Music of Vermont

Vermont is a state in the United States. One of the state's best known popular artists is Phish. Other bands of note include hardcore band Drowningman, Grace Potter and the Nocturnals, Waylon Speed, The Wards, The Cancer Conspiracy and Prydein.

The state is also home to many iconoclastic composers, from Revolutionary-era Justin Morgan through electronic/avant-gardist Otto Luening. Vermont's long list of contemporary composers includes Jon Appleton, Dennis Bathory-Kitsz, David Gunn, Brian Johnson, Laura Koplewitz, John Levin, Peggy Madden, Erik Nielsen, Thomas L. Read, GD, Su Lian Tan, Dennis Murphy, and Gwyneth Walker.

Music education and institutions

The Vermont Symphony Orchestra, founded in 1934, was the first state-funded orchestra in the nation. The orchestra's first artistic director was Alan Carter, followed by Efrain Guigui, and Kate Tamarkin. The Artistic Director and conductor today is Jaime Laredo. Laredo is a world-renowned violinist who played for many years with Isaac Stern and performs worldwide as a soloist and frequently in duo concerts with Sharon Robinson, cellist. The VSO's "Made in Vermont" series annually commissions a Vermont composer to create a large-scale work that tours the State. Previous recipients have included G. Walker, L. Koplewitz, et al. Current composer-in-residence with the VSO is David Ludwig. The Vermont Youth Orchestra has come to prominence since the mid-1990s under the...
Read More