Musicians of the Old Post Road begins concert season

There’s something “magical” about performing period music on period instruments, says Suzanne Stumpf.

Stumpf is co-director of Musicians of the Old Post Road, a Weston-based group that plays music from the baroque classical to early romance period on period instruments.

“We’re bringing to life the sound world of the composers of the 18^th century to early 19^th century,” she said.

Stumpf, is also the flutist for the Musicians and plays on a replica of the 19^th century flute.

“When I play baroque music on this instrument, it is just magical. It comes alive in a very natural way,” she said.

The same is true for the string instruments, which use gut strings rather than metal, said Daniel Ryan, Stumpf’s husband, co-director and cellist for the Musicians.

Gut strings create a much more “transparent sound,” he said.

“The music sounds like it’s speaking, rather than singing,” Ryan said.

Residents are invited to share in that magic at the opening celebration of the season, titled “First Notes and First Toasts.” The concert, 4 p.m. Sept. 26, at First Parish Church in Weston, will feature a sampling of music the Musicians will perform throughout the year, followed by some libations and treats.

Audience members will be encouraged to ask questions between pieces.

“It has a very fun, participatory quality,” said Stumpf.

The Musicians of the Old Post Road came together in 1989, founded by Stumpf and Ryan.

They were both historical performance specialists and separately had been performing concerts in historical venues in Europe with other colleagues.

When the two got together and started rehearsing, they decided to try and bring the performances to Massachusetts.

Stumpf, who grew up in Northborough on the Old Post Road, wondered if that might be a fitting name for the group. She and Ryan went to the Boston Public Library, checked out a book on the Old Post Road and began tracing the route. They discovered many historical buildings along the way.

“The Old Post Road flourished from the 1670s to the 1840s which is exactly the period from the baroque classical to the early romantic — so it was a perfect match for our repertoire,” said Stumpf.

They design about four programs a year, performing them in Boston and at historic locations along Old Post Road.

“We thought it was very, very important to try to bring music into people’s backyards, so people didn’t just have to go into cities to hear it,” Stumpf said.

They performed at First Parish Church in Weston during their very first concert series, they said, where they now have an office and rehearsal space.

“So, we finally have a Boston Post Road address,” said Ryan.

Musicians of the Old Post Road has five core members, but they often work with other guest artists and soloists.

Concerts could include music from Johann Sebastian Bach, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, George Frideric Handel and Joseph Haydn, but also lesser-known musicians, such as the teachers and students of these famous musicians.

“We enjoy finding musicians [and] composers who have been lost to audiences and whose music is not typically included in the cannon. We are kind of musical archeologists,” Stumpf said.

Their 38th season, titled “Convergence,” opens on Oct. 24 in Sudbury and Oct. 25 in Boston and online with the program “Playing it Forward,” featuring works by teachers and students of famous musicians. The December concert, “Christmas in Olde/New England,” will be a collaboration between the Musicians and the early music choir Convivium Musicum. Concerts will be held Dec. 5 in Boston and Dec. 6 in Worcester and online.

The musical selection will be boisterous, said Ryan, and will make for “a really joyful celebration.”

The season continues in spring 2027 with “When in Rome,” celebrating the musical culture of the Eternal City, with performances on March 6 in Wayland and online, and March 7 in Boston.

“Classical Kaleidoscope,” featuring rare chamber works written for multiple historical wind and string instruments, will bring the season to an end in April. Performances will be held April 17 in Worcester and online and April 18 in Boston.

“Our sense of discovery is infectious. Whenever people go to our concerts they are blown away with what they are able to experience that is new to them and they didn’t know about,” said Ryan.

Subscriptions and single tickets are available at www.oldpostroad.org; [email protected], or by calling 781-466-6694.

If you go

‘First Notes and First Toasts’

WHEN: 4 p.m., Saturday, Sept. 26

WHERE: Sears Chapel, First Parish Church, 349 Boston Post Road, Weston

ADMISSION: $75; free for subscription holders

DETAILS: Performance will be followed by snacks and libations

INFO: www.oldpostroad.org; 781-466-6694