Master Players Festival
UD's second annual international summer music festival accepting applicants
8:59 a.m., Feb. 1, 2016--After a highly successful inaugural year in 2015, the University of Delaware Master Players Concert Series will present the second annual Master Players Festival (MPF) from July 23-Aug. 4 at the Roselle Center for the Arts in Newark.
Talented music students will have the opportunity to work with inspiring concert artists and pedagogues in master classes, chamber music coaching sessions and private lessons, in addition to sharing the stage with some of them.
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MPF also invites younger musicians ages 10 and old to join the newly established Little Masters Camp, which will be inspired and informed by festival artists with unique musical and non-musical daily activities.
MPF is now accepting applicants worldwide and offers a special rate for UD students and local commuters not requiring on-campus housing. The daily drop off time is 8:30 a.m. after breakfast and pick up time is 10 p.m. after concerts. The online application deadline is Feb. 15 and the late application deadline is Feb. 28.
The all-star guest artist faculty will perform in public Master Players summer concerts and teach during the festival.
They include members of the University of Delaware music department faculty and leading members of the Philadelphia Orchestra, the National Symphony Orchestra and the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, as well as performing faculty hailing from such esteemed institutions as the Peabody Conservatory of Music, the Manhattan School of Music, the Juilliard School, Pennsylvania State University, the Eastman School of Music, University of Texas-Austin, Louisiana State University, Temple University, Florida State University, the University of Maryland, West Virginia University, Michigan State University, the Yong Siew Toh Conservatory of Music in Singapore, Capital Normal University in Beijing, China, and China Conservatory, also in Beijing.
Master Players summer concerts will be presented featuring MPF faculty artists as well as a small number of student artists who will win the festival solo and chamber music competitions. Many afternoon master classes (2-3 p.m.), special presentations and MPF Young Artists Concerts are free and open to the community.
All concerts will take place in the Roselle Center for the Arts with seating limited to 200. To watch short documentary films about MPF, learn more about the daily schedule and read biographies of the impressive festival guest artists, visit the website.
Xiang Gao, the founding artistic director of the MPF and Trustees Distinguished Professor of Music at UD, said the festival is designed to help "recruit the right type of music students from the U.S. and abroad to our beloved University and to make Delaware a true cultural destination in the summer.”
In addition, Gao said the festival is also a part of the expansion of the Master Players Concert Series, also under his direction, which will be entering its 13th season this fall advised by the Master Players Advisory Council.
General seating tickets for the festival faculty artist concerts are $10 for adults and $5 for full-time MPF and UD students.
Limited festival passes are available for all events for $35 for adults and $20 for full-time MPF and UD students, and can also be purchased at the door. Individual tickets will be available at the door one hour prior to each event.
To make a reservation for a guaranteed seat, or to purchase a guaranteed festival pass, contact MPF camp director Laura Kerst at lkw@udel.edu at least 24 hours before the desired performance.
Driving, parking and restaurant information can be found at the Master Players Festival website.
New MPF offerings
New Master Players Festival offerings this year include world music workshops led by renowned musicians from Africa, India, China and Scotland, and jazz music workshops featuring the UD faculty jazz faculty.
Another new feature is the MPF Arts Education Fair, a one-day conference presented by Blue Resource USA, a festival sponsor. The fair, which is open to the public with registration required, will feature presentations by admission officers from top boarding schools with strong music programs and music conservatories/colleges.
A festival representative said the fair is a great opportunity for MPF participants and the tri-state community to learn about each school and its admission process for their future education and career planning. It is also provides an opportunity for the institutions to encounter many talented young musicians.
Those who are not part of MPF are welcome to register to join the conference. Visit the website after May 15 for registration information.
Participating institutions and MPF participants should contact Grace W. Yang at Blue Resources at wenyay@gmail.com for any questions they may have.
American Musical Journey trip
In addition, students will have the opportunity to take trips in the days preceding and following the festival. As a part of the “American Musical Journey” designed by Gao, the international students will visit top music schools and concert halls in New York, Philadelphia and Washington, D.C., including the Juilliard School, Lincoln Center for Performing Arts, Carnegie Hall, the Curtis Institute, Kimmel Center for Performing Arts, and the Kennedy Center for Performing Arts.
About the Master Players Festival
The Master Players Festival is co-sponsored by the University of Delaware’s Department of Music and Community Music School, the Marriott Courtyard Newark-University of Delaware hotel, China Music Foundation (USA), Blue Resources USA, Bromberg Fine Violins in Wilmington, and Cremona Arts Center International (China).
Videos about the festival include an introduction, testimonials and a look at the faculty artists.