By STEVEN JUPITER
BRANDON—The life of a professional musician involves a lot of travel. And for musicians who reach a certain level of renown, a good part of that travel is done by airplane. But increasingly, air travel is seen as a major polluter and contributor to climate change, prompting some green-minded musicians to rethink the way they manage their schedules and careers.
David Feurzeig is one such musician.
A composer-pianist who teaches composition and music theory at UVM, Feurzeig decided during COVID to stop traveling by plane to his gigs, even that means forgoing otherwise exciting opportunities. Having performed internationally—Germany and Thailand, for example—Feurzeig understood that the decision would limit his reach.
“At first it felt limiting and sort of sad,” he said in a recent phone conversation. “But then I began to see it as an opportunity to get to know my home state.”
Thus was born “Play Every Town,” Feurzeig’s multi-year project to perform in all of Vermont’s 252 towns, no matter how remote or how small. And after 63 out of those 252, Feurzeig will perform in Brandon at BARN Opera on Saturday, August 24 at 7:30 p.m.
Though Feurzeig plays a different piano sonata by the Baroque composer Scarlatti at every program (there are over 500 of them, so the supply won’t run out), he varies his musical selections from concert to concert.
“I’d lose my mind playing the same program every time,” he laughed.
He also tries to choose pieces that have some connection to the locale. In Brandon, for example, he’ll be performing Scott Joplin’s “Magnetic Rag,” a sly nod to Thomas Davenport, who used magnets in the electric motor he invented in Forest Dale in the 1830s.
Mr. Feurzeig also partners with hometown musicians and composers whenever possible. In Brandon, he’s fortunate to have the top-notch talents of BARN Opera’s own Josh Collier and Grammy-winning classical composer Eve Beglarian, both of whom will be joining Feurzeig on stage. Collier will be performing Italian vocal selections and Beglarian will be presenting original compositions, some of which will be sung by Beglarian herself and some of which will be performed solely by Feurzeig on piano.
“I love everything about David’s ‘Play Every Town’ project and I’ve been waiting with delight for Brandon’s turn,” Beglarian wrote to The Reporter. “And I’m so happy to finally be able to hear him play some of my solo music live and to guest with him on a song. I think it’ll be a really enjoyable evening.”
Anyone who has not heard these musicians before ought to take advantage of this opportunity. The concert, like all in the series, is free of charge, though donations are accepted. Any proceeds from the concert in Brandon will be given to the Addition County Relocalization Network (ACORN), a local organization that promotes sustainable food production.
The experience of playing in every town in Vermont has reinforced for Feurzeig the sense of community that the Green Mountain State is known for. Under normal circumstances, an audience of 16 people might be a disappointment to a musician of Feurzeig’s stature, but when those 16 people represent 36% of a town’s entire population, it starts to feel less like a snub and more like a compliment.
The concerts draw people who are interested in the philosophy of the project as well as those who simply love music. Many older folks who can no longer travel too far from home have been happy to have such high-quality music performed right in their backyards.
Feurzeig also relies on local pianos, sometimes creating challenges for himself as a pianist, as when the instruments won’t stay in tune or when their hammers stick and he has to figure out on the fly how to continue playing without attracting attention to the problems. He’s sometimes even resorted to facial contortions and body language to express musical dynamics that he couldn’t wring out of the poor battered piano he was playing on.
“But it’s felt more invigorating and challenging than annoying,” he said. He added that sometimes the issues with the pianos can help him let go of perfectionism and simply focus on the music.
2 years in, Feurzeig anticipates that the project will continue for another 5. If you can’t make the concert in Brandon, he has yet to play Pittsford, Proctor, Leicester, Goshen, Sudbury, or Whiting, though he did play Salisbury last year (it was #42 in the series). All the performances are recorded and archived on the project website (playeverytown.com).
“It’s important that the project have an enduring form,” said Feurzeig, who says he’s learned a lot about his home state through this work.
To describe the experience he’s had, Feurzeig quotes Henry David Thoreau, the 19th-century philosopher who famously spent two years alone in a cabin in Concord, Massachusetts:
“I have traveled a great deal in Concord.”
Sometimes you don’t need to cover much ground to travel far.
