LC Jazz to Present Annual Winter Thaw Free Community Concert and Dance

The Vergennes Opera House will present the seventh annual LC Jazz Winter Thaw FREE Community Concert on Saturday, February 8, 7:30pm. This will be the last public performance event in the theater space for the 2024-2025 season. The Vergennes Opera House will close this spring so that preparation and construction can begin on the All Access Project with a new elevator tower on the outside of the building, and an accessible lift to the stage and greenroom on the inside of the building. The plan is for the Opera House to reopen in early 2026 with full accessibility for everyone.

This is a FREE Community Concert and Dance with donations at the door going toward the LC Jazz Music Student Scholarship Fund. Though this is a free concert, people are being asked to reserve their tickets via the Vergennes Opera House website here: Ticket Reservations for LC Jazz Free Community Concert
 
At the Winter Thaw Concert and Dance, L.C. Jazz will be working off of a special theme, “Songs of Love and Positive Expectation”, as it relates to the success of the All Access Project. The show will also celebrate notable song and composer anniversaries from the big band era as well as more recent musical recognitions and highlights. The evening will feature styles including fast and medium swing, Latin, funk/rock, and ballads. Vocal pieces will be performed by Middlebury’s Liz Cleveland, Carina Ellis from Leicester, and Monkton's Tony Panella.
 
Instrumentalists include saxophonists Jeff Rusik, Larry Maier, Micah Clevenstine, Steve Sawyer, and Jennifer Murdock; trumpeters Jim Lanpher, Barry McDonald, Tony Panella, Sue O'Daniel and Josh Girard; trombonists Jeff Johnson, Steve Rooney, Owen Clevenstine, and Bill Bowers; pianist Carina Ellis, guitarist Michael Corn, upright bassist Steve Peery, and drummer Parker Mann.  Dennis Bruso will run sound and Steve Sawyer is the music director and the evening’s emcee.
 
The Winter Thaw Free Community Concert brings neighbors and friends out from their homes and into the warmth of the Vergennes Opera House. The fantastic music is provided by many familiar faces in this tight-knit 17-piece orchestra, and the singers add an extra special element to the entire event. Attendees are encouraged to bring their dancing shoes and a little something for the scholarship fund.

The Opera House doors and cash bar open at 6:30pm with general seating. The concert begins at 7:30 PM.