On the Beat: University of Vermont Music Program Turns 100

It’s 1926. Babe Ruth is Bronx Bombing the World Series. Our Vermont boy Calvy Coolidge is rocking out — silently — in the White House. Ernest Hemingway drops a little tome called The Sun Also Rises — ever heard of it? And high on a hilltop in Burlington, the University of Vermont decides to go ahead and start a music program.

OK, so maybe that last one isn’t quite on par with the exploits of the Babe and Papa Hemingway. Still, the centennial anniversary of UVM’s storied music program this year is a big deal in these parts. To celebrate, the school is showcasing 100 — that’s right, 100 — concerts, recitals, Lane Series shows and other music-related events on campus, including vocal groups, Latin jazz quartets, symphony orchestras, percussion ensembles, and alumni and faculty showcases. It’s all in tribute to a program that has produced some of Vermont’s finest musicians.

One upcoming showcase not to miss is composer, bassist and UVM affiliate artist Rob Duguay’s SONGEVITY, a Vermont jazz all-star performance going down on Wednesday, March 18, at the UVM Recital Hall.

A member of the class of ’05, Duguay assembled a murderer’s row of local players and some UVM jazz heavyweights, including Alex Stewart on tenor saxophone, Michael Hartigan on piano, drummer Dan Ryan, trumpeter Connor Young, Ari Freedman on bass and vocalist Janéa Hudson.

“This is almost a kind of reunion show for me,” Duguay said in a phone call last week, while slipping out of a student rehearsal in the Southwick building. After graduation, he left Vermont and pursued a successful career in music. He’s only recently returned after two decades, he said. “So this sort of feels like a ‘OK, show us what you learned, Rob,’ moment.”

The Toronto native is now based in Montréal and in Burlington. He said he’s excited to reintegrate into the jazz scene where he cut his teeth while pursuing a degree in international business at UVM.

“They didn’t start the Jazz Studies degree until the literal next year after I graduated,” Duguay explained with a laugh. “But I played in everyone’s ensembles, so everyone thought I was a music major.”

The anniversary shows are a good opportunity for the university to remind the community how much talent comes out of its halls, Duguay said. He cited the likes of Tom Cleary, Ray Vega, Caleb Bronz, Stewart, Brian McCarthy and many others who have taught at or graduated from the school.

“There’s a lot of anniversaries right now,” he pointed out. “It’s 100 years of the music program, it’s been 50 years since the university built Southwick and the recital hall, and we recently celebrated the 20th anniversary of the jazz department.”

Duguay and his friends are set to perform his newest composition, “Taco y Savannah.” He wrote the tune on the piano, capturing the energy and feel of playful animals while watching Stewart’s cat Taco and dog Savannah chase each other.

Happy birthday, UVM Music! You look fabulous for 100.

After a spell on the West Coast, Vermont singer-songwriter and rocker Dharma Ramirez is back East, pulling double duty in Brattleboro and Brooklyn. When she was in high school, Ramirez fronted the Snaz, which also included members of current Burlington acts Robber Robber and Dari Bay, as well as Brooklyn post-punk band OMAT.

Now performing under the moniker Deerest, Ramirez has released a new single and video, “WANT.” An indie-rock, electro-pop mash, the tune is about the elusive high of a dopamine hit, and the resulting crash.

“Dopamine, you’re such a mean, mean friend,” Ramirez sings on the tune. “But I getcha, getcha when I can / You and me, we always make amends.”

Big congratulations to Montpelier musician Dave Keller. The singer, composer and guitarist has been nominated for Best Soul Blues Album at the 2026 Blues Music Awards for his most recent album,La Brea. It’s not the first time Keller has been nominated, getting nods for his work in 2022, 2019 and 2014. Nonetheless, he was surprised when he heard the good news.

“When I found out, honestly, I was shocked,” Keller said in an email. “This album is so personal, so spare and raw, that I didn’t really think it had a chance. And it’s a bit more of a cross-genre album, with acoustic guitar, upright bass, and lap steel.”

The 47th BMAs are on May 7 in Memphis, Tenn., at the Cannon Center for the Performing Arts. Voting on categories is open now to members of the Blues Foundation at blues.org.