Workshops for Adults & Teens
Fall 2025
Adam Tendler, pianist
“If the death was a shock, the inheritance was a puzzle... And so, cash in hand, Tendler called a rather glittering cast of his friends and favourite composers to see if they would write works touching in some way on connection and loss." —Stir Vancouver
“Adam Tendler is known as one of contemporary classical music's most intentional and daring pianists. Indeed, the Barre native's latest project, Inheritances, is an intimate, gratifying endeavor achieved through a remarkable bond with his expanding network of renowned musicians… It confirms Tendler's reputation as a bold and instinctive soloist, one whose delicacy matches his intensity.” — Seven Days Vermont
Inheritances features brand new works by an all-star lineup including Laurie Anderson, Devonté Hynes, Nico Muhly, inti figgis-vizueta, Pamela Z, Ted Hearne, Angélica Negrón, Christopher Cerrone, Marcos Balter, Missy Mazzoli, Darian Donovan Thomas, Sarah Kirkland Snider, Scott Wollschleger, Mary Prescott, Timo Andres, and John Glover.
Adam Tendler: Inheritances Project
Sunday November 16th, 12-1 pm, sign up here.
Acclaimed author, pianist and composer, Adam Tendler, leads a talk on processing grief through creative practice.
After his father’s unexpected death, pianist Adam Tendler used his entire inheritance, a wad of cash received in a parking lot, to commission new piano works from a broad spectrum of
today’s most exciting and recognized composers — his friends — to help him process and
reconcile his loss, while exploring the idea of inheritance itself. Woven into one intimate and
unforgettable program, Inheritances tells a universal story of lineage, loss, and place — born from private grief and transformed into a meditation on confronting the past while facing the future.
Adam will lead a community discussion exploring grief, process, 'outsider art,' identity, and the various natures of inheritance. The talk will incorporate live performance and excerpts from his correspondence with the participating composers. Participants will learn more about the unorthodox process of developing Inheritances, and how this project has been used by him, the composers, and its audiences, as a vessel to confront the past while facing the future.
In Adam’s words: “The goal for Inheritances, from the start, had been to provide a vessel through which I could connect to my elusive father, process my grief and reconcile with my past. But I also hoped that writing these pieces would provide a similar vessel for the composers, and ultimately that this shared experience would extend to our listeners.”
The Inheritances program is an invitation for us to be part of the process. Learn more: https://www.nytimes.com/2023/03/03/arts/music/adam-tendler-inheritances.html
This workshop is made possible in part by support from Vermont Humanities. Free tickets to the concert same day are available for youth and caregivers.
