Vermont Mozart Festival

Infobox_Company
company_name = Vermont Mozart Festival
company_
company_type = non-profit
foundation = December 3, 1976
location = Burlington, Vermont, USA
key_people = Tim Riddle, Executive Director
Melvin Kaplan, Artistic Director
industry = Live music
products = Summer Festival, Winter Series
revenue = non-profit
num_employees = 2 paid employees
homepage = [http://www.vtmozart.org/ vtmozart.org] The Vermont Mozart Festival is a popular series of indoor and outdoor concerts presented annually at sites throughout the state of Vermont. The inaugural Festival of 1974 was conceived as a celebration of both the natural beauty of the state and the genius of the Festival's namesake, composer Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. The Festival's mission quickly grew, and since its third season it has featured performances of a much broader range of classical and other repertoire.

History

The Festival was founded in 1974 by Melvin Kaplan, oboist and teacher at Juilliard, in collaboration with conductor William Metcalfe and the University of Vermont. The first season featured all-Mozart performances at the UVM Show Barn, Shelburne Farms, Royall Tyler Theatre, Fleming Museum, St. Paul's Cathedral, and aboard the S.S. Champlain. Notably, the Shelburne Farms concert marked the first time that the site was opened for a public event. In all, ten concerts were held over two weeks; every concert sold out. The following season, the Festival's format was expanded to include 15 concerts and three workshops. This format has remained mostly unchanged for the past 33 years, though in 2006 the Festival presented 19 concerts. The Festival has performed more than 3,000 pieces in over 50 locations, including 278 of Mozart's 626 works—possibly more than any other festival or concert series in the United States.

The Festival was incorporated as a non-profit organization in late 1976; the first full board of directors was assembled in early 1977. Following a successful fundraising campaign, the Festival achieved national recognition when CBS Sunday Morning filmed a week of concerts on location. A series of winter concerts began in 1978, and by 1979 the Festival was firmly established, drawing praise from the New York Times, Boston Globe, Los Angeles Times, and Montreal Star. In 1983, the complete Winter Series was recorded by National Public Radio and aired on Performance Today. In 1984, the Festival presented its first concert on the meadow of the Trapp Family Lodge in Stowe, Vermont, which quickly became, along with Shelburne Farms, one of the Festival's two largest and most popular concert sites. Today, all concerts on the Trapp meadow are followed by fireworks displays. [Hill, Mary Siegchrist. "The Vermont Mozart Festival: The First Twenty-Five Years" (1998)]

Traditions

* The Grand Opening Concert of the Summer Festival is preceded by a classical dressage exhibition.
* The Summer Festival concludes with Mozart's "Ave verum Corpus".

Performers

Over the years, the Festival has featured an impressive roster of performers including both established musicians and up-and-coming talent.

Soloists (partial list)
* Julius Baker, flute
* Charles Bressler, tenor
* Daniel Epstein, piano
* Eliot Fisk, guitar
* Claude Frank, piano
* Hamao Fujiwara, violin
* Marc-André Hamelin, piano
* Clayton Haslop, violin
* Sharon Isbin, guitar
* Jean-François Latour, piano
* Alain Lefèvre, piano
* Louis Lortie, piano
* Robert Mann, violin
* Jean-Claude Pennetier, piano
* Harvey Phillips, tuba
* Menahem Pressler, piano
* Harumi Rhodes, violin
* Mike Seeger, folk artist
* James Thompson, trumpet
* Walter Trampler, viola

Orchestras
* Vermont Mozart Festival Orchestra
* Concert Royal Baroque Orchestra
* Musica Aeterna Orchestra
* Orchestre Symphonique de Québec
* McGill Chamber Orchestra
* The New Orchestra of Westchester
* Orchestre Symphonique de Montréal

Conductors
* Samuel Baron
* Luis Biava
* Alexander Brott
* James Chapman
* Charles Dutoit
* Paul Lustig Dunkel
* Mark Gould
* Efrain Guigui
* Peter Leonard
* William Metcalfe
* Roland Pidoux
* Gil Shohat
* Simon Streatfeild
* Frederic Waldman
* Arthur Weisberg
* Christopher Wilkins

Ensembles (partial list)
* Amelia Piano Trio
* Aulos Ensemble
* Beaux Arts Trio
* Borodin Quartet
* Emerson Quartet
* Festival Winds
* Guarneri Quartet
* New York Chamber Soloists
* Paris Piano Trio
* Salomon Quartet
* Ying Quartet

In the Media

* “Melvin Kaplan, the oboist who is the Festival’s artistic director, has pieced together a remarkably attractive season that in its resourcefulness, sophistication and occasional downright giddiness puts many of our better-established festivals to shame.” – Henahan, Donal. "New York Times" (1978)

* “One has all the ingredients necessary for a splendid musical vacation. For those with… a love of gorgeous sites and sounds, the Vermont Mozart Festival is a definite must.” – "Montreal Star" (July 1979)

* “The Vermont Mozart Festival brings the music of Mozart to life.” – "CBS Sunday Morning" (August 1991)

* “Mozart under the lights at Lincoln Center is an enchanting musical experience. Mozart under the stars at Shelburne Farms… is something else again. This is a perennial favorite.” – "New York Times" (1992)

* “On the score of settings, it’s difficult to beat the Vermont Mozart Festival.” – "Boston Globe" (1993)

Financial sustainability

Despite the Festival's ongoing popularity and acclaim—it is routinely selected by the Vermont Chamber of Commerce as one of the state's top ten events—the organization has throughout its history faced significant financial obstacles. This is not an uncommon situation in the arts world by any account. But because of their love for the festival and their long-standing relationship with the organization, many of the Festival's performers play for considerably less than their usual fees. Likewise, the Festival benefits from a large and fiercely dedicated volunteer staff whose tasks include ushering, stubbing tickets, and facilitating parking. All this is backed by a growing base of financial support from individuals and corporations in the region.

In early 2005, newly hired Executive Director Rebecca Stone announced that the Festival had accumulated approximately $140,000 in debt—enough to put the Festival's continued existence in jeopardy. Many Festival supporters responded with gifts; and in the two seasons under Stone's leadership, 65% of that debt was eliminated. In March 2007, Stone resigned, citing ‘differences’ with the board. [Hallenbeck, Brent. [http://www.burlingtonfreepress.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070403/NEWS/70403023 Vermont Mozart director resigns; ‘differences’ cited] "Burlington Free Press" (April 3, 2007)] Timothy R. Riddle—the former Director of Development & Public Relations—assumed Stone's position as Executive Director, working to continue to sustain and grow the festival.

References

External links

* [http://www.vtmozart.org/ Official site]