Mark Marquis and friends enjoy 20 years of holiday memories
The Most Peaceful Night of the Year Dec. 7 and 8
By Lindsay Sauvageau JOURNAL CORRESPONDENT

Local musician Scott Babineau joins other artists from throughout the area in The Most Peaceful Night of the Year: A Night of Christmas Music with Mark Marquis and Friends on Friday, Dec. 7, and Saturday, Dec. 8, at 7:30 p.m. at the Unitarian Church, 15 West St., Leominster. Tickets are $10 and available at City Music, Gordon Music and Salvi's Barber Shop. All proceeds will go to the Salvation Army. Snow date will be Sunday, Dec. 9. COURTESY PHOTO

What began 20 years ago as an enjoyably traditional holiday concert has, over the years, become one of the regions most anticipated and cherished events of the season.

As fans and musicians alike prepare to celebrate two nights of unique and heartwarming music this weekend, concert founder and namesake Mark Marquis reflects on what he believes has made The Most Peaceful Night of the Year: A Night of Christmas Music with Mark Marquis and Friends such a success.

"In 20 years I've seen families - from all over the area, Leominster, Fitchburg, Westminster, Gardner, you name it - attend year after year, kids growing up, families watching the concert and listening to Bach's 'Joy of Man's Desire' and maybe followed with Chuck Berry's 'Run Rudolph Run.' I've watched my own kids learn how to play instruments and sing in the concert with me," said Marquis.

"But most of all, what I have seen is 20 years of the spirit of giving. Twenty years of the best local musicians unselfishly giving their time and talent, coming together for two night performances and whatever rehearsal time is needed all to make a show that I guarantee you will not see anywhere else."

An event focused on good music, fun, giving and friendship, each year The Most Peaceful Night of the Year brings together families and friends from all over the area for two nights of holiday entertainment. A charity event coordinated by Marquis and his wife Patricia, the assistant principal/ curriculum coordinator at Westminster Elementary School, the concert has raised thousands for children and families in need through the Salvation Army.

From humble beginnings, Marquis' holiday concert began with only Marquis and his band performing with local musician and songwriter Kim Page. Organized last minute with barely any promotion, the event drew an intimate crowd with just enough zeal to inspire Marquis to continue holding his concert a second and third year.

"It grew the second year and the third and in the fourth year it just got crazy," he said. "At first we had an intimate crowd but after a few years we were getting a huge turnout. We began adding more musicians, more music with jazz, country, traditional and rock associations. Now we've got a concert featuring 23 musicians and a professional actor, plus we've been working with the same crew for a long time - a stage manager, a sound guy and the people who come in to do the lighting."

Among the artists performing with Marquis are Westminster artists Jane Miller and Scott Babineau. Other artists include Fitchburg and Leominster artists like Johnny Girouard, John Moore, Steve Salvi and Ed Kelly.

The concert has brought Marquis many wonderful memories over the years, from seeing his daughter perform her first big solo when she was only seven to watching the concert become a special event for others in the community, he said.

"One year a guy called me, he said he and his girlfriend go to the concert every year and they love it so much that he wanted to know if he could propose to his girlfriend on stage that year," said Marquis.

In 20 years, the concert has produced two CDs, which Marquis said reflects the remarkable growth and evolution of the concert.

"The first CD we made because people really enjoyed the music and wanted to have it for themselves," he said. "We do a lot of traditional music, most of it rewritten with changed melodies or added parts that I did just for the concert. Then when the concert got bigger and we added more musicians and original tunes and Scrooge's part, we made a second CD to reflect those changes. Every musician and performer in the concert has a place on the CD."

Marquis said above all, the concert's success has been due in large part to the musicians who have joined him in song and friendship over the years,

"These are stand out musicians. They are real rock musicians, real jazz musicians. When they play rock or jazz, it isn't just someone's version of rock or jazz," he said.

"We've developed a big core of musicians dedicated to doing this each year. When people see the concert, they know we're not just a bunch of musicians getting together to do a show, they can feel the camaraderie and friendship we have."

The name of the concert also changed a few years into the concert's history.

"In the third year, Kim Page and I got together and wrote 'The Most Peaceful Night of the Year' so we would have an original composition for the concert. I liked the title so much and thought it was perfect for the concert itself. That's how it became, The Most Peaceful Night of the Year: A Night of Christmas Music with Mark Marquis and Friends."

This year the concert will take place tonight and Saturday, Dec. 8, at 7:30 p.m. at the Unitarian Church, 15 West St., Leominster. With every year always a little different - full of surprises - Marquis says this year's concert will be no different.

"This year, Kim Page will be joining us once again but that's all I can say. I don't want to give away any more surprises," he said.

Tickets are $10 and available at City Music, Gordon Music and Salvi's Barber Shop. All proceeds will go to the Salvation Army. Snow date will be Sunday, Dec. 9.