As one of Wintergreen Music’s three defining pillars (Destination, Community & Artistry), Community focuses on building a welcoming, creative, and people-centric network for musicians and audience members. The Wintergreen Music Community extends artistry to “the mountain” and beyond – creating not only a destination for visitors passing through but by helping to grow a sense of true community for and with those who reside in Nelson County and the Central Blue Ridge area. Because this community has supported Wintergreen Music in so many ways over the last 27 years, Wintergreen Music responds in kind through multiple projects, reinforced by Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Awareness (DEIA) initiatives.
Non-Profit Partners & Highlights
Jefferson Area Board of Aging (JABA) at the Nelson Center
Over the past two seasons, Wintergreen Music established and expanded partnership with the Jefferson Area Board of Aging (JABA). In 2021, Wintergreen Music deployed eight Festival Artists as The Wintergreen Brass Ensemble, to perform throughout Nelson County. The Wintergreen Brass Ensemble provided two performances of jazz and “big band'' standards, one at our established partner, Rockfish Valley Community Center, and JABA’s Cecilia Epps Community Center at the Nelson Center.
After the success of 2021, Wintergreen Music and JABA reengaged and expanded their partnership in 2022 with two new concerts: a string orchestra performance with musicians joining JABA participants in their usual mid-day meal and a trip to the mountain for an exclusive open rehearsal of the Brahms Liebeslieder Waltzes and an opportunity to meet nationally and internationally acclaimed opera singers, as well as LEAD Cooperative singers, after rehearsal. Travel and picnic arrangements are provided by JABA.
Rockfish Valley Community Center (RVCC) Partnership
A long-standing partnership exists between Wintergreen Music and the Rockfish Valley Community Center. During the Festival, community patrons have enjoyed co-presented free concerts featuring Festival Artists, students, and Guest Artists. In December of 2022, Wintergreen Music reimagined its commitment to community by reintroducing the former “Blue Ridge Christmas” holiday concert as “Wintergreen Wonderland” — intentionally designed to be an accessible holiday experience complete with a “holiday hour” pre-concert showcasing the many businesses and nonprofit organizations residing in the Rockfish Valley Community Center.
Virginia Museum of Fine Arts Partnership
Wintergreen Music has partnered with the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts (VMFA) for multiple collaborations. During the live Festival Season, VMFA brings its interactive art space – the Artmobile – to partner venue, Bold Rock Hard Cider, in Nellysford. Each year, unique mobile art collections feature hands-on activities, digital interactives, and works by Virginia artists past and present. During 2020’s Wintergreen Music: Online Community (WM:OC), VMFA contributed to the “Music and…” web series, hosted by Artistic Director Erin Freeman with special guest, Curator Leo Mazo. New in summer 2022, WM featured VMFA Curator Dr. Colleen Yarger as a special guest lecturer during the free morning “Coffee Talks”.
Nelson County Public Schools Partnership
This partnership is supported by the Virginia Commission for the Arts Creative Communities Partnership Grant.
For over 20 years, Wintergreen Music has partnered with Nelson County, administering VCA grant funds to supplement arts programs in the public schools. To encourage local support of the arts, VCA matches up to $4,500 of local government tax monies, in this case from the Nelson County Board of Supervisors.
Wintergreen Music greatly appreciates the work of Mary Jo Russell, Chair of its Education and Community Engagement Committee. Ms. Russell administers all facets of the work with grant funds awarded to WM for expenditure in the Nelson County Public Schools.
Programs supported in Nelson County Public Schools include:
On campus performances by Virginia Repertory Theater
On & off campus music & theater workshops
Field trips to Charlottesville Symphony, Ford’s Theater in Washington DC, American Shakespeare Theater, Wayne Theater & Paramount Theater
Music & theater curriculums for NCPS’s Summer Excel Academy
Additional support for NCPS musical productions during the school year
The Oratorio Society of Virginia Partnership
Sing with Us! is a unique offering of the Wintergreen Music Festival that embraces the greater community through inclusive music-making. An important ongoing partner in this event is the Oratorio Society of Virginia, based in Charlottesville, VA. Music Director Michael Slon will again serve as faculty in the 2023 Sing with Us! and Oratorio Society singers will serve as musical anchors.
Caravanserai Music Partnership
This summer, Wintergreen Music partners with Staunton-based Caravanserai (“cara-van-se-Rye”) Music, a non-profit organization dedicated to the promotion of compassion and community through musical performance. They have a special focus on music education and will join us in curating and presenting two free family-friendly concerts and “instrument petting zoos” throughout the July Fourth festivities at Wintergreen Resort. Co-founder Yi-Ping Chen is also an alumna of Wintergreen Music’s educational Academy program and returns frequently to enjoy and collaborate with the Festival.
City Choir of Washington Partnership
Wintergreen Music’s Artistic Director Erin Freeman recently relocated to the Washington DC area where she also serves as Artistic Director of the City Choir of Washington. The Wintergreen Music Festival’s Sing with Us! program welcomes the City Choir as an anchor partner in this unique program, hosting rehearsals and zoom sessions in advance of the Festival event in the DC area.
Nelson County Community Orchestra Partnership
Led by an alumna of our LEAD Cooperative education program, conductor Kimberly Souther of the Nelson County Community Orchestra (NCCO) partners this year with Wintergreen Music to co-produce the revival of “Play with Us!” — an immersive playing opportunity for amateur musicians presented during the Wintergreen Music Festival. The Nelson County Community Orchestra's mission is to provide high quality, affordable musical experiences for the people of Nelson County and neighboring communities in a welcoming, friendly, supportive, educational environment.
Free Festival Programming
These offerings are made possible by the Virginia Commission for the Arts General Operating Grant.
Hosted by Erin Freeman, Festival Artists, and Guest Lecturers, audiences can start each day with free, casual, podcast-style Coffee Talks held fireside in the recently renovated Lobby Hearth Room in Wintergreen Resort’s Mountain Inn to explore the themes and stories behind the Festival season.
Through the LEAD Cooperative, audiences can attend free-to-the-public Masterclasses, Rehearsals & Seminars that take place in the afternoons during the final two weeks of the Festival. Patrons are welcome to observe the next generation of classical musicians while they hone their craft.
New in 2023, patrons can enjoy free performances throughout the Fourth of July weekend in partnership with Wintergreen Resort, including a brass “salute to the armed forces”. Festival Artists will also present informational demonstrations specifically designed for families and children during the activities fair at Wintergreen Resort.
Wintergreen Music’s History of Community Engagement
From iterations such as Music in Unusual Places to the more service-focused Community Connections and “Charlottesville Takeover Day”, along with partnerships with Nelson County Schools, Wintergreen Music continues to grow in its efforts to reach the surrounding community with music and artistic programming year-round and during the Festival. Prior to the pandemic, Community Connections reached underserved populations and the general public by presenting free concerts on the Historic Downtown mall, in the Charlottesville Boys’ & Girls’ Club, and in other accessible public spaces. Community Connections featured short, pop-up-style concerts of small Academy student ensembles that allowed students to hone public speaking and presentation skills. In addition, WM and the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts (VMFA) presented the VMFA Artmobile in collaboration with Bold Rock Hard Cider featuring unique mobile art collections with hands-on activities, digital interactives, and works by Virginia artists past and present.
During the COVID-19 Pandemic, Wintergreen Music adapted and scaled Festival and partner offerings by creating Wintergreen Music: Online Community (WM:OC). It was utilized first as a platform for Festival and Academy-style programming, then during the “off-season” by partnering with colleges and universities to provide music students free collaborative masterclasses with Academy Faculty with national partners such as: Cincinnati Conservatory of Music, James Madison University, Peabody Conservatory of Music at Johns Hopkins University, University of Maryland, Virginia Commonwealth University, West Virginia University, Interlochen Arts Academy, and various area high schools.
Once live music could more safely resume in the summer of 2021, Wintergreen Music deployed eight Festival Artists as The Wintergreen Brass Ensemble, to perform throughout Nelson County. The Wintergreen Brass Ensemble provided two performances of jazz and “big band” standards, one at our established partner, Rockfish Valley Community Center, and the other at Jefferson Area Board of Aging’s (JABA’s) Cecilia Epps Community Center at the Nelson Center. After the successful introduction in 2021, Wintergreen Music and JABA reengaged and expanded their partnership in 2022 with two new concerts: a string orchestra performance with musicians joining JABA participants in their usual mid-day meal and a trip to the mountain for an exclusive dress rehearsal of the Brahms Liebeslieder Waltzes and an opportunity to meet nationally and internationally acclaimed opera singers, as well as LEAD Cooperative singers, after rehearsal. Travel and picnic arrangements were provided by JABA.
Wintergreen Music looks forward to programming the next evolution of the former Community Connections as part of Festival and LEAD Cooperative programming in summer 2023, building on the values of these service-based musical experiences.
