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ARTISTIC DIRECTORS:
Jillian Reed Tyler Emerson BOARD OF DIRECTORS Lawrence Webster, president Allen Gilbert David Gram Karen Heath William Herbst, Treasurer Lila Richardson 
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About UsCapital City Concerts, based in Montpelier, Vermont, presents unique chamber music concerts performed by some of the world's finest musicians from Vermont and beyond. Founded by Grammy‑nominated flutist Karen Kevra in 2000, CCC is now led by husband-and-wife musicians Jillian Reed, flute, and Tyler Emerson, piano.
A New EraAt the conclusion of the 2025–2026 season, after 26 years of leadership, founder Karen Kevra passed the baton to a new generation: the husband-and-wife team of flutist Jillian Reed — a Montpelier native and former student of Kevra — and pianist Tyler Emerson. Our MissionCapital City Concerts contributes to the cultural richness of Central Vermont by organizing and presenting exceptional live concerts featuring local and world-renowned musicians, fostering the appreciation of and expanding the audience for chamber music.
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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. |
In a city small enough to walk from one end to the other in less than half an hour, big ideas have always found room to grow. Montpelier — the nation’s smallest state capital — is located in the heart of Vermont’s Green Mountains. With a population of just 8,000, residents take pride in an arts scene that feels intimate rather than grand, personal rather than institutional. Among the organizations at the center of this vibrant cultural landscape is Capital City Concerts (CCC), a concert series that has spent more than a quarter-century bringing world-class chamber music to the intimate venues of Vermont’s capital. The story of Capital City Concerts is one of mentorship, community, and an unwavering belief that a small town deserves the same caliber of music as a major metropolitan center.
The Marlboro ConnectionCapital City Concerts began in the early 1990s with a recommendation. Jim Lowe, arts editor for the Times Argus, insisted that 29-year-old Montpelier flutist Karen Kevra listen to a 1972 recording of J.S. Bach’s cantata aria Süsser Trost. The performance by Louis Moyse — legendary French flutist and co-founder of the Marlboro Music Festival — stopped Kevra in her tracks. Never before had she heard such powerful, profound, and vocally conceived flute playing.
Louis Moyse was a legendary French–American flutist, pianist, composer, and pedagogue who stands as one of the most influential figures in the 20th-century woodwind world. During his early years in Paris, he had frequent encounters with Fauré, Saint-Saëns, Ravel, Stravinsky, Messiaen, Prokofiev, and Martinů, and even played piano duets with Duke Ellington. As the heir to the prestigious French Flute School tradition, he bridged generations of classical musicians, serving as a vital link between the historic musical circles of early 20th-century Paris and the flourishing American chamber music scene. Inspired, Karen Kevra sought out Moyse, who was then in his early 80s and living in upstate New York. She became his student, and an immediate deep bond formed. Within months, Kevra persuaded Moyse and his wife, Janet, to relocate to Montpelier. When she expressed frustration about the lack of full-time performing opportunities for classical musicians in the area, Moyse offered a simple, life-changing piece of advice: “Invite your friends to come and play in Montpelier. Start your own series.” Taking her mentor’s advice to heart, Kevra founded Capital City Concerts in 2000. Built firmly on the “Marlboro tradition” of deep collaboration — in which younger musicians benefit from the experience and wisdom of revered older artists — the series was designed to be uniquely intimate while striving for the highest possible standards. Rather than acting as a presenting organization that simply booked touring acts, CCC created unique, one-time performances specifically for Montpelier audiences, pairing world-renowned artists with outstanding Vermont musicians. In the early 2000s, Louis Moyse embodied a rare living connection to great musical traditions, and that connection became a foundational pillar of Capital City Concerts. Setting the StageThe inaugural 2000 season opened in January with a solo piano recital by Shelburne pianist Paul Orgel. The season closed in the spring with a performance of Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue by pianist Jeffrey Chappell, who would go on to appear in nearly every subsequent season.
While concerts occasionally expanded into nearby historic spaces such as the Barre Opera House, the Vermont State House, and Burlington venues, the heart and home of the series has been the acoustically superb sanctuary of the Unitarian Church of Montpelier. Its simple yet beautiful architecture and warm acoustics create an ideal setting for chamber music. Over the decades, Kevra used her connections to draw musical royalty to Montpelier’s small stage: Chamber Music Giants: Internationally recognized ensembles including the Borromeo, Talich, and Ying String Quartets, as well as the Paris Piano Trio. Master Soloists: Violinists Jaime Laredo, Régis Pasquier, Eugene Drucker, and Laurie Smukler; cellists Edward Arron, Roland Pidoux, and Joel Krosnick; clarinetist Daniel Gilbert; soprano Hyunah Yu; mezzo-soprano Julie Boulianne; and pianists including Vermonters Paul Orgel, Diana Fanning, and Michael Arnowitt, as well as Jeffrey Chappell, Jean-Claude Pennetier, Robert McDonald, and Jeewon Park. New Music: The series has commissioned major works, including compositions by Mohammed Fairouz and Vermont composers Evan Premo and Jorge Martin. Vermont CharacterCapital City Concerts developed a distinctly Vermont character: ambitious in artistic standards, informal in spirit, and deeply rooted in community.
Resilience Through Flood and ChangeMontpelier has faced immense challenges, including the COVID-19 pandemic and catastrophic downtown flooding. During these difficult times, Capital City Concerts has served as a cultural anchor. Following the devastating flood of 2023, the community rallied around events such as Jeffrey Chappell’s flood-relief benefit concert, which raised $10,000.
In 2025, Capital City Concerts celebrated its 25th Anniversary Season. Karen Kevra was honored at this milestone with a concurrent resolution from the Vermont House of Representatives recognizing the organization’s quarter-century of cultural service. True to its origins, the grand finale concert in May 2025 featured Kevra and soprano Hyunah Yu reprising the Bach aria (Süsser Trost) that had first inspired the series thirty years earlier. |
