The Vermont Symphony Orchestra's “Ah! Cappella” vocal quartet will visit two Windham County schools on Friday, Jan. 29, performing at Saxtons River Elementary at 10:20 a.m., and Westminster Center School at 1 p.m.
Using nothing but the instruments they were born with, the four singers in “Ah! Cappella” have performed for schoolchildren across the state since 1999.
The quartet performs a wide selection of music in many styles, from an early madrigal and part of a Mass to an African-American spiritual; and from an unusual arrangement of “Take Me Out to the Ballgame” to sing-and-clap-along songs.
A question-and-answer period allows students to explore not only the group's multicultural musical choices, but the lives of professional Vermont musicians as well. The show builds to the message that music as a universal language can bring the world closer together by singing together.
Ah! Cappella members are: soprano Clair Hungerford, of St. Albans; alto Linda Radtke, of Montpelier; tenor Cameron Steinmetz, of Rutland; and baritone Brett Murphy, of Berlin.
These performances are part of the Vermont Symphony Orchestra's statewide SymphonyKids education program, which reached over 23,000 schoolchildren last year with 266 presentations serving 151 schools.