Vermonters Asked to Support Threatened Species Recovery with Nongame Tax Checkoff

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MONTPELIER, Vt. — Vermont's Nongame Wildlife Fund is essential to the conservation and restoration of some of Vermont's most at-risk wildlife, from bumblebees and butterflies to mussels, birds and mammals. 
 
Thanks to a checkoff option on the Vermont state income tax form, donating to the fund is easy and impactful.
 
"Every dollar Vermonters donate to Nongame Wildlife Fund on their taxes is nearly tripled," says Rosalind Renfrew, the Vermont Fish and Wildlife Department's Wildlife Diversity Program Manager.  "Public donations leverage matching federal grants, meaning that every dollar donated secures another $2 to $3 in federal funds for Vermont's wildlife."
 
 For over 35 years Vermont's Nongame Tax Checkoff has been helping to recover species that were once on the brink of extinction in Vermont, like the common loon, osprey and peregrine falcon.  Most recently, the bald eagle was removed from Vermont's list of endangered species in 2022.  The Nongame Wildlife Fund supported their reintroduction at Dead Creek Wildlife Management Area and years of monitoring and nest protection to ensure that eagle numbers were robust enough to declare the species recovered.
 
 "Nongame Checkoff donations have made possible some of our greatest conservation success stories, and they continue to fund front-line work on behalf of our most at-risk species," said Renfrew.  "Last year saw species like the eastern meadowlark and rue anemone wildflower added to Vermont's threatened and endangered species list, and we're already taking action to support their populations.  The Nongame Checkoff is one of the most direct ways Vermonters can conserve Vermont's biodiversity."
If you would like to contribute information on this article, contact us at info@iberkshires.com.

Sage City Symphony Winter Concert

BENNINGTON, Vt. — On Sunday, Feb. 8 at 4:00 p.m. at Greenwall Auditorium in the VAPA Building at Bennington College, Sage City Symphony will present a concert featuring "Concerto for 2 Cellos" by Vivaldi, "Serenade #11 for Wind Octet" by Mozart, "Pulcinella Suite" Stravinsky and "Siegfried-Idyll" by Wagner.

Admission is free and open to all.

The soloists for the Vivaldi Double Concerto are Annabelle Hoffman and Perri Morris;

Cellist, Annabelle Hoffman has toured with the NY  Philharmonic, the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra, the Sinfonietta Salzburg and the American Symphony Orchestra. She has participated in the Mostly Mozart Festival, Marlboro Festival, and Aspen Festival. On Broadway, Annabelle has performed in the pit orchestras of Hamilton, Dear Evan Hansen, Carousel, Natasha, Pierre & the Great Comet of 1812, Aladdin, War Paint, Sunset Boulevard, The Visit and A Grand Night for Singing. In addition to performing, Annabelle also teaches and coaches chamber music. She has been on the faculty of The Calhoun School, the 92nd Street Y,  Apple Hill Center for Chamber Music, and  The Berkshire School of Music.

Cellist Perri Morris studied cello with Michael Finckel, Lawrence Lesser, Ronald Feldman, and Aldo Parisot. She earned a bachelor's degree in Music Performance from the New England Conservatory of Music, a master's degree in Music Performance from U-Mass Amherst, and later earned a B.A. in English from Mount Holyoke College. She has participated in music festivals at Tanglewood, Spoleto Festival of the Two Worlds, and The Waterloo Music Festival, Gerard Schwartz, dir. Ms. Morris has been a member of the faculties at Mount Holyoke College, West Texas A&M, Keene State College and Westfield State College. She served as Assistant Principal Cello of the Springfield Symphony Orchestra, in Massachusetts, for 19 years. A resident of Bennington, Vermont, Ms. Morris performs with the Vermont, Springfield, MA, Glens Falls Symphony and Berkshire Symphonies. She is the Principal Cello with Opera North and the Vermont Opera Company. Ms. Morris is a faculty member of the Berkshire Music School and has private teaching studios in Bennington and Williamstown, Mass.

The program will be led by two conductors, Gerald Lanoue of Bennington and Diane Bargiel of Poultney VT

Gerald Lanoue D.M.A., a Bennington Vermont native, is an active conductor and bassoonist in the Upstate New York and Southern Vermont area.  Dr. Lanoue is privileged to be the music director for the Music Company Orchestra and is currently the principal bassoonist with the Sage City Symphony. He  received an  undergraduate education at the Crane School of Music in Potsdam New York and a masters and doctorate at the University of Southern California.  He studied conducting with Douglas Lowry, past Dean and conductor at the Eastman School of Music, as well as John Barnett, the associate conductor of the Los Angeles Philharmonic. Dr. Lanoue has served on the faculties of Riverside Community College and Santa Monica College.  While in California he was an active orchestral and chamber musician serving as Principal Bassoon for the Bakersfield Symphony, Los Angeles Classical Ballet, Redlands Symphony, and the American Youth Symphony.  He has performed most notably with Daniel Lewis, Yehuda Gilad, Jerry Goldsmith, Michael Kamien and Zubin Mehta.

Diane Bargiel received her Bachelor of Music degree in clarinet from the Dana School of Music, a Master of Music in clarinet from Michigan State University, Certification in Music  Education from Carnegie Mellon University, and a certificate in Arts Administration from New York University.  Diane also concentrated on conducting in graduate conducting seminars with Eugene Corporon, lessons with William Wiedrich, seven workshops with Larry Rachleff and Robert Cameron, and additional workshops with Allan McMurray, Elizabeth Green, Frank Battisti and others.  In 2021, she retired from SUNY Adirondack as the last Humanities division chair and Associate Professor of Music.  In 2015, Prof. Bargiel received the SUNY Chancellor's Award for  Excellence in Scholarship and Creative Activities and in 1995 while at Susquehanna University, was presented the Dean's Award for Excellence in Teaching. Diane has been the principal clarinetist of the Sage City since 2012.

Ms. Bargiel currently serves on the board of New England Arts Presenters as the chair of its Engagement committee, and is an adjunct at Burr and Burton Academy in Manchester, Vermont.  Other professional highlights include having been president of the New York Association of College Music Programs, president of Pennsylvania Presenters, a board member of Arts Presenters of Northern New England, the Pennsylvania state chair of the College Band Directors National Association, a member of the first Creative Communities Council of Windham County (VT), a planning committee member for the first Performing Arts Exchange that covered the entire East Coast, and was also a conductor and panelist at the 2000 CBDNA Eastern Regional Conference at Yale University, among numerous other roles and volunteer involvement.   A resident of Poultney, Vermont, Diane had served on the first Poultney 2020 planning committee, is a past board member of the Killington section of the Green Mountain Club, and is a past executive director and board member of Stone Valley Arts in Poultney.  

 

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