Gateways Music Festival returns to Rochester to launch its 2024-25 season with its Fall Festival, an expansive lineup of performances by professional Black classical artists taking place at the Eastman School of Music of the University of Rochester October 14 through 18, 2024.
Gateways Fall Festival 2024 will showcase the depth, diversity, and richness of Black artistry in powerful and transformative ways. The festival’s centerpiece performances include a piano recital by Joshua Mhoon, a collaboration with the George Walker Center for Equity and Inclusion in Music, and violinist Josh Henderson’s vibrant concert blending classical works with contemporary sounds. The Earshot CoLABoratory, produced in partnership with the American Composers Orchestra, will develop Jordyn Davis’s definition-expanding new composition for orchestra. The Young Musicians Institute is a dynamic day for young string players to explore music-making alongside esteemed teaching artists.
The festival also delves into history with a screening of The Harlem Hellfighters, exploring the legacy of the all-Black WWI regiment led by the legendary bandleader and composer James Reese Europe, who brought the sounds of jazz and ragtime to the frontlines of war, forever changing the landscape of American music. The festival concludes with a celebratory concert featuring the Gateways Brass Collective, presented by Eastman Presents in Kilbourn Hall, marking a triumphant end to the Fall Festival.
Recently supported with a million-dollar grant from the Mellon Foundation, Gateways’ rich offerings are set to make a profound and lasting impact on the classical music landscape. By providing a supportive community and a joyful home for professional Black artists, and with performances that bring together multiracial, multigenerational audiences, Gateways is playing a pivotal part in rewriting the classical music narrative.
See the full festival schedule and reserve or purchase tickets by visiting http://www.gatewaysmusicfestival.org.
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