March performance to combine poetry and visual art with classical and jazz music
Saturday, March 27 at 7:30 p.m.—VERMONT — On March 27 at 7:30 p.m., the Vermont Symphony Orchestra (VSO) will premiere the third installment of its online concert series: “Music for Days Like This.” Hosted by poet Reuben Jackson, attendees will experience a unique combination of classical and jazz music, visual art and poetry by BIPOC (Black, Indigenous and People of Color) artists — including special readings by Pulitzer Prize winner and U.S. Poet Laureate Rita Dove. Two VSO commissioned pieces will also be premiered — one composed by University of Vermont music faculty member and renowned jazz trumpeter Ray Vega, and one by Carlos Simon, recipient of the 2021 Sphinx Medal of Excellence.
As a series, “Music for Days Like This” interweaves the traditional with the unexpected, and features newly commissioned music from female composers, Black composers, and composers under the age of 20, intertwined with works from more traditionally performed composers. For this installment, the VSO is elevating the works of Vermont-based BIPOC-identifying artists, with visual art pieces by Crystal Stokes of Worcester, Julio Desmont of Burlington, and Alan Blackwell of Brattleboro to be projected throughout the concert.
In addition to the two world premiere commissions, compositions by Florence Price, Matthew Evan Taylor, Dorothy Rudd Moore, and Scott Joplin, among others, will fill out this not-to-be-missed multimedia program curated by VSO’s Creative Projects Chair Matt LaRocca.
As an early look at the show, on March 18 the VSO will host an informational webinar to discuss the intersection of music, poetry and visual art among Black and Brown artists. Reuben Jackson hosts, accompanied by musician Ray Vega and visual artists Julio Desmont, Crystal Stokes and Alan Blackwell.
Tickets are available on a pay-what-you-can sliding scale starting at $5, and will be accessible March 27 at 7:30 p.m. through April 3, 2021. For more details and tickets, please visit vso.org/events. Closed captioning will be available for any spoken portions; please indicate if you are interested in closed captioning at check-out. This season is made possible in part by the Northfield Savings Bank Innovation Fund, and this concert is supported by a grant from the Vermont Humanities Council and sponsored by Copperleaf Financial and Davis & Hodgdon.
