Category: Music

Spring Solaris Concerts

Solaris Vocal Ensemble, under the Artistic Direction of Dr. Dawn Willis, will present “Delightful Pairings” concerts on April 8, 9 and 10 with Guest Artist, Grammy-nominated Flutist, Karen Kevra. The concerts will highlight classical choral works paired with a variety of choral favorites including spirituals, folksongs, plus a jazzy song or two.

Featured composers include choral works by Johannes Brahms, Lili Boulanger, Samuel Barber, Moses Hogan, William Dawson, Hoagy Carmichael and Robert De Cormier and works for solo flute by Claude Debussy, Carl August Nielsen and Edgard Varese. The concert will also include a premiere of Solaris’ member and VPR Classical on-air host, James Stewart’s newest work – a setting of Emily Dickinson’s poem, “The Brain is Wider than the Sky” for mixed voices, cello, and piano.

Ticket Information:
Friday, April 8, 2022 – in collaboration with Capital City Concerts – Waterbury UCC White Meeting House, 7:30 pm
Saturday, April 9, 2022 – St. Paul’s United Methodist Church, St. Albans, 7:30 pm
Sunday, April 10, 2022 – College St. Congregational Church, Burlington, 3:00 pm
Tickets – General seating – $20 Adults, $15 Seniors and Students Advance tickets available at SevenDaysTickets.com

Solaris Vocal Ensemble Concert at the White Meeting House

‘Tis the Season!


Solaris Vocal Ensemble, led by artistic director Dr. Dawn Willis, will present “’Tis the Season!”, It is a program surely to bring out your holiday spirit. Concerts will be held at the Waterbury Congregational Church on Saturday December 18 at 7:30 pm and in Burlington at the College Street Congregational Church on Sunday December 19 at 3:00 pm.
The program will feature Taylor Scott Davis’ new setting of the timeless Magnificat with harp, organ, and percussion. Solaris is thrilled to welcome back renowned harpist Rebecca Kauffman as our guest artist. Other pieces will include the Malcolm Edward’s arrangement of I Wonder as I Wander, Tom Council’s In the Bleak Midwinter, the Alice Parker and Robert Shaw favorite Masters In This Hall, and Robert DeCormier’s arrangement of Chanuke, Oi Chanuke.


Tickets are available through the Seven Days Ticket website (sevendaystickets.com) or at the door. Ticket prices are $20 for adults; $15 for Seniors and Students.
Please make note of the following COVID protocols:

  1. Audience members must show proof of vaccination before entering (no exceptions) and must remain masked throughout the concert.
  2. All Solaris members are vaccinated and will be tested prior to the concert. Singers may sing
    without masks.
  3. The front rows of the venue will be unoccupied to allow distance between the singers and the
    audience. Waterbury will be limiting occupancy to 100, Burlington to 225. Distanced seating
    will be encouraged to the extent possible.
  4. Doors will open promptly at 7:00 P.M. in Waterbury and 2:15 P.M. in Burlington.
    For additional information please visit www.SolarisEnsemble.org.

Mad River Chorale Holiday Concert

For the 28th year in a row, the Mad River Chorale will offer a holiday concert for residents of Central Vermont. In past years, the chorale held two concerts, once in Waitsfield and once in Waterbury at our church.

This year, there will be one online concert. Under the musical and technical direction of Mary Jane Austin, the musicians will perform for the public starting Monday, December 21 at 7:30. Anyone will be able to listen, but MRC hopes you will also make a donation.

The concert will be availble to watch at https://madriverchorale.net. You may purchase tickets by donation at their squarespace site.

Messiah Watch 2020

You can catch our lead musicians, Mary Jane Austin and Erik Kroncke, in a modified-to-suit-our-circumstances performance of Handel’s Christmas portion of Messiah. The event is organized by Scrag Mountain Music. Their advertisement states:

Scrag presents a new and innovative virtual format of the beloved Messiah seasonal tradition. Acclaimed vocalists and pianists including Vermont artists Mary Bonhag (soprano), Erik Kroncke (bass), Mary Jane Austin (piano), and Lynnette Combs (piano), together with Kelly Guerra (mezzo-soprano), Daniel McGrew (tenor), and Eric Sedgwick (piano) showcase the rich solos that shape George Frideric Handel’s masterpiece. Interspersed with these solos will be readings of the choral numbers by members of the Vermont Philharmonic.

For more information and to RSVP (the cost of admission is “Pay What You Can”) go to their website.