Tour the 2025 Wintergreen Music Festival
season reveal with Artistic Director Erin Freeman
Wintergreen Music turns 30 this year, and to celebrate, we’re honoring everything that makes us special. We’ll celebrate:
Our incredible location with music inspired by nature, with a focus on the Blue Ridge Mountains
The community that built us with music written for and about friends
Our Festival Artists with poignant and virtuosic musical performances
And finally, we’ll give everyone that much-anticipated opportunity to renew their spirit through uplifting stories and transformative experiences.
Whether you come for a day, a weekend, a week, or the entire month, you experience the magic of our beloved music community all while surrounded by gorgeous mountain vistas and cool breezes.
While tickets go on sale in April, save the dates now and check out highlights below for this epic season of fantastic artistry.
ORCHESTRA
The Wintergreen Festival Orchestra, an audience favorite, is back! Comprised of musicians from leading orchestras and chamber music organizations across the country, this flagship ensemble performs each weekend in MountainTop Masterworks concerts led by me and three talented guest conductors.
BACK BY POPULAR DEMAND – Saturday, July 5: An American Salute with Orchestra: At the generous invitation of Wintergreen Resort, the full orchestra will return for an exciting family-friendly patriotic pops concert headlining Saturday night of the July Fourth Jubilee, just before the slopeside fireworks display. You’ll hear music from Broadway and Film as well as patriotic favorites such as America the Beautiful and Stars and Stripes Forever. There will even be a few singalongs, for those who want to join our impressive roster of musicians!
Sunday, July 6 and Monday, July 7: MountainTop Masterworks I — Bach, Haydn, Ravel, and Friends. Watch our Festival Artists shine in this impressive orchestra concert led by multi-talented keyboardist and conductor Kamna Gupta. From the harpsichord, Gupta will lead the orchestra in J.S. Bach’s exciting third Brandenburg Concerto and F.J. Haydn’s colorful Symphony No. 7. Then she’ll step onto the podium as we honor Maurice Ravel’s 150th birthday with his vibrant Tombeau de Couperin. Attend on Sunday to experience the full MountainTop Masterworks concert. Extend your long weekend to attend a special repeat on Monday, July 7 in the Dunlop Pavilion.
Saturday, July 12 and Sunday, July 13: MountainTop Masterworks II — Grieg’s Piano Concerto and Bizet’s Carmen. Straight from her debut in the Netflix film Maestra, French-American conductor Mélisse Brunet leads the orchestra in a variety of favorites, including music from Georges Bizet’s Carmen. Avery Gagliano, First Prize winner of the 2020 National Chopin Piano Competition and finalist of the prestigious 2025 American Pianists Awards, will join the orchestra for Edvard Grieg’s magnificent piano concerto. Think of this concert as a greatest hits of the orchestra world – definitely a concert to share with a friend!
Saturday, July 19 & Sunday, July 20: MountainTop Masterworks III — Nature’s Voice: Beethoven & Beyond. I take the reins this week, as we marry nature and music in the most spectacular way. Bring your umbrellas, because the showcase piece of this concert is Beethoven’s stormy Symphony no. 6 (the “Pastoral”). We’ll pair that with Ralph Vaughan Williams’ Lark Ascending, an homage to the great songbird, featuring concertmaster Elisabeth Adkins on violin. Plan to come to both Saturday and Sunday’s performances, as each day features a different piece! On Saturday, we’ll bring together our Sing with Us! Chorus to perform a world premiere version of Alex Berko’s touching masterpiece, Sacred Place. Then on Sunday, we’ll feature Jacob Wilder, principal horn, and Will Ferguson, tenor, in Benjamin Britten’s touching collection of nocturnal pieces: the Serenade for Tenor, Horn, and Strings.
Saturday, July 26 & Sunday, July 27: MountainTop Masterworks IV — Season Finale: Celebrating Destination, Community & Artistry. The finale of our 30th anniversary season brings together the Blue Ridge mountains, our community, and our incredible musicians in a grand celebration of our history and a nod to the future, all under the baton of the dynamic Chris Rountree. Virginia-based soloist Jeff Midkiff will join us for his own composition: a concerto for Mandolin and Orchestra, called “From the Blue Ridge.” I’ve been wanting to program this piece for some time now, knowing that it would be an instant hit. We’ve paired it with Edward Elgar’s homage to his friends, Enigma Variations. From the famous “Nimrod” to the triumphant conclusion, this will be a fitting season finale.
Friday Night Fun!
Friday nights are the perfect time to unwind and kick off the weekend. Each Friday, we present a festive, pops-inspired program that is perfect to enjoy with friends. We have everything from American jazz with John Winn and Friends on Opening Night (July 4, a celebratory birthday evening for us and Wintergreen Resort), to hits from Motown to the 1970s with crowd favorite TFC (July 11), to a jazz-meets-global concert with the unique and talented Project Locrea. Then, I’m thrilled to announce that our final Friday will feature GRAMMY and 12-time IBMA “Fiddler of the Year,” Michael Cleveland, with his band the Flamekeepers. With professional sound-design by StageSound, these four Fridays are going to be truly thrilling!
weeknight surprises
Working remotely? Need a weeklong escape? It’s easier than ever to spend time at Wintergreen during the week! You won’t be disappointed with musical options every Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday featuring our signature mix of standards like Beethoven’s “Serioso” String Quartet, Johannes Brahms’ String Sextet No. 1 in B-flat; Schubert’s Symphony No. 3 in chamber form, and Florence Price’s Piano Quintet; plus new discoveries including Rebecca Burkhardt’s Blues Women Triptych, Charles Loeffler’s recently unearthed Octet for 2 clarinets, harp, and strings, and a piano quartet by cinema composer Danny Elfman.
New This Year! Thursday evening performances will offer the option to purchase a drink flight curated by our partner venues, with each taste matching our musical selections. These are all wonderful opportunities to experience the individual artistry and virtuosity of our Festival Artists (and LEAD students!) in a welcoming and relaxed atmosphere — truly what makes the Wintergreen Music Festival unique.
sing with us!
Our Sing with Us! experience is back, with a world premiere orchestration of Alex Berko’s stunning Sacred Place. With text by Wendell Berry, John Miur, William Stafford, and more, as Berko states, the “piece is at times a meditation and at times an impassioned prayer for the world we inhabit and share.”
Rehearsals for Sing with Us! begin Tuesday, July 15, with the performance on Saturday, July 19. Learn More and pre-register today.
coffee talks
Our FREE coffee talks are back in the cozy hearth room of Wintergreen Resort’s Mountain Inn. Every Monday-Friday from 9:30-10:30 am, join me as your host along with several Wintergreen Festival Artists and special guests. Expect guided tours through the music, fun stories about the composers, and the chance to meet some pretty spectacular musicians!
special events
Throughout the Festival, look for unique opportunities to interface with the music in new and unexpected ways. In partnership with The Nature Foundation at Wintergreen, we’ll bring music back to the trails for a third year. As a special birthday celebration, we will open up the “Wintergreen Cabaret” for our annual Benefit fundraising event. In-Home Concerts will return for the ultimate intimate concert-meets-social experience.
LEAD COOPERATIVE
We are thrilled to welcome students back to the mountain for the fourth year of the LEAD Cooperative (Learn, Explore, Adapt, Diversify) – an innovative, grant-award-winning cross-disciplinary chamber music program designed for musicians on the cusp of their professional careers. During the last two weeks of the Festival, you’ll have countless opportunities to support the next generation of musical leaders as they hone their craft in open masterclasses, workshops, and performances.
I am counting down the days for this special anniversary season! I’m inspired by what our community has built over the last 30 years – an experience that renews the spirit, brings people together, highlights our beautiful surroundings, and celebrates some pretty fantastic musicians – and I’m excited to see what the next 30 years bring!
See you in July!
Erin Freeman, Artistic Director
