Gateways Music Festival, in association with Eastman School of Music, announces the program line up for its fall virtual chamber music festival. The Festival includes 10 public events, including
chamber music and solo recitals, panel discussions and talks, a film screening and a five-day residency with Gateway’s musicians and students in ROC music, Rochester’s El Sistema-inspired community music education program.
Guest artists are:
Anthony McGill, principal clarinet of the New York Philharmonic and the 2020 Avery Fisher Prize winner, Thapelo Masita, a South African-born cellist and graduate of the Eastman School of Music.
Additional information can be found on the Festival’s website at https://gatewaysmusicfestival.org/2020-festival-overview. Many events are free, but all will require registration. Single tickets and Festival passes will be available.
About Gateways Music Festival
The mission of Gateways Music Festival is to connect and support professional classical musicians of African descent and enlighten and inspire communities through the power of performance. Founded in 1993 by concert pianist and now-retired Eastman School of Music associate professor Armenta Hummings Dumisani, Gateways brings 125 select musicians to Rochester, New York, from across the United States and abroad for more than 50 performances at concert halls and community venues throughout the region. In May 2016, Gateways Music Festival formally associated with the Eastman School of Music, a Festival partner since 1995.
Gateways Black Lives Matter Statement:
In September, Gateways’ board of directors and musicians released a Black Lives Matters statement in support of the movement and to encourage charitable foundations, corporations and governmental agencies to increase their financial support for organizations led by and serving Black classical musicians.
Gateways Music Festival schedule:
Monday, November 9, 2020
Opening Concert: “Celebrating Rochester’s Own” features professional classical musicians of African descent who are based in Rochester. Pre-concert Conversation at 7:00 p.m. and Concert at 7:30p.m.
Tuesday, November 10, 2020
Paul J. Burgett Memorial Lecture Series: Dr. Dwandalyn Reece, curator of the National Museum of African American History and Culture, discusses the Museum’s music collection. 3:30 p.m. to 5:00 p.m.
Guest Artist Recital: Anthony McGill, principal clarinet of the New York Philharmonic, performs a solo recital. Pre-concert Conversation at 7:00 p.m. and Concert at 7:30 p.m.
Wednesday, November 11, 2020
Paul J. Burgett Memorial Lecture Series: Moderator Garrett McQueen leads a panel of distinguished musicians in a discussion about Black Lives Movement and classical music. 3:30 p.m. to 5:00 p.m.
Guest Artist Recital: Thapelo Masita, South-African born cellist and Eastman School of Music graduate,performs a solo recital. Pre-concert Conversation at 7:00 p.m. and Concert at 7:30p.m.
Thursday, November 12, 2020
Paul J. Burgett Memorial Lecture Series: Dr. Tammy Kernodle, president of the American Musicological Society and Professor of Music at Ohio University of Miami, talks about music, Black women, and the 19th Amendment. 3:30 p.m. to 5:00 p.m.
Film Screening: “What Happened, Miss Simone?”, a documentary about the life of the extraordinary Nina Simone,a Juilliard-trained pianist with aspirations for a career as a concert pianist.
Pre-Film Conversation at 7:00 p.m. and Screening at 7:30 p.m.
Friday, November 13, 2019
Paul J. Burgett Memorial Lecture Series: New York City’s WQXR radio host Terrance McKnight hosts a conversation about the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the lives of musicians. 3:30p.m. to 5:00p.m. Finale Concert: The concluding concert features the Gateways Brass Collective, the New York-based string quartet, “Traveling through Time” and a special ROCmusic performance.
Pre-concert Conversation at 7:00 p.m. and Concert at 7:30 p.m.
