28 March J ApriI 2012

Many summer music hotspots are to be found near vacation destinations

and resorts, but the Central Vermont Chamber Music Festival cultivates the
ensemble art form in a quiet community that has more farms than tourists.
8 F[j[hM$=eeZcWdlHO1OGkAlH 8 8O8 LDD
Low Profile, High Art
29
J
he Guilord Welcome CenLer, on lnLersLaLe 9l |usL norLh o
Lhe MassachuseLLs line, is meanL Lo give visiLors Lheir irsL
vermonL experience. lL has huildings shaped like harns, old
arm equipmenL, displays o cheese, LhaL wonderul aroma o loam
and manure, and loLs o pamphleLs and maps showing places Lo go
and Lhings Lo do. 8raLLlehoro, 8enningLon, 8urlingLon, SLowe, kuLland,
Lhe NorLheasL Kingdom. Skiing, hiking, raLing, swimming, music.
lL doesn'L have anyLhing ahouL kandolph. 1here is no skiing in
kandolph. lLs rivers don'L oer exciLing whiLewaLer advenLures.
NeiLher Lhe Appalachian nor Lhe Long 1rail passes Lhrough. 1here
are no hig Green MounLains in kandolph.
A Lown o ahouL ive Lhousand people LhaL's close Lo Lhe cenLer o
Lhe sLaLe, kandolph has noLhing LhaL especially draws in Lhe "laL-
landers," as LourisLs and condo-owning ouL-o-sLaLers are known.
kandolph has arms, a ew small acLories, a hospiLal, a ew hlocks
o a hrick Main SLreeL, and iL's an AmLrak whisLlesLop.
eL Lhe Lown is in a heauLiul locaLion, nesLled in a valley aL Lhe
|uncLure o Lwo hranches o Lhe WhiLe kiver, wiLh views LhaL resemhle
Wales wiLhouL Lhe mines. lreLLy, noL picLuresque.
"lL's noL SLowe, iL's noL LourisLy, iL's noL a ski area, iL's noLhing like
LhaL," says leLer Sanders, a cellisL in Lhe New ork CiLy 8alleL
OrchesLra who has summered in kandolph since his parenLs hroughL
him Lhere when he was an inanL.
"lL's an inLeresLing Lown," says New ork CiLy-hased composer
Nico Muhly, who was horn in kandolph aL Giord Memorial HospiLal
and who also comes hack in summer (his moLher now lives in whaL
is Lechnically Lhe hamleL o 1unhridge, on Lhe kandolph horder). "lL
doesn'L have LhaL sorL o cloying posLcard eecL. lL's a real place
where real people live."
Among Lhe real people, in colonial days, was one-Lime Lown clerk
!usLin Morgan. Morgan (l747-98) was also a armer, composer and
horse hreeder. His sLallion ligure was Lhe original Morgan horse,
f51IVAL MU5ICIAN5, CU51 Ak1I515, AND CHILDkN: (I to r) VioIinist 8asia DaniIow,
Harrison HoIIingsworth (vioIinJbassoon, 5ixth fIoor 1rio), NeaI Whitney,
1eddy Abrams (pianoJcIarinet, 5ixth fIoor 1rio), ceIIist Peter 5anders,
AnieIa 5anders, vioIinist AdeIa Pea, rich 5anders, Iohnny 1eyssier
(cIarinet, 5ixth fIoor 1rio), and vioIist David Cerutti
40 March J ApriI 2012
Randolph doesnt have that sort of cloying postcard effect.
Its a real place, where real people live.
-Nico Muhly
, ,
,, ,
,
5DUNDCHCk IN
WDDD51DCk: kehearsing
the CIazunov Quintet are
Arturo DeImoni and
Cyrus 8eroukhim, vioIins,
Peter 5anders and AIistair
Mackae, ceIIos, and
MichaeI koth, vioIa
4l
one o Lhe naLion's mosL popular hreeds
(Civil War generals SLonewall !ackson and
lhil Sheridan hoLh rode Morgans). ligure is
huried in 1unhridge, and Morgan in Lhe
kandolph CenLer CemeLery. Horses are noL
so much in evidence around Lown Lhese
days, huL music is-and Morgan was also a
composer known or his hymns and uguing
Lunes.
1he LhoughL o music hrings Lo mind someLhing excepLional LhaL
kandolph Jces have1 Chandler Music Hall-a cenLury-old, wood-
paneled, acousLically superh concerL space LhaL seaLs ahouL six hun-
dred people. And hecause iL has Lhe Chandler Music Hall, kandolph
has Lhe CenLral vermonL Chamher Music lesLival, Lwo weekends in
laLe AugusL when high-level players rom elsewhere oer some seri-
ous perormances heore small huL appreciaLive audiences.
Sanders, Lhe cellisL, ounded Lhe esLival in Lhe summer o l992.
lL was his moLher, Marion, who suggesLed he Lake a look aL Lhe hall in
Lown. "She said, 'ou've goL Lhis heauLiul hall here, mayhe iL's Lime or
you Lo Lhink ahouL doing Lhis.' And l looked aL her like she was crazy.
'WhaL are you Lalking ahouL` l don'L wanL Lo deal wiLh Lhis.'"
8uL Sanders did Lake a look, and aLer Lalking wiLh Laura Morris,
Lhe hall's adminisLraLor aL Lhe Lime, decided Lo Lake a chance. He
called a ew o his musician riends. "And l said, 'look, l'm sLarLing
Lhis Lhing, do you guys wanL Lo come up and do Lhis`'"
Which Lhey did, and Lhey played, and Lhey loved Lhe hall, and Lhey
had a good audience. "1haL season wenL o really well," Sanders
says. "Lveryhody was very happy."
Now approaching iLs 20Lh season, Lhe esLival has grown slowly
and noL hy much. eL iLs Lwo weekends o evenLs include run-ouLs Lo
WoodsLock and MonLpelier, Lhe sLaLe capiLal, a children's concerL,
open rehearsals, and a special seL o programs in March aL kandolph
Union High School. lrogramming is hroad huL noL radical. Lhe
20ll season included SchuherL, Glazunov, Suk, Schumann, 8ach,
and Lhe 20Lh-cenLury Lnglish composer L. !. Moeran. 1here have
heen occasional woodwinds (lasL summer oered a young people's
concerL hy Lhe SixLh lloor 1rio-a youLhul, mulLi-genre clarineL,
hassoon, violin/piano ensemhle LhaL ormed aL CurLis lnsLiLuLe), huL
hy and large Lhe esLival ocuses on Lhe sLring liLeraLure.
1he musicians are mosLly rom New ork-Lhe hesL known, among
chamher musicians, are perhaps Lhe violinisL/violisL ArLuro Delmoni
and violinisL Adela lea, ormerly o Lhe Lroica 1rio. ln Lhe inal
week o Lhe 20ll season, Sanders was |oined hy his wie, violinisL
8asia Danilow, o Lhe Lark QuarLeL, as well as lea, violisL David
CeruLLi, co-principal o Lhe OrchesLra o SL. Luke's, and Lhe young
pianisL !eewon lark, sLill early in her career.
"1he CenLral vermonL Chamher Music lesLival uncLions aL a high
level," said !im Lowe, a ormer CAMl execu-
Live who is music criLic o Lhe 3arre-Mcntpelier
1imes-Arqus. "ArLuro |Delmoni] is very good,
Adela lea is also very good. 1here have
heen various people over Lhe years who have
heen |usL very good.
"lL is a very unpreLenLious esLival, |usL
people who geL LogeLher hecause Lhey wanL
Lo play LogeLher."
lL may he unpreLenLious, huL in iLs l9 years o exisLence, Lhe esLival
has done someLhing very imporLanL or Lhe communiLy. 1he carLoonisL
Ld Koren, prohahly hesL known or his work in Lhe New crler, has
lived in nearhy 8rookield or more Lhan 25 years. 1o Koren, Lhe
esLival gives Lhe communiLy "a nice |olL, an espresso o music . . . or
Lhe ew weeks o Lhe season Lhey are perorming."
1haL Lhe esLival has heen so long-lived impresses Koren. "A loL o
iL is due Lo leLer's energy and drive Lo keep iL aloaL," he says. "l'm
indehLed Lo him. WiLhouL Lhe esLival, kandolph would he diminished."
1here is someLhing very low-key vermonL ahouL Lhe esLival, |usL
as Lhere is ahouL Lhe Lown. NeverLheless, hoLh Lhe musicians and
Lhe ciLizens have a deep desire or excellence and are willing Lo work
hard. 1he downLown area was virLually desLroyed hy a series o ires
in Lhe early l990s, huL Lhe Lownspeople rallied, creaLed Lhe kandolph
Area CommuniLy DevelopmenL Corp., and have rehuilL.
As impressive, and more Lo our poinL, is whaL has heen done wiLh
Chandler Hall iLsel. 8uilL in l907 as a giL rom kandolph ciLizen
AlherL 8. Chandler, Lhe sLrucLure had heen deLerioraLing. So, wiLh
sLaLe and ederal unds, oundaLion granLs and giLs rom individuals,
money was raised or a massive renovaLion and consLrucLion pro|ecL.
lL worked.
Left: Main 5treet in kandoIph.
8eIow: CentraI Vermont CMf's founding
director, Peter 5anders (foreground),
prepares for a concert with AdeIa Pea
and Cyrus 8eroukhim.
42 March J ApriI 2012
"1here's Lhe successul $2.5 million und drive-in a Lown o ive
Lhousand in Lhe middle o Lhe greaL recession-or addiLions and
renovaLions Lo Lhe huilding Lo kick o iLs second cenLury," says M.
Dickey Drysdale, ediLor and puhlisher o Lhe eralJ cj kanJclph
newspaper. He and his wie, Mar|orie, have Lhemselves heen linch-
pins o kandolph's musical communiLy. He is Lhe longLime music
direcLor o Lhe kandolph Singers, she is a soprano who sings wiLh
orchesLras and chamher groups LhroughouL Lhe sLaLe, and direcLs a
choral group called Sounding !oy.
1he renovaLion did noL Louch Lhe inLerior o Lhe hall iLsel-iL didn'L
even geL a new painL |oh-huL added rehearsal space, dressing and
green rooms, a new lohhy, and improvemenLs Lo Lhe ad|oining arL
gallery, or a complex now called Lhe Chandler CenLer or Lhe ArLs.
"lL is Lhe perecL space or chamher music," Nico Muhly says. (He
is wriLing a piece Lo help celehraLe Lhe 20Lh anniversary.) "lor me iL
has a really wonderul acousLic. SLring quarLeLs sound greaL, pianos
sound greaL. lL's a good old, solid piece o machinery."
1he chamher music esLival is ar rom Lhe only acLiviLy in Lhe
hall. As ar as sLar-powered classical music is concerned, Midori
gave a reciLal several years ago, and Lhe pianisL Simone DinnersLein
has heen up Lhree years in a row-in 20ll wiLh clarineLisL kichard
SLolLzman. And LhaL doesn'L hegin Lo cover all Lhe evenLs scheduled
during Lhe year, including Lhe remarkahle New World lesLival,
every Lahor Day, o CelLic and lrench Canadian music and dance.
"Chandler is Lhe lighLhouse," says !oshua SLump, Lhe high
school music Leacher. "kandolph is a anLasLic communiLy. lL is very
much a arming communiLy, huL iL also is very rich in culLure."
1he high school is Loo small Lo have an orchesLra (Lhere's no
ooLhall Leam, eiLher), huL iL does have a loL o musical acLiviLy. A
music educaLion program led hy Sue Lllen Colgan-8orror, a Leacher
rom 8edord, N, is an ouLgrowLh o Lhe chamher music esLival.
ln March 20ll Colgan-8orror puL LogeLher a program o music
suppressed hy Lhe Nazis. NoL your ordinary high school concerL.
"Over Lhe years, Lhe esLival has |usL goLLen heLLer and heLLer,"
SLump says.
Which, coincidenLally, is whaL criLic Lowe said in a review lasL
summer. "DespiLe heing one o Lhe hesL-kepL secreLs around, Lhe
CenLral vermonL Chamher Music lesLival geLs heLLer and heLLer,"
he wroLe. "l only more people could ind kandolph."
leter W. CccJman is an assistant prcjesscr cj jcurnalism at cjstra
University in empsteaJ, N.. 3ejcre that, he was jcr many years a music
critic anJ eJitcr at Newsday anJ New ork Newsday. e is the authcr cj
MorLon Gould. American SaluLe (AmaJeus, 2000}.
A 20th-Anniversary Commission-
and Other Festivities
J
he CenIral vermonI Chamber lesIival's 20Ih-anniversary
season is Ihemed, appropriaIely, All AbouI CommuniIy. 1he
highlighI oI Ihe season is Io be Ihe world premiere oI a
IesIival-commissioned work Ior quarIeI and percussion by kandolph
naIive Nico Muhly on AugusI 25. 1haI evening's program will also
IeaIure !anacek's QuarIeI No. 2 ("lnIimaIe LeIIers") and Ihe 8rahms
SexIeI No. 2 in G.
1he IesIival's by-now-IradiIional spring perIormances are seI Ior
March 25-26, aI Ihe 1hree SIallion lnn, Ihe kandolph Union Righ
School, and Ihe Wellspring School.
1he summer season proper is Io begin AugusI l2 wiIh a gala
Iundraiser, Iollowed on AugusI l6 by an open rehearsal. vermonI
Public kadio will presenI a live broadcasI on AugusI l7, Iollowed on
AugusI l8 wiIh a program aI Chandler Music Rall IeaIuring Ihe
8riIIen Oboe QuarIeI, Ihe lrancaix SIring 1rio and SainI-Saens
Piano QuarIeI. 1he Iollowing day, AugusI l9, begins wiIh "8reakIasI
wiIh 8ach," a perIormance oI 8ach's CanIaIa No. 36 (IY^m_d]j
\h[kZ_] [kY^ [cfeh, "Soar Upward, !oyIully") in 8eIhany Church,
wiIh Ihe Sounding !oy Singers and addiIional arIisIs Irom Ihe
vermonI ouIh OrchesIra, !eIIrey DomoIo conducIing. ln Ihe
aIIernoon is a repeaI oI SaIurday nighI's program in WoodsIock.
1he Iollowing week begins wiIh an open rehearsal on AugusI 23,
conIinues AugusI 24 wiIh a children's concerI IeaIuring Ihe Lark
QuarIeI and percussionisI ousiI Sheronick, and concludes AugusI
25 wiIh Ihe lrancaix and 8rahms works-and Ihe Muhly premiere.
-F$M$=$



Intermission outside
ChandIer Music HaII