Move over Tennessee and Kentucky, Vermont has a waltz now, too

December 24, 2020  |  By Julia Bailey-Wells

Photo courtesy of tarynnoelle.com.

Vermont’s got a new Christmas tune of its own this year—a soulful number titled “A Vermont Christmas Waltz,” released by Stowe’s Taryn Noelle. 

The singer, dancer, and actress composed the song on prompting from country and bluegrass singer Ricky Skaggs at a concert of his late last year at Lyndon College. 

After weaving tales for the audience about famous southern tunes like “the Kentucky Waltz” and “the Tennessee Waltz,” Skaggs asked the audience if Vermont had a Waltz of its own. When the crown responded with no better answer than “Moonlight in Vermont,” Skaggs issued a challenge: “The next time I play Vermont one of y’all better have written a Vermont Waltz,” he said.

Inspired, Noelle put her years of musical experience to work, composing “A Vermont Christmas Waltz,” which is available for download on Noelle’s website at tarynnoelle.com.

Noelle will perform the song on Christmas Eve as part of a live-streamed Stowe Community Church holiday service. You can watch the performance of the Stowe Community Church website at stowechurch.org.

Noelle also plans to release a music video for the song, filmed at Stowe’s Birdsong Farm, by Christmas day.

An active member of the Vermont community theater and musical theater scene, Noelle is a familiar figure in Waterbury as an instructor at Green Mountain Performing Arts where she teaches classes in children’s acting, singing and dance. She is also an award-winning member of the renowned Vermont Western Swing band Rick Norcross and the All-Star Ramblers.