middlesex Regional, 28-14, in the opening round of the Division 5 football tournament.

The Patriots (6-3) got out to a 14-0 lead and held a 14-7 edge at halftime, but the hosts stormed back.

Michael Reardon found Cade Callahan for a 10-yard touchdown pass with 8:39 left in the opening quarter as the Patriots took a quick 7-0 lead.

It didn’t take long for the guests to double the lead, courtesy of a Caden Kehoe fumble recovery. The turnover gave the Patriots a short field and Jackson Hendley found the end zone on a short run to put the guests up 14-0 with 6:47 left in the opening quarter

St. John’s Prep 42, Leominster 7: Aramis Reyes scored the lone touchdown for the 16th-seeded Blue Devils (4-5) as they fell to No. 1 St. John’s Prep in the opening round of the Division 1 tournament in Danvers.

College volleyball

Westfield State 3, Fitchburg State 0: The Falcons (8-16) dropped their season finale by set scores of 25-17, 28-26 and 25-23.

Stephanie Sardella led the Falcons in both kills and digs, notching match-high with 14 kills to go along with her 17 digs. Emily Gelinas also finished with a match-high in assists with 30.

Local roundup: Blue Knights roll to win over Maynard

by

Maddie Salovardos netted a hat trick and Emma Kibbe added four assists as the sixth-seeded Lunenburg field hockey team disposed of No. 27 Maynard, 7-1, Thursday night at McCarron Field in first round action of the Division 4 tournament.

Lunenburg improves to 16-1-2 overall with the win and will host Clinton on Monday. Maynard finishes its season at 10-7-2.

Lunenburg goalie Tegan Arnold was solid in net in the victory.

Dennis-Yarmouth 3, North Middlesex 0: The 25th-seeded Patriots (8-8-2) fell in the opening round of the Division 3 tournament.

College cross country

Fitchburg State sophomore Michael Burns was named to the 2023 Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC) Men’s Cross Country All-Conference team on Thursday afternoon, while classmate Skye Goba earned a spot on the MASCAC Women’s Cross Country All-Conference team.

Burns notches his second consecutive MASCAC MXC All-Conference accolade after guiding the Falcons to a third-place finish at the MASCAC Men’s Cross Country Championships on Friday afternoon with an eighth-place time of 28:58.48 over the 8K layout at Willard Park.

Skye led the Falcons to a fourth-place finish at the MASCAC Women’s Cross Country Championships after placing fourth overall with a time of 29:02.75 over the 5K layout at Willard Park on Friday afternoon.

Lapidus to retire as Fitchburg State president

by

FITCHBURG — Fitchburg State University President Richard Lapidus announced Monday that he will be retiring at the end of the 2023-2024 academic year. Lapidus joined Fitchburg State in July of 2015 and is the University’s 11th leader.

Lapidus has led school during the creation of new academic programs such as the expansion of online offerings, has deepened ties between the campus and the city, and has guided the University through the challenges of the global pandemic.

During his time as president, Fitchburg State’s institutional accreditation was renewed and a new strategic plan was adopted.

“From the day I first interviewed for the position on campus, I knew that Fitchburg State was a special place, and it has been an honor to have contributed to its positive evolution,” Lapidus said. “This is a campus of dedicated individuals who care deeply about our students, and as I have said many times, each of you makes a difference every day and for that I can’t be more appreciative.”

C. Deborah Phillips, chair of the Board of Trustees, said it has been an honor and a privilege to serve during Lapidus’ tenure. She cited his navigation of the University during the pandemic as an example of his contributions to the Fitchburg State community.

“During the COVID -19 health crisis, President Lapidus demonstrated strong and compassionate leadership as the University faced uncharted territory,” Phillips said. “Because of his foresight in upgrading the university’s technology platforms in the years prior to the COVID crisis, Fitchburg State was uniquely positioned for the virtual teaching and learning environment essential for the campus community to function during those uncertain days and months.”

The Board of Trustees chair said that, under the leadership of Lapidus, Fitchburg State didn’t just survive COVID but was able to also thrive.

“Not only did the university function during COVID, but new ways of serving the student body were developed, new programs were implemented, and even new traditions were established,” said Phillips. “For nine years President Lapidus has led Fitchburg State with calmness and agility. His intuitive and gracious leadership will be missed, but he leaves the University well positioned to face the challenges ahead.”

A comprehensive national search will be undertaken for Lapidus’ successor.

Founded in 1894, Fitchburg State has more than 30 undergraduate programs and 22 master’s degree programs; in total the school serves 6,000 full and part-time students. Learn more at fitchburgstate.edu.

(Courtesy Fitchburg State University)