Orchestra Profiles
Anchorage / Fairbanks / Des Moines / Duluth / Great Falls, Montana / New Mexico & Albuquerque / South Dakota / Vermont / Winston-Salem
Vermont Symphony Orchestra and Vermont Youth Orchestra
ORP: January 2006
The Vermont Symphony Orchestra was founded in 1934 with the extraordinary mission of operating as a state musical ensemble. Ever since then, the VSO has traveled to venues in all corners of the rural state to give concerts, rather than being anchored in one city. The orchestra celebrated this aspect of its history at the time of its 50th anniversary with the hugely successful '251 Project', in which the VSO held musical "birthday parties" in all 251 of Vermont's cities and towns. Today, the VSO is the oldest state-supported orchestra in the U.S., with its offices located in the state capital of Burlington. Each season begins with the Made in Vermont Music Festival, in which VSO chamber orchestras perform in ten towns during the peak of the autumn foliage season. In addition to a vibrant collaborative relationship with the Vermont Youth Orchestra, the VSO has an in-house educational program, SymphonyKids, which has reached over 26,000 children in 158 schools. Jaime Laredo has served as the VSO's Music Director since 1999.
In 2007, Vermont Youth Orchestra Association celebrated its 50th anniversary with a two-week summertime tour to China, the ensemble's first international performances. Called the Friends of Music for Youth until 1997, the VYOA has expanded its programs to encompass five orchestras, various chamber groups, and three summer camps. In 2004, conductor and Music Director Troy Peters celebrated his 10th season with the VYOA and the Vermont Youth Orchestra made its debut at Carnegie Hall with a program comprised entirely of music by Vermont composers.