Vermont Symphony Orchestra concert tent
On a Wednesday in mid-May, I entered the Stowe Community Church to see the first live performance of classical music I had experienced in more than a year: Middlebury pianist Diana Fanning playing works by Maurice Ravel, Fédéric Chopin and Franz Schubert. The formidable entrance requirements included emailing an image of my COVID-19 vaccination card to Stowe Performing Arts, which hosted the concert. Audience members were led to seats spaced six feet apart. But the payoff was hearing those nuances of interpretation and volume that virtual mediums never quite capture.
As masks fall away and the weather warms, classical musicians' schedules are filling up with live gigs, and festivals are reviving their summer seasons. There's even a new concert series in a Jericho barn. With so many performances cropping up as the state lifts its pandemic restrictions, the following list is only a sample — but a good start for enjoying Vermont talent in person again.