Instrument Days Will Showcase the Trombone and Bassoon
by Rowan Beck,
November 3, 2011, page 15.....

Quite a bit is happening this fall with the Vermont Youth Orchestra Association (VYOA). Jeff Domotto, director, has kept the ball rolling by introducing Instrument Days to increase awareness of the VYOA and reach out to the musical community throughout the region. There will also be an additional open house, November 13 from 3-6 p.m., and another set of auditions. Typically the auditions are held once a year in the spring but this year they will also take place in December. All events will be held at the Elley-Long Musical Center on St. Michaels College Campus.
The first Instrument Day will be held on November 5 from noon to 6 p.m. All ages are welcome. The day will be spread out with some personal instruction, workshops and master classes culminating in a recital preformed by the professional musicians at the end. The day will be orchestrated by the “musicians giving instruction and will be as fluid and flexible as need be for those who attend,” according to spokeswoman Lisamarie Charlesworth.
Domotto chose to represent instruments that are not always as popular for Instrument Days. The first, November 5, will celebrate the trombone. Musician Don Lucas, who was educated as a Fulbright Scholar at London’s Guildhall School of Music and currently teaches at Boston University College of Fine Arts, will be among the visiting artists. James Box will also be there. He currently serves as Principal Trombone in the Orchestre Symphonique de Montreal. Finally, the Boston University Trombone Choir will also be in attendance.
On November 15 the VYOA will be hosting Bassoon Day, from 3-7:30 p.m. Again there will be master classes and improvisational workshops for woodwind players. The guest for this event will be Dana Jessen, a renowned bassoonist who has preformed in orchestras throughout the United States and Europe. There will also be a demonstration of electronics with bassoons, something that Jessen is well known for. She is the co-founder of EAR (Electric Accoustic Reed) and continues to explore new performance techniques as a bassoonist while creating adventurous new ways to communicate with audiences through composition.
Two other Instrument Days are in the works but the dates have yet to be established. The events are free to the public and the VYOA hopes that attendees “will learn how to hone their craft, pick up something they didn’t know before, network and make new friends.” For more information on the VYOA or Instrument Days visit their website at vyo.org.