VSO Shifts Audience into Autumn

Author: Karen Stahlheber

Saturday night at the Vermont Symphony Orchestra (VSO), I was surrounded by people who knew a lot more about music than I did. The other students were mostly there to fulfill music class requirements or because of some past affiliation with music. They talked about their AP Music Theory classes back in high school during intermission. The other audience members, mostly older couples from the community, knew a lot more about Vermont than I did, considering I have just arrived. I was unsure whether knowledge of these two things would be necessary to enjoy an event titled "Made in Vermont Music Festival."

The Vermont Symphony puts on a brilliant show. The evening began with Vivaldi's Concerto for flute and violin in D minor, which introduced the audience to the theme for the night. All of the selections seemed light and airy, with a select few moments of melancholy, in celebration of the summertime in Vermont and the amble into autumn.

The two other traditional pieces were Bach's Brandenburg Concerto No. 4 and Haydn's Symphony No. 68 in B-flat major. The quality, especially of the violins, in both of these pieces made them emotional journeys.

The two selections that gave the concert its name, however, stood out from between the great masterpieces of the past. The first was Variation IV by Louis Moyse, who has lived in Vermont for five years. I couldn't help but think of mountains and deep forests while listening, even during the long flute sections. The second was the centerpiece of the show - the world premiere of a piece by Troy Peters called "Between Hills Briefly Green." Peters has been intimately involved with the VSO for many years. He joked that while composing for the VSO he thought of specific people playing this part, or that part. He said he thought about which parts certain people would love and even which parts would annoy them. It's rare, I think, to see composer, orchestra and show so integrated.

The melody of Peters' piece started out slowly and stately with deep tones, once again like mountains. Each section of instruments was slowly worked into the theme, in a way distinct from the pieces performed earlier in the evening. The middle section was affectionately called a "barn dance" by Peters, and that is exactly was it was. The violins switched to a more fiddle sound, and the whole atmosphere changed.

A student said after the show that the melody seemed to say, "Hey, we're from Vermont!" The ending faded reverse of the way it came in, just like the season of summer it was written to represent.

The Vermont Symphony Orchestra's performance made me forget all the rural, small-town jokes and enjoy high-class cultured entertainment. Besides, you know the price is right when students can see a symphony for only five dollars.