Play Every Town: Cornwall

Last May composer-pianist David Feurzeig embarked on Play Every Town: 252 free concerts in each of Vermont’s 252 towns to combat climate change through the power of community and music. With this project David will become the first musician to perform in every Vermont municipality. He is traveling in his solar-charged electric vehicle throughout the state, offering free concerts to bring attention to the interrelated issues of climate and community, while bringing the joy of music to his audiences.

“I want to support Vermont’s local communities with live performance in village centers and downtowns, while fulfilling UVM’s mission to serve as a resource for the whole state.”
Feurzeig, a professor of music at UVM since 2008, specializes in genre-defying recitals that bring together music of an astonishing variety of musical styles, from ancient and classical to jazz, avant-garde, and popular traditions. These striking juxtapositions, peppered with informative and humorous commentary, create eye- and ear-opening programs that will change how you hear all kinds of music.

Each program is locally tailored. In the Grafton concert Tricia Suriani and David Naughton will sing a few songs, including a duet from Urinetown, a dystopic musical comedy about climate change. Like every performance on the tour, this one will include its own unique Scarlatti keyboard sonata: Sonata no. 28 for this twenty-eighth concert in the project. Solo piano pieces of all styles will make up the remainder of the program, including Charles Ives’ “The Alcotts” and some ragtime selections.

Feurzeig finds his approach attracts new audiences to so-called “classical” concerts and brings new insight to existing fans. “Classical music culture puts the ‘Great Composers’ on an almost religious pedestal. Once this was an indication of the audience’s love and respect, but now it just distances people from the music. It turns away new listeners, who feel like they’re in a stuffy museum instead of a live concert. Sure, the music can be serious, but there’s no reason anyone should feel intimidated. If I don’t get a laugh from the audience in the first two minutes, I get worried!”

Follow David on his journey on Instagram, find up-to-date events for your town via Facebook, or visit the website at PlayEveryTown.com.
“Not just for stars, but in academia as well there are pressures on musicians to travel far and wide, to maintain an international presence. We take this and a thousand similar practices for granted—but they’re simply not compatible with a livable world.”