Island Arts

Haiduck & Heckendorn Cabaret Jazz Quartet: the Great American Songbook
2026-08-15 19:00 - 21:00 (America/New_York) | Island Arts Center, 1127 US Rte 2, North Hero, 05474, United States
Haiduck & Heckendorn Sing & Play the Great American SongbookDate & Time: Saturday, August 15, 2026, 7 to 9 pm with an intermission.
Location: Island Arts Center (barn), 1127 U.S. Rte. 2, North Hero, VT 05474
Tickets: $25 online -$30 at the door; Cabaret table seating is an option at this concert.
Tables: Reserve a table for seating at $15 for a 2-top, $25 for a 4-top, and BYOB. Table
tickets are available online or at the door, first come-first served and subject to
availability. (Tables tickets are not available from the local ticket outlets).
Some bands take fifty years to find their way back to each other. Neal Haiduck and David Heckendorn first played together in the Catskill Mountains half a century ago — and this cabaret-style evening, now in its 4th year, is something of a reunion in disguise. Join them Saturday, Aug. 15 at 7 pm.
Settle in at your own cabaret table for an evening of clarinet, grand piano, double bass, and drums, playing favorites from Gershwin, Ellington, Bernstein, Mercer, Porter, Berlin, Rodgers & Hart, Lerner & Loewe, and more — the well-known and the wonderfully obscure.
Haiduck, on clarinet, has played jazz and classical music across NYC, Montréal, and abroad. He now calls Burlington home, where he’s a regular on the local jazz scene. Heckendorn, at the piano, does double-duty as a fine mellow singer of selections from this enduring music. He’s an expert who orchestrated the score for Mr. Holland’s Opus; his compositions have been performed at venues including Birdland, as well as throughout Europe.
They’re joined by Bruno John on bass, a rising presence on the Burlington jazz scene, and on drums by longtime friend, New Yorker Jeff Kane. And guest Classical guitarist John Lehmann-Haupt returns from NYC as well, bringing a set of Brazilian tunes and perhaps a contemporary addition to the Great American Songbook.
Heckendorn will play a Yamaha C7 concert grand piano provided through the courtesy of the Vermont Youth Orchestra Association. Island Arts is most grateful for their support.
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Vermont Jazz Ensemble Celebrates 50 Years!
2026-08-16 16:00 - 17:30 UTC
Vermont Jazz Ensemble Celebrates 50 Years!Date & Time: Sunday, August 16, 2026, 4 to 5:30 pm. Outside concert. If weather requires, the concert will move inside the barn.
Location: Island Arts Center (barn), 1127 U.S. Rte. 2, North Hero, VT 05474
Optional picnic on the green starting at 3:30. Bring a chair or blanket if desired.
Tickets: $25 online (no fee) and at local outlets, $30 at the door.
Vermont’s premier big-band swing ensemble marks a milestone this summer — fifty years of big-band sound on stages across the state. This anniversary program, featuring highlights from VJE’s recorded catalog, is shaped by a familiar face — Grand Isle’s own Tony Pietricola, retired music teacher and longtime active performer, who selected the program and will lead the band from within the ensemble.
The CBD food truck (dba Copper At Dorset) arrives at 3:30 offering gourmet choices. Check out the sample menu!
Join Vermont Jazz Ensemble outdoors on the Island Arts green on Sunday, August 16 at 4 pm. Bring a chair or blanket. Kids are welcome to dance and roam on the open lawn, and leashed, well-behaved dogs are welcome outside.
CBD Food Truck & Sample MenuConcert sponsored by Otter Creek Awnings of Williston for the 4th year!Photo courtesy of The Vermont Jazz Ensemble
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Sohyun Ahn, solo piano: Bach, Mozart, & Schumann
2026-08-21 19:00 - 20:30 (America/New_York)
Sohyun Ahn, solo piano: Bach, Mozart, & SchumannDate and Time: Friday, August 21, 2026 7 PM-8:30 PM No intermission.
Location: Island Arts Center, 1127 US Rt 2, North Hero, VT 05474
Tickets: $25 online (no fee) and at local outlets; $30 at the door.
After four summers of enthusiast audiences, New York City concert pianist Sohyun Ahn returns to Island Arts on Friday, August 21 at 7 pm — and this year, audiences will hear her in a newly renovated barn, with sound-proofed walls, doors, and windows completed this past winter specifically to enhance your listening experience.
Ahn’s program spans three centuries: J.S. Bach’s French Suite No. 5, BWV 816, Mozart’s Fantasia in C minor, K.475, and Schumann’s Davidsbündlertänze, op. 6, a set of 18 short pieces built around two of Schumann’s invented alter-egos — the fiery Florestan and the dreamy Eusebius, representing opposing sides of the composer’s own temperament.
Bach is part of Ahn’s core repertoire; her 2021 recording of the Goldberg Variations drew praise from critics for its clarity and emotional range. The New York Concert Review called her “an absolute master,” and our Vermont audiences have described her performances as simply “enthralling” — with more than one noting how different the experience feels in the intimate barn setting compared to a distant concert hall.
Ahn will play a Yamaha C7 concert grand piano provided by courtesy of the Vermont Youth Orchestra Association. Island Arts is grateful for their support.
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MetalWerx Tuba/Euphonium Quartet
2026-08-23 16:00 - 17:30 (America/New_York)
MetalWerx Tuba/Euphonium QuartetJoin us as we honor the memory of Ann Porter, one of the founders of Island Arts
Date and Time: Sunday, August 23, 2026; 4 PM.
Inside concert with option to picnic outside on the green at 3:30, weather permitting.
Location: Island Arts Center, 1127 US Rt 2, North Hero, VT 05474
Tickets: Free concert, thanks to VT Anonymous Donors. Please Register below–registration appreciated but not required.
Prepare to be amazed! MetalWerx is a unique local quartet consisting of two euphoniums—played by and Jenna Schultz of Winooski and Cynsy Van Santen of Bristol, and two tubas—played by Tim Foley of Burlington and Yutaka Kono of Shelburne.
The repertoire is an eclectic mix of fantasies, suites, marches, jazz, and pop music standards, and a few favorite classical transcriptions sure to please the ear of every music lover’s taste. Noted composers include Holst, Sousa, Puccini, Rossini, and Piazzolla. MetalWerx has presented concerts at the University of Vermont, participated in the 2015 “Bach In The Subways” event in Burlington, and provided music for wedding and funeral services.
MetalWerx spreads the gospel of the lush and colorful sounds of the tuba and euphonium by performing works written or arranged for this specific instrumentation. The group has commissioned new pieces for this quartet by Vermont composer/hornist Lydia Lowery Busler and Burlington trombonist/ pianist/ composer/ arranger Andrew Muroz.
The quartet was founded in 2008 to provide incidental music for the Milton Community Band Christmas concert. They had so much fun putting that together, they decided to continue and see where it led.
Come hear the remarkable range of sounds and the wide array of musical styles presented by MetalWerx.
It is a sound like no other!
View their Face Book page here
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Marsh Lights, an Acoustic Project
2026-08-30 16:00 - 17:30 UTC
Marsh Lights, an Acoustic ProjectDate and Time: Sunday, August 30, 2026; 4:00 pm to 5:30 pm.
Outside concert with option to picnic on the green at 3:30 pm, weather permitting. If weather requires, concert will move inside the barn.
Location: Island Arts Center, 1127 U.S. Rte. 2, North Hero
Tickets: Free concert, thanks to VT Anonymous Donors. Please Register below–registration appreciated but not required.
Vermont musician Colby Crehan, former vocalist and songwriter for the Bluegrass Gospel Project and Possum Haw, reunites with her Possum Haw bandmates in the 5-piece acoustic project Marsh Lights.
Marsh Lights plays acoustic folk-grass music. The program features songs composed by Crehan. “Colby Crehan is a powerful and magnificently talented musician.”–– Robert Resnik, host, All the Traditions, Vermont Public Radio.
Marsh Lights’ songs explore bravery, darkness, spirituality, and grace with lyrics that often employ metaphoric places and female heroes and perspectives. And Marsh Lights pulls from the old songbook of PossumHaw, particularly the songs found on their last recording, the live 2017 album Limberpine. The band also plays instrumentals written by banjoist Ryan Crehan and mandolinist Stephen Waud. Charley Eiseman’s warm vocals join Colby and Ryan’s for hauntingly sweet three-part harmonies. Charley plays lead acoustic guitar with nuanced blues and jazz inflections. Mitch Barron, a long-time essential presence in the Vermont folk music scene, brings his skilled upright bass playing to the stage, along with deep, rich vocal backup.
Vermont Vocalist of the Year
Vermont Song of the Year
Former members of PossumHaw and The Bluegrass Gospel Project
“The combination of talent, passion, and songwriting in the band is breathtaking.”
– Mary-Nell Bockman, Whallonsburg Grange
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