Local Musicians for Hire Near Burlington, VT

Benjamin Kulp is the cello instructor at The Upper Valley Music Center. He graduated from St. Olaf College with a Bachelor’s in Music Performance, and a Master of Music from Ball State University, with further studies with Tsuyoshi Tsutsumi and Brant Taylor. He is an active solo and chamber performer in the Upper Valley.  He is a former member of the Civic Orchestra of Chicago and the Miami Symphony Orchestra, and he founded the Logan Chamber Players, a not-for-profit chamber music orchestra in Chicago dedicated to bringing accessible classical music to local communities.

Violinist, teacher and curator Jane Kittredge can be seen and heard performing with numerous ensembles across the northeast. A graduate of the Mannes College of Music (BM, MM) she co-founded the contemporary string quartet, Skylark, and performs with the Vermont Symphony Orchestra, Springfield Symphony Orchestra, and is a sought-after ensemble leader and member. Her solo engagements, festival appearances and ensemble tours have brought her throughout the US, Canada, Mexico, Europe and China.

Jane’s classical training enables her to perform in multiple styles ranging from Baroque to folk, jazz to pop, and everything in between. Jane has performed at the Grand Point North Festival, collaborated with Guster, Lucius, Sarah MacLachlan, and Trey Anastasio, and can be heard on a number of albums by Vermont singer-songwriters.

An avid educator, Jane has been the Violin Professor at the University of Vermont since 2020, and maintains a small private studio in Shelburne. She serves on the Board of the Lake Champlain Chamber Music Festival and is both the Burlington Choral Society and Solaris Vocal Ensemble’s orchestra contractor. When given the opportunity, Jane loves to run, hike, sing and talk sports with whomever will indulge her.

John Dunlop has been playing and teaching cello in Vermont for over 30 years. Raised in Burlington, John received degrees from Oberlin College and the San Francisco Conservatory before returning to join the Vermont Symphony Orchestra, where he has played as principal cellist for almost twenty years. 

As a founding member of Skylark, VSO Jukebox Quartet and the TURN ensemble, John has been an advocate for new music and has performed with such popular entertainers as Bernadette Peters, Lyle Lovett, Trey Anastasio, and Lucius. In addition, he has scored and performed several award-winning short films, performing on cello, guitar and bouzouki.

John teaches teaches the next generation of cellists at his private studio in Richmond VT. 

Violist Ana Ruesink enjoys exploring musical styles and traditions. An active freelance musician, she performs with orchestras and chamber groups throughout the region including the Vermont Symphony, Dartmouth Symphony, Eclectica (string quartet) and an English country dance band called Impropriety. She has appeared on stage and in recordings with artists as far-ranging as Arlo Guthrie, Trey Anastasio, Yo-Yo Ma, and the Irish Tenors. 

Ana holds degrees from Swarthmore College and the University of Vermont. She teaches viola from her home in Burlington and at the UVM School of the Arts.

Ben Lively is a violinist, violist, string arranger and composer based in Shelburne, VT. He has worked extensively in a wide range of styles including rock, jazz, tango and classical music. A versatile musician, Ben is a passionate collaborator equally at home in concert halls and dive bars. 

Ben spent 15 years working in New York City, much of his time in Broadway pits. He performed in dozens of shows including Hamilton, Wicked, Dear Evan Hansen, Frozen and Cirque du Soleil’s Paramour. Other notable performances include Elvis Costello’s A Face in the Crowd, a week with comedian Dave Chappelle at Radio City Music Hall (featuring The Roots, Erykah Badu, Janelle Monáe and Busta Rhymes), and backing up Dana Carvey on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon.

Since moving north in 2018 Ben has kept busy in Vermont’s vibrant musical scene including collaborations with the contemporary classical string quartet Skylark, psych pop band Madaila, the Grift, and both the Vermont Symphony and Dartmouth Symphony Orchestras. Ben holds degrees from Middlebury College and Parisian jazz conservatory Centre des Musiques Didier Lockwood.