59th Labor Day Weekend Festival Orchestra Concert

Friends of Music at Guilford present the 59th Labor Day Music Festival Orchestra Concert, outdoors on the lawn outside the Guilford Organ Barn at Tree Frog Farm at the Kopkind Colony. The concert features the Guilford Festival Orchestra conducted by Ken Olsson, joined by soprano Tricia Suriani.  Highlights will include Wagner’s Siegfried Idyll and Mayer’s Symphonie No. 1.

Grounds will be open at 1pm for picknicking and relaxing in the rural ambiance.

Please allow at least 30 minutes from Brattleboro, and proceed cautiously on the narrow final rural roads.

In case of rain, the concert will be moved to the Broad Brook Community Center.

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About our program

Inspiring the event’s title is Richard Wagner’s “Siegfried Idyll,” which the composer wrote as a surprise Christmas gift for his wife, Cosima. The program continues the seasonal theme with two pieces by Frederick Delius: “On Hearing the First Cuckoo in Spring” and “Summer Night on the River.”

Of special interest will be the Symphony No. 1 in c minor by Emilie Mayer (1812-1883.) Mayer was a prolific German composer. Her works, which include eight symphonies, chamber, choral and piano pieces, and a comic opera, were widely performed. She was awarded a gold medal in the arts by the Queen of Prussia.

As has been the tradition at this concert for four decades, the program will end with all present invited to sing the familiar choral “Alleluia” by American composer, Randall Thompson, which was written for another open-air concert, the opening of the Tanglewood season in 1940.

Admission to the concert is free, with donations welcome. The event takes place on the lawn, and concert-goers bring blankets or lawn chairs and are welcome to bring picnics. The grounds open at 2 pm, and those arriving early may have the chance to sample the music ahead of time, as the final rehearsal will be concluding.

Event Detail

The concert site is at 158 Kopkind Rd., off Packer Corners Rd., in Guilford, VT. From Exit 1 of I-91 in Brattleboro, head south 1.3 miles on Rt. 5, turn right opposite Guilford Store onto Guilford Center Rd. 2 miles to left turn on Weatherhead, 5 miles (past the busy fairgrounds!) to a right turn onto Packer Corners Rd.

Coming north you may leave I-91 at Bernardston, take Rt 5 north to Keets Brook Rd to Weatherhead Hollow, left, then right onto Packer Corners Rd. There will be “Organ Barn” signs.

In the event of rain, the concert will be moved to the Broad Brook Community Center; announcements will be made by mid-morning Sunday by email, on Facebook, and on the FOMAG voicemail message.