SCRAG MOUNTAIN MUSIC FOunders and Co-Artistic Directors
Double bassist and composer Evan Premo is a member of New York City-based chamber music collective DeCoda with which he performs in residencies around the world. As a member of Ensemble ACJW, Evan has performed many concerts at Carnegie Hall and participated in residencies in Spain and Germany. Along with the Pittsburgh Symphony Chamber Orchestra, Evan premiered his own double concerto for violin and bass, “Simple Mysteries” inspired by the nature poetry of Mary Oliver. As a soloist, Evan also premiered “Concerto for Bass and Orchestra” by Finnish composer Jukka Linkola. His chamber opera, “The Diaries of Adam and Eve” (text by Mark Twain) was commissioned by the Pine Mountain Music and has been staged several times most recently featuring the Bergonzi String Quartet. Evan has performed at summer chamber music festivals throughout the country and has been featured as a soloist and chamber musician on National Public Radio’s Performance Today. Evan is artistic director and founder of “Beethoven and Banjos,” a residency that brings together folk and classical musicians for cross-genre concerts in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. Evan lives in Marshfield, Vermont with his wife, soprano Mary Bonhag. Together they are Founders and Artistic Directors of Scrag Mountain Music, dedicated to presenting innovative, interactive, and affordable performances of chamber music. 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 is captivating audiences around the country with her “marvelous versatility” and “supple, expressive” voice (San Antonio News). Since making her Carnegie Hall solo debut and orchestral debut with the American Symphony Orchestra in 2009, Mary has sung in large and intimate venues from Herbst Hall in San Francisco to barns in Vermont, where she is co-Artistic Director of Scrag Mountain Music with her husband, composer/double bassist Evan Premo. A consummate collaborator, Mary has performed as part of numerous chamber music festivals including Cactus Pear, San Francisco Contemporary Players, Strings, 21st Century Consort, and Yellow Barn. As a recitalist, she has been presented at Dartmouth, Smith, Goucher, and University of Vermont. She was a SongFest Stearns Fellow and a Tanglewood fellow in 2017 and 2018. Mary especially enjoys working closely with composers, and has premiered works by C. Curtis-Smith, Lembit Beecher, David Little, Evan Premo, Shawn Jaeger, and Evan Chambers. She has been featured on the NPR shows Performance Today and From the Top and appears on Albany Records. After studying at the University of Michigan, she worked closely with Dawn Upshaw while earning her master’s degree at Bard College, winning concerto competitions at both institutions. 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. 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), and most recently Senior Program Officer in the Performing Arts Department of Japan Society (New York, NY). Lara served as a fellow with ELNYA (Emerging Leaders of New York Arts), a core volunteer or the New York Chapter of Music for Food, and is currently an Advisory Board Member of Kizua Dance. Lara resides in Middlebury, VT with her husband who teaches at Middlebuey College. Lara joined Scrag Mountain Music as Managing Director in Spring 2018.
SCRAG MOUNTAIN MUSIC Board of Directors
Laura Arnesen
John Donaldson
Richard Riley
Virginia Roth
John Donaldson
Richard Riley
Virginia Roth