
Young Tradition Vermont
Young Tradition Vermont (YTV) programs use traditional music and dance to ensure young people have opportunities to be inspired and inspiring, to learn and teach, to perform, and to serve the communities they live in and visit. We invite you to join us.
We view tradition not as something fixed and unchanging. Rather, it’s an ongoing conversation between the past and the present that reflects and shapes the ways we express who we are. Tradition is a process–and one that fosters continual innovation–keeping practices we root in the past alive and relevant to who we are today.
Vermont Folklife's 2025 Young Tradition Festival takes place Friday May 9th and Saturday May 10th at Contois Auditorium in Burlington. Friday evening features a Community Dance Party (potluck at 5:30 pm, dancing at 7:30 pm). Events take place throughout the day Saturday, and conclude with a concert by the Pine Tree Flyers—four of the finest voices in New England's traditional music scene—with an opening act from the Young Tradition Touring Group (7:00pm).
The Young Tradition Touring Group has been preparing for the April Tour of New England since September, and now it is right around the corner! At this point in the season, Touring Group musicians have come together for seven full-day rehearsals, three concert performances, a contra dance, and several workshops. It is exciting to see their growth as individual musicians and to hear their performance set become tighter and more nuanced–more harmonies, clear voices, and settled arrangements.
The Young Tradition Touring Group wrapped up rehearsals at the Montpelier Performing Arts Hub in January, grateful for such a welcoming space. Beyond learning the repertoire, rehearsal highlights included a basement sing-along of holiday favorites, many improvisational moves on the dance floor, frisbee out on the lawn, and a hilarious full-group game of rock paper scissors evolution-style. Think crouching like an egg, flapping like a chicken, and making T-Rex dino arms—sadly there is no photographic evidence!
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!
with a spectacular tour of Quebec! Read all about their week-long tour, playing gigs, exploring cultural sites and the natural landscape, taking workshops from expert dancers and musicians, and participating in some of the best jam sessions in Quebec.
The 19th annual Young Tradition Festival took place May 10-12, 2024, in Burlington. This year’s festival featured extraordinary performances, community outreach, and celebrations of youth involvement in traditional music and dance.
The Touring Group resumed rehearsals in January, welcoming Artist Leaders Pascal Gemme and Véronique Plasse from Quebec for a weekend of music learning and workshops!
The 2023-2024 Touring Group had two terrific rehearsals this fall, spending time together learning new tunes, singing in French, and getting to know each other. Artist Leader Pascal Gemme taught a tune, Le Brandy, and a song, De terre en vigne (la voilà la jolie vigne!) and the Youth Artist Leaders have introduced their sets.
We had a fabulous time running Trad Camp the last week in July! The camp, which is a longstanding Young Tradition Vermont program, took place in downtown Burlington with three dozen camper an many fabulous instructors and guest artists! Below are some scenes from each day of camp!
Auditions are now open for the the Young Tradition Vermont Touring Group’s 2023-24 season. 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. Touring Group members learn from and are supported by artist leaders and guest expert musicians and dancers throughout the season, as well as sharing in musical exchanges with expert artists and young musicians and dancers while on tour.
I am sure many are very eager to hear more concerning this coming year’s programming! Good news! I have updates! :) This year the YTV Touring Group will be going to Montreal and Quebec City!
The Touring Group had just returned from their April 21-30th cultural travel tour to Cape Breton, a whirlwind of performances, workshops, and visits with many opportunities to engage with and be inspired by Cape Breton's cultural and language communities.
To all invested in Young Tradition Vermont,
I’m Ian Drury and I have been hired as the Director of Young Tradition Vermont at Vermont Folklife. I am honored to be working alongside Mark Sustic for the next 5 months as I learn from the master-of-all-things YTV to ensure the continued success and growth of Young Tradition Vermont. I have known Mark for most of my life, having worked with him on education related projects and playing music with him at our family's soirees from when I was a kid through today.
he Vermont Folklife Board and Staff are thrilled to announce the appointment of Ian Drury as full-time Director of Young Tradition Vermont at Vermont Folklife. Drury will succeed Mark Sustic, founder and long-time director of Young Tradition Vermont (YTV), formerly a stand-alone nonprofit that joined forces with Vermont Folklife in July, 2022.
Vermont Folklife's youth trad ensemble Sugar in the Pan, with current Touring Group members Eli Glasser, Emmett Stowell, Fiona Stowell, and Henry Kervick, joined by Touring Group alumni Grace Martin and Owen Kennedy, will be performing at the Smithsonian Folklife Festival in Washington DC in July! We are honored and so excited to be a part of this great festival!
Join Laurel Swift for this Spring Fiddleheads Teen Ensemble for intermediate to advanced players of all instruments at the Brattleboro Music Center.
The focus is on exploring ensemble playing and developing creativity in folk music. Learn great tunes and how to accompany them, make harmonies and build a groove! We'll work in both small and large groups, and there are simpler and more complex lines accommodating a range of abilities.
Join Touring Group alum Eliza Goodell for a series of beginner-friendly fiddle classes for all ages this fall, in Burlington!
Sundays, 11-12, Oct. 5th, 19th, Nov 2, 16, Dec 7th.
Join Fiddleheads Alum Maeve Fairfax for a series of beginner-friendly fiddle lessons this fall, in Burlington!
Sundays, Oct 6 & 20, Nov 3 & 17, Dec 1, 2024. 11am-12pm
Our programs
Young Tradition Vermont provides a variety of programming across the State at a range of costs, including half and full scholarship options.
Touring Group
Teen and near-teen instrumentalists, singers and dancers focusing on learning and performing traditional music and dance over a 8/9-month season, including a cultural/performance tour. Group members learn from and are supported by a manager, artist leaders, and expert musicians.
Fiddleheads
Fiddleheads is an eclectic group of traditional music learning opportunities where young musicians learn from experts in the field. Through one off workshops, semester long sessions, or performance-focused rehearsals and events, there are many opportunities for beginner to advanced young artists to develop their skills in a welcoming and supportive learning community.
Young Tradition Festival
This annual festival, held in May in Burlington, is a celebration of relationships involving students, teachers, apprentices, mentor artists and families in local, regional and international traditional music and dance communities.
Instrument Petting Zoo
The Instrument Petting Zoo (IPZ) is a collection of instruments that are installed at schools, farmer’s markets, festivals, parks, recreation programs, music camps, and special events with the express purpose of letting young people play them.
Instrument Loan Program
This program provides a variety of acoustic instruments available for loan, at no cost, for youth (25 and under).
Trad Camp
Trad Camp is a week-long summer camp for children ages 9-18. It is a concentrated opportunity to be inspired by, learn about and perform tunes, songs, and dances in a variety of traditional styles.
About Young Tradition Vermont
Vermont continues to be home for a wide range of traditional music and dance, a tapestry of people from many places, all with their own traditions. What is now Vermont is the traditional homeland of the Western Abenaki. Over the last few hundred years, Vermont has become home to people from all over the globe. The state has consistently inspired singers, instrumentalists and dancers, and is deservedly identified for the creativity and contributions of its artists.
We also have a wealth of talented children, youth and young adults, and a variety of accessible, high quality enrichment options related to sports, theater, visual arts, and classical and jazz music. However, Young Tradition Vermont is the only program with its primary focus on young people, traditional music and dance, and a commitment to ensure what is offered is available at low or no cost.

The YTV mission
The mission of Young Tradition Vermont is for young people to be inspired, learn, perform, and serve their communities through traditional music and dance.
We offer a wide range of activities that impact young people and their families from infancy through early adulthood. These activities are designed to address at least one or more of the following parts of our mission:
Inspire young people with traditional music and dance.
Ensure opportunities for young people to learn about traditional music and dance.
Ensure that young people have opportunities to perform traditional music and dance.
Ensure that young people have opportunities to use what they have learned to serve their community.