The Ensembles

New York Chamber Soloists

Founded in 1957, the New York Chamber Soloists are a 12-member ensemble of strings, winds, and keyboard that increase to as many as 20 with the addition of guest artists, giving the flexibility to offer many works that are seldom heard due to the unusual instrumental combinations for which they were written. They have added substantially to the catalog of 20th century chamber works, with the more than 25 compositions written for them by such significant composers as Gunther Schuller, Mario Davidovsky, Ezra Laderman, and Mel Powell. Most recently, the group has commissioned a new works for children, Ferdinand the Bull, from noted American composer Hugh Aitken. The ensemble has compiled an impressive record of repeat engagements in North America and abroad, including eleven European tours, six Latin American tours, and numerous tours of the Far East and South Pacific. In the United States, the Chamber Soloists have appeared frequently in New York City at the Metropolitan Museum of Art and Lincoln Center, in Washington at the Library of Congress, the National Academy of Sciences, the Kennedy Center and the National Gallery of Art, at major universities across the country from Boston to Berkeley, and at the Mostly Mozart, Sun Valley and Caramoor Festivals. They have been in residence at the Vermont Mozart Festival every summer since its inception in 1974.

Oriana Singers

In 1981 nine singers, two readers, one harpsichordist and a conductor performed a concert of words and music from Elizabethan and Jacobean England in the University of Vermont's Fleming Museum Marble Court. Over the years these Oriana Singers, named in honor of Queen Elizabeth I, have evolved into the present choir of just over 30 people. They have performed a capella and accompanied music from the 12th to the 20th centuries, including many of the greatest choral masterworks of Monteverdi, Purcell, Handel, Bach, Haydn, Mozart and Beethoven. Notable is their practice of drawing soloists - Jill Hallett Levis, Marjorie Drysdale, Jo Ann Maguire, Linda Radtke, Wayne Hobbs, Gary Moreau and many others from their own choral ranks.

Steve Wilson Trio

Steve Wilson was recently described as "an endlessly adaptable alto and soprano saxophonist, at home in myriad settings," by The New York Times, and as a "stellar altoist" by Time Out NY, returns to the Vermont Mozart Festival.  Wilson’s critically acclaimed ensembles are celebrated as some of the foremost in jazz. He is known for his versatility and ability to say more with less, attributes that have drawn many artists to work with him over the years. With over 100 recordings to his credit, including seven as a band leader, Wilson continues to set the standard for the best of what jazz can be: uplifting, unpredictable, eloquent, and passionate.  Dubbed by NPR "one of the finest saxophone players today," Wilson will bring an all-star trio featuring Joe Locke on vibes and Hans Glawischnig on bass to Burlington. This Trio will deliver inspiring melodies in shifting styles and varied textures, with swing, cohesion, and soulful empathy as they interpret tunes from the Great American Songbook, jazz standards as well as original material from each member of the trio.
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