Tour the 2026 Wintergreen Music Festival

season reveal with Artistic Director Erin Freeman

I’m thrilled to announce our 2026 season – a July filled with excitement, wonder, drama, and beauty. Between July 2 and July 26, we have musical inspiration every day. Whether it’s the power of a large orchestra, the excitement of a musician at the top of their game, the intimate nature of a chamber concert, or the camaraderie in a coffee talk, we are inviting you to be a part of our newly unveiled mission:

Wintergreen Music inspires connection through extraordinary musical experiences. We do this by cultivating excellence, sparking curiosity, fostering belonging, and celebrating the bond between our Blue Ridge Mountain home and the transformative power of the arts.

What does this mean? It means that 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. You’ll hear the magic of Mozart, the color of Jazz, the down home virtuosity of bluegrass, the variety in American music, and more. You’ll connect with others and have opportunities to learn and grow, or simply sit and enjoy! 

And most importantly, you’ll experience the best that humanity has to offer: great music in a beautiful location with marvelous people.

I, for one, am counting down the days!

While tickets go on sale in April, save the dates now and check out highlights below for this epic season of fantastic artistry.

WEEKEND TRANSFORMATIONS

We’ve redesigned the Wintergreen Music weekend experience so visitors can enjoy the full breadth of our programming in a single visit. Across two dynamic days, audiences will experience orchestra performances, pops concerts, chamber music, special events, and LEAD student performances—on the Mountain and throughout the region.

Our MountainTop Masterworks orchestra concerts now anchor the weekend on Friday evening and Sunday afternoon, with pops programming featured on Saturday night (and one Thursday - Opening Night!). Daytime Saturdays will highlight chamber and choral performances in a variety of Mountain and regional venues.

ORCHESTRA

The Wintergreen Festival Orchestra, an audience favorite, anchors our weekends—with performances on Friday (new!) evening and Sunday afternoon! 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, three talented guest conductors, and our marvelous Assistant Conductor and LEAD alumna Nicoletta Moss.

THIRD ANNUAL PATRIOTIC POPS – Saturday, July 4: At the generous invitation of Wintergreen Resort, the full orchestra will return for an exciting FREE and family-friendly patriotic pops concert headlining the Saturday night of the July Fourth Jubilee, just before the slopeside fireworks display. You’ll hear music from Broadway, TV, 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!

Friday, July 3 and Sunday, July 5: MountainTop Masterworks I — Vaughan Williams, Copland, and Beethoven! Watch our Festival Artists shine in this impressive orchestra concert led by Tamara Dworetz. The concert will begin with Vaughan Williams' peaceful and transcendent Lark Ascending, performed by Wintergreen’s own Elisabeth Adkins. The orchestra then begins our month-long celebration of American music with Aaron Copland’s vibrant and quirky Music for the Theater. All of this, followed by Beethoven’s first symphony, a work that honors the past while breaking new ground for future growth.

Friday, July 10 and Sunday, July 12: MountainTop Masterworks II — We go from Mozart to the Mountains in this eclectic program led by Vinay Paramayswaran. Michael Daugherty’s Songs of the Open Road, featuring Festival Artists Kelly Mozeik on oboe and Jacob Wilder on horn, takes us on a journey along some of the most iconic American roads, including our own Skyline Drive! The program concludes with Mozart’s elegant and regal 39th symphony.

Friday, July 17 & Sunday, July 19: MountainTop Masterworks III — Florence Price and Johannes Brahms! Under the exciting baton of Robert Moody, the orchestra goes full on Romantic! With the sweeping lines of the first violin concerto by American icon Florence Price (played by the spectacular Rachel Lee Priday) and Brahms’ lush and colorful second symphony, you will be transported to a sonic world that matches the rich colors of a mountain sunset.

Friday, July 24 & Sunday, July 26: MountainTop Masterworks IV — Season Finale: Beethoven & Rachmaninoff. In a groundbreaking podium share, you’ll hear three pieces with three conductors! Nicoletta Moss will conduct a work by our composer-in-residence Jorge Sosa, and I will lead Rachmaninoff’s Symphonic Dances. The dances are feisty, powerful, and triumphant – and were written soon after Rachmaninoff immigrated to the United States to escape the Russian Revolution. In between, world-renowned artistic leader Awadagin Pratt will play and lead Beethoven’s third piano concerto. With our LEAD instrumentalists joining us side by side with the Festival Artists, this concert embodies the Wintergreen way and will be a majestic sendoff!

Saturday (and one Thursday) Night Fun!

With Pops now on Saturday night (opening night is Thursday), you can enjoy a full day of concerts, hikes, and golf, and then enjoy laidback American idioms of Blues, Rock and Roll, Jazz, and Bluegrass. On Thursday, July 2, we present Bad Influence – a blues band from DC, featuring the award-winning vocalist Mary Shaver. Saturday, July 11, Adrian Duke and his band grace the stage with a celebrated combination of Rock, Jazz, and New Orleans funk. On July 18, our Wintergreen Festival Orchestra joins Desirée Roots and her trio for the premiere of her new orchestra show of Jazz favorites and Gospel surprises. Finally, on the 25th, we are joined by GRAMMY® Award-winning bluegrass guitarist Trey Hensley and his band. With professional sound-design by StageSound, these four evenings 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 and hidden gems. You’ll hear music by Mozart, Bernstein, Fauré, Beach, Barber, Bach, Coleman, Gershwin, and more, all in venues from beautiful Wintergreen homes to breeze-filled Dunlop Pavilion. And, this year, we add King Family Vineyards to our list of Mix, Mingle, and Music venues!

sing with us!

Our Sing with Us! experience is back, with an extension of MountainTop Masterwork II’s Mozart to the Mountains theme. We’ll sing Mozart’s charming Missa Brevis in D Major and a world premiere version of Susan Greenbaum’s Virginia, The Home of My Heart (with Susan herself!). Rehearsals for Sing with Us! begin Tuesday, July 7, with the performance on Saturday, July 11 in the afternoon. Learn More and pre-register today.

coffee talks

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 fourth year. We’ll let our diva lights shine at our Annual Benefit, and we’ll bring back our In-Home Concerts for the ultimate intimate concert-meets-social experience.

LEAD COOPERATIVE

We are thrilled to welcome students back to the mountain for the fifth 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.

As we finish up our final touches on the 2026 Festival, I’m finding myself so grateful to be a part of this special organization—where the highest levels of artistic expression meet a community that is welcoming and supportive. Come join the fun this summer!

See you in July!

Erin Freeman, Artistic Director