BURLINGTON, Vt. (WCAX) – The Vermont Symphony Orchestra’s Made in Vermont tour kicks off this weekend with performances in Derby Line, Randolph, and, Manchester.
Violinist Bella Hristova will lead VSO’s string orchestra through music that spans the iconic five Vermont seasons, with compositions from Green Mountain State natives Nico Muhly and Pete Sutherland, to compositions by Astor Piazzolla, Florence Price, Antonio Vivaldi, and more.
Katharine Huntley spoke with Hristova about the shows this weekend.
Welcome back. The Vermont Symphony Orchestra’s Made in Vermont tour kicks off this weekend. Here with us now is solo violinist Bella Hristova. Thanks so much for being here.
Pleasure, Katharine. Wonderful to be here.
So to start, can you tell us a little bit about the show?
Yes, this is something I’m really excited about. We’re bringing the voice of the string section of the BSO to three communities in Vermont, and there are ones I’ve never been to. We’re going to Derby Line, Randolph and Manchester. The prompt that I got for curating this program is to celebrate the nature of Vermont and Vermont seasons. And to me, that means harvest community, the folk traditions, just the connection that you can form with people through music. Immediately I was drawn to the seasons for Vivaldi’s The Four Seasons. But then we have some special gems in the program as well. Vermont born composer Nico Muhly. We’re playing a piece of his violin concerto. And then there’s an arrangement of songs by the folk musician Pete Sutherland. So we’re we’re doing an arrangement of a few of them in the world premiere for that is tomorrow night.
Oh, wow. So what’s been your favorite part of working on this program?
Oh, it’s a lot. I love getting to curate the program and really designing something that I feel will form a connection with the audiences. I will speak from the stage. And what’s exciting to me is I think I think audiences don’t necessarily want to hear about the history of the piece or the, you know, the technical terms of what happens and where they want to hear what makes the piece exciting to me. And, and again, forming that connection from the stage, the audience. So finding pieces that I feel will resonate with the communities and then being able to speak about them and to play them.
So people might see you in a role that they’re not used to seeing if they go to the orchestra very often. Can you talk about that?
Yes. So I’ll be playing the solo parts and I’ll also be leading. There’s no conductor in this program. I know. I love a Challenge.
So how difficult is that?
It’s pretty difficult. I have to come in very prepared. So that I not only know my part, but I know everybody else’s part and what’s happening all around me. So I’m playing from the score, not just from my part. I’m playing from the score for most of the pieces. So tonight is our first rehearsal and I’m really excited.
So how does this program honor Vermont? What’s like the true significance of a tour like this?
Well, to me, when I think of Vermont, naturally, I think of the beauty of the state and nature and the countryside. So that’s the whole theme of the program. But we have these more special connections through the Vermont born composer Nico Muhly and Pete Sutherland, which is a tribute to the folk tradition of Vermont country music, bluegrass.
How can people see this that they’re interested in?
So I hope people come to our concerts in Randolph and Derby Line and Manchester. I know there’s student tickets for $10 always, and the VSO has reached out to the different communities to get a sense of what people are used to paying for concerts in order to be accessible to everyone there.
All right. Well, we’ll have more information on our website. Bella, thank you so much for joining us and good luck.
Thank you, Katharine. Looking forward to it. Pleasure to be here.