Chris Mega's musical life

MEREDITH — When the beloved Christmas music begins to play at the holiday pops “Christmas with the Crooners” concert on Dec. 10-11, featuring vocalist Michael Gallagan and music by the Lakes Region Symphony Orchestra, the audience will surely want to sing along.

The work of coordinating the holiday concert and all the performances by the orchestra falls upon the shoulders of Chris Mega, the executive director. Music has been part of Mega’s life since he was growing up in Natick, Massachusetts. His father was a public school music teacher and freelance violinist, performing around New England, including with the Boston Symphony Orchestra and the Boston Pops.

“In my freshman year at college, I was a jazz piano performance major at the University of Miami in Florida. I switched to computer engineering my sophomore year. I received my engineering degree at UMass Amherst. After college, I worked for a computer company,” Mega says of his interest in music.

Eventually, Mega moved to Meredith with his wife and children in 2000.

“Music was still an avocation for me,” he says. “I got involved in music at Hermit Woods Winery & Eatery in Meredith, and I perform there playing piano. I book the Friday and Saturday piano nights, as well as the Thursday pre-show piano, guitar and vocal acts that perform before the main shows." He is also the main sound engineer for the Thursday shows.

The Loft, a "listening room experience" at Hermit Woods, has live concerts and piano music on a weekly basis.

In the 1990s, Mega composed and recorded an album of solo piano music, and he performs some of those songs at Hermit Woods.

After making a connection with LRSO, Mega was asked to sit on the organization’s board of directors.

“Within three or four years, I became the executive director of the symphony. I also perform in concerts as a pianist from time to time,” he adds. Mega has written several orchestral arrangements that have been performed in LRSO concerts over the years.

As an executive director with a knowledge of music, and skills at organization, Mega is the perfect person for the job, but he gives much of the credit to the board and volunteers.

“I handle the details and the day-to-day aspects. That includes concert and season planning, and back office work. Our conductor figures out the program for the year. The board governs and sets policy,” Mega explains. “They are active, and I am grateful for such a core team. They are dedicated and very hands-on.”

A willingness to pitch in as needed is integral when presenting a season of classical concerts in November and March, pops concerts in May, as well as the upcoming holiday pops concert.

The December holiday concert will feature Michael Gallagan as guest vocalist.

“He has played with LRSO five or six times, and he is very talented,” Mega says.

The concert will offer Gallagan in a mix of traditional carols and modern holiday standards by crooners such as Frank Sinatra, Tony Bennett and Andy Williams, as he joins the 55-member orchestra. The holiday pops concert will be held at the Colonial Theatre in downtown Laconia on Saturday, Dec. 10, at 7 p.m., and at Inter-Lakes Auditorium on Sunday, Dec. 11, at 3 p.m.

Historically, LRSO came about as an offshoot of the summertime New Hampshire Music Festival's orchestra.

“The festival has always pulled musicians from around the United States,” Mega says. The festival director had a vision to start a year-round, local orchestra as well. Thus, LRSO was born to offer winter and spring concerts. Today, LRSO is 47 years old. 

Immersion into music and performances is a place Mega is comfortable, due to his love of music.

“I migrate to jazz, and I like to explore new things,” he says, reflecting on his continued interest in music. “I have a piano at home, and I play often. I will be the featured soloist at the LRSO May concerts.”

An upcoming concert on March 25 is titled “Haydn Seek” and will feature guest artist and LRSO cellist JP Vainio performing Joseph Haydn’s Concerto in C Major for Cello, along with Haydn’s Symphony No. 104, his final symphonic work.

More spring concerts are planned for Saturday and Sunday, May 13-14, at Inter-Lakes Auditorium. Mega will perform George Gershwin’s “Rhapsody in Blue,” a frequently played piece of American musical literature. Also featured will be vocalist Madison MacNeill from the Powerhouse Theatre Collaborative performing Gershwin-era favorites from Irving Berlin and Cole Porter.

Always open to pursuing new things in the field of music, Mega says he hopes to resume composing and recording more original pieces in the future. Perhaps some of the pieces will be performed with Mega at the piano, joining the musicians at the LRSO. In the meantime, those hankering for a concert with holiday music are in for a treat this month.

For information on LRSO, visit lrso.org.