Young Tradition Touring Group - January Field Note
After rehearsing through the fall, the Young Tradition Touring Group ended 2025 with their first concert of the season, at the Montpelier Performing Arts’ Chapel. Led this year by Ethan Tischler and Alex Kehler, these twenty-four talented traditional musicians aged 12-19 hail from Vermont, Maine, Massachusetts and Québec. Touring Group members play fiddle, harp, guitar, cello, ukulele, whistle/flute, and piano accordion. . . and they all sing, too!
This year’s Touring Group performances feature both traditional and contemporary tunes from Sweden as well as our core repertoire of music rooted in Québec and New England. Audiences will enjoy the range of engaging material, from a medieval Cantiga and Irish slip jigs from our Youth Artist Leaders Ell and Beck to a mash-up of a traditional Métis tune into a contemporary schottis taught by Artist Leader Alex Kehler, to the heartfelt “All Will Be Well,” a song written and shared by Artist Leader Ethan Tischler. The Touring Group also sings a Swedish song that may remind local listeners of a New England sea shanty and a set of waltzes that include vocables (sung syllables) in two different traditions, common in both Québec and Sweden. Here’s a link to our upcoming concerts in Vermont! If you can’t make it to Vermont (or Sweden!), you can listen to our YouTube playlist.
In addition to practicing on their own, rehearsing together, and performing in Vermont, the Touring Group has been having a great time getting to know each other. We have bonded over potlucks and pick-up contra dances, jammed at a Barre bowling alley (bowled, too!), and played games like “Otter Steals Fish” and a chaotic, full-body variant of rock-paper-scissors. There’s been leaf fights, frisbee throwing, and a snow globe moment as it snowed alllll day during the December rehearsal. Many thanks to all the intrepid over-the-mountain traveling from so many of our Touring Group families!
The Touring Group has also fully committed to the financial goals that are essential to the long-term success and viability of the program. We’re currently traveling with more than 150 “Seat on the Bus” donors, who join us via exclusive email updates as we perform in Vermont and travel in April to explore the trad music scene, cultural sights, and natural beauty of Sweden. Sponsorships are coming in from across New England and Vermont, giving us a chance to sing local business & organization’s praises at performances and online. If you’d like to make a general donation, hop on the bus with us, or become a sponsor, please visit our Support the Touring Group page!
In addition, Touring Group members are pursuing their own individual fundraising projects, from offering delectable high-end baked goods and a beautiful self-designed t-shirt at performances, to selling raffle tickets for a gorgeous quilt designed and crafted by one of our Touring Group members. Smaller ensembles of musicians have also been busking and performing at private events, house concerts, and at local venues. These are hardworking, creative young people who are also excellent musicians!
What’s next? After a slate of performances in Vermont, the Touring Group is traveling to Sweden April 16-26, with stops in Stockholm, Örebro, Tobo, Järsvö, and Gävle, before heading back to Vermont for a final performance as part of the Young Tradition Festival on May 9th! The Touring Group is also excited to announce a recording project! Click here to support this incredible opportunity to record a digital album with Ethan Tischler as our professional sound engineer and Dylan Ladds as our expert videographer making this project come to life.
It’s going to be an exciting year for these Touring Group musicians and their families!
