Holiday Pops - Rutland
2026-12-04 19:30 - 21:30 (America/New_York) | Paramount Theatre, 30 Center St, Rutland, VT, 05701, United States
We’re celebrating the season with music that is both reflective and radiant—sending audiences home with a melody in their hearts and a sense of holiday warmth. Our upcoming Holiday Pops concerts feature the full orchestra alongside VSO’s 80-voice chorus, leading spirited sing-alongs and performing festive favorites by Leroy Anderson, George Frideric Handel, Duke Ellington, and Georges Bizet. This year’s program also introduces two works new to VSO audiences: Margaret Bonds’ The Ballad of the Brown King, a powerful cantata honoring Balthazar with text by Langston Hughes, and Bob Krogstad’s Christmas at the Movies, a nostalgic medley featuring themes from The Grinch, The Polar Express, Miracle on 34th Street, and more. Beloved traditional carols round out this joyful, family-friendly holiday tradition.
Andrew Crust, conductor
with the VSO Chorus

Leroy Anderson – Christmas Festival Overture
George Frideric Handel – Selections from Messiah
Margaret Bonds – The Ballad of the Brown King
Georges Bizet – “Farandole” from L’Arlésienne Suite
Bob Krogstad – Christmas at the Movies
Duke Ellington/Tchaikovsky – Selections from The Nutcracker Suite
arr. Bradford – “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas”
arr. Goeller – Christmas Carol Sing-a-Long
Leroy Anderson – “Sleigh Ride”

OUR SPONSORS

Holiday Pops is supported by Brown’s Auto Salvage, Hilton Garden Inn Burlington, and generous individuals in our community.

Holiday Pops - Barre
2026-12-05 19:30 - 21:30 | Barre Opera House, 6 North Main St, Barre, VT, 05641, United States
We’re celebrating the season with music that is both reflective and radiant—sending audiences home with a melody in their hearts and a sense of holiday warmth. Our upcoming Holiday Pops concerts feature the full orchestra alongside VSO’s 80-voice chorus, leading spirited sing-alongs and performing festive favorites by Leroy Anderson, George Frideric Handel, Duke Ellington, and Georges Bizet. This year’s program also introduces two works new to VSO audiences: Margaret Bonds’ The Ballad of the Brown King, a powerful cantata honoring Balthazar with text by Langston Hughes, and Bob Krogstad’s Christmas at the Movies, a nostalgic medley featuring themes from The Grinch, The Polar Express, Miracle on 34th Street, and more. Beloved traditional carols round out this joyful, family-friendly holiday tradition.
Andrew Crust, conductor
with the VSO Chorus

Leroy Anderson – Christmas Festival Overture
George Frideric Handel – Selections from Messiah
Margaret Bonds – The Ballad of the Brown King
Georges Bizet – “Farandole” from L’Arlésienne Suite
Bob Krogstad – Christmas at the Movies
Duke Ellington/Tchaikovsky – Selections from The Nutcracker Suite
arr. Bradford – “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas”
arr. Goeller – Christmas Carol Sing-a-Long
Leroy Anderson – “Sleigh Ride”

OUR SPONSORS

Holiday Pops Barre is generously supported by 802 Credit Union, Hilton Garden Inn Burlington, and generous individuals in our community.

Holiday Pops - Burlington
2026-12-06 15:00 - 17:00 | Flynn Center, 153 Main Street, Burlington, VT, 05401, United States
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We’re celebrating the season with music that is both reflective and radiant—sending audiences home with a melody in their hearts and a sense of holiday warmth. Our upcoming Holiday Pops concerts feature the full orchestra alongside VSO’s 80-voice chorus, leading spirited sing-alongs and performing festive favorites by Leroy Anderson, George Frideric Handel, Duke Ellington, and Georges Bizet. This year’s program also introduces two works new to VSO audiences: Margaret Bonds’ The Ballad of the Brown King, a powerful cantata honoring Balthazar with text by Langston Hughes, and Bob Krogstad’s Christmas at the Movies, a nostalgic medley featuring themes from The Grinch, The Polar Express, Miracle on 34th Street, and more. Beloved traditional carols round out this joyful, family-friendly holiday tradition.
Andrew Crust, conductor
with the VSO Chorus

Program
Leroy Anderson – Christmas Festival Overture
George Frideric Handel – Selections from Messiah
Margaret Bonds – The Ballad of the Brown King
Georges Bizet – “Farandole” from L’Arlésienne Suite
Bob Krogstad – Christmas at the Movies
Duke Ellington/Tchaikovsky – Selections from The Nutcracker Suite
arr. Bradford – “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas”
arr. Goeller – Christmas Carol Sing-a-Long
Leroy Anderson – “Sleigh Ride”

OUR SPONSORS

Holiday Pops is supported by Hilton Garden Inn Burlington, and generous individuals in our community.

Brass Quintet & Counterpoint Chorus - Warren
2026-12-10 19:00 - 21:00 | Warren United Church, 339 Main Street, Warren, VT, 05674, United States
The holiday season continues with the Brass Quintet & Counterpoint Chorus tour December 10–13, bringing intimate chamber performances to Warren, Newport, Grafton, and Manchester, with young singers from Burr & Burton Academy joining the performance in Manchester. VSO’s brass musicians will premiere a new work by a Vermont student via its partnership with Music-COMP. Conducted by Nathaniel G. Lew.
Tickets are free of charge, but advance registration is required. Ticket registration will go live in late fall 2026.

VSO thanks the generous individuals and Warren Arts Commission for support of this concert.

Brass Quintet & Counterpoint Chorus - Newport
2026-12-11 19:00 - 21:00 | United Church of Newport, 63 3rd St, Newport, VT, 05855, United States
The holiday season continues with the Brass Quintet & Counterpoint Chorus tour December 10–13, bringing intimate chamber performances to Warren, Newport, Grafton, and Manchester, with young singers from Burr & Burton Academy joining the performance in Manchester. VSO’s brass musicians will premiere a new work by a Vermont student via its partnership with Music-COMP. Conducted by Nathaniel G. Lew.
Tickets will go on sale in fall 2026.

Brass Quintet & Counterpoint Chorus - Grafton
2026-12-12 17:00 - 19:00 | Grafton Community Church, 55 Main Street, Grafton, VT, 05146, United States
The holiday season continues with the Brass Quintet & Counterpoint Chorus tour December 10–13, bringing intimate chamber performances to Warren, Newport, Grafton, and Manchester, with young singers from Burr & Burton Academy joining the performance in Manchester. VSO’s brass musicians will premiere a new work by a Vermont student via its partnership with Music-COMP. Conducted by Nathaniel G. Lew.
This performance is free, with advance registration required. Tickets will become available in late fall 2026.

Brass Quintet & Counterpoint Chorus - Manchester
2026-12-13 16:00 - 17:00 | Manchester First Congregational Church, 3624 Main St, Manchester, VT, 05254, United States
The holiday season continues with the Brass Quintet & Counterpoint Chorus tour December 10–13, bringing intimate chamber performances to Warren, Newport, Grafton, and Manchester, with young singers from Burr & Burton Academy joining the performance in Manchester. VSO’s brass musicians will premiere a new work by a Vermont student via its partnership with Music-COMP. Conducted by Nathaniel G. Lew.
Tickets will become available in fall 2026.

Jukebox Winter 2027
2027-02-18 17:00 - 18:30 | VT
Jukebox returns for its tenth season—VSO’s relaxed, intimate quartet series curated and hosted by Artistic Advisor and Project Conductor Matt LaRocca. While the 2026–27 programs are still under wraps, seasoned audience members know to mark their calendars early—these concerts are always worth planning ahead.
February 18-21, 2027: in Burlington, Rutland, Weston and more

Visualizer Orchestra - Rutland
2027-03-19 19:00 - 21:00 | Paramount Theatre, 30 Center St, Rutland, VT, 05701, United States
We’re creating an immersive, visual soundtrack to classical music! First presented in 2022, VSO’s Visualizer Orchestra concerts feature video design company Lightware Labs’ bespoke visuals to accompany evocative music by Samuel Barber (Adagio for Strings), Felix Mendelssohn (Overture to A Midsummer Night’s Dream), contemporary composers Mark Lomax, II, Jeffrey Scott, and more. Additional visuals are created by students from Champlain College Creative Media department, and VSO’s chamber ensemble is led by Matt LaRocca.
This is a Student Insiders concert, hosted by VSO’s Education Department and South West Friends volunteer committee.
March 19, 2027 | 7:00 pm
Matt LaRocca, conductor

Visualizer Orchestra - Essex Junction
2027-03-20 19:00 - 20:30 | VT
We’re creating an immersive, visual soundtrack to classical music! First presented in 2022, VSO’s Visualizer Orchestra concerts feature video design company Lightware Labs’ bespoke visuals to accompany evocative music by Samuel Barber (Adagio for Strings), Felix Mendelssohn (Overture to A Midsummer Night’s Dream), contemporary composers Mark Lomax II, Jeffrey Scott, and more. Additional visuals are created by students from Champlain College Creative Media department, and VSO’s 35-piece chamber ensemble is led by Matt LaRocca.
March 20, 2027 | 7:00 pm
Matt LaRocca, conductor

David M. Wilson Farmers' Night
2027-04-14 19:30 - 21:00 | House Chambers, The State House, 115 State St, Montpelier, VT, 05633, United States
The David M. Wilson Farmers’ Night Concert returns to the Vermont Statehouse in Montpelier, with VSO’s chamber orchestra and guest vocal soloist KeruBo. Songs from Kerubo’s Kenyan musical heritage will be interwoven with Handel’s Water Music and Haydn’s Symphony No. 8, “Le soir” for a deeply human evening of cultural dialogue. VSO continues its partnership with Music-COMP and will premiere a Vermont high school composition for chamber orchestra at this free community concert.
Andrew Crust, conductor
KeruBo, vocalist

KeruBo
Doors are at 7:00pm, concert begins at 7:30pm.

VSO at the Flynn: Life Emerging
2027-04-17 19:30 - 21:30 | Flynn Center, 153 Main Street, Burlington, VT, 05401, United States
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Welcome spring with an evening of music inspired by the natural world and the human spirit. From the surging energy of Anna Clyne’s Restless Oceans to the icy beauty of Vermont composer Marcus Goddard’s Antarctica: Life Emerging, with accompanying video and cello soloist John Dunlop, this program captivates the senses. Aaron Copland’s Appalachian Spring and Jean Sibelius’ Symphony No. 5 complete this uplifting seasonal journey.
The concert begins at 7:30 p.m. and is preceded at 6:30 p.m. by Musically Speaking, a free pre-concert discussion that provides entertaining insight into the evening’s program.
Andrew Crust, conductor
John Dunlop, cello

John Dunlop

Program
Anna Clyne – Restless Oceans
Marcus Goddard – Antarctica: Life Emerging
Aaron Copland – Appalachian Spring
Jean Sibelius – Symphony No. 5

Sponsors
This concert is generously supported by the Vermont Community Foundation Concert Artists Fund.

VSO at the Flynn: Rite of Spring
2027-05-15 19:30 - 21:30 | Flynn Center, 153 Main Street, Burlington, VT, 05401, United States
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VSO’s 2026/27 season closes with a bold program of reinvention and discovery. Maurice Ravel’s famed Boléro, last performed by the VSO 40 years ago, transforms a simple Spanish dance into a hypnotic, driving crescendo. A trumpet concerto by Danny Elfman—featuring the principal trumpet of the Orchestre symphonique de Montréal —brings a celebrated film composer’s music to the concert stage. Igor Stravinsky’s The Rite of Spring, riotous and revolutionary, crowns this electrifying finale.
The concert begins at 7:30 p.m. and is preceded at 6:30 p.m. by Musically Speaking, a free pre-concert discussion that provides entertaining insight into the evening’s program.
Andrew Crust, conductor
Paul Merkelo, trumpet

Paul Merkelo

Program
Maurice Ravel – Boléro
Danny Elfman – Trumpet Concerto
Igor Stravinsky/McPhee – The Rite of Spring

Sponsors
This concert is generously supported by the Vermont Community Foundation Concert Artists Fund.
