Touring Group Fall Update

The Young Tradition Touring Group is an auditioned ensemble of twenty-two talented teenage musicians and singers, led this year by Elsie Gawler and Ethan Tischler, of Springtide, the Gawler Family Band, and their duo, Elsie & Ethan.  

Beginning in September and continuing through December, one Saturday a month Touring Group musicians travelled to the Montpelier Performing Arts Hub to make music and friends while rehearsing this season’s repertoire.  A lucky few aren’t traveling far this fall as they live right in the Montpelier area, but some come from quite a ways to participate - from Brattleboro to Burlington and as far away as Maine.  That’s a lot of mountains crossed to get to rehearsals!  Group members are ages twelve to eighteen and play fiddle, 5-string banjo, harp, ukulele, guitar, and keyboard.  They all sing, too!    

This year's Touring Group performances feature an exciting and varied program showcasing the traditional musical influences of New England, including music rooted in Québec, Vermont, and Maine as well as popular current influences from Scandinavia and Old Time playing.  Energetic reels that have folks dancing in their seats, many-layered arrangements of lovely fiddle harmonies, and several songs, including one collected by Vermont’s Margaret MacArthur and one by much-missed friend and mentor Pete Sutherland, are all part of a Touring Group performance!

In December, the Young Tradition Touring Group performed their first concert of the season for an appreciative crowd that packed the house.  This performance benefitted the Montpelier Performing Arts Hub, which has so generously donated space for our first rehearsals.  Below is a video of J&E Riggin and Shuckin' Stiddy, both written and arranged by our Artist Leader Elsie Gawler.  J&E Riggin was written in honor of the wonderful Rockland, Maine-based schooner of the same name that the Gawler Family Band plays music on each summer, and Shuckin’ Stiddy is a seaworthy title as well, referring to the pace at which Mainers shuck oysters. 

To learn more about the Touring Group, please visit the Touring Group webpage.  To hear the group in action, we invite you to check out our YouTube playlist or find a show near you.  Check back soon for an update on our January and February rehearsals and performances!