Brevard Music Center Presents 2019 Aaron Copland Festival

Brevard Music Center (BMC) will present a special 2-week "Festival Within a Festival" celebrating the works of beloved American composer Aaron Copland as part of its 2019 Summer Music Festival. Running from July 8 - July 21, BMC's multifaceted series of concerts, film, lectures and multi-media experiences will provide a three-dimensional look at the career of a composer whose work influenced much of America's 20th century musical legacy. The entire Copland Festival schedule may be viewed at brevardmusic.org/copland and includes performance dates and times, as well as recommended books, articles, music, and film resources.

The 2019 Brevard Music Center Aaron Copland Festival is supported in part by the National Endowment for the Humanities and an Art Works grant from the National Endowment for the Arts.

"We are a very young country from the perspective of culture," said Brevard Music Center Artistic Director Keith Lockhart. "The music of Aaron Copland is fundamental to our understanding of the entirety of American music. Copland, the "Dean of American Composers," was the central figure connecting all branches of the American musical tree-starting from the late 1890s to present day. More than any other composer, Copland and his work are emblematic of 20th century American music."

The 2019 Aaron Copland Festival will kick off with The Chamber Music of Aaron Copland on Monday, July 8 at 7:30 PM at Ingram Auditorium on the campus of Brevard College.

One of the most prominent and widely published writers on topics in American music, Joseph Horowitz, will return to Brevard on Saturday, July 13 at 7:30 PM to curate Copland and Mexico, a multi-media program featuring several works including El Salon Mexico and "Hoe Down" from Rodeo, as well as a screening of the classic film "Redes" with score by Revueltas performed with live orchestra at Whittington-Pfohl Auditorium.

On Wednesday, July 17 at 7:30 PM at the Porter Center at Brevard College, members of BMC's esteemed artist faculty will present Copland and the Cold War, an examination of Copland's musical and social responses to the political landscape facing America's artists in the period following WWII.

"Copland's constant intent was to direct American listeners to new and American works rather than the canonized American masters," noted Joseph Horowitz, awarding-winning author and pioneer in thematic, interdisciplinary classical music programming. "The Copland and the Cold War concert explores how Copland's brush with Senator Joseph McCarthy may have impelled him toward a more esoteric compositional style."

The Festival continues Friday, July 19, with A Copland Celebration at 7:30 PM at Whittington-Pfohl Auditorium. BMC Artistic Director Keith Lockhart will lead the Brevard Music Center Orchestra in a program featuring three of Copland's most beloved works: Appalachian Spring, Clarinet Concerto, and Symphony No.3.

The 2019 Copland Festival concludes on Sunday, July 21 with Copland's America in a special program presented by Joseph Horowitz and featuring the composer's Excerpts from "The City" and Suite from Billy the Kid, as well as works by Korngold and Barber. BMC Resident Conductor Ken Lam will lead the Brevard Festival Orchestra in the 3:00 PM matinee performance at Whittington-Pfohl Auditorium.

For a complete 2019 Brevard Music Center Summer Festival schedule including dates, times, and locations of all performances and events, please visit brevardmusic.org.

Tickets to most Brevard Music Center's Summer Festival performances start at $20 on the lawn. Seating at Whittington-Pfohl Auditorium, BMC's 1800-seat, open-air auditorium, is free for children under 17* with a paying adult and students 18 and older* with a valid ID (*excludes Season Finale & BMC Presents performances). All guest artists, programs, pricing, and dates are subject to change.

For more information about BMC's Summer Music Festival and to purchase tickets for the 2019 season, visit brevardmusic.org, call the BMC Box Office at 828-862-2105, or visit the BMC Box Office at Whittington-Pfohl Auditorium (349 Andante Lane, Brevard).

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