SCRAG MOUNTAIN MUSIC FOunders and Co-Artistic Directors
Double Bassist / Composer Evan Premo creates heart-centered music that inspires audiences and musicians alike. His music has been commissioned by the Pittsburgh Symphony Chamber Orchestra, River Town Duo, Owen Dalby, the International Society of Bassists, Diana Gannett, Paul Dwyer, The Pine Mountain Music Festival, Capitol City Concerts, and the Montpelier Chamber Orchestra. Evan is a member of Decoda with which he has performed in residencies around the world including four he led in Abu Dhabi, UAE. As a member of Ensemble Connect, Evan has performed in concerts at Carnegie Hall and participated in residencies in Spain and Germany. As a chamber musician, he has performed at summer music festivals throughout the country and has been featured on National Public Radio’s Performance Today. Evan has participated in and collaborated with New Music on the Point summer festival in Leicester, Vermont. Evan resides in Vermont where he is active teaching and performing and is Founder co-Artistic Director of Scrag Mountain Music with his wife, soprano Mary Bonhag. He is also Founder and Artistic Director of Beethoven and Banjos, a residency that brings together folk and classical musicians for cross-genre concerts in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. When Evan's not performing and composing, he enjoys woodworking, hiking, skiing, fishing, and simply being in nature. www.evanpremo.com
The “extraordinary” (Classical Voice N. America) soprano Mary Bonhag captivates audiences around the country with her “marvelous versatility” and “supple, expressive” voice (San Antonio News). As a new music specialist, Mary was featured on Resonant Bodies Festival and has sung with 21st Century Consort and San Francisco Contemporary Players. She has premiered or commissioned works by Lembit Beecher, Susan Botti, Evan Premo, Shawn Jaeger, Eliza Brown, Evan Chambers, and C. Curtis Smith. In demand from Carnegie Hall to rustic barns, Mary connects with audiences, drawing them deeply into the music. She frequently performs with Aizuri Quartet, Aeolus Quartet, Decoda, Spektral Quartet and has been featured across the country at chamber music festivals including Cactus Pear (TX), Five Boroughs Festival, Stanford Live, and Yellow Barn. She is co-Artistic Director of Scrag Mountain Music with her husband, composer/double bassist Evan Premo. Mary has presented thought provoking art song recitals at Dartmouth, Smith, Goucher Colleges, and the University of Vermont. She attended SongFest and Tanglewood, where she received the Grace B. Jackson Prize. Mary has been featured on the NPR show Performance Today and appears on Albany Records. Locally, Mary lends her “warm and brilliant” voice (Times Argus—VT) to Scrag Mountain Music concerts, as well as frequently soloing with the Burlington Choral Society and Oriana Singers. She has appeared in recital at Dartmouth College and UVM, and has sung numerous times on the Capital City Concerts series. In 2015, she starred as Grace in Erik Nielsen’s opera A Fleeting Animal to great critical acclaim, and has premiered works by Vermont composers Nielsen, Premo, Don Jamison, and Kathy Eddy. Recently, she premiered a preview performance of Nielsen's newest opera Aliceheimer's. She and her husband Evan make music and homestead in Marshfield where they tend to their two young boys, animals, and gardens. www.marybonhagsoprano.com
SCRAG MOUNTAIN MUSIC Managing Director
Lara Mones received a Bachelor of Arts degree in East Asian Studies from Middlebury College and a Masters of Arts Degree in Arts Management from American University. Professional experience includes: Festival Assistant for the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts Japan! Culture + Hyperculture Festival (Washington DC), Festival and Projects Manager of Yellow Barn Music Festival (Putney, VT), Senior Program Officer in the Performing Arts Department of Japan Society (New York, NY), and Project Consultant for the U.S.-Japan Bridging Foundation and Crossing Jamaica Avenue Theater Company. Lara is an Advisory Board Member of Kizuna Dance. Lara joined Scrag Mountain Music as Managing Director in Spring 2018.
SCRAG MOUNTAIN MUSIC Board of Directors
Laura Arnesen
John Donaldson
Mike Donofrio
Lois Eby
Allyson Evans
Virginia Roth
John Donaldson
Mike Donofrio
Lois Eby
Allyson Evans
Virginia Roth