The public is invited to a free community performance celebrating the 20th annual Elisabeth Morrow School Summer String Festival on Thursday, August 13 from 1:30 p.m. to 3 p.m. Young musicians from across the tri-state are will perform pieces by Bartok, Bach, Handel and Mozart among others.
The Festival, founded by noted music teacher and EMS arts department chair Amelia Gold, auditioned over 300 musicians between the ages of four and 13 this spring, many coming from overseas. What makes Summer String unique, says Gold, is the Festival’s focus on underserved students, who in their own public schools may never even have a chance to pick up an instrument.
“I have seen our program change so many lives since 1995,” says Ms. Gold, an Englewood native. “Typically scholarships aren’t given to such young students, as many programs prefer to invest in older children who have already shown extraordinary talent. At EMS, we believe that music should be accessible to everyone, and we give children the ability to use their musical gifts in a way that they and their families may never have thought possible.”
The program still receives generous support from its initial funder, The Russell Berrie Foundation, as well as dozens of other private donations. A team of highly trained faculty and about100 alumni return to the Summer String Festival working to teach, rehearse and perform with enrolled students.
The performance will be held in the school’s Gymkhana which is accessible from the 420 Next Day Hill entrance to the campus.
