Heifetz on Tour marches into March

Heifetz on Tour, the National Program of Outreach and Career Development from the Heifetz International Music Institute, today has announced a series of concerts and events taking place in both Washington, DC, and the Shenandoah Valley designed to raise awareness and funds for the Institute’s 20^th Anniversary Summer Program, taking place from June 30^th to August 11^th, 2016, on the campus of Mary Baldwin College in Staunton.

The March tour features four outstanding artists connected to the world-renowned Heifetz Institute: Alumni standouts Yezu Woo, violin; Emma Wernig, viola; Coleman Itzkoff, cello, along with faculty pianist Anton Smirnoff.  Both individually and in combinations, the quartet of artists will present a varied and engaging program that will include solo works, by turns soulful and dazzling, and stirring performances of chamber music masterworks by Ludwig van Beethoven and Johannes Brahms.

The concert tour will kick off on Thursday, March 17^th, at the Kreeger Museum of Art in Washington, DC. The Kreeger was designed in 1963 by Pritzker Prize-winning architect Phillip Johnson to serve simultaneously as a recital hall for music, a gallery, and a private home for arts patrons David Lloyd and Carmen Kreeger.  As such, it has become a favorite location for Heifetz Institute musicians to present their “masterpieces among the masterworks.” The concert begins at 7:30 pm, with a reception afterwards to toast the Institute’s 20^th Anniversary Year.

After another informal noontime presentation of “Coffee, Biscuits, and a Bit o’ Bach,” at the Middlebrook General Store on Saturday, March 19^th, the Heifetz troupe will be among the first to perform at the newly-renovated Wayne Theatre in Waynesboro, VA. “We are thrilled to be a part of this incredible civic accomplishment by the City of Waynesboro, the Wayne Theatre Association, and all of the many supporters who made this vision for a revitalized performance space in the heart of downtown Waynesboro,” notes Executive Director Benjamin K. Roe.  “We hope it will be the start of many a Heifetz performance in this impressive new space.”

The Tour will conclude with an intimate Sunday afternoon benefit concert and reception at the Temple House of Israel in downtown Staunton. This historic Moorish Revival building designed by Sam Collins of noted Staunton architects T.J. Collins and Son, is the site of the free-of-charge “Heifetz At The Temple House” performances every Monday at noon during the summertime run of the Institute.  Through this event, both organizations have joined forces in order to keep the summertime performances free and open to all.

These Heifetz On Tour performances come at a moment that Founder and Artistic Director Daniel Heifetz declares as “one of the most exciting – andagonizing – times of the year,” as this week acceptance notices are going out to successful applicants for the 20^th Anniversary summer program.  Mr. Heifetz adds, “It’s thrilling to see the superb artistry of these young performers from all over the world who want only to come to Staunton and study at the Heifetz Institute this summer.”

“But the agony is also very real, for we also know that we will lose some of the most accomplished players to other programs with robust endowments and/or completely tuition-free programs.  The dollars we raise during these Heifetz On Tour programs are vital to our ability to ‘level the playing field’ through our Shenandoah Scholarship Campaign.”

The Institute’s 2016 Shenandoah Scholarship Campaign is a matching-grant initiative to raise $200,000 in scholarship funds to bring students to Staunton, VA for the Institute’s 20^th anniversary summer program.  The Heifetz Institute Board of Directors has agreed to provide an additional $100,000 in scholarship funds if that figure could be matched by local donations.  As of February 29^th, the Institute has raised $73,525 towards this $100,000 goal.

 

Schedule: Heifetz on Tour

• Thursday, March 17, 7:30 pm: Concert and Reception at the Kreeger Museum, Washington, DC
• Friday, March 18, 7:00 pm: Private Concert, Chevy Chase, MD
• Saturday, March 19, 11:00 – 1:00 pm: “Coffee, Biscuits, and a Bit o’Bach” – Middlebrook General Store, Middlebrook, VA
• Saturday, March 19, 7:30 pm: Concert at the Ross Performing Arts Center, Wayne Theatre, Waynesboro, VA
• Sunday, March 20, 3:00 pm: Benefit Concert with the Temple House of Israel, 24 N. Market Street, Staunton, VA