Sage City Symphony to present free concert March 20  

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Bennington, Vt. — On Sunday, March 20, at 4:00 p.m. Sage City Symphony will present a concert at Greenwall Auditorium in the VAPA Building at Bennington College. Admission is free and open to all.   

The program will feature Serenade for Wind Instruments, Cello, and Double Bass in D minor, Op. 44, by Antonín Dvořák; Piece for Muted Strings, by Vivian Fine (“Elegiac Song”); Adagio e Fuga in Do Minore, by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart; and selections from Ten Short Pieces for String Orchestra, by Louis Calabro.  

Covid Protocols: All current and evolving guidelines issued by the CDC, the State of Vermont, and Bennington College will be followed. Face masks and social distancing will be required (“pod” seating permitted), and proof of vaccination and booster with ID will be required at the door. In the event of a resurgence of Covid infection rates, postponement or cancellation of this concert will be posted on the symphony’s website at www.SageCitySymphony.org.   

Vivian Fine

Over her 70-year career, Vivian Fine (1913-2000) became one of America’s most important composers. She is perhaps best known for her chamber music, but she wrote in every genre, including large-scale symphonic and choral works. A piano prodigy, at age five she became the youngest student ever to be awarded a scholarship at the Chicago Musical College. Fine made her professional debut as a composer at age 16. She composed her Piece for Muted Strings (“Elegiac Song”) in 1937, as a response to the Spanish Civil War. She was strongly opposed to Franco’s Fascist regime, and designated the work “for the children of Spain.” From 1964 to 1987, Fine taught composition at Bennington College, where her career overlapped with that of Sage City Symphony founder Louis Calabro. 

Composer, teacher, conductor, and percussionist Louis Calabro (1926-1991) was a music professor at Bennington College from 1955 until his death. He has more than 100 works to his credit, including music for traditional and non-traditional chamber combinations, as well as for both large and small orchestral ensembles. Calabro founded Sage City Symphony at Bennington College in 1972. He believed strongly in encouraging and promoting contemporary music, at a time when few American orchestras (professional or amateur) were performing premieres. With Sage City Symphony, he commissioned dozens of new orchestral works and conducted their premieres. Vivian Fine was one of the composers whose work was premiered under Calabro’s baton. 

Led by music director Michael Finckel for the past 25+ years, Sage City Symphony was founded in 1972 as a community and college orchestra with close ties to Bennington College. In addition to performing traditional classical repertoire as well as contemporary music, the symphony commissions and premieres new pieces each year. The symphony attracts a high caliber of dedicated amateur and professional musicians who travel from throughout Vermont, New York, and Massachusetts for weekly rehearsals during the concert season. Auditions are not required, and academic credit is available for Bennington College students who participate. Information about joining the symphony, as well as Covid protocols observed at rehearsals and concerts, is available at www.SageCitySymphony.org.   

Sage City Symphony is a registered federal non-profit organization in the State of Vermont that relies entirely on generous donations, gifts in kind, grants, and volunteer services from individuals, local foundations, businesses, and sponsors. Donations are gratefully received by mail at Sage City Symphony, PO Box 547, Shaftsbury, VT 05262 or online via www.SageCitySymphony.org. Concerts are always free and open to all.