MasterWorks Festival

The MasterWorks Festival is a month-long intensive summer training program for classical performing artists. It is held in Winona Lake, Indiana, USA, the home of the evangelist Billy Sunday, the birthplace of Youth for Christ and the location of many early Billy Graham crusades. It was co-founded in 1997 by the artistic director of the Christian Performing Artists' Fellowship (CPAF), Dr. Patrick Kavanaugh and his wife Barbara, and by the trombonist James Kraft and his wife Mary Jeane.

The festival is operated on the campus of Grace College. It focuses on intense artistic training and deep spiritual growth. MasterWorks offers master classes for classical musicians, dancers and actors instructed by world-renowned performing artists. It has featured performers such as Midori Goto, Christopher Parkening, Rebecca Wright, Rachel Barton Pine, Jeanette Clift George, John Dalley, Lawrence Dutton, Ann Schein, David Kim, Alan Chow, Anne Martindale Williams, David Hardy, Doug Yeo, Christine Smith, Steve Hendrickson, John Nelson, Phil Smith, Paula Robison, Stephen Clapp and the Ying String Quartet.

The MasterWorks Festival runs several programs, the largest of which is the Orchestra Program for students ages 14 to 26. There are also Intensive Study Programs for Strings, Piano, Winds and Voice. In addition, there is a Theatre program, as well as a 3-day Choral program. Previously, the MasterWorks Festival had an Opera program, a Classical Guitar program, and a Ballet program. MasterWorks also hosts a summer intensive technical internship program, which assists in productions throughout the festival.

In 2004, MasterWorks expanded outside the US and MasterWorks Europe took place in London, England. Since then, other non-USA MasterWorks Festivals have taken place in Winchester, England, and in China. Plans for more MasterWorks Festivals around the globe are currently in development.

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