Eastern Music Festival (EMF), Greensboro’s nationally recognized classical music festival and summer educational program, returns June 27 through August 1, 2020, for a season of Classics Reimagined. For nearly six decades each summer, extraordinary musicians from around the world gather in Greensboro bringing their talents to perform the works of the great masters, past and present. Days and nights at EMF are filled with the echoes of music across of the campus of Guilford College. Hundreds of Young Artists practice, perform, and strive for musical excellence; teachers guide and encourage the students; and world-class guest artists and mentors share their talents and wisdom. Stages are graced with virtuosos on every instrument, performing solo works, chamber music, and the gems of the classical orchestral repertoire. For five weeks, the community is abuzz with the sounds that are EMF.
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. Featured performers this season include violinist Nadja Salerno-Sonnenberg (July 1), cellist Lynn Harrell (July 18), pianist Alexander Toradze, and guitarist Jason Vieaux. Award-winning maestro Gerard Schwarz conducts the Eastern Festival Orchestra and other EMF ensembles throughout the season.
EMF’s focused and acclaimed summer study program includes orchestra students, piano students, classical guitar students, euphonium and tuba students, conducting scholars, and orchestral fellows that hail from nearly every state in the U.S. and across the globe. The Festival exemplifies the best of what great music can foster: dedication, devotion, inspiration, and community.
For concert tickets and more information about Eastern Music Festival, visit Eastern Music Festival.org.