The Vermont Philharmonic's annual family concert will take place on March 17, 2024, at 2:00 pm in the Barre Opera House. The concert titled "Audience Choice" will be an interactive musical adventure. Led by music director Lou Kosma, the orchestra will perform nine orchestral excerpts. The audience will choose their favorites to form a customized orchestral work that will have its world (and only!) premiere that very afternoon.
The program will begin with the familiar fanfare, Richard Strauss's Thus Spoke Zarathustra, made famous in the film 2001: A Space Odyssey. Harwood Union High School student Estella Peterson will perform the first movement of Carl Maria von Weber's lovely Clarinet Concerto No. 1, followed by a new piece by Montpelier High School student Jamie Maddox-White. Jamie participates in the Music-COMP program, which provides experiences in music composition for young composers through online mentoring, live performances and free composition resources.
The Green Mountain Youth Symphony led by Robert Blais will take the stage to play selections from the musical Hamilton, and the combined Philharmonic and Youth Symphony will finish the concert with the spirited Les Toreadors from Bizet's Carmen.
Now in its 65th Season, the Vermont Philharmonic has been making beautiful music since 1959. It is Vermont's oldest community orchestra. Tickets ($25/adults, $20/seniors, and $5/students) are available at the door, or online at https://www.vermontphilharmonic.com/.