Brian Boyes

As a trumpeter, composer, arranger and band leader, multi-instrumentalist Brian Boyes has worked in Vermont for over 20 years. 

Brian has twice received special recognition from the Vermont Arts Alliance for his unique and creative approach to music education at Cabot School and is a three-time recipient of Cabot School’s UVM Teacher of the Year award where has worked for the past 24 years. In 2014, Brian was awarded a Rowland Foundation Fellowship to develop and implement a significant project of educational transformation in Vermont.

Most recently, Brian Boyes has been celebrated and recognized for his work as the composer and conductor of the 18-piece post-rock, big band, The Saturn People’s Sound Collective.  As a recipient of a Vermont Community Foundation Arts Endowment grant and a Goddard College Concerts commission, Boyes and the Saturn Collective have sent shockwaves throughout the VT musical community leaving an indelible imprint amongst Vermont’s tastemakers and diverse music lovers alike.  Says Seven Days of the group’s 2013 headlining Discover Jazz Festival performance, “Mind blowing radness . . . The Saturn People’s set at The FlynnSpace on Tuesday was simply transcendent, not merely a local highlight, but a festival topper, period.”

Brian is the founder and creative director of SoundCheck - a band of select VT high school musicians writing and performing original music to fight for social justice.  SoundCheck students work with music educators, prominent singer-songwriters and anti-racist educators to develop original material that tackles racism, injustice and hate.  The band regularly performs and facilitates workshops at New England high schools using art and music as a catalyst to spark dialogue, action and awareness.  

Stefanie Weigand

Stefanie Weigand has served as President and Membership Chair of the VT chapter of ACDA (American Choral Directors Association). She currently serves as a member of the NAfME Council for Choral Education and Youth R&R Chair with the ACDA Eastern Region. She enjoys working as a presenter, clinician, and guest conductor across the region and is currently the conductor of the Northern VT University - Johnson Chorale. Stefanie is also the Director of Education with Music-COMP, a non-profit organization that promotes creativity and teaches composition to both students and teachers. She was the 2014 recipient of the VMEA’s Outstanding New Music Educator Award and received a Masters of Music Education from Castleton University. 
 

After completing her BFA in Musical Theatre from Ithaca College, Stefanie toured nationally with a Children’s Theatre Company and worked on stage and off as a performer, pit musician, and music director in New York. Since moving to Vermont, she has appeared as a vocalist, pianist, and music director for various organizations including TURNmusic, the Vermont Philharmonic, Stowe Theatre Guild, Lyric Theatre, Music-COMP, Apex Ensemble, the Green Mountain Mahler Festival, The Saturn People's Sound Collective, Burlington Civic Symphony Orchestra, the Green Mountain Opera Festival, and more. Stefanie’s work as a studio vocalist can also be heard on a number of albums released through Lane Gibson studios and Lovetown Recording. 
 

She now enjoys living in central Vermont with her husband and theatre partner-in-crime, along with their two daughters (plus our dog, cat, and chickens, of course).