About $40,000 of recording equipment was reported stolen from the Elley-Long Music Center at St. Michael’s College in Colchester, where the Vermont Youth Orchestra Association is housed, according to the executive director for the VYOA.
The break-in and theft were discovered Wednesday morning. The music center is currently in the midst of hosting the youth orchestra’s Lake Champlain Chamber Music Festival.
“Almost 20 microphones, cables, microphone stands, digital amplifier – that’s what was removed from the building,” according to Rosina Cannizzaro said, the VYOA director.
About $200 in cash was also taken, Cannizzaro said.
Cannizzaro first noticed a problem at the office when she arrived for work Wednesday morning and found her office door unlocked. At the time, Cannizzaro said a staff member from the festival asked her about some microphones they were looking to use, thinking they may have been moved to another location.
“Then as we started looking, my office manager mentioned that she was missing keys. Then we saw that there were two doors which had been broken into, and one specific was the audio room where everything was being stored,” Cannizzaro said.
A report with Colchester police has been filed. Cannizzaro said authorities responded quickly and praised the department’s thoroughness in speaking with staff members. Yet, she said there wasn’t much other information the police could provide her at the time.
Detective Sgt. Donald Demar of Colchester Police was first notified of the theft around 11:30 a.m. Wednesday. He said the department currently has “a couple leads” they are investigating but couldn’t accurately give a timeline for when he hopes the investigation will conclude.
“That depends on the information we get from these leads,” Demar said. While responding to the incident, Demar said staff members informed him of a burglary at the same location “about 10 years ago,” but couldn’t provide any specific details on that incident.
In order to keep the festival going, Cannizzaro said she believes there are people in the region who are willing to donate studio space and equipment so the performers can finish their week and record their pieces.
When asked what the future holds for the Elley-Long Center and the VYOA, Cannizzaro said, “I hope that someone hears about this and gets some information that will lead to finding who did this terrible act.”
Demar asked anyone with information to call the department at 802-264-5555.
Read the story on VTDigger here: Microphones, amplifiers stolen from Elley-Long Music Center.