Tara Helen O'Connor
Artistic Director
News & Events
Vince Giordano & The Nighthawks Rescheduled for May 17, 2026
Once again, Mother Nature has postponed the start of our season with the cancellation of the Februay 2026 concert featuring Vince Giordano & The Nighthawks. Working to keep this performance in our season, a new date was set for May 17, 2026 at 3 pm at Valley...
Trio Animoso: Essex Winter Series 2026 Emerging Artists Community Outreach
On March 22, 2026 the award-winning Trio Animoso will grace the stage at Congregation Beth Shalom Rodfe Zedek in Chester, CT for our next concert of the Essex Winter Series (EWS) season. This phenomenal group of young artists – Sophia Jean, flute; Julian Seney, viola;...
Zip06 Celebrates New EWS Artistic Director Tara Helen O’Connor as Person of the Week
Mother Nature has slowed our season start, but with a concert just around the corner, our new Artistic Director – Tara Helen O'Connor – is quite excited to meet the folks in our community. With the retirement of Mihae Lee from our series after 15 years, Tara knows she...
January 25 Concert Rescheduled to November 8, 2026
Mother Nature - and the weather reporters – have had their say! Our first concert of the 2026 season has been cancelled and rescheduled for November 8, 2026. Timeless Bonds & Renewed Horizons with violinist Ani Kavafian, cellist Peter Wiley, flutist Tara Helen...
Under Age 40? Special Offer Ticket Pricing!
Did you know that Essex Winter Series offers some of the finest music to be heard on the Shoreline? Interested in classical, jazz, or choral music? Frustrated by how expensive ticket prices have become? Youth does have its benefits. For our 2026 season, we are...
Jazz from the Stage to Local Schools
Jazz Outreach at local schools in December 2025
Essex Winter Series Receives Arts Outreach Grant from the Community Foundation of Middlesex County
Essex Winter Series will present a four-day artist residency with members of Trio Animoso, thanks to funding in part by the Community Foundation of Middlesex County, through a grant made possible by the generosity of the GSB Grant Making Fund, River View Cemetery Fund, and Ivoryton Congregational Church Community Enrichment Fund.
New Artistic Director for Essex Winter Series as Mihae Lee Retires
Pianist Mihae Lee became Artistic Director of Essex Winter Series in 2011 when president Fenton Brown stepped down. In her 15 years in the role, Mihae has brought stellar musicians to perform beautiful music for our series as well as expanding our audience and...
Essex Winter Series Awarded a 2025 Connecticut Arts Endowment Grant
The state’s Department of Economic and Community Development announced the recipients of the 2025 Connecticut Arts Endowment Grants given through the Connecticut Office of the Arts, which also receives support from the National Endowment for the Arts, a federal...
Essex Savings Bank Community Investment Program Awards Funding to Essex Winter Series
Essex Winter Series is grateful to once again be one of the area’s local nonprofit recipients of funding from the Essex Savings Bank Community Investment Program (CIP). As President & CEO Diane Arnold noted her congratulatory comments, for 30 years Essex Savings...