Education | Green Room Program

The VSO's SymphonyKids Educational Outreach programs offer a wide array of options for in-school visits and field trips.

Another branch of VSO SymphonyKids is known as the Green Room Program.  A group of middle and/or high school students is given free tickets to a VSO concert.  The students receive materials about the performance, including CDs, in advance.   Before the concert, the students and chaperones have a meal with musician “mentors,” who give them an inside perspective on the pieces and performers.  They then get a backstage tour of the green room area.  The Green Room Program started 6 years ago with Burlington-area schools, but it has been such a success that we are offering it to other schools statewide as funding becomes available.  This fall, schools from the following towns are participating: Bristol, Hyde Park, Middlebury, Newport, Orleans, Randolph, Stowe, and Woodstock.  Participants are asked to write a short “review” of their experience afterwards.  Here are a few excerpts from recent sessions:

“It was interesting to get to talk to some of the symphony members who were very humorous.”

“The homemade carrot cake was the best I have ever eaten.”

“I felt honored to go behind the scene at the Flynn because not many people get to see this.”

“It was cool to see all the instruments up close and to see what goes on before concerts.”

“The concert was really amazing I couldn’t believe there were that many violinists."