“Kat Wright couldn’t believe her eyes. The Burlington soul singer had just received an email asking if she’d like to perform with the Vermont Symphony Orchestra,” writes Brent Hallenbeck in Wednesday’s (10/23) Burlington Free Press (VT). “ ‘I was like, Whoa, this is incredible,’ she said…. On Saturday … Wright sings with the VSO at the Higher Ground nightclub. The concert is also a dream come true for VSO Executive Director Ben Cadwallader…. In 2016 the VSO embarked on a series of chamber concerts called Jukebox at the Burlington music venue ArtsRiot that sell out regularly…. Attendance figures show that the changes seem to be working in attracting new audiences. [Saturday’s] concert with more than 20 VSO musicians will feature roughly 40% Wright songs and 60% classical works…. Cadwallader said the new initiatives gross more than $150,000, a tenth of the VSO’s annual budget of $1.5 million…. Attendance for the VSO’s traditional Classical Series concerts … declined … in 2018-19. The VSO has cut its Classical Series concerts from five to four a year…. Cadwallader said events such as Saturday’s [show] the VSO as a flexible company… ‘Opportunities like this can let us be led by creativity,’ he said.”
Posted October 28, 2019
