Eclectic Arts Trio

Music at the Southfield Church continues its 10th season on Saturday, June 20, 2026 at 7:00 PM with an evening as distinctive as the ensemble bringing it to life. The Eclectic Arts Trio — Jean Jeffries, French horn; Aaron Lakota, oboe; and Clifton J. Noble, Jr., piano — brings a program of classical works, beloved American Songbook standards, and original and arranged pieces by the trio’s own pianist to the historic Southfield Church, 234 Norfolk Road, Southfield Village, New Marlborough, Massachusetts. Admission is free.

The combination of French horn, oboe, and piano is itself something to savor — each instrument a distinctive voice, together creating a sound world that is warm, reedy, and wholly their own. The Southfield Church’s celebrated acoustics, which performers consistently describe as among the most resonant of any venue in the region, will give each instrument room to breathe and bloom.

THE PROGRAM

[Program to be announced. The evening will draw from classical repertoire, the American Songbook, and original and arranged works by Clifton J. Noble, Jr.]

THE ARTISTS

Jean Jeffries, French horn, performs and lectures on modern, classical, and baroque horns. A graduate of Harvard College and committed advocate for liberal arts education, she teaches horn, coaches chamber music, and advises the Alphorn Club at Amherst College. On modern horn she appears with NERO, Juno, Tuesday Morning Music Club, Mohawk Trail Concerts, Barrington Stage, the Pioneer Valley Symphony, and the Clarion Brass Quintet, among others. On natural horn she has performed with period ensembles including ACRONYM, the Arcadia Players, the Connecticut Early Music Festival, and the Handel and Haydn Society. Her commitment to new music has resulted in a range of commissions, including The Rusalka, a tone poem for horn and orchestra composed for her by Clifton J. Noble, Jr., as well as works for horn, tenor, and piano and two quintets for horn and strings.

Clifton J. Noble, Jr., piano, is a composer, arranger, and pianist based in Western Massachusetts. From 1987 until his retirement in 2020, he served as Staff Accompanist in the Music Department at Smith College, accompanying choral ensembles, students, and faculty across more than three decades. His original works and arrangements have been performed by acclaimed artists throughout the United States and internationally. In January 2023 he became Music Director at the Episcopal Church of the Atonement in Westfield, Massachusetts.

Aaron Lakota, oboe, is a Western Massachusetts native and dedicated advocate for the arts throughout New England. He performs regularly with the Pioneer Valley Symphony, Juno Chamber Orchestra, Springfield Symphony, and Tundi, and serves on the faculties of Dartmouth College and Amherst College. A master-level reed maker, he is a frequent guest lecturer on the art of reed making at colleges and universities across the region, and supports the broader oboe community through his business, A. Lakota Reeds, which provides reeds and supplies to hundreds of oboists across North America.

Concerts are free. A retiring offering is collected as patrons exit, and an ice cream social on the lawn — weather permitting — follows each performance. The Southfield Church is located at 234 Norfolk Road in Southfield Village, New Marlborough, Massachusetts.

Music at the Southfield Church is supported in part by the New Marlborough Cultural Council, the Massachusetts Cultural Council, and the generous members of The Sostenuto Circle. For more information, visit thesouthfieldchurch.org or email music@thesouthfieldchurch.org.