October 2025 Listener Spotlight

Gale: Carolyn, you're living in Maine, where do you call home right now?

Carolyn: Well, I live in Scarborough. My husband, Paul Vermell, the former conductor of the Portland Symphony, and I moved back here from Illinois to Maine in 2014. He's passed away since - he died 5 days before his 100th birthday, and so he had a pretty good run - and we loved it here in Maine. All the time we were in Illinois, we would vacation here in the summers. We had many friends, and so being back in Maine is just wonderful. I just love it.

Gale: Nice! You made Vacationland your home again. Oh, so you mentioned you were a musician. I'm curious, um, you know, what instrument or instruments do you play?

Carolyn: I originally was a singer, but I became a choral conductor right out of my first year of graduate school in Los Angeles. So, I was a choral conductor for about 45 years, but I also transitioned into radio work in Chicago in 2001 - just about 2 weeks before 9/11.

Gale: Looking back further, what are some of your earliest musical memories - perhaps some of the most cherished.

Carolyn: Both of my parents were musicians, but my father did not make his living at that. He was a businessman. My mother was a singer and piano teacher, and so early memories are of her playing the piano, and also teaching me, and I was a terrible student, but… we, of course, had classical LPs in the house, and I remember the first time I heard the Brahms piano quintet. I just fell in love with Brahms - I must have been 9 or 10 at that time. And then my parents being musicians and supporting me, we went to concerts. Through Columbia Artist Management, I heard Leontine Price, I heard Robert Shaw Chorale - all coming out to California on these big national tours. So, I was very lucky that I was interested in music from the get-go, and then was completely supported. Very lucky.

Gale: Yes. That's incredible. I'm kind of jealous about the Robert Shaw experience, because I love the Robert Shaw Chorale. If I had one choral group that I just adore, it is that.

Carolyn: Oh, yeah. Exactly, and he, later in his life, he taught some summer sessions at Westminster Choir College. I sang for him there, and also when he came to the University of Illinois to conduct the Beethoven’s Missa Solemnis. I was in my second year there at that time and so I sang for him then, and acted as a little bit of an assistant, an errand person, basically, working with him, and so it was… really, really special.

Gale: I bet it was. Wow, that is indeed a cherished memory.

Carolyn: It is, it really is. I mean, everything just kind of went along a very well. A natural and fortunate path for me as a musician.

Gale:I get goosebumps hearing these stories. I love that for you, I really do.

Carolyn: I was very lucky. And I married a musician - a conductor - and the whole… it's all one big thing.

Gale: Music has just been integral to your whole life, hasn’t it?

Carolyn: Absolutely, absolutely.

Gale: So, when it comes to arts and cultural life here in Maine today, what do you enjoy? What do you appreciate about it?

Carolyn: The wonderful thing about being in Maine is that we have a relatively small town of Portland, and then an interesting area right around it, with so much that's available. The theater scene is incredible.

Gale: Mm-hmm, there's a lot.

Carolyn: Professional theaters and very good amateur theaters. The Portland Museum of Art is a great treasure, and there's so many other small art galleries, too, that are sort of on the cutting edge, and some are more traditional. And ChoralArt. I love that organization. I've been on their Board of Directors since I moved here with one year off. The Portland Symphony Orchestra, of course, is central to what goes on here, and I'm very close to them, and I know the conductor very well.

Carolyn: And then, very special to me is the Portland String Quartet, which is continuing on, because the original quartet was founded in 1969, and my husband, Paul Vermell, was conductor of the Portland Symphony back then. At the time, he hired Stephen Kecskemethy, Ronald Lantz, Julia Adams, and Paul Ross as principals of the string section, and together with him, they formed the quartet and had 43 years with the same original four players.

Gale: Oh, wow, I didn't know that!

Carolyn: Yeah, it's continuing now with new players, but with a real connection to the original quartet, because several of the new players studied with Ronald Lantz, who was the original second violinist, and is a great violin teacher here in Portland, still teaching. Ronald was with the quartet for 52 years. And now, the quartet just started its 57th season, and all that is really remarkable -the tradition. The wonderful new, the current players - they're honoring the original quartet. They brought back a teaching workshop and are just doing a tremendous job.

Gale: That's incredible. You're right, we have a vibrant art scene, from music to everything in between.

Carolyn: I know, and you almost don't have time to go to everything.

Gale: I know, I look at our community calendar every day on the Maine Public website, and I'm like, good heavens, it scrolls… it's great, you know? No matter what your interests are, there's always something to do, for sure.

Carolyn: Exactly.

Gale: Thinking about classical music - past recordings, current recordings - what are some of your must-listen-to pieces? Any recommendations you might have for somebody?

Carolyn: Well, for me, anything by Brahms. And there are so many great recordings of that. If you're into DVDs, there’s an interesting set of filmed recordings of Leonard Bernstein conducting the Vienna Philharmonic in all of the instrumental music of Brahms, done back between 1983 and 1985, to celebrate the 150th anniversary of Brahms's birth. So, all four symphonies, violin, concerto, double concerto, both piano concertos, the second serenade - a whole variety of things like that.

Gale: Oh, wow.

Carolyn: That’s a treasure. And for me, the Vienna and the Berlin Philharmonics are my favorite orchestras. I just love their elegance. I also love the Portland Symphony Orchestra. It's a very, very fine orchestra - the administration is wonderful, the music staff is fantastic. For opera, I'm also a big fan of Lyric Opera in Chicago. When I worked at the radio station in Chicago, WFMT, I helped produce the opening night broadcast. They would broadcast live every opening night during the season. I don't know if they're still doing that but it was a real thrill to work with those people.

Gale: An amazing experience.

Gale: Any new releases, up-and-coming classical musicians, artists that have caught your attention?

Carolyn: Well, there's a wonderful young violinist, named Randall Goosby who opened the Portland Symphony season, and he is tremendous. I'm also a big fan of, uh, Gil Shaham, the Israeli-American violinist who is tremendous, is a fantastic player. And if someone was interested in classical music and wanted to have an introduction, to learn about it, I would have to suggest that they listen to Maine Public Classical because of the variety of classical music you play. Old, new. Large pieces, smaller pieces. Plus, I think… the announcers, the hosts - , you, Sarah, Emily, everybody that’s on air are musically knowledgeable and very welcoming. I feel like you're talking directly to me, you're glad I'm listening, and you're doing this for us. I learned how important that was. You don't lecture about a piece and its huge history, but you say a little bit about it to help the person understand if it's a new piece, if it's by a composer people aren't familiar with, or a very early composer, or a new composer. You say just enough. I can say how much I enjoy Maine Public Classical. Great music! For free, every day! I'm just thrilled with it, and it's very, very important to me.

Gale: That's wonderful to hear, and I know my colleagues would be heart-warmed to hear that. Truly.

Carolyn: You really make the music enjoyable and have a great variety of subgenres. Even vocal music, which many stations do not program, but that vocal music is a real blessing. I hope that the listeners are aware of how really important this station is to many people, and how lucky they are to have it.

Gale: So, during your day, how does listening to the station fit in? You know, do you listen all the time? Do you have favorite times?

Carolyn: Well, it woke me up this morning, and thank you, Gale, very much for waking me up with something very nice at 6:30!

Gale: You're welcome!

Carolyn: I also always listen to it in the car. And, you know, there'll be times when I feel like I want to sit in a chair and read, and often I will have the music on. I think I listen in two ways, you know? There's active listening, where it's a symphony concert in the evening, and I really want to pay attention and hear. This particular orchestra or ensemble. And then there's a little bit of background music while I'm busy, maybe when I read or cook and that is also very welcoming and enjoyable. Classical music is the perfect companion for just about everything.

Gale: I know what you mean. So, I have just one final question, just a fun one, and I always ask people this. This is a tough one, but if you were on that proverbial desert island, and someone said you could only listen to one composer's works for the rest of your life, who would your composer be?

Carolyn: Well, if I could listen to three, I would listen to Bach, Brahms, and Mozart, but if I really had to choose, I would choose Mozart.

Gale: Nice! Nice!

Carolyn: Because, I mean, and it's difficult to not have any Bach, but, you know, Mozart studied Bach, and he wrote contrapuntal music after going to Bach's home and writing down music that he saw up there in his library. So, I think Mozart just sort of covers everything musically, emotionally, intellectually, you know, and there's everything there. Opera, symphonies and chamber music.

Gale: Ok, Mozart would do it for you. Well, it's interesting, as a side note, we're very close on that choice. Mine would be Bach, actually. I just love Bach, but I always think that's a fun question, because it's so hard to answer.

Carolyn: Yeah, yeah - so difficult, exactly!

Gale: I can't thank you enough for talking with us, Carolyn!

Carolyn: My pleasure!