Summer Festival Tour a "big smile"

Keep reading for the complete schedule.


2011 TD Bank Summer Festival TourFriday, July 1, 2011, gates open at 5 p.m. for picnicking, concert begins at 7:30 p.m.
Sugarbush Resort, Warren
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2011 TD Bank Summer Festival TourSaturday, July 2, 2011, gates open at 5 p.m. for picnicking, concert begins at 7:30 p.m.
Hildene Meadowlands, Manchester
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2011 TD Bank Summer Festival TourSunday, July 3, 2011, gates open at 5:30 p.m. for picnicking, concert begins at 7:30 p.m.
Grafton Ponds, Grafton
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2011 TD Bank Summer Festival TourMonday, July 4, 2011, gates open at 5:15 p.m. for picnicking, concert begins at 7:30 p.m.
Shelburne Farms, Shelburne
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2011 TD Bank Summer Festival TourThursday, July 7, 2011, gates open at 5 p.m. for picnicking, concert begins at 7:30 p.m.
Mountain Top Inn, Chittenden
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2011 TD Bank Summer Festival TourFriday, July 8, 2011, gates open at 5 p.m. for picnicking, concert begins at 7:30 p.m.
Quechee Polo Grounds, Quechee
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2011 TD Bank Summer Festival TourSaturday, July 9, 2011, gates open at 5 p.m. for picnicking, concert begins at 7:30 p.m.
Three Stallion Inn, Randolph
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2011 TD Bank Summer Festival TourSunday, July 10, 2011, gates open at 5:30 p.m. for picnicking, concert begins at 7:30 p.m.
Trapp Family Lodge Concert Meadow, Stowe
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King Arthur Flour Giveaway at our Summer Festival Tour Concerts!

We're treating you like royalty this summer with eight chances to win a gift pack from King Arthur Flour, only instead of a sceptre, this giveaway prize will inspire you to grab the nearest wire whisk! The iconic Vermont brand has donated a prize valued at $75 to be given away at seven of our eight summer festival tour concerts (not July 10). Visit our website for a complete schedule of concerts. Cut to the chase and visit the Flynn Regional Box Office to buy tickets.

Each prize includes a King Arthur Flour tote bag, an apron, a huge cookbook, a plastic bowl scraper embossed with the King Arthur Flour logo, 2 boxes of King Arthur Flour scone mix, and a VSO t-shirt and sticker.

Only concert attendees will be allowed to enter this giveaway. An entry form will be located inside your program book at the concert. We hope to see you at our 2011 TD Bank Summer Festival Tour!

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2010/2011 SymphonyKids Official Statistics

The Vermont Symphony Orchestra's SymphonyKids Educational Outreach Programs recently completed a very successful 2010/2011 schoolyear. We reached 30,550 students across Vermont through 248 presentations serving 199 schools in 159 different communities! Thank you to our generous sponsors that provided subsidies for schools, our regional board volunteers who assisted in fundraising and booking programs in schools, and to the schools that welcomed our groups into their communities. See you next year!
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Seeking Production Crew for the TD Bank Summer Festival Tour

Go on tour with the Vermont Symphony Orchestra this summer. Hard-working, positive people needed for the Vermont Symphony’s Summer Festival Tour production crew. Short-term employment from Tuesday, June 28 through Monday, July 4 and Thursday, July 7 through Monday, July 11. Expect long days working outside including heavy lifting. Some overnight stays. Valid license and team player mentality required. Send your resume and a short note to Rebecca for more information or call (800) VSO-9293 x13.

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SymphonyKids Spotlight: Raising Cane

Each year, the BCA Center gives the VSO a grant to send one Musicians-in-the-Schools ensemble to every elementary school in Burlington. This year, our woodwind trio, Raising Cane, has the pleasure of making the annual rounds. WCAX produced a short video of the trio at Champlain Elementary on Tuesday, May 24, 2011. Watch the video below by clicking "Keep reading!" See the video, complete article and photos on the WCAX website. Read more to find out about bringing any of the VSO's SymphonyKids Educational Outreach programs into your school.




Our core outreach program, Musicians-in-the-Schools, includes seven different ensembles that are available for in-school presentations. Concerts include demonstration of instruments, a wide sampling of repertoire, audience participation, and a certain amount of zany humor. These groups normally present three 45-minute shows a day, which can be in three different schools if they are close enough geographically. All presentations are most appropriate for elementary age students. The cost is $285 per performance, or $850 for a full day. Subsidy money is often available, especially if schools help set up bookings. For more information or to book a Musicians-in-the-Schools ensemble, please e-mail Eleanor Long or call (800) VSO-9293 x 14. Keep reading!

2011 TD Bank Summer Festival Tour dates announced

Enjoy music fit for a king…on a soft summer evening in Vermont! The Vermont Symphony Orchestra presents its popular TD Bank Summer Festival Tour in eight outdoor locations this summer with a program entitled “Symphony Royale,” Anthony Princiotti conducting. From Friday, July 1 through Sunday, July 10, the Orchestra will perform in eight idyllic mountain and lakeside settings across the state. Tickets are now available through the Flynn Regional Box Office and will be available at local outlets by the end of the week.

Handel’s musical fireworks begin the program and Northstar’s real-life fireworks conclude it, in this homage to royalty. Our noble procession includes Scheherazade’s Kalendar Prince, the King and Queen of Troy, and the King of Siam. In honor of Independence Day, we celebrate our freedom from monarchical rule with America’s own version of royalty, Duke Ellington! The performance is crowned, as always, by the majestic 1812 Overture and selections from Sousa, the March King.

Keep reading for the schedule and program or view it on our website by clicking here.


“The VSO is the only orchestra that actually tours the state each summer,” says executive director Alan Jordan. “All of us look forward to the summer tour. It’s become a cherished summer tradition. This summer, we’re especially lucky to be the only outdoor concert at Shelburne Farms,” he says. “So we hope people will get their tickets, gather their picnics, and join us under the stars in a town nearby this July.”

Gates at the various sites will open for picnicking between 5:00 and 5:30 p.m. depending on location. Tickets range from $31-34 for adults; free to $17 for children under age 12. Tickets purchased at the gate will be subject to a surcharge, so advance purchase is recommended. All sites are wheelchair accessible.

For nine consecutive years, TD Bank has kindly served as the title sponsor for the VSO’s Summer Festival Tour.

SMITH Star Spangled Banner
DVORAK Carnival Overture
HANDEL Overture from Music for the Royal Fireworks
BERLIOZ Ballet Music from Les Troyens
RIMSKY-KORSAKOV The Kalendar Prince from Scheherazade
MEYERBEER Coronation March from Le Prophète
ELLINGTON, arr. CUSTER Duke Ellington!
RODGERS, arr. BENNETT The King and I
TCHAIKOVSKY 1812 Overture

Friday, July 1 Sugarbush Resort, Warren
Saturday, July 2 Hildene Meadowlands, Manchester
Sunday, July 3 Grafton Ponds, Grafton
Monday, July 4 Shelburne Farms, Shelburne
Thursday, July 7 Mountain Top Inn, Chittenden
Friday, July 8 Quechee Polo Grounds, Quechee
Saturday, July 9 Three Stallion Inn, Randolph
Sunday, July 10 Trapp Family Lodge Concert Meadow, Stowe
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Listen to Musically Speaking featuring Yo-Yo Ma

Listen to the April 30 Masterworks Series finale pre-concert talk. This installment of Musically Speaking features Walter Parker interviewing Jaime Laredo and Yo-Yo Ma. Click here to listen. Keep reading for the complete 2011/2012 Masterworks Series at the Flynn Center in Burlington. Subscribe to the series today and guarantee your seats.


October 29, 2011
Jaime Laredo, conductor
Vassily Primakov, piano

SAINT-SAENS Danse Macabre
RACHMANINOFF Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini
BERLIOZ Symphonie fantastique


December 3, 2011
Anthony Princiotti, conductor
Katherine Winterstein, violin

BEETHOVEN Coriolan Overture
PROKOFIEV Violin Concerto No. 2
SCHUMANN Symphony No. 2


January 28, 2012
Robert De Cormier, conductor
Soloists TBA
VSO Chorus

FAURE Requiem
MOZART Requiem


March 10, 2012
Jaime Laredo, conductor
Jennifer Montone, horn

PROKOFIEV Classical Symphony
STRAUSS Horn Concerto No. 1
BEETHOVEN Symphony No. 3, "Eroica"


April 28, 2012
Jaime Laredo, conductor
Alon Goldstein, piano

OSVALDO GOLIJOV Sidereus
FALLA Nights in the Gardens of Spain
SHOSTAKOVICH Symphony No. 1 Keep reading!

Jaime Laredo on WCAX

The headline isn't an accurate description of the content. Jaime has been our music director for more than a decade. Keep reading!

If you can't use your Yo-Yo Ma tickets....

We hope you are looking forward to the April 30th Masterworks series season finale concert featuring Yo-Yo Ma as much as we are.

As you know, this concert (noted recently by the Burlington Free Press as the classical music event of the year) has been sold out since September. We currently have a waiting list of some 90 people looking for more than 200 total tickets. Obviously, many will not be able to be accommodated.

We always encourage ticket holders to return any tickets that will not be used to the VSO so they may be used by others. With every Masterworks concert selling out this season, this request became even more important. Now with the Yo-Yo Ma appearance, we know every seat will be filled if ticket holders do not let unused tickets go to waste.

If for any reason you find you will be unable to use all the tickets you ordered, please contact Mia at the VSO office at (800) VSO-9293, ext. 10, so we can make these tickets available to others.

Thank you.

P. S. - Ensure that you won’t miss a single note by subscribing to the VSO’s 2011/2012 Masterworks series. Contact Mia for details! If you have already subscribed, thank you!

Keep reading for the April 30 Masterworks series finale program.


2010/2011 Masterworks Series 5
Saturday, April 30, 2011
Flynn Center, Burlington

To have the most famous classical musician in the world on stage with us at the Flynn is a dream come true! The legendary Yo-Yo Ma (who is not only the ultimate artist but also a U.N. Messenger of Peace) joins his good friend Jaime Laredo and the VSO for two popular showpieces. The program opens with Poulenc’s delightfully satirical Sinfonietta, and also includes Ravel’s charming Pavane.

Jaime Laredo, conductor
Yo-Yo Ma, cello

POULENC Sinfonietta
TCHAIKOVSKY Variations on a Rococo Theme
RAVEL Pavane for a Dead Princess
SAINT-SAENS Cello Concerto No. 1
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VSO Radio Auction Results Announced

The Vermont Symphony Orchestra’s 14th annual Radio Auction over the stations of the Radio Vermont Group raised $16,329 to support the VSO’s statewide performances and educational presentations. Over the lifetime of the event, presented by the Central Vermont Friends of the VSO, the Radio Auction has raised $221,803.

“The Radio Vermont Group has done it again,” exclaimed a jubilant VSO Executive Director Alan Jordan. “We are so grateful for the support from bidders, item donors, block sponsors, media supporters, volunteers and businesses that provided food for our auction workers. But we are particularly thankful to the Radio Vermont Group for their annual hosting of this event that has now raised more than $220,000 to help carry on the good work of the VSO across Vermont.”

The March 31st radio auction included over 95 items donated by individuals and businesses from across Central Vermont and the Champlain Valley. Block sponsors were Sullivan, Powers, & Company; Northfield Savings Bank, Waitsfield & Champlain Valley Telecom; Houseneeds.com; Dubois Construction and Lamberton Electric; Gallagher, Flynn, & Company; and Morse Farm Maple Sugar Works. Media support was provided by the Barre Times-Argus, News and Citizen, Rutland Herald, Stowe Reporter, Transcript, Valley Reporter, Waterbury Record, and The World. The Radio Auction was carried live on WDEV 550AM, 96.1FM, 96.5FM, and 101.9FM in the Kingdom; WCVT Classic Vermont 101.7FM and 102.5FM; and WLVB 93.9FM.
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