CRAFTSBURY – Last Saturday afternoon, June 6, the Craftsbury Historical Society had an opening for its summer exhibition celebrating the 60th anniversary of the Craftsbury Chamber Players.
The program began with Peter Nelson, the new co-chair of the society (along with Ned Houston), talking about current activities of the members, in writing a new mission statement, utilizing a grant to make a comprehensive survey of the rich collections and generally encouraging interest in local history. Ned Houston next spoke of his two decades of service as chairman of the board of Craftsbury Chamber Players (CCP). He particularly noted the strong tradition of music in the Rowell family of East Craftsbury.
Frances Rowell, the present music director of the CCP, described how, as a 13 year old in the early 1970s, heard a concert by the CCP that included Schoenberg’s “Transfigured Night” and Schubert’s “Death and Maiden,” which had a big influence on her decision to become a musician, subsequently studying at the Julliard School in New York as a cellist along with her sister Mary as a violinist.
The Craftsbury Chamber Players was founded very modestly in the summer of 1966 by Mary Lou Rylands on cello, her sister Ann Rylands on violin and Mary Anthony Cox on piano, first performing in the dining hall of Sterling College and later in the Hardwick Town House. What Frances has admired especially about the group is that for decades musicians have come here to work on pieces they wanted to learn, emphasizing in the voicing of every instrument, how each line is carrying the weight at any moment as the melody is shifted in textural layers, all the time experiencing that magical “collapse of time” of music written long ago coming to life now. The programs were never dominated by impresarios and the participants were paid less compared to other chamber music festivals, but they enjoyed all the beauty of July and August in Vermont and a good meal at the end of the day. These professional musicians were also generous mentors to young local music students as well as giving free special pre-concerts for children. This exhibition also includes other musical groups in Craftsbury.
Frances Rowell played a lovely cello piece by Mark Summers, a set of variations on the old familiar tune, “Lo, How a Rose is Blooming,” with imaginative permutations. The first performance of the Craftsbury Chamber Players will be given on Craftsbury Common, on Saturday, June 28, from 5 to 8 p.m. Their summer season will begin on Thursday evening, July 9, and run for six concerts through August 13 in Hardwick, (Wednesday nights in Burlington). For more information, go online to ccpvt.org.
The Craftsbury Historical Society Museum is open on Wednesday and Saturday from 10 a.m., to noon. For more information, go online to craftsburyhistoricalsociety.org.
David K. Rodgers
David K. Rodgers is a writer, mason and card carrying dilettante, who dabbles and babbles in art. He has lived in East Craftsbury for the past 40 years.
