Noon Music in May begins next Wednesday

The Champlain Trio will open the Noon Music in May concerts presented by Stowe Performing Arts on Wednesday, May 1. The concert series, now in its fifth decade, is held in Stowe Community Church from noon to 1 p.m. every Wednesday during the month of May.

It’s been said that out of adversity comes opportunity, and out of the COVID-19 pandemic the Champlain Trio was formed. Violinist Letitia Quante, cellist Emily Taubl and pianist Hiromi Fukuda each call Vermont home. The trio will play piano trios of Tchaikovsky, Bonis, Liebman, Verne-Bredt and Debussy.

With concerts, tours and festivals being put on hold, the spring of 2020 brought the unique opportunity to come together as an ensemble. All three musicians earned degrees from The Juilliard School, among others, and hold positions in the Vermont Symphony Orchestra, Springfield Symphony Orchestra, Amherst College, University of Vermont and Middlebury College.

In 2022, the trio was awarded a Vermont Arts Council Grant to record the Croatian composer Dora Pejačević’s Piano Trio, Op. 29. The album is now out and can be found on all major streaming platforms.

A variety of musical acts will perform in the following weeks, including Dos Sonidos, a classical guitar and violin duo on May 8; 14 teenagers from the Opera Company of Middlebury’s Youth Opera program will perform “A Country Store Opera” on May 15; Israeli-born pianist Renana Gutman plays on May 22; and organist Joshua Stafford ends the series on May 29.

Noon Music in May concerts are made possible thanks to the generosity of Stowe Community Church and the family of the late Irene Bareau, an ardent music lover and long-time sponsor of the very popular series.

Accommodations for the artists are provided by the Green Mountain Inn. The concerts are free and donations are accepted; doors open at 11:20 a.m.