Loomis Communities
November 2025 Event and Trip Highlights
Applewood
Javier Corrales, Professor of Political Science at Amherst College. Democratic Backsliding: Lessons for the United States from Abroad.
November 1, 2025 10:30 am
Javier Corrales is the Dwight W. Morrow Professor of Political Science at Amherst College. He is internationally recognized as a leading expert on democratization, democratic governance, democratic backsliding, populism, and authoritarianism. He will draw on his research and writings to speak about the rise of autocracies and the backsliding of democracy in the 21st Century.
Applewood
Christine Hatch, Associate Director for Academics, UMass iCONs
November 8, 2025 10:30 am
A SLAM DUNK in wetlands restoration is how Extension Professor Christine Hatch, of the UMass Department of Earth, Geographic, and Climate Sciences, describes a surprisingly successful experiment to restore cranberry bogs taken out of production into what they once were — thriving wetlands now exploding with natural life. She will tell us this good-news story of transformed cranberry bogs as well as answer our questions about why the fuss about wetlands in Amherst. An eco-hydrologist, Hatch is a sought-after expert on aging dams, and the rewilding and restoration of wetlands and bogs. She received her PhD in Earth Science from the University of California, Santa Cruz, and a BA in geology from Amherst College.
Loomis Lakeside at Reeds Landing
Trip: Met Opera- La Bohème
November 8, 2025 12:15 pm
With its enchanting setting and spellbinding score, the world’s most popular opera is as timeless as it is heartbreaking. Franco Zeffirelli’s picture-perfect production brings 19th-century Paris to the Met stage as Puccini’s young friends and lovers navigate the joy and struggle of bohemian life. Sopranos Juliana Grigoryan, Angel Blue, and Aleksandra Kurzak trade off as the feeble seamstress Mimì, opposite tenors Freddie De Tommaso, Stephen Costello, Adam Smith, and Long Long as the ardent poet Rodolfo.
Loomis Lakeside at Reeds Landing
Springfield Photography Society
November 12, 2025 6:30 pm
Join us as the Springfield Photography Society share their photos and expertise.
Loomis Village
Trip: Symphony Winds of Boston with Jiayan Sun, piano (Valley Classical Concerts)
November 16, 2025 2:00 pm
Valley Classical Concerts welcomes a bracing mix of instruments to Sweeney Hall on November 16th. The program features Smith College’s star pianist Jiayan Sun and a veritable “Dream Team” of wind soloists drawn from the Boston Symphony Orchestra. Elizabeth Klein is a flutist who went straight from the Curtis Institute of Music into the BSO, and has established herself as an artist of exquisite refinement and technical wizardry. Oboist John Ferrillo is unparalleled for his beauty of tone, the quality most admired by composers of every genre when writing for the plaintive voice of the oboe. Christopher Elchico first excelled on the saxophone, then chose the clarinet for his orchestral career where he brings a glorious, moving sense of mastery and poetry. Rachel Childers, French horn, has the “chops” and keen sensibilities to fulfill all the roles required of a horn player in ensembles large and small. Samuel Watson is prized by his colleagues for his ability to move seamlessly from the contrabassoon position he holds in the BSO to that of valued collaborator playing the full repertoire for bassoon. They will be joined by Richard Ranti, recently retired BSO Associate Principal Bassoon and a member of the VCC Board.
Loomis Village
Trip: Soweto Gospel Choir (UMass FAC)
November 20, 2025 6:30 pm
Soweto Gospel Choir has been one of the most celebrated ensembles in world music almost since the moment of its founding in 2002. The choir has performed in such prestigious venues as Carnegie Hall, the Sydney Opera House, London’s Royal Festival Hall, and Nelson Mandela Theatre in Johannesburg. They performed at the 2009 Academy Awards; the 2009 FIFA World Cup opening ceremony in Cape Town and kick-off in Johannesburg; Nelson Mandela’s funeral and memorial service in Westminster Abbey; Archbishop Desmond Tutu’s funeral; and Winnie Madikizela-Mandela’s memorial service. They are three-time Grammy winners for Best Traditional World Music Album for their Shanachie Records releases Blessed (2006), African Spirit (2007), and Freedom (2019).