Quirky collections and early eco-wisdom: Edifying exhibits are the perfect tonic

Coming back from the left coast would have been easier if another 8 feet of snow had arrived in our absence but somehow, returning to what must be about the fifth mud-season so far this year, was harder. I'm starting to think it's a meteorological fifth dimension, with a groovy theme to go with it (sing along, everyone): "When the mud, is all around the house, and furniture is lined with soil."

When mud is all around the house, the yard, the sidewalks and the state, my tendency each weekend is to find fun things to do in places that are, by definition, dirt-free, and what better destination than museums? As mentioned herein last week, Vermont is home to a constellation of intriguing creative institutions filled with far more than just fine art.

There's the American Precision Museum, the Birds of Vermont Museum, the Cornish Colony Museum, the New England Transportation Museum, the Shelburne Museum and even the American Museum of Fly Fishing. Rumor has it there even used to be a Vermont Wax Museum renowned for its revolving Elvis but, alas, he's left the turntable as the place is now closed. The mind boggles at what else might have been in there … a marble-eyed Hetty Green savoring her fortune or an ashen Ethan Allen being charged with treason?

The top of my unconventional museums list, however — the mother of all treasure troves — is the Fairbanks Museum in St. Johnsbury. Vermont's much-celebrated field-trip favorite boasts more than 160,000 natural science, historical and cultural objects that 19th-century industrialist Franklin Fairbanks collected during extensive travels around the globe. Overflowing with everything from Victorian dolls, Egyptian sarcophagi and rare gemstones to paintings, textiles, farm tools and taxidermy — not to mention a planetarium and weather station — the Fairbanks is an ideal place to take friends and family for a remarkably engaging day steeped in vicarious sightseeing and international geographic illumination.

Soaking up this diverse collection is tantamount to taking a slightly surreal jaunt to other continents, distant cultures and past eras, an experience both abundant and intimate, if not occasionally daunting. During my first visit a while back with my daughter's class to what looks from the outside like a Victorian castle, I entered the massive main room, with its barrel-vaulted oak ceiling, and was instantly transfixed by a startling tableau. Just through the main doors, a towering stuffed polar bear the size of a minivan rears up on his hind legs in frozen, bared-ivories rage, dwarfing a massive grizzly and two black bears nearby.

Taxidermy isn't everyone's cup of tea but there is something profoundly stirring, albeit a tad spine-chilling, about being able to examine such gorgeous, colossal creatures up-close and personal. Watching bears on the Discovery Channel or pacing inside far-off cages surrounded by cement moats affords a modicum of enlightenment, of course, yet this was the first time I'd ever been in such close proximity to a species that's universally feared and revered, and it gave me a whole new perspective on their plight.

When I spoke to the Fairbanks Museum's Anna Rubin, she revealed that my reaction was not uncommon and also offered crucial and informative insights into the singular passion and purpose of Mr. Fairbanks who, I gathered, was something of an amateur Darwin of his milieu.

"The practice of collecting natural specimens in the late 1800s was not perceived in the same way we might look at it today," she explained. "It was really in the cause of science and wanting to preserve these animals so they could be studied and protected. All the pieces in the museum are from that era."

Before establishing the museum in 1891, he regularly invited the public into his home to see his "cabinet of curiosity" in which he displayed his eclectic collection, which contains items of international, national and regional interest. One of my favorite displays was on the second-floor balcony, which is brimming with shelves, cabinets and cases of antique dolls, vintage toys and various household and historical artifacts.

Inside a low vitrine is a group of personal possessions dating from the Civil War. I was particularly moved by a small, lovingly handmade sewing kit, given by a local 15-year-old girl to her sweetheart before he left to fight. One can only assume it was found out on a battleground, and the inclusion of that kind of human iconography in the context of a museum containing more than 3,000 natural specimens reflects Fairbanks' holistic view of the world and its inhabitants.

Fairbanks would come back from his trips with assorted pelts, weapons, insects, photographs, costumes, shells and other discoveries that could help to edify his friends and colleagues back in Vermont. Having inherited great wealth from his uncle, who invented the platform scale and founded the Fairbanks Scale Co., Franklin Fairbanks was committed to giving back to his hometown and integrated his own zeal for travel into this impulse.

"He was like many Victorian civic-minded family members who felt a real love for the community," said Rubin. "He wasn't a scientist or scholar but out of a deep appreciation for nature, he brought to this isolated part of New England these views of animals and visions of other parts of the world."

Working with local, self-taught taxidermist William Balch, Fairbanks eventually built a museum to house his finds, an eccentric landscape unto itself, filled with recreations of the flora and fauna that he'd come to cherish in places he knew most of his friends, family and neighbors would never see.

Balch proved to be an innovator in exhibit design as well, crafting lush, convincing dioramas in which he placed the exotic creatures he'd carefully preserved, deftly utilizing materials of the day, such as linen (this was long before plastic's time) to create the illusion of natural habitats. With the same scientific authenticity and remarkable eye for detail that was being employed in New York City's Natural History Museum right around the same time, Balch was, as Rubin reverently put it, "at the cutting edge of interpreting the natural world."

Together, the two men filled custom-made wood-and-glass cases with meticulously arranged environments, including a truly exquisite display of what is thought to be the world's largest collection of hummingbirds. With 131 shimmering specimens presented on realistic-looking trees, replete with nests, under glass at eye-level, it is yet another of the museum's many breathtaking exhibits.

Everyone at the museum clearly venerates Mr. Fairbanks' pioneering sensibilities and generosity of spirit, and with good reason. Though through our 21st-century lens we might consider a room full of posed animals in ersatz environs to be tacitly un-P.C., everything Rubin taught me about Fairbanks' motivations and expansive thinking as a true animal lover convinced me that, were he alive today, he'd probably be out there picketing for PETA and holding fund-raisers for Greenpeace.

The entire collection of the Fairbanks Museum is a manifestation of its founder's global sensibilities, which were evident in his respect for cultural diversity, an abiding love of nature and a staunch devotion to the stewardship of all the world's creatures. It is sobering and inspiring to realize that his visionary achievements pre-saged the very issues with which the human race now struggles, on so many fronts.

Eloquently summing up the magnitude of Fairbanks' accomplishments, Rubin said it best: "The museum is a timepiece, about the Victorian understanding of the natural world and the awesome beauty of these creatures."

Online: www.fairbanksmuseum.org

Hali to the hall: Piano virtuoso brings eclectic sound to new performing arts center

In the last couple of years, three beautiful performing arts venues have helped make Windham County a veritable epicenter of live theater, all the result of ample community vision, including the Bellows Falls Opera House's massive restoration, the New England Youth Theatre's new digs in Brattleboro and the gleaming Horowitz Performing Arts Hall, built from the ground up on the Vermont Academy campus in Saxtons River.

Since opening its doors just about a year ago, the Horowitz — and, more specifically, the 350-seat Nita Choukas Theater within — has been grabbing my attention on a regular basis with an ever-compelling roster of events that range from lectures by first-time authors and rising stars to presentations by seasoned actors and sage politicians. Though ensconced up on a hill amidst VA's handsome grounds, the theater opens all its events to the public and I can attest that the experience of seeing a performance or speaker there is a delightful one.

Horowitz Hall, a 14,000-square-foot modern space designed by Michael Rosenfeld, Inc., has a light-filled lobby that also serves as a gallery space for visual arts exhibits and the building will eventually boast art studios as well when the second phase of the project is completed.

The centerpiece of the building is the bright and inviting Choukas Theater, which is big enough to accommodate full theatrical productions but small enough to make every event an intimate experience. The somewhat steep slope of the house affords excellent sightlines from any vantage point, which is something I greatly appreciate about so many small theaters being built these days, as that pronounced rake makes the entire experience more inclusive regardless of seat location.

Actors are able to access aisles as well, allowing players to venture closer to the audience at key points in the show, a decidedly "Sensurround" device that brings the storyline to life yet further. When I caught a rousing production of "Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat" last fall, singers and dancers moved between seating sections, rendering their ebullience — and the already phenomenal acoustics —that much more vivid.

The last time I'd experienced that kind of blurring between stage and audience was when I saw Isabella Rossellini and Richard Thomas in a production of "The Stendhal Syndrome" at Primary Stages in New York City a couple of years ago. At the end of the second act, Thomas, in the role of a blustery conductor whose marriage is crumbling, stood at his podium and "conducted" us, the audience, as if we were his orchestra. All the while, Rossellini perched over the scene in a small balcony, observing him along with the rest of us as he ranted to himself about her. As in "Joseph," it was a marvelous example of how intimate theatrical spaces can afford a level of versatility that larger ones cannot and I look forward to future productions at the Choukas that will further explore such spatial innovation.

Another core value of the Nita Choukas Theater is its location and attendant role in the nurturing and edification of future generations. While the remarkably varied calendar of events is a superb cultural resource for the public at large, appearances by consummate performers, writers and other notables also offer a rare educational opportunity for students from VA and elsewhere.

Scanning the spring schedule, it becomes clear that many of the speaker events are specifically geared toward young people because they're slated for daytime appearances and are integrated into the curriculum. Regardless of time, these events are also open to the public and pertinent to anyone and everyone who seeks to learn more about the world through the expert insights of people who have experienced challenges and triumphs first hand.

Next month, for instance, Lourdes Moran, a member of the New Orleans School Board, will speak about rebuilding after Hurricane Katrina and, in March, Joseph Sebarenzi, a former speaker in the Rwandan Parliament, will talk about the genocide against his Tutsi brethren, his work in restorative justice and the power of forgiveness. April brings Kris Holloway, a former member of the Peace Corps who wrote an exquisite book about her experience observing and assisting a midwife in Mali.

Along with speakers, there are masterful theatrical entertainers bestowing their prowess upon this thriving community of culture-vultures as well, including NEYT members in an unusual production of Shakespeare's "Twelfth Night," the Windham Orchestra and the Lawrence High School Girls' Ensemble, whose repertoire is comprised of compositions by women.

Friday night a remarkable musician will be taking the Nita Choukas Theater stage and — whether you're a kid who takes piano lessons, an accomplished adult musician or simply a jazz fan — it's an evening not to be missed.

Ben Stepner, a 19-year-old pianist and composer from Newton, Mass., has been playing since he was 6 years old and, now studying jazz at the New England Conservatory and appearing regularly throughout Boston, he has performed in numerous distinguished venues, including the Berklee Performance Center, The Museum of Fine Arts, Zeitgeist Gallery, Regattabar and Ryles.

Upon hearing Stepner's new CD, "19 Pieces For Piano," from his label Pure Potentiality Records, I was instantly struck by the emotive lines, complex melodies and depths of tone emanating from such a young person. His compositions resonate with a sublime certitude, sagacity and grace, no doubt the product of having been raised by professional musicians during a childhood steeped in studies with eminent jazz artists such as Fred Hersch, Danilo Perez and Phil Grenadier.

There is a wry erudition in Stepner's aesthetic, which comes through in both his music and its monikers, with song titles that put the listener in deep thought before one note has been played.

Names such as "Emulsion", "Perceptions", "The Nature of Sound" and "Egotism vs. Altruism" already had me thinking of my favorite French composer, Erik Satie, whose works include "Chilled Pieces," "Automatic Descriptions," "Vexations" and "Interruption." Listening to Stepner's enigmatic "Universe Stopped" — a sparse, meditative piece filled with negative spaces, a slow, glowing pulse and inquisitive key-changes — I felt sure Satie must be a fond favorite.

"I learned Satie's 'Gymnopédies #1' last year at Oberlin," Stepner said when we spoke recently, "but I actually wrote 'Universe Stopped' before that."

No surprise. He inhabits his own musical universe, writing masterful compositions in a number of genres that reveal a rare acumen and creative fearlessness. The result is a remarkable command of everything from Blue Note jazz and vintage Motown to bold, agile hip-hop, revealing influences that cover a broad swath of music history.

"Some of my favorites growing up were The Beatles, Thelonious Monk and Radiohead," he attests, "and in the last few years, I discovered Ornette Coleman, Prince and Morton Feldman. But if you really want to know, this year has been a huge hip-hop phase for me. I'm obsessed with Lil' Wayne, whose music has led me to a deeper appreciation of rap in general."

Playing his own pieces, along with standards by legends such as Monk, Billy Strayhorn, Stevie Wonder and Sam Rivers — with bass accompaniment by VA instructor Steve Cady — Stepner's performance Friday night is going to have plenty of something for everyone. Kids, especially, will be inspired to see the conviction, courage and brilliance of this down-to-earth yet clearly irrepressible young man.

Online: www.benstepner.com
www.vermontacademy.org/speakersandperformances
Annie: www.annieguyoncommunications.com