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About UsFounded in 2000, by Grammy-nominated Vermont flutist Karen Kevra, Capital City Concerts has become a mainstay of excellent chamber music and small orchestral performances in Vermont. Capital City Concerts enriches lives and deepens a sense of community through diverse classical programming as well as commissions of new music.
Built on the "Marlboro" tradition, the late Louis Moyse—a founder of the Marlboro Music Festival—was the inspiration and active driving force behind the formation of the Capital City Concerts. Among the many outstanding artists whose work Capital City Concerts has presented or commissioned are violinists Jaime Laredo, Laurie Smukler, and Eugene Drucker, the Paris Piano Trio, the Borromeo Quartet, the Talich Quartet, the Whiffenpoofs of Yale, soprano Hyunah Yu, mezzo-soprano Julie Boulliane, pianist Jeffrey Chappell, and composers Mohammed Fairouz, Jorge Martin, and Evan Premo. Capital City Concerts provides outreach opportunities to the community in the form of open rehearsals, workshops, student internships, and performance opportunities for aspiring student musicians.
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Our Mission |
Capital City Concerts contributes to the cultural richness of the Vermont community by organizing and presenting excellent chamber music concerts featuring local and world-renowned musicians, fostering the appreciation of and expanding the audience for music in the classical tradition.
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Our History
Photo by Caleb Kenna
Life in Vermont has brought me incalculable blessings, among them my connection to my dear teacher and mentor Louis Moyse, the guiding inspiration for Capital City Concerts. |
Capital City Concerts was founded in 2000 by Vermont's Grammy-nominated flutist Karen Kevra who tells the story in her own words:
"When I was nine years old my beloved elementary school music teacher drove me and my twin sister to Avery Fisher Hall in New York City to hear the young Michael Tilson Thomas conduct the New York Philharmonic in a matinee children's concert. This was my first experience hearing live classical music. We sat perched in the front row of a balcony taking it all in: The exciting sense of anticipation in the cavernous hall as the musicians warmed up, the sudden and thunderous applause when the conductor wove his way through the string players and on to the podium and then the glorious sounds! When the swirling opening strains of "Morning Mood" from Greig's Peer Gynt Suite No. 1 reached my ears, I knew I wanted to become a musician! Fast-forward to 1996, the year I moved to Montpelier. I was committed to raising my son in the Green Mountain State, but it was not easy or practical to make a living as a full-time musician. When I complained to my mentor Louis Moyse (a founder of the Marlboro Music Festival who was by then living in Montpelier and would later help shape Capital City Concerts) about the paucity of performing opportunities in Vermont, he said, "Invite your friends to come and play in Montpelier. Start your own series." And so in 2000, Capital City Concerts was born. Paul Orgel opened the fledgling season with a brilliant solo piano recital, while pianist Jeffrey Chappell closed it by bringing down the house with his performance of "Rhapsody in Blue." Over the years the Capital City Concerts stage has included memorable performances by outstanding string quartets, including the Borromeo, Talich, and Formosa quartets. Notable violinists include Jaime Laredo, Régis Pasquier, Eugene Drucker, Theodore Arm, and Nick Kitchen. Extraordinary pianists have come from across the globe including Jean-Claude Pennetier, Robert McDonald, Jeffrey Chappell, and Jeewon Park. We've served up plenty of sublime Bach over the years (including a recent wildly well-received Magnificat performance) often with the spotlight on exquisite singers like Hyunah Yu, David Arnold, and Julie Boulianne. Capital City Concerts has given birth to new music by way of extraordinary commissions by composers such as Mohammed Fairouz and Evan Premo. We have joyfully extended a musical hand to community members from school-aged children through seniors in outreach programs which have included workshops, masterclasses, open rehearsals, and informal concerts in businesses, senior centers, and workplaces. The core of our work for over two decades has been to bring some of the best classical music on the planet to Montpelier and surrounding towns to the most receptive and appreciative audience anywhere. It's been an honor and my heart's delight to share these musical experiences with you. ~Karen Kevra, Artistic Director |
