Pianist vowing to ‘Play Every Town’ to present Waterbury concert April 26

April 15, 2026  |  By Lisa Scagliotti

UVM professor and concert pianist David Feurzeig will perform his 98th Play Every Town program in Waterbury on April 26. Courtesy photo

A multi-year project by Vermont concert pianist David Feurzeig comes to Waterbury on Sunday, April 26, for what will be the 98th concert in his Play Every Town series to perform in every community in the state.

This special free musical performance at the Waterbury Congregational Church will start at 3 p.m. and will incorporate local musicians David Goodman on clarinet, Matt LaRocca on viola, and vocalist Stefanie Weigand. 

A professor of music at the University of Vermont, Feurzeig launched his ambitious tour in 2022 with the goal of presenting a free piano concert in all 252 of Vermont’s cities and towns, a way to spread the joy of music and draw attention to climate change. He travels in a solar-charged electric vehicle and emphasizes environmentally sustainable performances while building community by bringing together audiences in every city and town he visits. 

“I want to model a performance culture that doesn’t require hopping on a plane and flying all over the world,” he explains. “I want to support Vermont’s local communities with live performance in village centers and downtowns, while fulfilling UVM’s mission to serve as a resource for the whole state.”

Now a little more than a third of the way through Vermont’s 252 cities and towns, Feurzeig guesses it will take about another 4-5 years to complete his tour as he manages to play roughly 2-4 concerts per month. 

Part of his process involves customizing the concert program for each location. Feurzeig typically enjoys assembling an array of musical styles for his recitals, from classical and jazz to ragtime and even popular tunes, including his own original works. Along the way, he makes a point to learn some history about each town and venue as he chooses the selections for his programs. For example, finding pieces that were composed the year the town was chartered, or when the church where he is to play was constructed, or connected to some special event in the town’s history. 

His preparation for the Waterbury concert reveals his research. In announcing the April 26 performance, he shares the selections and the rationale for choosing them: 

• Music by 7-year-old Mozart was written in 1763, the year Waterbury was chartered

• Beethoven’s Sonatina in F dates to the year of the first town meeting

• Schubert’s Moment Musical no. 6 in A-flat was composed when the Waterbury Congregational Church was under construction. 

• Several pieces relate to Waterbury’s catastrophic flooding history, including Debussy’s prelude “The Sunken Cathedral,” tunes from the Great American Songbook from 1935, when the Waterbury Dam was approved, and from 1938, when the dam was completed, sung by Waterbury’s Stefanie Weigand. 

• Debussy’s Arabesque No. 1 was published as the Vermont State Asylum for the Insane opened its doors. Also on the program is the Romance op. 94 no.1, written by Robert Schumann, who suffered from profound mental illness.

• Waterbury residents David Goodman and Matt LaRocca join Feurzeig for Mozart’s beloved Kegelstatt trio, and original music by LaRocca. 

• Other solo pieces on the program include Scarlatti’s Sonata no. 98 for this 98th concert of the series.

True to his calling as a professor of music, Feurzeig’s presentations include commentary as he guides the audience through the program. He says he looks to attract new audience members to the classical concert format and offer some new insights to existing fans. “Classical music culture puts the great composers on an almost religious pedestal,” Feurzeig explains. “Once this was an indication of the audience’s love and respect, but now it just distances people from the music. It turns away new listeners, who feel like they’re in a stuffy museum instead of a live concert. If I don’t get a laugh from the audience in the first two minutes, I get worried!”

Goodman, who will be performing with Feurzeig, said he learned of the project last year when he met the pianist and professor at a ski outing at the Trapp Family Lodge. He said he found the combination of music, messaging around environmental action, and local connections novel and creative. The meeting led to connecting with LaRocca and Weigand to put the Waterbury date on the calendar. 

“David is using music to tell important stories and lift up local talent and causes. I'm really looking forward to it,” Goodman said. 

Ahead of the Waterbury date, Feurzeig has his 96th and 97th performances planned in Peru on April 17 and in Weathersfield on April 18. As for the next stop on the tour, Feurzeig has one concert planned for May in Tunbridge on May 17. 

Admission to all of the concerts is free, with donations accepted to various nonprofits in the communities where they take place. The Waterbury event will direct donations to Waterbury LEAP (Local Energy Action Partnership) and CReW (Community Resilience for the Waterbury Area). 

More information is online at PlayEveryTown.com and on Facebook and Instagram at playeverytownVT.