The 2019 Season of the Geneva Music Festival (GMF), to be held May 24 through June 16, will celebrate “Women in Music.” At least half the festival’s programming will represent women’s contributions to music through featured composers, performers or multimedia.
“For several years, we have set aside a week during the festival to celebrate the influence a particular culture or genre has had on the history of music,” says GMF Director and violinist Geoffrey Herd. “This year, we saw a great opportunity to weave the theme throughout the whole season, so we could showcase many of the different ways women have influenced the music world from the 19th century to today.”
Among the many female composers GMF will pay tribute to is Clara Schumann, whose works will be performed in concerts the first weekend of the festival.
Jazz will again be part of GMF in 2019 with Syndee Winters and Sounds of A&R (April Webb and Randall Haywood) returning to pay tribute to groundbreaking women in jazz who have also been honored at the National Women’s Hall of Fame.
Contemporary composer Jennifer Higdon, whose works were featured in GMF concerts in 2017, also will be represented this season, as will Chelsea Chen. One of Chen’s works will make its world premiere during GMF organ recitals.
Fittingly, this season’s Bluegrass concert also will be headlined by a woman, Finger Lakes native Rebecca Colleen and the Chore Lads.
As always, talented women will be invaluable members of GMF’s 2019 cast of artists, including returning favorites Jinjoo Cho (violin), Hannah Collins (cello), Hillary Herndon (viola), Esther Kim (piano), and Michelle Cann (piano), who made her GMF debut in 2018.
For more information about the 2019 Geneva Music Festival, visit the website at www.genevamusicfestival.com. The site is updated as details about concerts and artists are confirmed.