Performers Teach—Teachers Perform: Affiliated Artists in Concert
A concert of classical, folk, and jazz, featuring the talents of the Department of Music’s affiliated artists: Carol Christensen, soprano; Rachael Elliott, bassoon; Dick Forman, jazz piano; Mia Fritze, horn; Dan Frostman, oboe; Dayve Huckett, guitar; Anne Janson, flute; Natasha Koval Paden, piano; Mark Lavoie, harmonica; Steve Klimowski, clarinet; Pete Sutherland, fiddle; Beth Thompson, soprano; Greg Vitercik, piano.
Saturday, November 3, at 8 p.m., in the Mahaney Center for the Arts, Concert Hall. Free
Middlebury College Orchestra
Anne Janson, an applied-music faculty member, joins the Middlebury Orchestra, conducted by Troy Peters, in a performance of Mozart’s Flute Concerto No. 2. Janson has taught flute at Middlebury College since 1984 and is also on the music faculty at the University of Vermont. She is a member of the Vermont Symphony Orchestra, the Vermont Mozart Festival Orchestra, and Quintette a Vent, a woodwind ensemble which has performed throughout Vermont and in New York State. The concert also includes Borodin’s heroic Symphony No. 2 and American composer John Corigliano’s haunting Elegy.
Friday, November 9, at 8 p.m., in the Mahaney Center for the Arts, Concert Hall. Free
Traditional Chinese Music
Award-winning Chinese-instrument virtuosos Zhiming Han and Cynthia Hsiang perform Chinese classics and favorites on authentic Chinese instruments: the yangqin (butterfly harp), zheng (long zither), and dizi (bamboo flute). During a performance that brings to life the subtle intricacies and distinctive tones of traditional Chinese music, the artists explore a range of musical pieces representing China’s diverse culture. Han and Hsiang have been featured in numerous concerts around the world, including performances with the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra, San Francisco Symphony, and in the soundtracks of Jackie Chan’s movies, Disney’s Mulan II, and the X-box video game Jade Empire. This event is sponsored by the Department of Music, the Department of Chinese, Rohatyn Center for International Affairs, the Mahaney Center for the Arts, the Performing Arts Series, and Wonnacott Commons.
Saturday, November 10, at 8 p.m., in the Mahaney Center for the Arts, Concert Hall. Free
College Community Chorus: Simple Gifts
The 75 voices of the College Community Chorus offer a celebration and concert of Thanksgiving, centered on the theme “Simple Gifts.” This popular Shaker song (“ ’tis a gift to be simple, ’tis a gift to be free”) was originally composed in 1848 by Joseph Brackett while living in Alfred, Maine. The chorus offers different arrangements of the tune, including settings by American composer Aaron Copland and contemporary composer-conductors René Clausen and Dale Warland. In addition, the program features settings of American poems, including Robert Frost’s “The Road Not Taken,” and “Choose Something Like a Star” from Randall Thompson’s Frostiana. The chorus reprises works by Minnesota composer Stephen Paulus, sung in past performances, including the “Pilgrims’ Hymn.” The program also includes French composer César Franck’s powerful setting of Psalm 150, Praise Ye The Lord, and delightful selections from Franz Joseph Haydn’s The Creation that depict the Earth in all its glory. In the celebratory spirit of Thanksgiving, the program features two contrasting settings of Now Thank We: one by Baroque composer Johann Pachelbel, and the other by contemporary British composer Bob Chilcott, with a spectacular organ accompaniment.
The origin of the Middlebury College Community Chorus dates back to the mid-19th century. Documents at the Henry Sheldon Museum of Vermont History reference a choral group, the Middlebury Musical Institute, established in the 1840s but then suspended. In 1869, the Middlebury Choral Society was officially convened to perform at the National Peace Jubilee in Boston. The Choral Society reconstituted in 1872 to sing at the World Peace Jubilee; it then appears to have met regularly.
Today, the College Community Chorus, conducted by Jeff Rehbach and accompanied by George Matthew Jr. is open to all interested singers, including College students, alumni, faculty, and staff. It includes members who hail from several area towns and villages: Addison, Brandon, Bridport, Bristol, Cornwall, East Middlebury, Goshen, Hinesburg, Lincoln, Middlebury, New Haven, North Ferrisburgh, Orwell, Ripton, Salisbury, Starksboro, Weybridge, and Mineville and Port Henry, New York.
Sunday, November 18, at 3 p.m., in Mead Chapel. Free
Wintersongs—Music of Light and Hope
Middlebury College Choir
With this concert, the Department of Music welcomes Jeff Buettner, assistant professor of music and director of choral activities, to direct the Middlebury College Choir (formerly known as the Chamber Singers). This concert is a musical celebration of light in winter and includes the Coronation Anthem “Let Thy Hand Be Strengthened” by G. F. Handel, works by Ola Gjeilo, Sergei Rachmaninoff, Heitor Villa-Lobos, Moses Hogan, and American and Celtic folk song.
Saturday, December 1, at 8 p.m., in the Mahaney Center for the Arts, Concert Hall. Free
Lessons and Carols
This annual, traditional program combines choral music, congregational singing, and biblical texts of the season. Chaplain Laurel Macaulay Jordan ’79 officiates at this celebratory community service, while George Matthew Jr. plays selections on the Chapel carillon; Emory Fanning, professor emeritus of music, plays the organ; and Jeff Buettner leads the Middlebury College Choir. A free-will offering is accepted for local charitable organizations.
Sunday, December 9, at 4 and 7 p.m., in Mead Chapel. Free