2023 Touring Group Auditions
Auditions are now open for Vermont Folklife’s 2023-2024 Young Tradition Touring Group season.
Touring Group members learn from and are supported by artist leaders and guest artists throughout the season, as well as engaging with culture bearers and young musicians and dancers while on tour. This year, the Touring Group season begins in September with an online orientation, followed by regular in-person rehearsals and performances in Vermont, and ends in June 2024 with a tour to Quebec.
Singers, dancers, and instrumentalists at an intermediate or advanced level who will be 13 or older and 19 or younger by April 2024 are encouraged to audition. There is no application or membership fee, however, there will be meal, accommodation, and transportation costs for the Quebec tour, as well as costs associated with rehearsals amounting to $1,200 per person. In addition, participants will have essential fundraising responsibilities.
The final rehearsal schedule is still being finalized. It will include an online orientation in September; in-person Saturday rehearsals in October and November, and an online check-in in December. In the new year, there will be monthly rehearsals January through June, as well as several performances in Vermont, including a weekend of performing, being inspired by other artists, and rehearsing during Vermont Folklife’s Young Tradition Festival, May 10-12. Exact dates will be provided soon.
Plans are also underway for a cultural tour scheduled for June 22-29th in and around Waterville, Quebec City, and Montreal where Touring Group members will have the opportunity to participate in St-Jean-Baptiste Day celebrations, attend and play for performances and dances, go to jam sessions, visit culturally significant sites, and spend time connecting with local youth. The tour will end with a day at Chant de Vielles.
This year’s artist leaders will be Pascal Gemme and Véronique Plasse.
