He drops the silver chain of sound,
Of many links without a break,
In chirrup, whistle, slur and shake.
. . . . . .
For singing till his heaven fills,
’Tis love of earth that he instils,
And ever winging up and up,
Our valley is his golden cup,
And he the wine which overflows
To lift us with him as he goes.
. . . . . .
Till lost on his aërial rings
In light, and then the fancy sings.
from The Lark Ascending by poet George Meredith
Program:
The Lark Ascending, Vaughan Williams
Introit, Op. 6, Finzi
Love’s Labour’s Lost, Op. 28b, Finzi
A Celebration of Music, Poetry & Shakespeare with Creare Symphonia
October 17, 2026, 7:30 PM
October 18, 2026, 3:30 PM
Performing Arts Center
Brewster, MA
Creare Symphonia presents works by Ralph Vaughan Williams and Gerald Finzi, with readings illuminating the poetry and prose which inspired these British treasures.
Written in 1914, on the cusp of World War I, the iconically beautiful Lark Ascending evokes the effortless joy of a skylark in song and flight, a longing for simpler times, and the calm before the storm. D.S. Martin, Poet-in-Residence at McMaster Divinity College in Ontario, will give a short lecture and poetry reading on The Lark Ascending.
Finzi wrote the incidental music for a BBC radio adaptation of Shakespeare’s Love’s Labour’s Lost in 1946. (This comedy features a king who, in an effort to promote intense study and education, establishes an oath which forbids his court from spending time with women for three years. You can imagine what antics ensue!)
Dr. Kristen Abbott Bennett, Associate Professor of English at Framingham State University, will explore the drama of Finzi’s music—unraveling Shakespeare’s plot and prose!
Tickets:
$35 General; $30 Seniors; Free for Students & Youth
Ask about Group Rates (6+) and “Create your own Season” ticket package!
Call 508-240-2400, or purchase below
Tickets October 17, 2026
Tickets October 18, 2026
About the Speakers
D.S. Martin is a Canadian poet, Series Editor for the Poiema Poetry Series, and Poet-in-Residence at McMaster Divinity College in Hamilton, Ontario. His books of poetry include:
The Role of the Moon (2025, Paraclete Press), Angelicus (2021), Ampersand (2018), Conspiracy of Light: Poems Inspired by the Legacy of C.S. Lewis (2013), Poiema (2008), and the chapbook So The Moon Would Not Be Swallowed (2007, Rubicon Press). His poetry has appeared in many publications around the world, such as Canadian Literature, Christian Century, Dalhousie Review, Event, Irish Times, Practical Theology and Queen’s Quarterly. He and his wife, Gloria, live in Brampton, Ontario. They have two adult sons.
Kristen Abbott Bennett is an Associate Professor of English and teaches premodern literature and Digital Humanities at Framingham State University in Framingham, Massachusetts. Her ongoing engagement with the Folger Shakespeare Institute in Washington, DC has included service on the advisory committee for the Folger Digital Anthology of Early English Drama, appointments as Visiting Faculty, and invitations to deliver presentations. She also regularly contributes to symposia focused on Shakespeare and early modern literary studies.
Her monograph, Teaching Shakespeare’s Theatre of the World, was published by Cambridge University Press in 2025. She is a contributing author for the forthcoming Oxford Handbook of Thomas Nashe and Oxford Handbook of Christopher Marlowe; presently she is editing a scholarly edition of Shakespeare’s Love’s Labour’s Lost for the New Internet Shakespeare Editions under the University of Victoria imprint.
She is the Project Founder and Director of The Kit Marlowe Project; Assistant Director of Pedagogy and Outreach for the Map of Early Modern London (University of Victoria); and supports interns working with The New Variorum Shakespeare (Texas A&M University). These projects open new pathways into the study of early modern literature through the creation of accessible, collaborative digital resources.