VSO has a long history of commissioning composers; below is a list of composers and works commissioned since 2020. (Above: Suad Bushnaq, Carlos Simon, Zoe Keating, Daniel Bernard Roumain, Nico Muhly, and Molly Joyce)
Chelsea Komschlies: Title TBC work for orchestra
- Will premiere 2028/29 season. Commissioned via the League of American Orchestras’ Virginia B. Toulmin Foundation Orchestral Commissions Program.
Matt LaRocca: Bow It Down (posthumous Pete Sutherland)
- Premiered Sept 6, 2024: Made in Vermont – Derby Line – Vermont Symphony Orchestra (vso.org) featuring Bella Hristova, violin and the VSO chamber orchestra
Nico Muhly: Sounding piano concerto
- Premiered May 4, 2024: VSO at the Flynn: Mozart, Mazzoli, and Muhly – Vermont Symphony Orchestra featuring pianist Adam Tendler, Music Director Andrew Crust, and the VSO. Co-commissioned with the New Jersey Symphony.
Sophie Kastner: Terminus and Peter Hamlin: Lake Champlain – 11 Hours, July 18, 2023
- Premiered April 12, 2024:Jukebox: The Sound of Science in Rutland – Vermont Symphony Orchestra (vso.org) featuring VSO string quartet Brooke Quiggins-Saulnier and Jane Kittredge, violin; Stefanie Taylor, viola; John Dunlop, cello. Curated by Matt LaRocca.
Kyle Saulnier: Foundation of Sand
- Premiered November 3, 2023: VSO Made in Vermont with Kat Wright – South Burlington – Vermont Symphony Orchestra featuring VSO’s chamber orchestra, and conductor Matt LaRocca.
Zoë Keating: [No title]
- Premiered April 22, 2023: Jukebox at Artistree – Vermont Symphony Orchestra (vso.org) featuring VSO string quartet Katherine Winterstein and Brooke Quiggins-Saulnier, violin; Stefanie Taylor, viola; John Dunlop, cello. Curated by Matt LaRocca.
Roberto Sierra: Ficciones
- Premiered February 4, 2023: VSO at the Flynn: Electric Dreams – Vermont Symphony Orchestra featuring violinist Tracey Silverman, conductor Andrew Crust, and the VSO. Co-commissioned with American Symphony Orchestra, Richmond Symphony Orchestra, Meridian Symphony, and Youth Orchestras of San Antonio.
Patricia Julien: & Gretel Hansel KinRumpelStilts
- Premiered August 26, 2022: Middlebury New Filmmakers Festival 2022 Schedule – Middlebury New Filmmakers Festival (middfilmfest.org) featuring VSO’s chamber orchestra, and conductor Matt LaRocca.
Matthew Evan Taylor: From despair…light!
- Premiered October 29, 2022: VSO at the Flynn: Paradise and Light – Vermont Symphony Orchestra featuring the VSO Chorus, Montpelier Community Gospel Choir, Counterpoint Chorus, Albany Pro Musica, conductor James Burton, and the VSO.
Daniel Bernard Roumain: Riots and Prayers
- Premiered September 17, 2022: VSO at the Flynn: Riots and Prayers – Vermont Symphony Orchestra featuring local narrative speakers, conductor Sarah Ioannides, and the VSO. Co-commissioned with The Flynn and the UVM Lane Series.
Carlos Simon: Warmth of Other Suns (second movement) and Ray Vega: Buscando Doña Juana Figueroa
- Premiered March 27, 2021 (online): Music For Days Like This – Closed Captioning/ASL – Vermont Symphony Orchestra (vso.org) featuring VSO’s string quartet.
Suad Bushnaq: Sampson’s Walk on Air
- Premiered Oct 30, 2021: Cliff Notes on Classical Series: October 30 Concert – Vermont Symphony Orchestra (vso.org) featuring cellist John Dunlop, conductor Akiko Fujimoto, and the VSO.
Molly Joyce: Release
- Premiered December 19, 2020 (online): MusicforDays-Online-DecR3.pdf (vso.org), featuring cello quartet and percussion duo.
Commissioned composers prior to 2020 include, but are not limited to, Su Lian Tan, David Ludwig, Eric Nielsen, Jennifer Jolley, Dennis Bathory-Kitz, Pierre Jalbert, Paul Dedell, numerous Music-COMP students, and others.