Penelope - Barre Opera House - Barre, VT - 2pm
TURNmusic performs 'Penelope’ by Sarah Kirkland Snider
featuring Mary Bonhag + String Quartets from Bridgerton/Queen Charlotte
Nobody Gets Me by Sza
Wildest Dreams by Taylor Swift
POV by Ariana Grande
With a silent auction to benefit Brook Street High School and TURNmusic.
Sunday, March 30, 2025 Barre Opera House Opens 1:00pm / Music 2:00pm.
Silent auction (art by Arthur Zorn) and free reception with artists following the performance. Guest speaker Sue Minter.
Reflection and Resilience
This concert explores the emotional depth, strength, and transformation of women navigating the passage of time. Our program brings together works that tell stories of waiting and longing, but also of resilience and reinvention—of women who have put their lives on hold and those who have found ways to make them sustainable.
First, we step into the shimmering worlds of Bridgerton and Queen Charlotte, where familiar modern melodies take on new life through the elegance of a string quartet. The
selections—Wildest Dreams by Taylor Swift, POV by Ariana Grande, and Nobody Gets Me by SZA—offer a different perspective on love, longing, and self-preservation. These songs, transformed into classical string quartet arrangements, remind us that while some women may find themselves waiting, others are carving out space for their own stories, reimagining what love and fulfillment look like on their own terms.
Penelope by Sarah Kirkland Snider, is a song cycle that reimagines Homer’s Odyssey through the perspective of a woman left behind. In this modern retelling, Penelope is not just waiting—she is remembering, questioning, and ultimately reclaiming her own identity. Through Snider’s richly textured music and poetic lyricism, we experience the weight of time and the ache of uncertainty, but also the quiet strength of a woman finding her voice. TURNmusic is thrilled to perform Penelope again this May and feature the versatile voice of Vermont soprano, Mary Bonhag.
Soprano, Mary Bonhag
Violins, Mary Rowell & Brooke Quiggins
Viola, Elizabeth Reid
Cello, John Dunlop
Bass, Nicholas Browne
Guitar, Geoff Kim
Percussion, Jane Boxall
Laptop/Live Electronics, Katie Semro
Conductor, Anne Decker