ADDISON COUNTY — Two trios from the Vermont Symphony Orchestra scheduled performances at Addison County elementary schools.
The orchestra’s “DrumShtick” Percussion Trio will visit schools in Leicester and Starksboro on Nov. 16; and the “Fanfare” Brass Trio presented performances at schools in Vergennes and Orwell on Nov. 9. The visits were made possible by grants from Neat Repeats Resale Shop.
Fanfare members Glendon Ingalls, trumpet, Ron Wold, French horn, and Bear Irwin, trombone, play a variety of musical styles and demonstrate how the instruments produce their sounds and how each one has changed since its beginnings. This rave review from a school is typical: “Fanfare’s performance was entertaining, informative, and tuned in to the attention spans and interests of young children. Our students were a rapt audience, even on the day before vacation!”
The “Fanfare” Brass Trio performed at Vergennes Union Elementary School in the morning and Orwell Village School in the afternoon of the 9th.
“DrumShtick” is always a big hit in schools. Brian Johnson, Nic Cannizzaro and Mike Laven are all excellent performers with years of experience turning kids on to classical music. Their show is called “Percussion Means the World to Us,” and it explores a culturally diverse repertoire and includes demonstrations of non-Western instruments. Through their sometimes zany humor they introduce children both to general musical concepts and to the family of percussion instruments.                             
The percussion trio is scheduled to perform at Leicester Central School at 10:30 a.m. on the 16th and at Robinson Elementary School (Starksboro) at 1:15 p.m.
These performances are part of the Vermont Symphony Orchestra’s statewide SymphonyKids education program, which reached over 26,000 schoolchildren last year with 278 presentations serving 175 schools in 141 different towns. These lively concerts are met with overwhelming enthusiasm, as the musical ambassadors spread the word that classical music can be fun.