UVMC’s bassoon instructor is joined by Michael Sitton for a mix of classical and contemporary chamber music. 

Molly Finkel is a freelance bassoonist in Vermont and across the northeast, performing in various ensembles throughout New Hampshire, Vermont, and northern New York. In addition to teaching at the University of Vermont, she is the current bassoon instructor with the Vermont Youth Orchestra Association for the Endangered Instrument Program. Molly earned a Master’s degree in bassoon performance from Miami University (Ohio) in 2014. As a teacher, Molly is mindful of the individual abilities and goals of each student and encourages the development of growth by expanding knowledge of the bassoon’s diverse role in music. Molly performs regularly with the Vermont Philharmonic, has recently performed with the Middlebury College Orchestra, participated in the Vermont Symphony Orchestra’s Young Composers Project, performs in a variety of community ensembles and local theatre pit orchestras, and a wide range of chamber ensembles.

Michael Sitton has performed widely as a solo and chamber music pianist throughout a career spent in higher education. He holds the Doctor of Musical Arts degree in piano performance and literature from the University of Illinois, and studied in France under Gaby Casadesus, earning the Diplôme de concert from Paris’ Schola Cantorum, where he was a Harriet Hale Woolley Scholar of the Fondation des Etats-Unis. As winner of the Leschetizky Prize, he performed at Carnegie Recital Hall (now Weill Hall) in New York, and played at the Embassy of France in Washington as a prizewinner of the French Piano Institute; many other performances as a solo recitalist, chamber music player, and orchestral musician have marked his career.  He has also been active as a composer, especially in the field of choral music. He moved into administrative roles midway in his academic career, while maintaining activity as a performer. In 2020 he retired as Dean Emeritus of The Crane School of Music in Potsdam, New York. Since then he has lived in central Vermont, teaching piano as a faculty member at Montpelier’s Monteverdi Music School and performing frequently as a soloist and collaborative pianist in the region, including performances with Vermont Virtuosi and on the Eleva Chamber Players series.