The Concert Artists Fund Announces Grants to Support Classical Music in Chittenden County
The Concert Artists Fund at the Vermont Community Foundation recently awarded $120,000 in grant funding to support live classical music performances in Chittenden County. The grant awards, to be paid over two years, support programming from June 2023 to June 2025.
The fund was formed in 2005 with the goal of supporting and encouraging live classical music in Chittenden County. The program has awarded over $950,000 to classical music organizations performing in Chittenden County since its launch.
“The Concert Artists Fund is exclusively dedicated to supporting the arts,” said Holly Morehouse, vice president of Grants and Community Impact at the Vermont Community Foundation. “It’s exciting to be able to support live, public performances after we’ve had a few years of limited access to live music. This year’s grantees represent a range in the classical genre—from “A Ceremony of Carols” to works celebrating Afrocentric voices in classical music.”
The Concert Artists Fund grant program operates on a two-year cycle and will reopen in 2025. Visit vermontcf.org/concert-artists-fund to learn more about the Concert Artists Fund.
2023 Grant Recipients
Bella Voce Women’s Chorus received $8,000 to support holiday concerts in December, featuring “A Ceremony of Carols,” and a May 2024 performance of “Singing and Living in Harmony” with guest instrumentalists.
Burlington Civic Symphony received $1,000 to support its 2023-2025 concert seasons, which will include an overture, two short pieces, and a longer work such as a full-length symphony.
Capital City Concerts received $8,000 to support performances of the music of J.S. Bach with instrumental and vocal soloists and a chamber orchestra in October 2023. The chamber orchestra will be comprised of musicians from across Vermont and New England, the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra, and the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra.
Clemmons Family Farm received $20,000 to support performances that celebrate Afrocentric voices in classical music. Koraist John Hughes, soprano Brenda Marie Turner, and pianist Franz Robert will take audiences on a journey through hundreds of years of classical music by Black composers from three continents: Europe, North America, and Africa.
Counterpoint Chorus received $4,000 to support five concerts around the state in spring and summer 2024 that feature “Romani Songs” by Brahms and Beethoven’s “Scottish Songs” with violin, cello, and piano.
Green Mountain Monteverdi Ensemble of Vermont received $6,000 to support a spring 2025 performance of Monteverdi’s “Vespers of 1610,” a late Renaissance masterwork for soloists, chorus, and orchestra using period instruments and historically informed performance practice.
Lake Champlain Chamber Music Festival received $16,000 to support a nine-day festival of performances and events throughout Chittenden County that feature classical musicians of all kinds.
Music-COMP (Music Composition Online Mentoring Program) received $8,000 to support concerts in Chittenden County that feature the music of young composers performed by professional musicians. Special promotion and access will be geared toward those not accustomed to attending classical concerts.
Solaris Vocal Ensemble received $8,000 to support a celebration of its 10th anniversary, which includes three sets of performances: a collaboration concert with several local choral groups and Joe’s Big Band, two holiday concerts with Inora Brass Quintet, and two performances of the Mozart Vespers with a chamber orchestra.
University of Vermont Lane Series received $5,000 to support its 2023-2024 classical music season, which includes six artists and ensembles from around the world. In year one the series will feature duo-pianists Christine and Michelle Naughton, Dover String Quartet, Windsync, pianist Jeremy Denk, Ruckus with flutist Emi Ferguson, and the Telegraph String Quartet.
Vermont Symphony Orchestra Association received $18,000 to support three VSO at the Flynn classical music concerts in the 2023-2024 season. All three concerts will be conducted by VSO’s new music director, Andrew Crust, and feature four guest classical soloists, a VSO-commissioned world premiere piano concerto, and the full VSO orchestra.
Vermont Youth Orchestra Association received $18,000 to support its 2023-2024 season, which includes a collaboration with Chittenden County high school choruses to perform Christopher Tin’s “Baba Yetu,” three to four soloists, and works by living composers as well as masterworks from the orchestral canon.