Our concerts feature compositions written by living music creators .
TURNmusic supports innovative, living music creators and celebrates their craft. From chamber music and improvisation to jazz, electronics and more, our concerts are built with a commitment to representation, diversity and originality. Our performance home at The Phoenix Art Gallery & Music Hall in Waterbury, Vermont, showcases these artists and we curate performances seeking inspiration, surprise, and connection. Our audience at The Phoenix is offered an intimate listening experience and invited to commune with the music creators and performers. When the weather heats up in summer, we move outside for our “Music in the Alley” series next door to the studio.
Music creators are spending their lives creating music that may never be mainstream. TURNmusic presents can now provide a venue to be sure this music does get heard. Performing artists are offered a space to play and create and TURNmusic also works to bring them an audience. This is a service we provide and that is our commitment to new music.
Our New Music program for the 2024-2025 operating season includes: Jane Boxall (percussion), the Outer Sounds series of touring musicians in the region, artists from the New Amsterdam Records roster, TURNensemble performing Vijay Iyer, and Richard Reed Parry.
Outside the walls of Genre
TURNmusic has recently formed a partnership with New Amsterdam Records out of Brooklyn, NY. With this partnership, TURNmusic continues to support the work of music writers and performers who create outside the walls of genre. TURNmusic will host 3-4 NewAm recording artists each season. TURNmusic will provide a performance space, sound support, publicity, room and board, and guaranteed compensation for visiting artists. TURNmusic has a long history of celebrating the minds that have created New Amsterdam. Judd Greenstein, Sarah Kirkland Snider, and William Brittelle are among the very first composers the TURNmusic Ensemble featured in our first season.
TURNensemble
Founded and directed by Waterbury, Vermont resident Anne Decker, TURNmusic has been a professional performing arts organization since 2014. Our TURNensemble features Vermont’s premiere musicians and performs music written by a diverse roster of living music writers. We also commission new music to be written.
Our work with artists
TURNmusic presents high-quality performances, Vermont and regional musicians, and living composers to spark curiosity and engagement in audiences. At the same time, we’re working to make a big impact on our community. Our programming benefits creators through mentorship, commissions, education and fair pay. Artists might be new to the space or established, such as Vermont-born Nico Muhly or local composers like Kyle Saulnier. With our TURNyouth program, we partner with Music-COMP, an online mentoring program for K-12 student composers. In April, 2024 we presented their culminating performance, Opus 38, to a full house at Ely Long Music Center. Our TURNcares program guarantees a fair fee for music creators and performers, while our commitment to artist development supports the TURNensemble and extends to music educators by offering space for continuing education workshops.