As we enter 2025, Gateways Music Festival stands as a beacon of possibility—bringing people together through Black classical artistry, championing excellence, and expanding our impact through powerful performances, meaningful dialogue, and community connection. Founded in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, in 1993 by noted concert pianist Armenta Hummings Dumisani, Gateways Music Festival has connected and supported professional classical musicians of African descent and enlightened and inspired communities through the power of performance for over 30 years. The members of the Gateways Festival Orchestra are Black professional musicians drawn from the nation’s leading orchestras, renowned music schools and conservatories, and music faculties. The festival was brought to Rochester, New York, in 1995 when Hummings Dumisani joined the Eastman School of Music faculty. In 2016, while remaining an independent nonprofit organization, Gateways formalized its longstanding relationship with Eastman and the University of Rochester. From April 21–27, The Gateways Spring Festival reaffirms its place as a home for Black classical music, creating moments that resonate far beyond the concert hall, unfolding across Rochester and New York, New York, bringing together world-class musicians, scholars, and audiences in a shared journey of discovery. The festival opens with Rochelle Sennet’s evocative piano recital, blending the timeless works of J.S. Bach with compositions by Black composers like George Walker.
On Tuesday, Curtis Stewart’s Seasons of Change reimagines Vivaldi’s Four Seasons through an Afrofuturist lens, exploring climate change and human resilience in an innovative multimedia performance. Midweek, the Gateways Brass Collective shines in both concert and community settings with a live concert broadcast from Rochester and a day of mentorship at the Harlem School of the Arts. Presented this year with Tuskegee University, The Paul J. Burgett Lecture and Community Conversation deepens the festival’s focus on William Levi Dawson and the cultural significance of spirituals, featuring Dr. Louise Toppin and Dr. Wayne Barr and Dr. Yi Cheng of Tuskegee University in a series of engaging presentations and panels. The festival’s crescendo comes with two extraordinary orchestral performances: first in Rochester’s Kodak Hall and then in New York City’s iconic Carnegie Hall. Under Anthony Parnther’s dynamic direction, the Gateways Festival Orchestra takes the stage alongside the stunning J’Nai Bridges, whose interpretations of spirituals breathe new life into this vital tradition.
From William Levi Dawson’s Negro Folk Symphony to Antonin Dvořák’s Symphony No. 8, the program showcases the enduring power of folk traditions as a foundation for symphonic creativity. This festival is more than a series of performances—it is a home, a space where Black classical musicians shine in their fullness and where communities gather to listen, learn, and celebrate. Whether experiencing the grandeur in person or through the live simulcast from Carnegie Hall, audiences will witness a celebration of artistry, heritage, and innovation. As we look ahead, we do so with the conviction that the future of classical music will be as rich, inclusive, and expansive as the voices shaping it. We invite you to join us. For more information, please visit www.gatewaysmusicfestival.org
