A Harmonious Collaboration
Students from the inaugural Kinhaven-BBA Semester Program pose with Trillium members after playing a collaborative piece at Southern Vermont Arts Center. In back, Anthony“ Tony” Mazzocchi, Lyman Orton, and Mark Tashian. During the performance, Orton was honored by the students for his generous contributions to the Kinhaven-BBA Program.
The Future is Now
The launch of the semester program is not just about extending Kinhaven’ s calendar; it is, in Mazzocchi’ s words, about creating a new paradigm for education.“ We are the first and only semester program for music in the nation,” he emphasized.“ That, in itself, is remarkable. But I also want us to be a model. Too many schools are looking for answers: How do we create safe, healthy, creative spaces for kids? Here’ s one answer I can offer them: Engage them in a common passion, immerse them in it, and let them thrive together.”
He sees the impact of the program potentially extending far beyond music.“ When we talk about educating young people, we’ re talking about educating the citizens who are going to be running things tomorrow. We need to talk about wanting healthy school cultures that mold empathetic, collaborative citizens, and students who can innovate and be flexible and creative. Especially in a world where knowledge itself is becoming a commodity, creativity is what matters most. This program checks all of those boxes.”
The current cohort may be small, but the concept is nevertheless scalable. Mazzocchi adds:“ People may say,‘ Oh, it’ s just nine kids.’ But those nine kids will go back into their communities carrying a piece of this with them. Imagine the ripple effect if we can successfully scale it.” The model, he believes, can apply to many fields.“ This could be used for visual art, dance, theater, and STEM programs. The core idea is immersion, mentorship, and community. That’ s what creates transformational education. Music just happens to be our passion, but the template could work in so many disciplines.”
Concerts open to the public ensure the program benefits more than just the students.“ There’ s not much classical music in Southern Vermont during the fall,” Mazzocchi said.“ We want to fill that vacuum. We want to be part of the cultural fabric, not just a camp tucked away in the hills.”
BBA: A Legacy of Excellence
If Kinhaven provides the artistic immersion, Burr & Burton Academy is the academic anchor that makes the semester program possible. For Headmaster Mark Tashjian, the partnership feels both natural and necessary.“ It really came through Tony,” Tashjian explains.“ We thought it would be far better if the students came to our campus and partook in the full range of courses that we have to offer. That way, they’ d be part of our community.” That integration is key. Rather than being siloed, the Kinhaven students dive directly into BBA’ s academic life.“ Our community is pretty spectacular,” Tashjian shares.“ They get to be part of this big community, and then they have their small community of musicians. It’ s a really nice balance.” Tashjian adds that the inaugural nine students, all from out of state, have joined the BBA community seamlessly.“ The way I see it, we have 189 ninth graders, and they’ re all new to BBA,” Tashjian observes.“ Plus, another 25 or 30 new students join in the upper grades each year. We’ re good at welcoming people in. You sign up for classes, you go through orientation, and then you get busy. That’ s the best way to integrate anyone— get them engaged right away.”
For BBA’ s Director of Enrollment, Cory Herrington, the uniqueness of the program stood out immediately.“ There are ski academies out there, and there are outdoor programs, but there really hasn’ t been a semester-based music experience like this. That’ s what makes this unique.” Herrington continues:“ For BBA, it adds perspective and talent to our community. For Kinhaven, it bridges to world-class academics. And in the future, I’ d love to see some of our own Vermont-based students at BBA be able to join the program, too.” The benefits are already visible. Tashjian recalls one of the highlights of the semester: a Kinhaven performance at a Monday morning assembly.“ They played a Britney Spears piece, which was great, and they got a standing ovation. They felt like heroes. For our community, it was a reminder of what high-level artistry looks like— and how it can be fun, unexpected, and inspiring all at once.”
For Tashjian, the program reflects BBA’ s broader philosophy of cultivating centers of excellence.“ If we were only a performing arts academy, or only an athletic academy, we’ d be very good at one thing,” he said.“ But what makes us powerful is the variety. You have musicians, athletes, scholars, and artists all learning side by side. Now, we have nine or ten students from outside Vermont who are really good at classical music and passionate about it, adding to the richness of this community. That makes us all better.” n
manchester life magazine holiday / winter 2025 39