VERGENNES — On Dec. 19 the Vergennes Opera House will host a CD release party for one member of the theater’s board of directors — Vergennes Union High School senior Matteo Palmer.
Palmer, who organized and played at a 2012 concert at the theater to benefit the Vergennes Opera House, next week will play two sets of music as he introduces his CD, “Out of Nothing.” He recorded the disc with the help of Grammy-winning New Age musician and Windham Hill Records founder Will Ackerman.
 
Admission to the CD release party will be $10, and Palmer — a regular opera house audience member and volunteer for years — plans to donate the proceeds to theater. Food will be available, and Bar Antidote will sell beer and wine at the party, which begins at 7 p.m. that Thursday night.
Palmer approached Ackerman to play at the April 2012 benefit concert, and the two played two songs together at the event. Palmer’s mother, Kim Palmer, said Ackerman called their home the day after that event and offered to help her son record his first CD, which consists of his original compositions.
Recording sessions at Ackerman’s Vermont studio began this past spring and included noted bassist Tony Levin on three tracks. 
Copies of “Out of Nothing” will be available for sale at the event, and Palmer will be happy to sign CDs between the music sets for those who are interested.
Palmer hopes to attend college in the Midwest and continue studying finger-style acoustic guitar. In the meantime, his CD will be also be available locally at Vermont Book Shop in Middlebury and Recycled Reading in Bristol, as well as at CDbaby.com, Amazon.com and iTunes.
Andy Kirkaldy may be reached at [email protected].