Community Calendar

Free

Start your morning at the Blue Ridge Overlook and take in the sweeping mountain views accompanied by the rich, mellow sounds of three trombones and a tuba. You’ll be pleasantly surprised by the beauty of this instrumental combination in such a breathtaking setting.

Join the students of the 2026 LEAD Cooperative in a free & open to the public chamber music concert showcasing the incredible talents of these budding musicians.

Experience an electrifying collaboration as Desirée Roots and her trio joins the Wintergreen Festival Orchestra for an evening of soulful sound and rhythmic energy. Known for her powerful voice and captivating presence, Desirée Roots brings a dynamic blend of jazz, gospel, and blues to the stage, joined by her exceptional trio. Together with the Wintergreen Festival Orchestra, this genre-crossing program promises fresh arrangements—including premiere orchestrations commissioned by Wintergreen Music—alongside vibrant improvisation and unforgettable musical moments that celebrate the heart and soul of American music.

Program to be announced from the stage.

Sure to be a highlight of the summer, our third MountainTop Masterworks led by Robert Moody features the Wintergreen Festival Orchestra in three distinct musical expressions. Anchored by Brahms’ sunny and joyful second symphony, the concert also features the first violin concerto by American composer Florence Price, performed by celebrated artist Rachel Lee Priday. The concert opens with Tracing Visions by Wintergreen Music’s Composer-In-Residence Valerie Coleman. This work weaves a narrative that highlights the connection between community and musical expressions—a fitting piece for Wintergreen Music!

Please note: This concert includes a pre-concert talk (beginning at 2:00 pm) with guest conductors to add color and perspective to your concert experience.

Wintergreen Festival Artist and LEAD faculty member Jim Lyon explores the violin family’s meteoric rise from a “low class instrument” only fit for “rogues and hardy beggars” to becoming the queen of the orchestra. Plus, meet Albert Spalding, the first internationally famous American violinist, heir to the Spalding sporting goods family, and employee of LaGuardia during World War 2.

Join Wintergreen Music Artistic Director Erin Freeman as she chats about Rachmaninoff’s Symphonic Dances.

Join our 2026 LEAD Cooperative Conductors in conversation, led by Wintergreen Music Executive Director Corinne Horvath.

Moving from intensity through hope to light-hearted charm, this concert embodies the resilience of the human spirit and the power of music to express the multitude of human emotion. Dedicated to a flute player killed in 1973 the Yom Kippur War, Leonard Bernstein’s Halil is a commentary on war, loss, and hop, and is ostensibly a concerto featuring our own principal flute, Lance Suzuki. Benjamin Britten’s Canticle II for mezzo and tenor recounts the story of Abraham and Isasac and the spirit of a savior angel with beautiful soul and healing musical moments. Dvořák’s American Quintet (for 2 violins, 2 violas, and cello) is a partner to his more well-known American Quartet. It encapsulates his extended time in the United States, embodying his longing for his homeland, his excitement for his adopted home, and the sounds of the people who welcomed him so fully.

Join Wintergreen Music Festival composer in residence Jorge Sosa and the 2026 LEAD Cooperative composition students as they chat about their 20-measure projects.

Join guest artist Awadagin Pratt as he teaches our 2026 LEAD Cooperative conductors, instrumentalists, and pianists about the inner workings of standard piano concertos.

Program includes excerpts from piano concertos, to be announced from the stage