The sounds of strings will zing and sing, and fill the summer air in Staunton once more, as the Heifetz International Music Institute prepares for a 46-concert lineup for its 2022 Festival of Concerts.
This season will mark the Institute’s 10th anniversary in Staunton, thanks to its landmark partnership with Mary Baldwin University, which will once again host Heifetz students in its dormitories, classrooms, dining, and concert halls. The renowned summer program, which attracts top young classical musicians from around the world, will return to presenting a robust series of in-person concerts from June 28-Aug. 6, featuring the Institute’s extraordinary students, acclaimed teaching faculty, alumni, and special guests.
“After creating an entirely online summer program and the accompanying Rubato virtual concert series in 2020, followed by a hybrid program in 2021 featuring both in-person and online elements in 2021, we are thrilled to welcome a full complement of students back to the Mary Baldwin University campus, and our audiences back to our concert venues,” said Heifetz Institute President & CEO Benjamin K. Roe. “While we welcome the return of the rhythms and cadences of our dynamic program, we will not forget the lessons and innovations of the recent years. We will continue to live-stream nearly all of our concerts in Staunton, offering our newfound audiences around the world the chance to experience the top-flight artistry and visceral energy of a Heifetz concert.”
The Institute is highly competitive, this year enrolling 161 violinists, violists, cellists, and double bassists. They range in age from 9 to 27, hail from 24 states and 16 countries, and represent prestigious conservatories, public schools, private academies, and a record 36 percent are returning Heifetz alumni.
In the words of Artistic Director Nicholas Kitchen, “The incoming class of summer 2022 represents one of the largest, most gifted, and most diverse communities of musical talent ever assembled under the Heifetz banner.”
These elite young musicians from across the globe attend the Institute’s summer program to develop their technical skills as well as their own distinct musical personalities. In addition to an instrumental faculty considered among the top ranks of summer programs, with members from such institutions as The Juilliard School, The Curtis Institute, and New England Conservatory, the Heifetz Institute is recognized worldwide for its unique Performance & Communication Training method, which empowers young performers to perfect their artistry by developing their physical, mental, and emotional range through training in drama, yoga, freedom of expression, and dance.
The Institute’s extensive Festival of Concerts serves as the experiential proving ground for both the intense string instruction as well as the Communication Training curriculum, with students performing in nearly daily concert presentations, featuring solo and chamber music masterworks, as well as lesser known repertoire with an emphasis on underrepresented composers.
“Daniel Heifetz founded an institute based upon a generosity of spirit and artistic mastery that aimed not only to give young artists the most expert guidance on their instruments, but also to communicate the magic of music when shared together in this concert setting,” Kitchen said. “The legendary musicians that make up our faculty guide the young artists through lessons and coachings, while the incredible Performance & Communication Training faculty widens the scope of what these young artists are able to discover within themselves through acting, speaking, movement, yoga and more.”
In addition to concerts in traditional venues, the Institute’s artists perform at church services, soup kitchens, school programs, and health care facilities, including the innovative HeartStrings partnership with Augusta Health that offered virtual bedside concerts during the pandemic.
The 2022 season will also mark the first in which the Institute will host a Composer-In-Residence: Adolphus Hailstork, emeritus professor at Old Dominion University and Norfolk State University, and often referred to as “The Dean of African-American Composers.” Hailstork describes his style as ‘cultural hybridity,’ borrowing both from European and Black American traditions.
Tickets, season passes, and information are available at www.heifetzinstitute.org.
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