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Eastern Festival of Music | Greensboro

(Formerly known as the Eastern Music Festival)
June 27 – August 1, 2026

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The Eastern Festival of Music (EFM) is the reimagined successor to the long-running Eastern Music Festival. Under new leadership, the festival will continue its mission of training and showcasing young classical musicians while preserving many of the traditions that made the original program successful.

The newly named Eastern Festival of Music will have its inaugural season this summer, 2026, at their long- standing home at Guilford College.
Photo by Sarah Lucas-Page

Eastern Festival of Music Mission

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At the Eastern Festival of Music, we believe that music has the power to uplift, inspire, and transform us in profound ways. Our talented faculty and staff are dedicated to creating a vibrant community where young artists can thrive, grow, and shine.

Through a wide range of performing opportunities, musical experiences, and a commitment to excellence, we strive to make a lasting impact on the lives of our participants, empowering them to reach their full potential and carry the joy of music with them forever.

More information can be found at www.easternfestivalofmusic.org.

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Gerard Schwarz, Music Director

View 2026 Eastern Festival of Music Concert Schedule

All performances will take place at the Dana Auditorium on the Guilford College Campus:

Dana Auditorium
710 Levi Coffin Dr
Greensboro, NC

Eastern Festival of Music Host Hotels | O.Henry Hotel & Proximity Hotel

Eastern Festival of Music Package

Make it a musical summer to remember. Stay in a graciously appointed guestroom, then make your way down to Green Valley Grill or Print Works Bistro for dinner with the included $30 dinner voucher. With two tickets in hand, enjoy an EFM performance. When you get back to your cozy room, slip into a comfy robe, share chocolate truffles and toast the evening with a glass of bubbly from a bottle of sparkling wine. Available nights there is an EFM Performance. Blackout dates apply.

Call 336-854-2000 to book or reserve online!

O.Henry Hotel

O.Henry Hotel Social Lobby - Guests find our social lobby both grand and irresistibly inviting. With its 25-foot high ceiling and 25-foot wide arched window looking onto our cloister garden, the social lobby’s custom-designed William Alan furniture and authentic British joint stools.

Check in to an inviting guestroom at O.Henry Hotel, where you’ll experience custom-designed, finely crafted furnishings and AAA Four Diamond amenities. Enjoy dinner at Green Valley Grill and craft cocktails at our lively bar! The next day. spend a lazy afternoon in our luxurious Social Lobby while being served afternoon tea by our attentive staff!

Proximity Hotel

Proximity Hotel social lobby

Stay in sustainable style at our employee-owned, LEED Platinum Proximity Hotel! Unwind in a modern, loft-like guestroom with warm surroundings including custom, locally fabricated furnishings, original art by our artist-in-residence and AAA Four Diamond luxury hotel amenities. The next morning, enjoy a leisurely brunch at Print Works Bistro.

Pre-concert Restaurants

The GVG Courtyard Outdoor Dining offers Lush green foliage, a bubbling fountain, and breezy fans to keep guests cool.

Green Valley Grill

Visit Green Valley Grill, adjacent to the O.Henry Hotel, and enjoy informally elegant fine dining and seasonal food using old-world European culinary sensibilities and Mediterranean flavors. GVG’s wine list receives the Wine Spectator Award of Excellence each year and features 75 wines by the glass.The freshest food prepared by a passionate team, and served by friendly and competent people, is our recipe for a great dining experience.

Print Works Bistro Creekside Terrace

Print Works Bistro

Print Works Bistro, adjacent to Proximity Hotel, uses fresh local ingredients to create extraordinary flavors and creative comfort foods. Enjoy traditional and modern versions of classic dishes popular in European-French bistros for a pre-competition breakfast, lunch and dinner. The vibrant dining room has walls of windows overlooking the gardens, with outdoor dining on a lovely creekside terrace.

2026 Concert Schedule

7:30 PM | Dana Auditorium

  • Foote, Arthur: 3 Pieces Op. 1
  • Beethoven, Ludwig van: Piano Trio in E-flat Op. 1 No. 1
  • Mendelssohn, Felix: Octet Op. 20

7:30 PM | Dana Auditorium

An all-Mozart concerto concert with concertos for piano, flute, and bassoon.

7:30 PM | Dana Auditorium

A recital of string solo works performed by the String Fellows.

7:30 PM | Dana Auditorium

All-orchestra concert with George Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue (Bournaki) and Antonin Dvorak’s 9th Symphony.

7:30 PM | Dana Auditorium

  • Copland, Aaron: Appalachian Spring
  • Zwilich, Ellen Taaffe: Remembrance (world premiere)
  • Foote, Arthur: Cello Concerto (Schwarz)
  • Zwilich: Jubilation
  • Gershwin, George: American in Paris
  • Eastern Festival Orchestra

7:30 PM | Dana Auditorium

  • Rossini, Giocchino: String Sonata No. 3 in C Major
  • Prokofiev, Sergei: Cello Sonata in C Major
  • Ravel, Maurice: Sonata for Violin and Cello
  • Reinecke, Karl: Sonata Undine

7:30 PM | Dana Auditorium

  • Barber, Samuel: String Quartet
  • Mozart, Wolfgang: Piano Quartet in E-Flat
  • Perkinson, Coleridge-Taylor: Movement for String Trio
  • Arensky, Anton: Piano Trio No. 1 in D Minor

7:30 PM | Dana Auditorium

  • Rachmaninoff, Sergei: Suite No. 2
  • Brahms, Johannes: Waltzes Op. 39
  • Barber, Samuel: Souvenirs
  • Poulenc, Francis: Sonata for Two Pianos

7:30 PM | Dana Auditorium

  • Strauss, Richard: Alpine Symphony
  • Debussy, Claude: Two Nocturnes
  • Young Artist Orchestra

7:30 PM | Dana Auditorium

  • Mahler, Gustav: Symphony No. 5
  • Young Artist Orchestra

7:30 PM | Dana Auditorium

  • Britten, Benjamin: Variation on a Theme by Purcell
  • Rachmaninoff, Sergei: Paganini Variations (Dichter)
  • Brahms, Johannes: Symphony No. 4
  • Eastern Festival Orchestra

7:30 PM | Dana Auditorium

  • Brahms, Johannes: Sonata in F Minor Op. 5
  • Brahms, Johannes: Piano Quartet in G Minor Op. 25

7:30 PM | Dana Auditorium

  • Fine, Irving: Partita
  • Dahl, Ingolf: Music for Brass Instruments
  • Price, Florence: Fantasy in G Minor
  • Schumann, Robert: Piano Quintet Op. 44

7:30 PM | Dana Auditorium

An exquisite evening of solo piano works.

7:30 PM | Dana Auditorium

  • Excerpts from Tchaikovsky’s Swan Lake featuring conducting fellows and Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No. 4
  • Young Artist Orchestra

7:30 PM | Dana Auditorium

  • Tchaikovsky, Pyotr Ilyich: Swan Lake
  • Coleridge-Taylor, Samuel: Hiawatha Overture
  • Shostakovich, Dmitri: Symphony No. 6
  • Young Artist Orchestra

7:30 PM | Dana Auditorium

  • Theofanidis, Christopher: Rainbow Body
  • Tchaikovsky, Pyotr Ilyich: Violin Concerto featuring soloist Leonidas Kavakos
  • Shostakovich, Dmitri: Symphony No. 5
  • Eastern Festival Orchestra

7:30 PM | Dana Auditorium

  • Mozart, Wolfgang Amadeus: Overture to Die Zauberflöte (The Magic Flute), K. 620
  • Beethoven, Ludwig van: Overture to Egmont, Op. 84
  • Weber, Carl Maria von: Overture to Euryanthe, J. 291, Op. 8
  • Rossini, Gioachino: Overture to Guillaume Tell (William Tell)
  • Mendelssohn, Felix: The Hebrides (Fingal’s Cave) Overture, Op. 26
  • Berlioz, Hector: Le Carnaval romain (Roman Carnival) Overture, Op. 9
  • Verdi, Giuseppe: Overture to La forza del destino (The Force of Destiny)
  • Wagner, Richard: Prelude to Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg
  • Brahms, Johannes: Academic Festival Overture, Op. 80
  • Eastern Festival Orchestra

7:30 PM | Dana Auditorium

  • Weiser, Alex: “Airs of Awe and Affection” WORLD PREMIERE
  • Prokofiev, Sergei: String Quartet No. 2
  • Martinu, Bohuslav: Revue de Cuisine
  • Tchaikovsky, Peter Ilyich: Souvenir de Florence

7:30 PM | Dana Auditorium

Exciting performances from the percussion and harp studios.

7:30 PM | Dana Auditorium

  • Bernstein, Leonard: On the Waterfront
  • Dvorak, Antonin: Cello Concerto featuring soloist Neal Cary
  • Liszt, Franz: Les Preludes
  • Young Artist Orchestra

7:30 PM | Dana Auditorium

  • Prokofiev, Sergei: Symphony No. 5
  • Young Artist Orchestra

7:30 PM | Dana Auditorium

  • Goossens, Eugene: Jubilee Variations
  • Hanson, Howard: Symphony No. 2
  • Rachmaninoff, Sergei: Piano Concerto #2 featuring soloist William Wolfram
  • Eastern Festival Orchestra

7:30 PM | Dana Auditorium

  • Beethoven, Ludwig van: Sonata Op. 12 No. 2
  • Haydn, Franz Joseph: String Quartet Op. 20 No. 4
  • Brahms, Johannes: Scherzo from FAE Sonata
  • Beethoven, Ludwig van: Quintet for Piano and Winds

7:30 PM | Dana Auditorium

  • Montgomery, Jessie: “Strum”
  • Shostakovich, Dmitri: Piano Trio in E Minor
  • Schulhoff: Concertino
  • Tabakova, Dobrinka: “Moreni”
  • Strauss, Richard: Sextet from Cappricio

7:30 PM | Dana Auditorium

Come enjoy an evening of exhilarating brass music.

7:30 PM | Dana Auditorium

Concerto Competition Winners with Young Artist Orchestra.

7:30 PM | Dana Auditorium

  • Mussorgsky, Modest: Pictures at an Exhibition
  • Elgar, Edward: Enigma Variations
  • Young Artist Orchestra

7:30 PM | Dana Auditorium

  • Kodaly, Zoltan: Dances of Galanta
  • Ben-Haim, Paul: Lullaby
  • Bruch, Max: Violin Concerto No. 1 featuring Pinchas Zukerman
  • Stravinsky, Igor: Firebird Suite (1911)
  • Eastern Festival Orchestra
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