Summer festivals, featuring diverse artistic contributions from chamber music and orchestra to theatre and choral singing, are happening across North and South Carolina. Below you’ll find highlights from a selection of festivals, as well as access to websites for performance schedules and event details.
An Appalachian Summer Festival
In its 35th anniversary year, the Appalachian Summer Festival offers an array of performances that run the gamut of artistic media, from the symphonic music of the Eastern Festival Orchestra to the voice of Patti LaBelle to a night with comedienne Lily Tomlin. Lasting over a month, this festival offers myriad opportunities to engage with some of the foremost cultural, artistic, and musical figures of the present moment.
Brevard Music Center Summer Festival
The 2019 Brevard Center Summer Festival, set near a lake in the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina, will host a wide selection of musical artists. The festival features a large collection of works by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky and Aaron Copland, as well as a screening of Raiders of the Lost Ark with a live performance of John Williams’ compositions for the score.
Eastern Music Festival
The Eastern Music Festival showcases the musical fruits of an educational experience for young musicians. Coming from across the United States, over 200 students from ages 14 to 23 descend on Greensboro, NC, for five feverish weeks of intensive study and practice of instruments ranging from classical violins to trumpets to acoustic guitars. These students prepare eight full-length concert programs, to be performed after mastering each program.
Spoleto Festival
The Spoleto Festival, held annually in Charleston, SC, features a diverse collection of theatre, chamber music, dance, and choral and orchestral performances. Highlights of the season include a trio of Shakespeare’s plays ( Twelfth Night, Comedy of Errors, and Pericles ), a “Classical Showcase” by the Spoleto Festival USA Orchestra of works from the classical and neoclassical periods, and various choral works with the voices of the Westminster Choir.
Unable to make it to the festivals this year? Tune in to WDAV Classical Public Radio to hear music from many of these festivals on programs like Open Air Brevard, Spoleto Chamber Music Series and Carolina Live. Check the WDAV program schedule for air dates and times.