Endless Mountian Music Festival - July 31 to August 16, 2009

by Cynthia Long
(Wellsboro, PA)

Endless Mountain Music Festival Announces 2009 Guest Artists

Concerts Scheduled July 31 – August 16

World renowned Russian pianist Pavel Nersessian and Pennsylvania State University’s Artist Laureate, cellist Kim Cook are just two of the many outstanding musicians slated to perform at the 2009 Endless Mountain Music Festival, July 31 – August 16 in northern Pennsylvania and the Finger Lakes Region.

The 2009 lineup of world renowned guest artists includes Kim Cook, cello, Pavel Nersessian, piano, Gregory Sandomirsky, violin, Bram Wijnands, piano, Stanislav Pronin, violin, Michael Sheppard, piano, Naomi Gray, cello, Doris Hall-Gulati, basset clarinet, Netanel Draiblate, violin, Josh Kovach, clarinet, Elizabeth Landon, flute, Kelly Ali, double bass, Betty Landon, violin, Odin Rathnam, violin, and Sweet Plantain, with Romulo Benavides, violin, David Gotay, cello, Eddie Venegas, violin and trombone, and Orlando Wells, viola.

Now in its fourth season, the festival features solo recitals, chamber music and a 62-member festival orchestra under the baton of internationally recognized conductor Maestro Stephen Gunzenhauser.

Maestro Gunzenhauser spent more than 23 years as conductor and music director for both the Delaware and the Lancaster Symphony Orchestra and currently conducts the Lancaster Symphony Orchestra. In 2004, he served as artistic advisor of the Bogotá Columbia Philharmonic. One of the few conductors active in the U.S., Eastern Europe and South America, he has guest conducted extensively on five continents, recorded 66 albums, and was nominated for a Grammy in 2003.

From Baroque to Romantic, from classical to contemporary, the festival offers a variety of musical styles and colors, with works from masters such as Vivaldi and Mozart to contemporary Slovak composer extraordinaire Peter Breiner .

The program includes 16 concerts in such diverse venues as Mansfield University’s Straughn Auditorium, Wellsboro’s First Presbyterian Church, and the Corning Glass Works Museum. New venues for 2009 include Wellsboro High School, Troy High School, Liberty High School, and Canton’s historic Manley-Bohlayer farm.

Weekend concerts will feature pre-concert presentations by noted hornist and Mansfield University Music Professor Rebecca Dodson-Webster, Ph.D.

Concert previews will be offered an hour prior to curtain time on Aug. 1, 2, 8, 9, 15 and 16, and outline the evening’s featured compositions, composers and musicians.

A non-profit organization, the Endless Mountain Music Festival is a regional endeavor, made possible through the efforts of countless community volunteers, sponsors and festival partners. Festival tickets are available by phone or online.

Call 570-787-7800 or visit our website at www.emdlessmountain.net.