Eastern Music Festival

Celebrate 51 Years of Beautiful Music with the Eastern Music Festival!  Join EMF and Music Director Gerard Schwarz for five weeks filled with more than 100 music-related events.  Enjoy great music every night of the week during June 23 – July 28, 2012!  200 young artists and 80 faculty musicians return to Eastern Music Festival (EMF) to study, enjoy and share classical music with the community. 

“Our 51st season continues with the broad focus of our festival: great music from the 18th Century to the present, a superb faculty orchestra, and some of the world's greatest guest artists,” states Music Director Gerard Schwarz. “Each of our Festival Orchestra concerts begins with an American work, and we combine the greatest standards of the repertoire such as the Saint-Saens Organ Symphony and Strauss Also sprach Zarathustra, with lesser known works, such as Rimsky Korsakov "Antar" Symphonic Suite, Glazunov Saxaphone Concerto, and the Respighi Church Windows. Our chamber concerts on Mondays and Tuesdays combine the forces of our distinguished faculty and guest artists playing a wide range of chamber music, and our special events include performances of the Mozart Requiem, the Vivaldi The Four Seasons, and the Wind Concertos of Mozart, which brings our festival out into the entire community.”

Exceptional guest artists joining EMF this season include North Carolina natives Anthony Dean Griffey, tenor and Nancy Maultsby, mezzo-soprano, violinists Elmar Oliveira and Tasmin Little, and pianists Vladimir Feltsman and Alexander Toradze. Other season highlights will include the Third Annual Piano Competition and performance at the Kennedy Center for Performing Arts, the EMFkids collaboration with the Greensboro Ballet on Dukas’ classic “The Sorcerer’s Apprentice,” and the new EMFkidsDiscover camp for children with high-functioning Autism/Asperger’s Syndrome.

To purchase tickets to any EMF event, visit www.EasternMusicFestival.org or contact the Eastern Music Festival Box Office at Triad Stage by calling 866.579.TIXX or 336.274.0160.

Tickets are currently on sale. Triad Stage service fees will apply to all ticket purchases made via phone or online.  For a list of detailed prices and more information on tickets, including discounted and group specials, visit www.EasternMusicFestival.org.  

The Joseph M. Bryan, Jr. Festival Orchestra Series  

The Eastern Music Festival Board has honored one of its longtime stellar members by naming its signature Saturday evening series for Joseph M. Bryan, Jr.  

Stephanie Cordick, Executive Director notes, “Joe has been an intricate part of the life of Eastern Music Festival for many seasons as he has served on its Board of Directors off and on for the past 30 years. He served as President of the Board from 1981-1984 and again from 2000-2005. At the Board’s request, Joe stepped in to serve as unpaid Executive Director for EMF, at one point. The outstanding leadership and valuable fiscal director that Joe provided during that time in no small way helped ensure EMF’s celebration of its 50^th Anniversary Season in 2011.”  

The popular Saturday evening series, sponsored by Lincoln Financial, opens on June 30 with guest artist Vladimir Feltsman, piano. Violinists Elmar Oliveira (July 7) and Tasmin Little (July 21), pianist Alexander Toradze (July 14), conductor JoAnn Falletta (July 21), and North Carolina natives Anthony Dean Griffey, tenor, and Nancy Maultsby, mezzo-soprano (July 28), will also be featured during our Festival Orchestra Series. Repertoire highlights include Respighi: Vetrate di chiesa (Church Windows); the world premiere of Gerard Schwarz: A Journey; and Beethoven: Concerto No. 3 for Piano in C minor, op.37.  

All Festival Orchestra Series performances are on Saturday evenings at 8:00pm, in Dana Auditorium, on the campus of Guilford College.  Be sure to come early for our Concert Preludes on the Dana Lawn at 7:15pm each week!  For guest artists’ biographies, as well as more information concerning each evening’s performances, please visit our website at www.EasternMusicFestival.org.   

Tannenbaum-Sternberger Young Artists Series  

The Young Artists Orchestras are comprised of EMF’s outstanding pre-professional musicians.  These gifted students, aged 14-22, come from around the world to study and perform in Greensboro.  Each week, you will hear them rise to the challenge of an increasingly demanding repertoire.  During the final week of the festival, young artists are the featured soloists in our Concerto Competition Winners concerts.  All concerts are held at 8:00pm in Dana Auditorium at Guilford College. 

José-Luis Novo, conductor, leads the students through their musical journey and performances; in addition, they will perform under the baton of Gerard Schwarz, JoAnn Falletta, Manuel Laureano, and Thomas Hong.  Repertoire highlights for the Young Artists Series include Gershwin: Rhapsody in Blue; Bernstein: Symphonic Dances fromWest Side Story; Dukas L’apprenti sorcier (The Sorcerer’s Apprentice); and Stravinsky: Suite from The Firebird(1919).  

Performing alongside our Young Artists are notable guest artists Mark Kosower, cello (July 5); Glenn Dicterow, violin(July 6); Awadagin Pratt, piano (July 12); and William Wolfram, piano (July 19).

For a complete listing of Young Artists Series dates and repertoire, visit our website at www.EasternMusicFestival.org.

Wednesday Friends & Great Performers Series  

From pianos and organs to concertos and operas, the Friends & Great Performers Series showcases a range of diverse events in distinctive settings.  Kicking off the series is the annual Steinway Piano Gala on June 27, at 8:00pm at Dana Auditorium, Guilford College.  

Join us for an evening of Mozart Concerti for Winds and Harp on July 4, at 8pm at First Presbyterian Church (617 N Elm Street, Greensboro). EMF will present Popular Opera Arias on July 11, at Temple Emanuel (1129 Jefferson Road) and a special event, Tasmin Little’s The Naked Violin, on July 18, 8pm, at First Presbyterian Church.Rounding out the Friends & Great Performers series on July 25 is Pianopalooza, an evening of the best young pianists performing a variety of solos, duets and more. 

UNCG and Starmount Chamber Series

The Monday evening UNCG Chamber Series presents thoughtfully selected repertoire performed by our talented professional musicians and faculty members.  Join us each week when the EMF faculty performs chamber selections alongside our outstanding guest artists including pianists Awadagin Pratt and George Vatchnadze.  Concert dates areJune 25, July 2, July 9, July 16, and July 23 at 8:00pm in the UNCG School of Music Recital Hall.  

For even more chamber music, join EMF each Tuesday at Starmount Presbyterian Church (3501 West Market Street)at 8:00pm for our Starmount Chamber Series.  Concert dates are June 26, July 3, July 10, July 17, and July 24. Our talented faculty members perform “the music of friends” in this intimate setting.  Guest artists TBA. 

Bonus Concerts and Special Events

EMFkids and the Greensboro Ballet present Dukas The Sorcerer’s Apprentice and Britten’s Young Person’s Guide to the Orchestra on Saturday, July 21 at 1:30pm. Families will recognize The Sorcerer’s Apprentice from the classicWalt Disney film Fantasia. A great way to introduce young children and adults alike to ballet and the orchestra!  Tickets: $10/Adults, $6/Children, $25/Family Four Pack. 

On Wednesday, July 25, join EMF for the special event, Mozart Requiem, at Christ United Methodist Church (410 North Holden Road). The Young Artists Orchestra Pops Concert will be held on Sunday, July 8, at 6:30pm, on the lawn at Dana Auditorium, in conjunction with the Music for a Sunday Evening in the Park 2012 series. Guest artist Master Classes will be held throughout the season. For more information and a complete listing of Bonus Concerts, visit our website at www.EasternMusicFestival.org.

For the most up-to-date Festival information, be sure to follow us on Facebook (Eastern Music Festival) andTwitter (EMFGreensboro). 

Tickets

To purchase tickets to any EMF event, visit www.EasternMusicFestival.org or contact the Eastern Music Festival Box Office at Triad Stage (232 South Elm Street) by calling 866.579.TIXX or 336.274.0160.

Tickets are currently on sale.  Triad Stage service fees will apply to all ticket purchases made via phone or online.  For a list of detailed prices and more information on tickets, including discounted and group specials, visit www.EasternMusicFestival.org. 

About Eastern Music Festival

The Eastern Music Festival’s mission is to promote musical enrichment, excellence, professional collaboration, innovation, and diversity through a nationally-recognized teaching program, music festival, concerts, and other programs which will enhance the quality of life, health, and vitality of our region. 

The Eastern Music Festival and School, founded in 1961 in Greensboro, North Carolina, by Sheldon Morgenstern, is an internationally-renowned classical music festival and institute for young musicians that runs for five weeks each summer. The institute accepts students ages 14 through 22 from around the country and the world. The EMF faculty consists of world-class performing artists selected from top orchestras and music schools nationally and internationally.  Led by music director Gerard Schwarz, the Eastern Music Festival and School celebrates its 51^st season in 2012.

The 2012 Eastern Music Festival season is made possible with support of the Lincoln Financial Foundation and the following sponsors: Lincoln Financial Advisors, NewBridge Bank, the National Endowment for the Arts, Triad Stage, Steinway/Piedmont Music Center, Audio & Light, VF Corporation, American Express, Triad Financial Advisors, Pennybyrn at Maryfield, Well∙Spring, McMillion Capital Management, Davenport, Marvin, Joyce & Co., LLP, the Tannenbaum-Sternberger Foundation, the UNCG School of Music, Theatre, and Dance, Temple Emanuel, David E. Gannett, Dick and Barbara Fulp, and Kilpatrick Townsend. 

Proximity and O.Henry hotels are the Official Hotels of the Eastern Music Festival.

Major financial support for Eastern Music Festival provided by the United Arts Council of Greater Greensboro. 

For the most up-to-date Festival information, be sure to follow us on Facebook (EasternMusicFestival) and Twitter (EMFGreensboro).