Known for his dramatic operas, Gaetano Donizetti also composed a light hearted work for flute and piano. This piece will open the Vermont Virtuosi concert at the First Congregational Church on Sunday, April 14, 2024 at 3 pm. Flutist Laurel Ann Maurer and pianist Michael Sitton will join forces and present a captivating and engaging program of works for flute and piano. Maurer, a seasoned recitalist and recording artist is also principal flute of the Vermont Philharmonic. Sitton, has concertized extensively and was the Dean of the Crane School of Music at SUNY Potsdam. Arthur Frackenpohl was a composer and teacher at Crane and Michael and Laurel will perform his beautiful settings of 4 American folks songs utilizing the alto flute with piano. A new work has been written for Vermont Virtuosi by Vermont composer David Gunn. The Fourth Highway, for flute and piano will be performed for only the second time. It was recently composed in January of 2024. Franz Schubert wrote one of the most beautiful sonatas for an instrument that has become obsolete. The “Arpeggione “ was a small cello type of instrument except that it had frets similar to a guitar. Although the instrument did not survive the test of time, the sonata certainly has. It has been championed by cellists, violists and flutists. Rounding out the program will be an early sketch for flute and piano of Claude Debussy’s Afternoon of a Faun” and the compelling History of the Tango by Astor Piazolla. 

Flutist Laurel Ann Maurer has been lauded by The New York Times as “a secure technician and an assured communicative interpreter.” According to Fanfare Magazine, she is “superb in every way.” Two of her commercially released CD's "More American Flute Works" and the Jeff Mannokian "Flute Concerto" were nominated for a Grammy Award. Ms. Maurer has performed and given master classes throughout the United States, Europe, and Asia, including performances at Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, The Kennedy Center, and Khachaturian Hall in Yerevan, Armenia. She was principal flutist of the Salt Lake Symphony and has more recently performed with the Vermont Symphony Orchestra, the Vermont Contemporary Music Ensemble, the Montpelier Chamber Orchestra, and as principal flutist at the Vermont Philharmonic. She is also founder and artistic director of the celebrated chamber music series Vermont Virtuosi as well as a founding member of both the Vermont Virtuosi Flute Ensemble and PipeDreams, Vermont’s premiere flute quartet.

Pianist Michael Sitton 

Holding degrees in piano performance including the Doctor of Musical Arts from the University of Illinois and the Diplôme de Concert from Paris’ Schola Cantorum, Michael Sitton has performed as a solo pianist, chamber musician, and collaborative artist. As winner of the Leschetizky Prize, he performed at Carnegie Recital Hall (now Weill Hall) in New York, and played at the Embassy of France in Washington as a prizewinner of the French Piano Institute; many other performances as a solo recitalist, chamber music player, and orchestral musician have marked his career. His playing in a spring 2023 with Vermont Virtuosi was praised by the Times-Argus for its “compelling piano artistry,” with Sitton described as a “particularly fine new pianist” in the area. A board member of the Vermont Music Teachers’ Association, he teaches piano as a member of the faculty of Montpelier’s Monteverdi Music School, and is also active as a composer.