Staff report
When attendees of the July 20 season finale of the Killington Music Festival 2024 Classical Concert Series watched and listened to Daniel Andail, Calvin Falwell, Janet Jacobson, and Reed Tetzloff perform works by Dvorak and Somervell, they could not have known they were witnessing the final performance in the festival’s storied 42-year run.
In a letter released on Thursday, Oct. 10, president of the KMF board of directors Baxter C. Holland and Executive Director Maria Fish sent word that after 42 years of providing aspiring students with classical music instruction during its one-month summer program, the Killington Music Festival was ending.
Holland and Fish cited declining interest from students looking to participate in the program as a contributing factor in KMF’s decision to shut down its program. Two years of the program’s hiatus during Covid hastened the decline, and continuing the KMF’s mission is no longer sustainable.
Holland and Fish stated their appreciation for the generous support of the program title sponsor, the Luc Walter Foundation, whose continued belief in KMF allowed the program to continue for several years.
“As the Killington Music Festival ‘leaves the stage for the last time,’” Baxter and Fish said, “we encourage all who love classical music to continue their support of this musical genre within our community and within Vermont.”
