Our History
In 1996, Paul Surapine, a New York-trained clarinetist, became the Manager of The Milford Concert Band – a professional wind ensemble dating back to 1946 – that had a long and venerable history of performing free summer park concerts throughout the Metrowest region.
At that point, the Band had fallen on “hard times” – with a stale and dated repertoire and declining funding and concert attendance. Together, with the musicians of the once proud ensemble, Surapine created a new summer concert series – “Family Night at the Bandstand” – and through that concert series vehicle – brought about a miraculous rejuvenation and restoration of a long-standing community cultural asset. The immediate and palpable success of those efforts led to the creation of the Claflin Hill Music Performance Foundation, Inc. in 1997 – a 501(c)(3) non-profit charitable organization which has now long been, and continues to be, the sustaining umbrella organization through which the various and diverse world-class musical offerings Claflin Hill fans have come to know and love have continued to come to life over the past two and a half decades.
The creation of Claflin Hill had a two-fold goal – creating and sustaining new performance opportunities for professional musicians in the MetroWest region by organizing and engaging the assistance of the business community and private donors in support of musical offerings commensurate with the rich cultural history of the Greater Milford region – and to create, educate and cultivate a NEW audience for the future – preserving that heritage of musical culture which has been bequeathed to us by our forebears
The success of Family Night at the Bandstand led to a new series of indoor family and children-oriented concerts through the fall/winter/spring months in 1997, such as “Adventures in Listening” which was first produced at The Milford Town Library in that year – and a series of educational concerts in partnership with public school music departments in the region.
The “flagship” of the Claflin Hill Music Performance Foundation, Inc. – The Claflin Hill Symphony Orchestra (CHSO) came to life on May 7, 2000 as part of a “contract orchestra gig” with The Worcester State College Chorus, and has since delivered full seasons of professional, world -class symphony orchestra concerts each year in the historic Grand Ballroom of the Milford Town Hall – a venue which has witnessed performances by notables such as Enrico Caruso and Ezio Pinza in the previous century.
Throughout its short and meteoric history, Claflin Hill has continued to produce the summer concert series in Milford, and has brought the excellent and engaging performances of the Claflin Hill Symphony Summer Winds – the successor to the original Milford Concert Band – to many communities throughout the region.
Claflin Hill has been and remains dedicated to the long-term sustainability of rich cultural and artistic offerings
In 2005, the CHSO entered into a “mentor relationship” with The Metrowest Youth Symphony Orchestra (Metyso) in Framingham, and in that same year, Surapine was appointed as its second Music Director. Under his leadership, METYSO grew to encompass three ensembles and over 100 students from over 30 towns in Metrowest. In 2013, the Board of METYSO decided to dissolve itself and to officially merge into Claflin Hill – becoming The Claflin Hill Youth Symphonies (CHYS).
Sadly at this moment, CHYS – which was forced into shutdown in 2020 – remains “dormant” although there are hopes of a re-start in the near future.
Since its inception, Claflin Hill has been and remains dedicated to the long-term sustainability of rich cultural and artistic offerings in its large geographical sphere which now encompasses a region stretching from Worcester to Newton and all of Metrowest Boston. It has consistently grown with each year and actively sought out and created partnerships with MANY regional cultural and community organizations and non-profits, including Alternatives/Open Sky in Northbridge, Apple Tree Arts in Grafton, Hopkinton Center for the Arts, LiveArts in Franklin and numerous educational and cultural entities.
Now in its 23rd season, CHSO successfully survived the Pandemic Shut-Down and effected a stellar and “Phoenix-like” re-opening in the summer of 2021 of all of its ongoing concert series presentations – The CHSO Symphony Season at the Milford Town Hall Grand Ballroom, The Claflin Hill Chamber Music Series at Apple Tree Arts in Grafton, The Claflin Hill Jazz Series at the Caffe Sorrento in Milford, and Family Night at the Bandstand and Outreach Summer Concerts in Grafton and Northbridge.
The musicians who call Claflin Hill their professional home come from countries around the globe, came to our region to study their craft and have become citizens and neighbors. They not only perform for us on a regular basis, but also are raising their families and teaching our children.
The Story of Claflin Hill is an “American” story and a story of what people working together as a can accomplish together when they set their sights on excellence and the preservation of culture and education for their children.
The people who were involved in the past two decades of CHSO have done their part to honor the past and build for the future, whatever that may now be. That future is now in the hands of the next generation to insure it does not become another regional, cultural footnote.