The Library Season Pass to Taconic Music’s annual Summer Festival admits two people to any concert in the series. Please visit the Taconic Music website for the most up-to-date information on dates for the current or future season.

Bulgarian violinist Joana Genova and violist/conductor Ariel Rudiakov, who grew up in New York City, established Taconic Music in October 2016 with a mission of providing high-quality classical music performance and instruction throughout the year while making it affordable and accessible. In 2017 Jane Duda joined as Communications Director, completing our small but able team, supported by a committed board of directors.

Taconic Music owes a great deal to its musical ancestry to two musical couples: pianist Eugene List and violinist Carroll Glenn, who founded the Southern Vermont Arts Center Music Festival in 1974, and cellist Michael Rudiakov with pianist/teacher Judith, who took over in 1983, changing the name to Manchester Music Festival (MMF), and establishing it as a non-for-profit in 1984. Joana and Ariel met in Manchester in 1998 and, starting in 2000, ran MMF for the next decade and a half, organizing a successful summer festival, year-round performances, lessons for area children, and numerous outreach concerts around the region for young and old.

Since its founding, Taconic Music has cultivated strong ties with other local organizations—Manchester Community Library, Burr and Burton Academy, the Inn at Manchester, Southern Vermont Arts Center, Israel Congregation, among others—and has become a valuable resource for culture, entertainment, and education in the area. The Taconic String Quartet performs not only in the Manchester, Bennington, Rutland area, but at concerts series outside of Vermont: Milford, NY, North Adams, MA, Hudson Falls, NY, Danbury, CT and collaborates extensively with vocalist Maxine Linehan and producer/composer Andrew Koss on stage or in the Studio at Strawberry Fields Lane.

Now, in addition to successful chamber music concerts, residents and visitors alike can also enjoy jazz, fiddling, rock, and casual pop-up performances throughout the year.