One of America’s premier music festivals, Brevard Music Center, has announced its 2024 summer lineup featuring a diverse offering of symphony, opera, chamber, jazz, bluegrass, and Broadway performances.
The season will be highlighted by Legendary Artist Wynton Marsalis, who will appear with The Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra in three extraordinary concerts from June 25-29. Additional June – August festival highlights include classical masterpieces Prokofiev 5, Gershwin’s Piano Concerto in F, Strauss’s Ein Heldenleben, and world premiere concertos by Errollyn Wallen and Quinn Mason; Janiec Opera Company productions of The Threepenny Opera, Flight, La Bohème, and An Evening of Jerome Kern and Friends; a family-friendly film + live orchestra presentation of Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back™ in Concert; and BMC Presents lighter concert fare featuring Bryan Sutton, David Sanborn, Judy Collins, Aoife O’Donovan, and Béla Fleck. The 2024 Summer Music Festival Season is sponsored by Jacquelyn and Bruce Rogow.
Led by Artistic Director Keith Lockhart, Brevard’s hallmark is the powerful sense of community that re-emerges every June as faculty and students work together to present almost 100 performances and events to more than 40,000 enthusiastic fans from across the country. Primary BMC performance venues include the 1800-seat, open-air Whittington-Pfohl Auditorium and the 400-seat Parker Concert Hall.
Subscriptions to the 2024 BMC Summer Music Festival are currently on sale; single tickets go on sale on May 1 to the general public. For information, visit brevardmusic.org or call the BMC Box Office at 828.862.2105.
“The weeklong residency of jazz legend Wynton Marsalis and The Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra will offer an extraordinary experience for our students, our audiences, and our entire community. I am so proud to share this very special gift of music with all of Brevard in 2024,” said Jason Posnock, President & CEO of Brevard Music Center. “Great music can be found across multiple genres spanning generations of listeners. That’s why BMC’s enduring commitment to diverse programming that ‘offers something for everyone’ — from symphony and opera lovers, to bluegrass and guitar enthusiasts, to film and Broadway devotees — fills me with unending pride and joy. Coupled with the serene natural beauty of the Blue Ridge Mountains of western North Carolina, there is simply no other place in the world like Brevard Music Center. Please join us for another inspiring season of live music and world-class artistry!”
Symphonic Masterpieces
Opening Night + Season Finale
On Friday, June 21, BMC Artistic Director Keith Lockhart kicks off the season with Prokofiev 5, featuring the grand and imaginative symphonic work paired with the virtuosic masterpiece Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concerto No. 3, performed by pianist Joyce Yang. With Sebastian Lang-Lessing on the podium, Brahms and Sibelius – A Destiny Fulfilled, concludes the season on Sunday, August 4, as the BMC Chorus joins the orchestra in Brahms’s Romantic Schicksalslied, and Lang-Lessing conducts Sibelius’s triumphant Symphony No. 5.
Symphonic highlights planned for this summer include Tchaikovsky 5, Dvořák Symphony No. 6, Gershwin’s Piano Concerto in F, Strauss’s Ein Heldenleben, Holst’s The Planets, Copland’s Symphony No. 3, and the perennial favorite Pendergrast Family Patriotic Pops. BMC’s tradition of performing movie scores live to full length feature films continues in 2024 with Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back™ in Concert.
Legendary Artist Series
This year’s Legendary Artist Wynton Marsalis appears with the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra (JLCO) in three extraordinary concerts at Whittington-Pfohl Auditorium (WPA) and Parker Concert Hall (PCH).
BMC Presents: The Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra with Wynton Marsalis: Tuesday, June 25 @ WPA
A Musical Evening with Wynton Marsalis and Keith Lockhart: Wednesday, June 26 @ PCH
Lockhart Conducts Marsalis (with the BMC Orchestra): Saturday, June 29 @ WPA
In addition to the three performances, Mr. Marsalis, the musicians of the JLCO, and violinist Tai Murray will lead masterclasses, seminars, lectures, and workshops for BMC students during a groundbreaking one-week residency.
The Legendary Artists Series is sponsored by Drs. Joanne and Tom Parker.
2024 Summer Festival Season Guest Artists
In addition to the opening night performance of Prokofiev 5 and two special concerts with Wynton Marsalis, Artistic Director Keith Lockhart leads three more programs this summer featuring works by Mendelssohn, Strauss, and Holst. Principal Guest Conductor JoAnn Falletta returns to conduct Dvořák, Ravel, Stravinsky, and Scriabin. Other featured guest artists include oboist Eric Ohlsson, flutist Claire Chase, cellist David Finckel, violinists Bella Hristova, Tai Murray, and Philippe Quint, and pianists Joyce Yang, Lara Downes, David Greilsammer, Wu Han, and Terrence Wilson.
Opera
With fully staged productions of Flight, La Bohème and The Threepenny Opera, PLUS An Evening of Jerome Kern and Friends, 2024 offers another powerful season of vocal music at Brevard Music Center. BMC Director of Opera Dean Anthony directs all three mainstage productions collaborating with conductors Joseph Mechavich and Steven White. Award-winning Broadway and concert stage veteran Andy Einhorn returns to Brevard to direct a season-ending cabaret celebrating the music of the great Jerome Kern.
Parker Concert Hall Summer Series
The intimacy and beauty of BMC’s lakeside Parker Concert Hall continues to inspire audiences year-round. In summer 2024, the magic continues with twelve magnificent chamber concerts including David Finckel and Wu Han in Recital, Appalachian Spring, This Land with Lara Downes, Charles Ives: A Life in Music, Schumann Piano Quintet, and A Steinway Celebration.
BMC Presents
Relax into the groove of an easy summer night under the stars at Whittington-Pfohl Auditorium (WPA) with acclaimed artists whose timeless appeal inspires audiences of all ages. Jazz lovers unite as the David Sanborn Quintet takes center stage on Saturday, June 8, followed by The Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra with Wynton Marsalis on Tuesday, June 25. Two inspiring singer/songwriters take center stage at WPA with the Brevard Festival Orchestra in July — legendary artist Judy Collins shares her sublime vocals and boldly vulnerable songwriting with Brevard audiences on Sunday, July 7, followed by the distinctive folk sound of Aoife O’Donovan on Tuesday, July 23. The 2024 BMC Presents lineup also includes the third annual North Carolina Guitar Celebration hosted by guitarist Bryan Sutton in partnership with the Blue Ridge Guitar Camp and Mountain Song Productions on June 1. The BMC Presents season would not be complete without the tradition of Béla Fleck’s Blue Ridge Banjo Concert, with Béla Fleck and over 110 banjos on stage, to close out the summer season on August 17. A wide variety of programs are planned, with more announcements expected soon!
BMC Ticket Information
Subscriptions: Subscriptions to the 2024 Summer Festival are available with a variety of benefits including savings of up to 25% off single ticket prices, same seat benefits, advance access to popular programs, add-on discounts for guests, and more. Subscribe now for the best seats at the best prices; sellouts are expected for many Summer Festival concerts.
The Golden Ticket Subscription provides the ultimate in reserved seats to all Symphony, Opera and Chamber Music Series performances, and also includes BMC’s Opening Night and Season Finale — a full summer of musical inspiration with tickets to 39 concerts!
Subscriptions may also be purchased to the Symphony Series (16 concerts), the Opera Series (4 concerts), or the Parker Concert Hall Summer Series (12 concerts). Flexible subscription options like Compose Your Own and Flex provide the opportunity for subscribers to curate their own custom series with as few or as many events as they want based on personal schedules and musical preferences.
On Sale Dates: Subscription sales and renewals are currently available. All single ticket sales to the general public will open on May 1. Complete details about the 2024 Summer Season are available at brevardmusic.org.
Written by Brevard Music Center.