LETTER FROM THE PRESIDENT
BREVARD MUSIC CENTER
I live, breathe, and think about music every day. That's why I am delighted to welcome you to our home and to our stages for Brevard Music Center's 82nd season, composed for you under the extraordinary leadership of artistic director and Brevard alumnus, Keith Lockhart. This will be an amazing season, filled with classical masterworks from Bernstein, Beethoven, and Brahms along with groundbreaking new compositions by R.E.M.’s Mike Mills, Time for Three, Sō Percussion, and Terpsicorps. Important familiar faces are also returning to Brevard in 2018 including Asheville native and Berlin Philharmonic Concertmaster Noah Bendix-Balgley, virtuosic pianists Olga Kern and Conrad Tao, violinist Robert McDuffie, and bluegrass heroes Steep Canyon Rangers and Béla Fleck, as well as a distinguished faculty of over 80 artists from the nation's leading orchestras, conservatories, and colleges. As you are about to see, tucked away in North Carolina’s Blue Ridge Mountains near breathtaking waterfalls and lush forests, "in this best of all possible worlds," Brevard Music Center presents some of the world’s most celebrated performers as they share the stage with the next generation of classical luminaries. Festival highlights this year include a season long Leonard Bernstein Festival, celebrating the legacy and centennial of the iconic 20th century artist. See page 25 for the entire Bernstein Festival schedule of events including symphony, Broadway, and chamber concerts, the exuberant opera Candide, the movie West Side Story in concert with live orchestra (led by BMC alumnus Jayce Ogren), our season finale of Bernstein's Mass, and free lectures, readings, and discussions throughout our campus and community. And don't miss pages 20-21 for a very special Q&A with Keith Lockhart, who shares his personal perspectives on the legendary composer and musician. Take a moment to look closely through the Overture Magazine that you hold in your hands. Inside you will find a 10-week summer music festival filled with a genre-blending mix of symphony, opera, chamber, pops, jazz, dance, bluegrass, and more. Without exception, each genre, masterwork, and artist chosen for our season represents BMC's commitment to excellence in all we do, as well as a steadfast dedication to our mission of teaching gifted young musicians to prepare and perform great musical works at a high artistic level.
4 Overture
"I can't live one day without hearing music, playing it, studying it, or thinking about it." —LEONARD BERNSTEIN In 2014, BMC launched an essential and comprehensive initiative—A Challenge Among Friends—to secure funding in support of vital upgrades across our 181-acre campus. Only three years later, I am so proud and grateful to recognize the contributions of hundreds of BMC ambassadors who collectively pledged over $5.4 million to upgrade WhittingtonPfohl and Straus Auditoriums; build new faculty residences, student housing, and rehearsal studios; and renovate more than half of the 151 buildings on our campus. The impact of such widespread generosity will live on for decades to come, not only in the beauty and ambiance of our campus, but also among the thousands of students whose lives will be transformed by their Brevard experience. As we look to the future and what is needed to ensure an inspiring environment for the next generation of artists and audiences, the possibilities may seem limitless. But here at Brevard Music Center, we are deeply committed to both our mission and our community. I am therefore very excited to announce that, due to a significant lead gift, Brevard Music Center will add a new concert hall to its campus by the summer of 2020. This intimate, 400-seat space will serve as the home for our piano program and chamber performances, as well as year-round events, concerts, and community gatherings. Please see page 13 for more details. As you can see, there is much to celebrate at Brevard Music Center! I can't wait to share our musical journey with you this season…and for many more summers to come. Thank you for that privilege and pleasure. Warmest regards always,
Mark Weinstein
ABOUT MARK WEINSTEIN Mark Weinstein has devoted his professional career to music having previously served as Executive Director of the New York City Opera at Lincoln Center, General Director of the Pittsburgh Opera, Executive Director of the Washington National Opera at the Kennedy Center, and CEO of the AT&T Performing Arts Center in Dallas, Texas. Mark has an MBA from the Harvard Business School and a BA in Political Science from Carleton College in Northfield, Minnesota. His wife, Susanne Marsee, was the leading Mezzo-Soprano soloist at New York City Opera at Lincoln Center for over 20 years.