Celebrate December with the VSO’s festive music and a visit from Santa! Join Music Director Andrew Crust, guest singers, and your Vermont Symphony Orchestra for a concert that delivers a joyful mood for the season. Enjoy favorites like Sleigh Ride and selections from The Nutcracker, a new commission by Vermont composer Michael Schachter inspired by a Jewish folktale, a rousing audience holiday sing-a-long, a musical reading of selections from Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol, and more!

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Holiday Pops – Barre

Barre Opera House

The Flynn

Paramount Theatre, VT

Experience the enchanting melodies of autumn with The Phoenix Symphony's "Chamber Orchestra: Autumn" concert. Under the baton of conductor Alex Amsel, this captivating performance will take you on a musical journey through the season's changing colors and emotions. The concert repertoire includes Vivaldi's "Autumn" from The Four Seasons, Piazzolla's "Otoño" from Estaciones Porteñas, and M. Schachter's "Five Six Seven Eight," a piece inspired by folk and classical dance styles from around the globe.

This special event is part of our Chamber Series and will be held at the Musical Instrument Museum on Wednesday, January 22, 2025, at 11:00 AM. It's a unique opportunity to experience the synergy between classical music and the intimate setting of one of the city's most beloved venues.

For those interested in attending four or more performances, consider becoming a subscriber to save 20% on your tickets. Create your package today and immerse yourself in the world of classical music with The Phoenix Symphony.

Don't miss this opportunity to celebrate the season with us. Purchase your tickets now and let the Chamber Orchestra: Autumn concert be the highlight of your cultural calendar.

Chamber Orchestra: Autumn

Musical Instrument Museum

The intrepid orchestral ensemble The Knights continues its multi-year Rhapsody commissioning project, inspired by the centennial of Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue. The Knights invite several of today’s most visionary composers to each create an original rhapsody, which artistic directors Colin Jacobsen and Eric Jacobsen describe as “one of the most ecstatically joyful expressions of art ... [a] combination of virtuosity, improvisation, and unfettered imagination.” In this program, pianist and master improviser Aaron Diehl joins the ensemble, conducted by Eric Jacobsen, in a world premiere by Michael Schachter, a new suite by Keith Jarrett and arranged by Michael P. Atkinson, and the rhapsodic Gershwin masterpiece. The orchestra also treats audiences to Beethoven’s exhilarating Fourth Symphony.

The Knights

Carnegie Hall

Celebrate 250 years of the American Spirit with this dynamic symphonic concert! Crowd favorite Samantha Rose Williams returns to sing Alan Fletcher’s “Three American Songs” and selections by Florence Price. The evening culminates in the vibrant and iconic sounds of Bernstein’s “Symphonic Dances” from West Side Story, a testament to the nation’s enduring artistic energy.

American Songs

Stiefel Theatre for the Performing Arts

Creator and opera revolutionary Davóne Tines brings Langston Hughes’ poem “The Black Clown” to musical life in a vaudevillian rendering of this masterpiece. Fusing gospel, opera, jazz, and spirituals into a searing night of theatrical brilliance, The Black Clown embodies the evolving, divided soul of Black America and animates a Black man’s resilience against a legacy of oppression. The Black Clown has been hailed as “pure poetry” by The Boston Globe, and The New York Times lauds “this rich, seamless production melds the past and present of African-American history into an electrifyingly ambivalent whole.” Tines makes his Opera Philadelphia debut alongside an ensemble of 12 performers in this genre-bending, visually arresting piece, juxtaposing dazzling cathartic performances with Hughes’ enduring work.

Michael Schachter

Events

Upcoming events

5 - 7 Dec, 2025

Holiday Pops – Barre · Vermont Symphony Orchestra

Jan 25, 2026

American Songs · Salina Symphony

14 - 17 May, 2026

The Black Clown · Opera Philadelphia

Past events

5 - 7 Dec, 2025

Holiday Pops – Barre · Vermont Symphony Orchestra

Jan 22, 2025

Chamber Orchestra: Autumn · Phoenix Symphony

About

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