Coffee Talk: Season Preview with Erin Freeman

Friday, July 5 at 7:30 pm

We bring you sound, spectacle, and swagger with swingin’ jazz band Good Shot Judy to officially open the 2024 Wintergreen Music Festival. In a concert packed with energy, flair, and something exciting for all generations to enjoy, the Dunlop Pavilion is absolutely where you want to be to kick off the Festival and Wintergreen Resort’s July Fourth Jubilee! 

Saturday, July 6 at 7:00 pm

Join the Wintergreen Festival Orchestra under the baton of Artistic Director Erin Freeman for a free, festive, and family-friendly patriotic pops concert! You’ll hear music from Star Wars and The Sound of Music along with American classics like America the Beautiful and Stars and Stripes Forever. There will even be a few singalongs for those who want to join our impressive roster of musicians! Reserved seating will be available or bring your chairs and blankets, clap along to familiar tunes, and enjoy the slopeside fireworks at sundown!

Open & free to the public; advance reserved seating available for Festival Season Passholders

Sunday, July 7 at 3:00 pm; pre-concert talk at 2:00 pm

Don’t miss the single opportunity to hear one of the best suited pieces for the mountaintop – Copland’s serene and idyllic Appalachian Spring! You’ll also witness the dynamic Rei Hotoda lead the Wintergreen Festival Orchestra as both conductor and guest pianist, performing Jessie Montgomery’s Rounds, recipient of the 2024 GRAMMY® Award for Best Contemporary Classical Composition. And finally, experience one of Mozart’s most popular works – the effervescent and uplifting Symphony No. 29. Whether you’re a MountainTop Masterworks regular or joining us for the first time, this is simply the perfect kickoff concert to our flagship series!

Coffee Talk: The Musical Language of “Je Ne Sais Quoi”

Monday, July 8 at 6:30 pm

In celebration of the 25th anniversary of Veritas Vineyard & Winery, we’re pulling out all the stops for this special presentation of fan-favorite, Vines & Violins! We’re bringing the entire Wintergreen Festival Orchestra to the ballroom to pair four wines with each of the four movements of Mozart’s deeply personal and exciting Symphony No. 29. There is no better way to extend the holiday weekend than with this extraordinary collaboration!

Coffee Talk: The Composer of Carmen Takes on the Symphony

Tuesday, July 9 at 11:00 am // Rain Date: Wednesday, July 10 at 11:00 am

Wintergreen Music partners with The Nature Foundation at Wintergreen in this first of two special event collaborations. Your group hike will begin as Nature Foundation guides take you on a journey through the gorgeous trails of the Blue Ridge Mountains. Wintergreen Festival Artists Jim Lyon (violin) and Schuyler Slack (cello) will awaken your senses and your surroundings with music designed to enhance and complement this one-of-a-kind hike!

Tuesday, July 9 at 6:00 pm

Virtuosity meets charm in this program featuring three musical giants and three completely different sound worlds. From Camille Saint-Saëns’ unique pairing of harp and violin to Dmitri Shostakovich’s friendly duo for two violins and piano and Louise Farrenc’s stunning trio for flute, cello, and piano – you’ll be amazed at the rich spectrum of colors and characteristics composers can create through music! Join our generous hosts Susan Talarico and Mike Sundermeyer in their gorgeous mountain home. Space is extremely limited.

Coffee Talk: 100 Years of French Camp – A Portrait of Darius Milhaud

Wednesday, July 10 at 1:00 pm

Enjoy this special, free event, courtesy of the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts and a longstanding Festival partnership!

Wednesday, July 10 at 7:00 pm

Love is in the air in this artistically diverse and rich concert! Composer Alyssa Morris pays tribute to her love of the coast of Monterey, Antonín Dvořák dedicated his second string quintet to his beloved homeland of Bohemia, and Mozart – well, he loved his Quintet for Piano and Winds so much so that he told his father it was the best piece he had ever written! (Granted, he had yet to compose Marriage of Figaro or his final symphonies, but we’ll forgive him for his youthful exuberance over this colorful and creative gem!)

Coffee Talk: The Life of a Pianist with Francesca Hurst

Thursday, July 11 // 5:00 pm doors to Valley Road // 6:30 pm: Concert

Bastille Day begins early this year with an evening of French chamber music at Valley Road Vineyards. Sip some rosé (or Frosé) while listening to selections by the épée-wielding Joseph Boulogne, the whimsical Darius Milhaud, and the ever-dramatic Camille Saint-Saëns. Of course, the highlight of the evening is one of the most French chamber music pieces around – Claude Debussy’s String Quartet – a tour de force for the musicians, and oh…so…French. 

Coffee Talk: The Unknown Art of Marianna Martines

Friday, July 12 at 7:30 pm

Travel back in time to the sidewalk cafes of Paris with music in the style of Edith Piaf (arguably one of France’s most popular singers who immortalized La Vie en Rose) with your guide, Tatiana Eva-Marie and the Avalon Jazz Band. With a following of 70 million and acclaim from Vanity Fair as “a millennial shaking up the jazz scene,” this global-touring artist brings French jazz like you’ve never heard to life in the Dunlop Pavilion. Smooth and spellbinding, Tatiana’s rich style of singing is sure to make this an unforgettable Festive Fridays experience!

Saturday, July 13 at 7:00 pm

Just in time for Bastille Day, Artistic Director Erin Freeman will lead the Wintergreen Festival Orchestra in a French-inspired program, featuring Georges Bizet’s energetic Symphony in C Major paired with Hector Berlioz’s summer-friendly Les Nuits d'été, featuring our own metropolitan opera star Heather Johnson as soloist. This program also includes the ever-popular Sing with Us! chorus and LEAD Cooperative soloists in Dixit Dominus by Marianna Martines, a contemporary of Mozart. This concert is the ultimate weekend pick-me-up filled with joy, levity, and light!

Sunday, July 14 at 3:00 pm; pre-concert talk at 2:00 pm

Just in time for Bastille Day, Artistic Director Erin Freeman will lead the Wintergreen Festival Orchestra in a French-inspired program, featuring Georges Bizet’s energetic Symphony in C Major paired with Hector Berlioz’s summer-friendly Les Nuits d'été, featuring our own metropolitan opera star Heather Johnson as soloist. This program also includes the ever-popular Sing with Us! chorus and LEAD Cooperative soloists in Dixit Dominus by Marianna Martines, a contemporary of Mozart. This concert is the ultimate weekend pick-me-up filled with joy, levity, and light!

Coffee Talk: The Role of a Conductor with Erin Freeman & Naima Burrs

Coffee Talk: From Vienna to Atlanta – Explore Beethoven & Carlos Simon

Tuesday, July 16 at 11:00 am // Rain Date: Wednesday, July 17 at 11:00 am

Wintergreen Music partners with The Nature Foundation at Wintergreen in the second installment of two special event collaborations. Your group hike will begin as Nature Foundation guides take you on a journey through the gorgeous trails of the Blue Ridge Mountains. Wintergreen Festival Artists Justin Alexander & Matt Bassett (percussion) will awaken your senses and your surroundings with music designed to enhance and complement this highly interactive hike!

Tuesday, July 16 at 6:00 pm

Festival Artist and Atlanta Symphony Orchestra violinist John Meisner finishes his three year Brahms Sonata project with the final (and most dramatic) installment of the three major works for violin and piano – made even more special at the home of Jeff and Sue Goebel, who host John each year! The evening will also feature the music of George Bridgetower, a British violinist and composer of African descent for whom Ludwig van Beethoven originally dedicated his virtuosic “Kreutzer” sonata. 

Coffee Talk: Shostakovich’s First Cello Concerto with David Bjella

Wednesday, July 17 at 7:00 pm

This concert combines the power and grandeur of an orchestra concert with the intimacy of a chamber music experience. Capped by Beethoven’s charming and impressive octet for winds, audiences will also get to know the music of two historically-excluded composers: Melanie Bonis, a contemporary of Claude Debussy (who wrote over 300 pieces and attended the ​​Paris Conservatoire at the age of 16); and Carlos Simon, a GRAMMY-nominated composer, curator, activist, and Composer-in-Residence at the Kennedy Center. 

Coffee Talk: Musical Depictions of Faust

Thursday, July 18 // 6:00 pm Pre-Concert Cocktail (half) Hour // 6:30 pm: Concert

Imagine that you could have anything you desire – what would it be and what would you trade? Faust sold his soul to the devil; Ariel (the Little Mermaid) traded her voice to the sea witch; and Joseph the soldier gave up his violin! Although our Festival Artists would never do such a thing, they will perform such a tale in this evening of devilish delights. Our LEAD conducting students will conduct portions of Igor Stravinsky’s classic The Soldier’s Tale, and Artistic Director Erin Freeman will lead Festival Artists (souls intact) in Faustian-inspired works written by LEAD composition students.

Coffee Talk: Inside the Orchestra with Erin Freeman & Naima Burrs

Friday, July 19 at 7:30 pm

Grab a glass and relax into your slopeside seat as we introduce you to one of the brilliant minds of the singer-songwriter landscape: Gabriel Kahane. You will be enchanted by his creative, thoughtful, and musically engaged storytelling featuring songs from his two recent albums: Magnificent Bird and Book of Travelers. Don’t miss your chance to discover why the San Francisco Chronicle writes “Kahane’s lyrics sparkle with an incisive blend of sentiment and clarity, and he matches them with music that pushes more restlessly than ever against the constraints of the song form...the artwork that results is glistening and magical." 

Saturday, July 20, 7:00 pm

Guest conductor Louis Lohraseb makes his Wintergreen debut leading the Wintergreen Festival Orchestra in Beethoven’s fiery, moody, and epic Symphony No. 7 from the mountaintop. Naturally, we’ve paired the symphony with music of Atlanta native Carlos Simon, whose piece Fate Now Conquers was inspired by a journal entry from Beethoven’s notebook and is representative of the “unpredictable ways of fate.” And don’t miss the captivating rhythms of Shostakovich’s first cello concerto, performed by Wintergreen’s own David Bjella – you will almost certainly be dancing from your seat!

Sunday, July 21, 3:00 pm; pre-concert talk at 2:00 pm

Guest conductor Louis Lohraseb makes his Wintergreen debut leading the Wintergreen Festival Orchestra in Beethoven’s fiery, moody, and epic Symphony No. 7 from the mountaintop. Naturally, we’ve paired the symphony with music of Atlanta native Carlos Simon, whose piece Fate Now Conquers was inspired by a journal entry from Beethoven’s notebook and is representative of the “unpredictable ways of fate.” And don’t miss the captivating rhythms of Shostakovich’s first cello concerto, performed by Wintergreen’s own David Bjella – you will almost certainly be dancing from your seat!

Sunday, July 21 at 6:00 pm

Artistic Director Erin Freeman brings you an exciting evening full of colorful homages to the one and only George Gershwin! This special event is one you will not want to miss as we celebrate the impact of Wintergreen Music, the partnership with Wintergreen Resort, and the 100th anniversary of Gershwin’s famous Rhapsody in Blue! Join Honorary Host Committee Co-Chairs Jay and Michelle Gamble in supporting the Wintergreen Music Festival – the special place that connects nature with music, students with professionals, musicians with artistic freedom, and a community that makes it all possible!

Open & free to the public; advance reserved seating available for Festival Season Passholders

Coffee Talk: Inside Chamber Music with Steve Larson

Coffee Talk: Inside the Timpani with Matt Bassett

Tuesday, July 23 at 6:00 pm

Travel to Vienna, Wintergreen-style, in this performance inspired by the great Schubertiades of the 19th century. Historically, these festive and intimate evenings featured Lieder by Franz Schubert and his contemporaries, along with other musical delights, all performed by and for friends. Join LEAD Cooperative students and faculty singers and pianists in the valley home of Viennese aficionados, Dale Weigel & Ika Joiner, for an evening where party-meets-performance! Space is extremely limited. 

Coffee Talk: Inside the Piano (Literally!) with Paul Ferlan

Wednesday, July 24 // 4:30-6:30 pm: Food & Beverages Available // 6:30 pm: Concert

Adding to a year in celebration of Leonard Bernstein, we highlight his festive dance suite for brass quintet and feature works beloved or inspired by the famous Maestro. Wintergreen brass musicians will share one of their favorite works to play, Russian composer Victor Ewald’s romantic quintet no. 1, and three-time GRAMMY-nominated American composer Miguel Aguila’s woodwind quintet adds festive flair to this boisterous evening at the brewery!

Coffee Talk: The Life Changing Magic of Rachmaninoff’s 2nd Piano Concerto

Thursday, July 25 at 7:00 pm

Experience the magic that happens when Festival Artists and LEAD students join forces from the stage! This special evening features our talented conducting students (coached by guest conductor Miguel Harth Bedoya) leading a side-by-side string orchestra in music by the elegant Edward Elgar and the colorful Gabriela Lena Frank. Paired with collaborative music for LEAD wind players, this evening will fill you with optimism and hope for the future of music!

Coffee Talk: The Bird Saves the Day: Stravinsky’s Epic Firebird Suite

Friday, July 26 at 7:30 pm

Start your finale weekend with Bluegrass at its finest as we welcome musical giants of the genre, J2B2 – The John Jorgenson Bluegrass Band, to the mountain. Witness an unsurpassed blend of astonishing harmonies, impressive songwriting, and instrumental finesse, brought to life by the seasoned performers of J2B2!

Saturday, July 27, 7:00 pm

Guest soloist Clayton Stephenson (piano & grand prize winner of the Nina Simone Piano Competition) joins the Wintergreen Festival Orchestra in Rachmaninoff’s lush, romantic, and memorable Piano Concerto No. 2. Wintergreen’s own Gilda Lyons will also connect us across country borders in her familial composition, La flor más linda. To complete the epic season finale, guest conductor Miguel Harth-Bedoya takes the stage to bring Stravinsky’s vivid and magical Firebird Suite to life!

Sunday, July 28, 3:00 pm; pre-concert talk at 2:00 pm

Guest soloist Clayton Stephenson (piano & grand prize winner of the Nina Simone Piano Competition) joins the Wintergreen Festival Orchestra in Rachmaninoff’s lush, romantic, and memorable Piano Concerto No. 2. Wintergreen’s own Gilda Lyons will also connect us across country borders in her familial composition, La flor más linda. To complete the epic season finale, guest conductor Miguel Harth-Bedoya takes the stage to bring Stravinsky’s vivid and magical Firebird Suite to life!