Eastern Music Festival Announces 59th Summer Season Of Performances

Eastern Music Festival (EMF), Greensboro's nationally recognized classical music festival and summer educational program, returns June 27 through August 1, 2020, for its 59th season. The 2020 season of Classics Reimagined includes 65+ performances by three symphonies, faculty and young artists chamber ensembles, and appearances by noted guest artists at its home location at Guilford College and other locations in Greensboro, across the Triad, and Boone, North Carolina. Over six centuries of compositions will be studied and performed during the five week Festival, including three world premieres, one U.S. premiere, several works by award-winning American composer and visiting guest artist Lowell liebermann, and several performances of the works of Ludwig van Beethoven celebrating the 250 anniversary of the master composer's birth.

On July 18, EMF will make its debut at the all-new Steven Tanger Center for the Performing Arts in downtown Greensboro. World-renowned cellist Lynn Harrell will be the featured artist performing the Schumann Cello Concerto with the acclaimed Eastern Festival Orchestra led by Maestro Gerard Schwarz. The Kaplan Theater at the Tanger Center, opening on March 20, 2020, will be the largest theater venue in North Carolina. "This is a wonderful partnership between EMF and the Tanger Center, and we look forward to bringing our artists to this stage," said executive director Chris Williams.

"Each summer, extraordinary musicians from around the world gather in our city, bringing their talents to perform the works of the great masters, past and present," said music director Gerard Schwarz. "The incredible gifts of our faculty and visiting artists are only matched by the talent and dedication of our young artists." added Schwarz. "This summer, we will perform the beloved and familiar masterworks of Vivaldi, Brahms, and Barber, alongside works by contemporary composers. We will also as recognize and remember the significant gifts of the music of the Holocaust during this 75th anniversary year of the liberation of the camps."

Returning for a third year is the Pay What You Can "Orchestral Celebration" on Friday, July 3. This annual concert offers community members the option to attend a performance for a price they deem appropriate and is an invitation for new audiences to experience classical music on their terms. The "Orchestral Celebration: Beethoven and Brahms" will feature the Eastern Festival Orchestra (EMF's professional symphony) and both EMF Young Artists Orchestras, all led by Maestro Schwarz.

"We have an abundance of excellent music and study to look forward to this summer at EMF," noted executive director Chris Williams. "We are grateful for the generosity of the NC Arts Council, ArtsGreensboro, the City of Greensboro, UNC Greensboro, Guilford College, the Cemala Foundation, the Lincoln Financial Foundation, the Tannenbaum-Sternberger Foundation, the DeJoy-Wos Foundation, the Mebane Foundation, and our other corporate and community partners to bring captivating music performance and study to Greensboro," added Williams.

2020 Eastern Music Festival 59th Season Highlights

· Wednesday, July 1 - SIGNATURE PERFORMANCE: EMF Chamber Orchestra - Violinist Nadja Salerno-Sonnenberg, the Jack Hoffmann Distinguished Guest Artist, returns this season to lead EMF's faculty artists in performance. Works by Kreisler, Bach, and R. Strauss' Metamorphosen will be featured. 8 p.m., Dana Auditorium, Guilford College.

· Thursday, July 2 - SIGNATURE PERFORMANCE: Heroic Brass featuring five centuries of thematic music for brass ensembles curated by Chris Gekker (principal trumpet). This annual concert will be held in the Gothic Revival cathedral of the First Presbyterian Church, downtown Greensboro. 8 p.m.

· Friday, July 3 - EMF's season-opening Orchestral Celebration: Beethoven and Brahms features all three EMF orchestras under the baton of Maestro Schwarz. The Eastern Festival Orchestra will perform the captivating Beethoven Symphony No. 7 and both EMF Young Artists Orchestras will perform the magnificent Brahms Symphony No. 1. 8 p.m., Dana Auditorium, Guilford College.

· The Saturday Masterworks: Joseph M. Bryan, Jr. Festival Orchestra Series features renowned soloists Stefan Jackiw (violin) July 4; William Wolfram (piano) July 11; Lynn Harrell (cello), July 18*; Alexander Toradze (piano) July 25; Jason Vieaux (guitar) July 25; and Santiago Rodriguez (piano) August 1; all in performance with the Eastern Festival Orchestra with Maestro Gerard Schwarz. (Saturdays, July 4, 11, 18*, 25, Aug. 1, 8 p.m., Dana Auditorium, Guilford College. *July 18 concert is at the Steven Tanger Center for the Performing Arts, downtown Greensboro.)

· Wednesday, July 8 - Vivaldi's The Four Seasons - Concertmaster Jeffrey Multer leads members of the Eastern Chamber Players in the four violin concerti by the Baroque master Antonio Vivaldi, plus other compositions by Vivaldi featuring soloists Les Roettges (principal flute) and Neal Cary (principal cello). 8 p.m., Dana Auditorium, Guilford College.

· Sunday, July 12 - SIGNATURE PERFORMANCE: Tales from Terezín and Beyond: Honoring Music and Musicians of the Holocaust. Curated and narrated by EMF faculty artist Susan Eischeid (oboe), members of the Eastern Chamber Players will perform music of composers who were in the concentration camps and will share their testimonies and personal connections to the Holocaust. Special date and time: 4:30 p.m., Temple Emanuel, Greensboro.

· Eight Young Artists Orchestras Series performances of classical symphonic repertoire on Thursday and Friday evenings led by resident conductors Grant Cooper and José-Luis Novo, featuring our young musicians and faculty artist soloists. Thursday, July 30, is the Young Artist Concerto Competition Winners Concert. (Thursdays and Fridays, July 9 - 31, 8 p.m., Dana Auditorium, Guilford College.)

· Beethoven, Haydn, and works spanning more than six centuries will be featured in ten Eastern Chamber Players performances on Mondays at Tew Recital Hall at the UNCG School of Music (July 6, 13, 20, 27) and on Tuesdays at Guilford College's Dana Auditorium (July 7, 14, 21, 28). 8 p.m.

· And more ... including the 6th Annual EMF Chamber Crawl pre-season launch in downtown Greensboro (June 20); the standing-room-only SIGNATURE PERFORMANCE: EMF and Greensboro Opera present Summertime and the Livin' is Easy (July 15); SIGNATURE PERFORMANCE: Awadagin Pratt-In Recital (piano) on July 22; our 6th Annual EMF Open House afternoon of free concerts (July 26); the always-sold-out Guitar Summit (July 29), and free Master Classes, Young Artists recitals, and outreach performances around town and throughout the Triad.

For complete 2020 Festival schedule including artists, dates, times, and locations of all performances and events, visit easternmusicfestival.org. All guest artists, programs, pricing, and dates are subject to change.

Tickets to most EMF featured performances start at $20; Young Artists Orchestra performances are only $10. Master classes and "Encircling the City" outreach performances are free. All guest artists, programs, pricing, and dates are subject to change.

Subscription packages are on sale beginning April 1, 2020; single ticket sales to the general public begin May 1, 2020. Note: single tickets for the July 18 Masterworks performance at the Steven Tanger Center for the Performing Arts will be available through the Tanger Center Box Office. Patrons will be able to purchase single tickets in person at the Tanger Center Box Office or online at Ticketmaster.com.

For more information about EMF's season of performances and events and to purchase tickets for the 2020 season, visit easternmusicfestival.org or contact the Triad Stage Box Office at 336-272-0160.

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