Classical Musicians of African Descent to Perform in Rochester Festival

— NEWS RELEASE — Media Contact: Dolores Orman Phone: 585-271-5185 Email: dolores.orman@gmail.com Classical Musicians of African Descent to Perform in Rochester Festival More than 120 classical musicians of African descent from throughout the United States will perform in Rochester, August 8 through August 13 as participants in the 2017 Gateways Music Festival in association with the Eastman School of Music. The instrumentalists will be featured in more than 50 solo, chamber music and ­orchestral concerts in venues ranging from the Hochstein School of Music & Dance, Rochester City Hall, and the Rochester Public Library to Corn Hill Landing, houses of ­worship and Kodak Hall at the Eastman Theatre. Among the musicians are members of American symphony orchestras and college and university music school faculties as well as concert and freelance artists. All festival events are free and open to the public. In its 24th year of existence, the Gateways Music Festival has been held biennially in Rochester since 1995. "Gateways' national and international reputation is growing rapidly," said Lee Koonce, festival president and artistic director. "We are excited to welcome many guests to Rochester who, first, want to hear great music played at a world-class level; and ­second, want to celebrate the centuries-long participation and achievements of classical musicians of African descent." Works by these composers of African descent will be among the music performed at this year's festival — Joseph Bologne, Le Chevalier de St. Georges of 18th century Paris, Rochester native Adolphus Hailstork and the up and coming, Jessie Montgomery of New York City. Non-concert events of the festival will be: A Panel Discussion by some of the festival musicians at 7:30 p.m., August 8 in the Eastman School of Music's Kilbourn Hall. A Pre-Concert Conversation by Dr. Paul Burgett, University of Rochester vice president and senior advisor to the president, who is a leading authority on African-American music. That will be at 6 p.m. Saturday, August 12 at Hochstein preceding a chamber music concert there at 7:30 p.m. The festival finale will be the Gateways Music Festival Orchestra Concert, under the direction of Michael Morgan, the festival's music director and conductor, at 4 p.m., August 13 in Kodak Hall at the Eastman Theatre. Canadian pianist Stewart Goodyear, who has been proclaimed "one of the best pianists of his generation" by the Philadelphia Inquirer, will be the soloist in the performance of Rachmaninoff's Second Piano Concerto. The orchestra concert program also will include Brahm's Second Symphony and Hailstork's An American Port of Call. Gateways was founded in 1993 in Winston-Salem, North Carolina by Armenta ­Hummings Dumisani, an award-winning, Julliard-trained concert pianist. The festival moved to Rochester after Hummings accepted an appointment to the Eastman School of Music ­faculty in 1994. She is now retired. For information about all of the 2017 Gateways Music Festival events log on to ­ the festival web site: www.gatewaysmusicfestival.org or call the festival hotline at 585-232-6106. View festival performances on You Tube. ###