On stage in and near Waterbury in February
February 9, 2024 | By Waterbury Roundabout Our inbox is packed with February performances on stage in Waterbury, the Mad River Valley and Barre. Here are details from the Eleva Chamber Players, the Vermont Philharmonic, the Vermont Symphony Orchestra's Jukebox Quartet and Mad River Chorale.
Also included here is an advance call for acts and ticket reservations for the Valley Players’ 36th Annual Cabin Fever Follies set for March 22-23.
Feb. 10: Eleva Chamber Players presents “Afternoon Enchantment” in Waterbury
Pianist Michael Sitton will join the Eleva Chamber Players in Waterbury on Feb.10. Courtesy photo
Flutist Laurel Ann Maurer performs with the Eleva Chamber Players in Waterbury on Feb. 10. Courtesy photo
The Eleva Chamber Players presents two celebrated Vermont musicians in a midday concert on Saturday, Feb. 10, in Waterbury titled “Afternoon Enchantment.
Guest flutist Laurel Ann Maurer and pianist Michael Sitton will share their skills on the flute and piano in a program that includes works by legendary composers Donizetti, Schubert, Franckenpohl and Piazzolla. They will also perform the world premiere of “The Fourth Highway” written by Vermont composer David Gunn for Maurer.
Flutist Laurel Ann Maurer is both an active teacher and performing musician with 13 commercially released CDs to her credit including two that were nominated for Grammy Awards. Fanfare Magazine has called her “superb in every way” while the Salt Lake Tribune proclaimed her to be “stellar in both tone and technique” and a “master of coloration and interpretation.”
Maurer has performed and taught master classes throughout the U.S., Europe, and Asia, including performances at Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, The Kennedy Center, and Khachaturian Hall in Yerevan, Armenia. She was principal flutist of the Salt Lake Symphony for 12 years.
In Vermont she recently has performed with the Vermont Symphony Orchestra, the Vermont Contemporary Music Ensemble, the Montpelier Chamber Orchestra, and the Vermont Philharmonic, where she is principal flutist. She is also founder and artistic director of the Vermont Virtuosi chamber music series and a founding member of both the Vermont Virtuosi Flute Ensemble and the flute quartet PipeDreams.
Pianist Michael Sitton retired to Central Vermont in 2020 following a career in higher education where his last appointment was dean of the Crane School of Music in Potsdam, New York. He has degrees in piano performance including doctor of Musical Arts from the University of Illinois and the Diplôme de Concert from Paris’ Schola Cantorum. He’s performed as a solo pianist, chamber musician, and collaborative artist. A board member of the Vermont Music Teachers’ Association, Sitton teaches piano at Montpelier’s Monteverdi Music School and he is active as a composer.
Eleva Chamber Players is Central Vermont’s only professional string chamber orchestra, founded 2006 in Waterbury with the mission of elevating the human spirit through music. Along with fine musicianship, Eleva’s concerts incorporate commentary that is both educational and inspiring.
Eleva’s conductor-less orchestra runs with a collaborative process. Its musicians are professionals with distinguished international careers from Vermont and around the U.S. United States.
The concert will be held at 3 p.m. at the United Church of Christ/Waterbury Congregational Church, 8 North Main Street. Admission: $25; $20 for seniors and students. Tickets are available at elevachamberplayers.com or at the door.
Eleva’s COVID-19 audience policy recommends masks and social distancing.
More information at elevachamberplayers.com.
Feb. 10: Mad River Chorale to treat audience with music, roses, chocolate at Warren concert
The Mad River Chorale presents its annual benefit concert at the Warren Church at 7 p.m. on Feb. 10.
Titled “Be Our Chocolate and Roses Valentine,” the performance will be presented as a cabaret-style revue featuring many singers familiar to Mad River Chorale audiences as well as some new faces.
Emcee for the event is operatic bass and improv comedian Erik Kroncke. The chorale’s conductor and musical director – and well-known pianist – Mary Jane Austin will accompany the singers and the chorale’s regular accompanist Alison Cerutti, also a soloist and chamber musician, will perform as piano soloist.
Following the concert, there will be roses for all audience members and a buffet of varied chocolate desserts prepared by the singers of chorale.
Admission is by donation. More information is on the group’s new website madriverchorale.org.
Feb. 11: VSO’s Jukebox Quartet ‘Hammer & Glass’ show visits Zenbarn
Violinist Brooke Quiggins and cellist John Dunlop perform at the Vermont Symphony Orchestra's "Hammer and Glass" Jukebox Quartet concert at Zenbarn on Feb. 11. Courtesy photo
The Vermont Symphony Orchestra’s Jukebox Quartet is on the road this month with a stop at Zenbarn in Waterbury on Feb. 11 starting at 5 p.m.
The quartet is violinist Brooke Quiggins, cellist John Dunlop and percussionists D. Thomas Toner and Nicola Cannizzaro. All four musicians have played extensively together and have a deep understanding of each other's musical abilities and personalities.
“Audience members will see things performed in a new way, with unique percussion instruments such as the cajon, toy piano, and flower pots as well as lots of push-and-pull moments between instruments,” said VSO Artistic Advisor and Project Conductor Matt LaRocca. “I hope the audience experiences an appreciation for new and different music, the power of collaboration between musicians, and the range of emotions conveyed through the music.”
The program spans genres and traditions for this intimate setting:
Opening from Glassworks by Philip Glass, arr. LaRocca: Setting the stage with a mesmerizing overture.
Hammers by Andy Akiho: An exploration of rhythmic complexity and percussive dynamism.
Boris Kerner by Caroline Shaw: A contemporary masterpiece that pushes the boundaries of classical music, featuring flower pots as instruments.
Bawa (traditional) arr. Sowah Mensah: Music from UVM Marsh Scholar Sowah Mensah performed on the Gyli - a traditional Ghanaian xylophone.
Duo for Violin and Cello, Mvmt. III by Jessie Montgomery: A movement that weaves together strings in an intricate dance.
Manta Ray Dance by Yousif Sheronick: An up-tempo dance for the Riq, a Middle Eastern tambourine.
Slide Rule by Jeanne Woodbury and Josh Gottry: A fiery and rocking duet between two Cajons based on the Brazilian baião.
Closing from Glassworks by Philip Glass, arr. LaRocca: Bringing the concert to a crescendo with a reprise of Glass’s evocative work.
The Waterbury concert is sponsored by the Northfield Savings Bank Innovation Fund. Now in its 89th season, the Vermont Symphony Orchestra is committed to artistic excellence, innovative programming, and community engagement. More information and ticketing details are online at vso.org.
Feb. 17-18: Vermont Philharmonic Presents ‘Loves Riddles’ winter concerts
The Vermont Philharmonic will seek to answer “Love’s Riddles” in two concerts on Saturday, Feb. 17, Elley-Long Music Center at St Michael’s College and on Sunday, Feb. 18 at the Barre Opera House.
Under the direction of conductor and music director Lou Kosma, the program opens with the “Overture” and “March” from Carl Maria von Weber’s music for the play “Turandot” (not to be confused with Puccini’s opera of that name), in which the icy princess poses three riddles that a suitor must answer correctly in order to win her heart. Paul Hindemith uses this theme by von Weber as a subject for the big orchestral work that concludes the program, “Symphonic Metamorphosis of Themes of Carl Maria von Weber.”
Violinist Maaike Dam, winner of the John Borowicz Memorial Scholarship. Photo courtesy of the Vermont Philharmonic
The winner of the 2024 Jon Borowicz Memorial Scholarship Competition is a gifted young violinist, Maaike Dam. She is a student of Ira Morris, and performs with the Vermont Youth Orchestra, All State and New England music festivals. The senior from St. Johnsbury Academy will perform the “Meditation” from Tchaikovsky’s “Souvenir d’un lieu cher.”
Vermont soprano Lisa Jablow will sing “Rückert-Lieder” pieces by Gustav Mahler. The program also includes a 1990 work by Vermont composer Dennis Bathory-Kitsz, “A Fanfare for Peace: The Lily and the Thorn.”
Now in its 65th season, the Vermont Philharmonic is Vermont’s oldest community orchestra. The St. Michael’s performance is at 7:30 p.m. The Barre Opera House concert is at 2 p.m. Tickets: $25 adults, $20 seniors, $5 students, will be available at the door, or online at vermontphilharmonic.com.
Auditions & Save the Date(s) for 36th Annual Cabin Fever Follies, March 22-23
The Valley Players have put out a call for performers to get their acts together for the Mad River Valley’s annual variety show, the Cabin Fever Follies.
Singers, dancers, story- and joke-tellers, musicians, actors and just plain hams of all ages are all welcome to share their talents.
Acts should be brief and self-contained and are expected to be available for both performances on Friday and Saturday, March 22 and 23, at the Valley Players Theater, 4254 Main Street, Waitsfield.
A brief "dress rehearsal" may be scheduled during the week prior to these show dates. Call Director Doug Bergstein (802-498-3498) or email valleyplayers@madriver.com by March 1 to schedule an audition or pitch your act.
Cabin Fever Follies Raisinettes strike a pose in this file photo from the Valley Players
The company is also seeking Raisinettes – the sign-toting, highly visible, walking “commercials” dressed in Raisinette costumes personally embellished with hats, gloves, sunglasses, tutus and any other bit of nonsense. These intrepid souls carry signs with important thoughts and messages from the audience for a small donation, strutting across the stage to the beat of the classic Motown song “I Heard it Through the Grapevine.” The follies tradition is specifically designed for those who wish to participate while remaining relatively anonymous. Anyone interested should contact Sharon Kellermann at 802-793-8362 for more information.
Tickets ($15) will be on sale soon for single seats and tables of 10 ($150) in February. Only seven tables will be available each night.
More details online at valleyplayers.com.