Eastern Music Festival

Eastern Music Festival Eastern Music Festival
Celebrating 6 decades of classical music excellence. Music Director Gerard Schwarz heads a distinguished list of faculty artists.

For over six decades, Eastern Music Festival (EMF), a nationally recognized classical music festival and summer educational program, has been produced each summer on the campus of Guilford College, UNCG, and other venues in the Greensboro area. EMF is distinguished by its accomplished faculty, exhilarating repertoire, and world-renowned visiting artists under the artistic direction of Gerard Schwa

rz. A powerful teaching institution, EMF provides encouragement and guidance to over 265 young musicians from across the country and around the globe as they take their first steps towards careers in the performing arts. Current and past guest artists and/or students include Yo-Yo Ma, Sarah Chang, Wynton Marsalis, Midori, Susan Graham, Andre Watts, Joshua Bell, Nadja Salerno-Sonnenberg, and many more. Visit our website for information on summer study programs, how to apply for 2022 summer study, and 2022 season announcements and events.

Eastern Music Festival is thankful to all of its supporters for 64 years of inspired music making. Since fall is the tim...
11/14/2025

Eastern Music Festival is thankful to all of its supporters for 64 years of inspired music making. Since fall is the time of year EMF would typically announce the opening of our application portal, we would like to share a short list of summer music institutes we recommend that provide a variety of educational programs for high school and college-level musicians. Each of these programs are currently accepting applications. Please follow up with these organizations to learn more.

National Youth Orchestra - Deadline: December 4

National Orchestra Institute + Festival - Deadline: January 6, February 3, or February 6, Program Depending

Interlochen Summer Music Camp - Priority Application Deadline: January 15

Music Academy of the West - Deadline: January 15 or February 5, Program Depending

National Repertory Orchestra - Deadline: January 25

Brevard Music Center - Deadline: January 20, February 15, or March 15, Program Depending

Texas Music Festival Orchestral Institute - Deadline: February 2

Sewanee Music Festival - Early Bird: February 15 | Final Deadline: March 24th

Thank you again for your support all these years,

EMF

NOTICEWith great sadness, Eastern Music Festival announces today that the organization will cease operations.EMF has nur...
10/06/2025

NOTICE

With great sadness, Eastern Music Festival announces today that the organization will cease operations.

EMF has nurtured and educated more than 10,000 exceptionally talented young musicians over its sixty-four-year history. Many of our alumni are leading successful careers in the arts and entertainment industry, in part because of EMF’s dedicated educational work. We are proud of this legacy.

EMF’s long, rich history in the city of Greensboro is another of our proudest achievements. Our work with libraries, schools, seniors, and in other community settings, as well as our work on the Guilford College campus, has brought great joy to many.

The Festival will come to an end, but the work continues. EMF encourages others to take up the mantle and step boldly into the future with their educational and artistic endeavors.

We thank the many donors, partners, and patrons who have supported EMF over the years and invested their time, energy, and resources in support of great classical music, the advancement of student musicians, and this important cultural institution.

Eastern Music Festival is delighted to be supporting this year's Artstock Studio Tour, a 30 year tradition in the Triad ...
09/26/2025

Eastern Music Festival is delighted to be supporting this year's Artstock Studio Tour, a 30 year tradition in the Triad Area showcasing local visual artists throughout a fall weekend. We are excited to include musical performances by local artists to complement this visual art tour in select studio locations, thanks to funding from the ACCG's Fall Festival Grant!

This year's ArtStock festival will take place October 2-5. EMF's part in this festival is supported by a Festival Grant facilitated by The Arts Council of Greater Greensboro, a division of the Designated County Partner, with funding from Guilford County Government and the North Carolina Arts Council.

Visit artstocktour.com/locations/ to view all of ArtStock's studio locations and music sets for the weekend!

For more than six decades, Eastern Music Festival has made summers in Greensboro a place of joyful music and memories fo...
02/27/2025

For more than six decades, Eastern Music Festival has made summers in Greensboro a place of joyful music and memories for aspiring young musicians and music lovers throughout the region.

Sadly, we inform you that the Festival will be taking the year off in 2025.

Eastern Music Festival was founded to provide young musicians with an immersive musical education and the camaraderie of peers. The quality of the program and student experience is our highest priority.

We are working toward a labor agreement that rewards our faculty for the important role they play in the Festival’s success. The unforeseen length and complexity of these negotiations has extended beyond the point that makes it possible to host this year’s festival as usual and to deliver the experience our students and the community deserve.

During this year’s pause, we will be planning for the return of the Festival in 2026 with our focus remaining on educating students to the highest musical standards – and in hopes that our shared love of music brings us together again, better and stronger than ever.

Students who have submitted an application for this year’s Festival will be fully refunded their application fees.

For updates on contract negotiations, please visit our website at easternmusicfestival.org.

This is it! Only ONE more day to apply for EMF Summer Study 2025!Spend your time immersed in five weeks of intensive mus...
02/18/2025

This is it! Only ONE more day to apply for EMF Summer Study 2025!

Spend your time immersed in five weeks of intensive music-making, performing exhilarating orchestral repertoire, working with world-renowned faculty, and connecting with fellow musicians from around the globe in Greensboro, NC.

This just in! 2023 EMF Conducting Alumni Quinn Mason’s composition “Running” from A Joyous Trilogy will be performed at ...
02/15/2025

This just in! 2023 EMF Conducting Alumni Quinn Mason’s composition “Running” from A Joyous Trilogy will be performed at TODAY! Catch the performance at 2:30 in the Lila Cockrell Theatre with the All-State Sinfonietta Orchestra conducted by Rachel Waddell.

More EMF alumni sightings at ! Today, we even had the pleasure of reconnecting with cello faculty member Marta Simidtchi...
02/14/2025

More EMF alumni sightings at ! Today, we even had the pleasure of reconnecting with cello faculty member Marta Simidtchieva. It’s been incredible catching up and hearing about the amazing things our alumni are doing, whether they are performing, teaching, or composing. We love seeing the impact of the EMF network out in the world!

TODAY ONLY! Stop by booth #598 at for 50% OFF of your EMF application fee. We only have 50 codes to give out, so hurry...
02/14/2025

TODAY ONLY! Stop by booth #598 at for 50% OFF of your EMF application fee. We only have 50 codes to give out, so hurry!

We are delighted to welcome Juan Carlos Peña to our double bass faculty this summer. Born in Honduras, Juan Carlos has b...
02/14/2025

We are delighted to welcome Juan Carlos Peña to our double bass faculty this summer. Born in Honduras, Juan Carlos has built an accomplished career as both a performer and educator, holding degrees from the Curtis Institute of Music, Rice University, and the University of Maryland.

As a bassist, he has served as Principal Bass with the Orquesta Sinfónica Nacional in Honduras and the Orquesta Sinfónica del Valle in Colombia, as well as Co-Principal Double Bass with the Orquesta Sinfónica de Galicia in Spain. Currently, he is Principal Bass with the Palm Beach Symphony and the Florida Grand Opera Orchestra, while also performing regularly with the Naples Philharmonic, Atlantic Classical Orchestra, and Nu Deco Ensemble.

In addition to his performance career, Juan Carlos is a dedicated educator in South Florida, teaching at the New World School of the Arts in Miami, serving as a String Consultant for top arts schools in Palm Beach, and coaching chamber music and orchestral repertoire at Lynn University in Boca Raton. Juan Carlos also returns to Honduras often to give back to the next generation of musicians as a conductor, recitalist, and clinician.

We look forward to the expertise, artistry, and mentorship Juan Carlos will bring to our young artists this summer!

Address

200 N Davie Street, Ste 303
Greensboro, NC
27401

Opening Hours

Monday 9am - 5pm
Tuesday 9am - 5pm
Wednesday 9am - 5pm
Thursday 9am - 5pm
Friday 9am - 5pm

Telephone

+13363337450

Website

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Our Story

Eastern Music Festival’s mission is to promote musical enrichment, excellence, professional collaboration, innovation and diversity through a nationally-recognized teaching program, music festival, concerts and other programs which will enhance the quality of life, health and vitality of our region.

Now entering its 59th season in 2020, Eastern Music Festival & School is recognized for its prodigious contributions to the field of American music and its commitment to nurturing talented youth through a collaborative learning process to experience the best in classical and orchestral programming! Music Director Gerard Schwarz heads a distinguished list of participating artists. Current and past artists and/or alumni include Nadja Salerno-Sonnenberg, The Pacifica Quartet, Mark Peskanov, Horacio Gutierrez, Yo-Yo Ma, Sarah Chang, Wynton Marsalis, Midori, Susan Graham, Andre Watts, Joshua Bell, Lynn Harrell, Jason Vieaux, Thomas Viloteau, Anne Akiko Myers, and many more. Visit our website for upcoming events.