The Eastern Music Festival and School, founded in 1961 in Greensboro, North Carolina, is a nationally renowned classical music festival of the performing arts and institute for young musicians that runs for five weeks during the summer. The institute accepts gifted students of ages 14 through 22 at an exclusive enrollment of 200. In 2009, there were over 800 applicants from around the world for the 200 spots. The faculty consists of outstanding musicians selected from leading orchestras and music schools with world-class performing artists serving as both faculty instructors and performers. The music director and principal conductor for the Festival is Gerard Schwarz, who also serves as music director of the Seattle Symphony Orchestra.
The music festival comprises a performing arts series that attracts over 60,000 audience members to more than 100 concerts and music-related events.[1] Participating artists for the 2010 season include Lynn Harrell, Barry Douglas, Tianwa Yang, William Wolfram, Christopher Seaman, and Gil Shaham, among others. These renowned artists are accompanied by the Eastern Music Festival Orchestra, which is composed of faculty members of the school who originate from many of the top music institutions and orchestras around the world. Other recent artists include Yo-Yo Ma, Sarah Chang, Peter Serkin, Midori, Bruce Hornsby, Bela Fleck, Chick Corea, and Steep Canyon Rangers.
For music students, the five-week program provides a combination of classroom and performance experiences. A broad curriculum includes playing in an orchestra, individual lessons, master classes, and recitals. Guest artists in residence teach two master classes each week. Students have many performance opportunities in orchestra and chamber concerts, alongside faculty, and in piano recitals. The festival boasts a student to faculty ratio of 2:1.
Beginning in 2002, the festival introduced the highly popular and critically acclaimed EMFfringe series offering the best of Americana, bluegrass, jazz, rock, blues, alt country, world music and more. Eastern Music Festival also produces the EMFjazz&blues Series each spring and EMFfringe in the fall each autumn.
Through its interactive EMFkids and EMFexplorers summer camps and musical programming, Eastern Music Festival introduces young children to musical experiences of the highest quality.
Alumni of the EMF include many notable musicians from around the country, including Wynton Marsalis, who refers to his studies there as "one of the greatest musical experiences of my life." [2].
The upcoming 2011 season will celebrate the 50th Anniversary of EMF.