Music

The Middlebury College Orchestra, under the direction of Evan Bennett, will perform in concert on Tuesday, April 17 at 8:00 PM at the Mahaney Center for the Arts, Robison Hall. Featured works include An Outdoor Overture, by Aaron Copland; and Symphony No. 8, Op. 88, B. 163, by Antonin Dvorak. This event is sponsored by the Department of Music. Free admission and public welcome.

The Middlebury Community Wind Ensemble (also known as MiddWinds) has a special offering this season. Ken Weston has written another fine arrangement of a work by Verdi—the Prelude to I Masnadieri—and its performance will feature his daughter Alice as euphonium soloist.  Also on the program: music by Clifton Williams, Duke Ellington, and a salute to Ringling Brothers Barnum and Bailey Circus, which closed in 2017 after 146 years of operation.  Jerome Shedd conducts. Sponsored by the Middlebury College Department of Music. Free

Modeled after the long-standing European tradition, this annual program includes Bible readings of Advent and Christmas and carols for choir, organ, and congregation. Each service is preceded by performances on the chapel carillon. Donations are collected for local charities.

Modeled after the long-standing European tradition, this annual program includes Bible readings of Advent and Christmas and carols for choir, organ, and congregation. Each service is preceded by performances on the chapel carillon. Donations are collected for local charities.

The pasacalle of Villa El Salvador is a communal art form that incorporates Peru’s indigenous ritual practices and Afro-Brazilian–derived drum music. This lecture by Dr. Carlos Odria of the University of Massachusetts Boston explores how pasacalle artists fine-tune their drumming skills and strengthen Andean values of mutuality and reciprocity. Sponsored by the Music Department. Free

This high-energy acoustic ensemble performs original compositions and arrangements of jazz standards and Latin American popular music. Upright bass, drums, percussion, and nylon string guitar combine to deliver an exciting blend of international styles such as bossanova, Afro-Peruvian festejo, and rumba flamenco with an improvisational approach inspired by American jazz. Sponsored by the Department of Music. Free

The Passions of J.S. Bach are among Bach’s most revered and respected music, yet that music is grounded in specific religious context far removed from today. Is Bach’s music truly universal, or is there another way to understand how Bach’s Passions resonate in the modern era? This talk is an introductory event to the Middlebury Bach Festival, in which John Butt will conduct J. S. Bach’s “St John Passion,” Saturday April 28 and Sunday April 29. go/bachfest/

Some of the College’s top jazz instrumentalists and singers will present selections from their term’s work. It’s a celebration of the music that’s been called America’s National Treasure.

The performance is free and the public is invited.

Some of the College’s top jazz instrumentalists and singers will present selections from their term’s work. It’s a celebration of the music that’s been called America’s National Treasure. Free