America's Music Festivals

Airs Monday, April 30 at 11:00 a.m.  Surrounded on three sides by beaches, La Jolla, California is incredibly picturesque. Waves crash against the shore, seals bask in the sun and residents enjoy some beautiful sunsets. As seaside town with a passion for the arts, La Jolla also boasts some of the best music in the country during the La Jolla Music Society Summerfest. The Los Angeles Times writes of the festival – “perhaps the first thing to be praised about SummerFest is the exceptionally high quality of performances.” With performances from over 70 ensembles and musicians, the festival brings first rate concerts to what is essentially a small seaside town.

Airs Monday, April 23 at 11:00 a.m. The sleepy town of Marlboro, Vermont has a population just under 980 people, but it bursts into life each summer when the world’s leading musicians come together to play music and learn from each other in the Marlboro Music Festival. The festival prides itself on fostering a true sense of community among artists and invites them to spend up to seven weeks to rehearse, exchange ideas and share meals. The result: a festival that showcases nearly 240 works each summer.

Airs Monday, April 16 at 11:00 a.m.  The most interesting story of the festival itself is the Canandaigua Lake Music Festival’s commitment to demystifying classical music for audiences – the festival includes family performances, a master class open to the public and a series of concerts entitled “Classical Blue Jeans,” which allows artists and audiences to meet, dine together and listen to some incredible pieces of classical music.  www.LakeMusicFestival.org

Airs Monday, April 9 at 11:00 a.m.  Every year, this dynamic fourteen day festival fills Connecticut College in historic New London, CT with the sounds of early music. The festival routinely works with the leading musicians in the field of early music, and presents a series of concerts, workshops and classes for festival attendees. Amherst offers classes in all things early music, including instrumental and vocal instruction, as well as classes about Renaissance and Baroque dance and early notation. The festival hosts the largest recorder program in the United States.

Airs Monday, April 2 at 11:00 a.m.  For fifty years, the Eastern Music Festival has been committed to bringing high quality performances of classical music to Greensboro, North Carolina. The festival attracts more than 60,000 audience members a year, who flock to the city for performances by classical masters, such as Yo-Yo Ma, Peter Serkin and Sarah Chang. In 2011, the festival celebrated its fiftieth year in style with five weeks of over 100 musical events, including daily performances open to the public.