Festival of Gold

From the prestigious stage of Chicago’s Orchestra Hall and the breathtaking venue at New York’s St. Bartholomew's Church to the acoustically superb Segerstrom Center for the Arts in Orange County, California, Festival of Gold offers elite choirs, bands, and orchestras the opportunity to perform on the world’s greatest stages. Festival of Gold and Festival at Carnegie Hall combine to create the Elite Performance Series, two prestigious festivals designed to offer talented ensembles the chance to celebrate musical artistry in some of the premier performance venues across the nation.

As a part of the Elite Performance Series, Festival of Gold is specifically designed to demonstrate and celebrate the musical talent of the ensembles in attendance through exceptional options for choral and instrumental festival performances. Selected ensembles must meet the highest standards to participate in Festival of Gold. Ensembles that have received a Gold rating at a Heritage music festival or regional festival are accepted into Festival of Gold. Ensembles who have not performed at a previous festival must undergo a special audition process.

At the culmination of the weekend, Festival of Gold offers an incredible performing experience at the Encore Concert. This final concert features the highest scoring ensembles of the festival, as well as the Honor Choir, Band, and Orchestra. The Honor Ensembles are made up of individual students, selected prior to the festival. Honor Choir students are nominated by their director, while Honor Band and Orchestra students submit recordings for review. If selected, this prestigious opportunity places these students in front of the world’s greatest conductors, where they will be challenged, inspired, and groomed for the Encore Concert.

Festival of Gold offers outstanding benefits for you and your music program:
  • Give your students the chance to perform in one of the world’s most storied venues.
  • Distinguish your school by offering students the opportunity to earn academic credit through educational travel.
  • Gain the support of your community as it rallies around your high-achieving musicians.
  • Advance your teaching career through free professional development.
  • Learn from top adjudicators as they share new techniques on coaching performers.
  • Help your students impress college admissions officers with a resume that includes performing at prestigious venues like Orchestra Hall, Segerstrom Center for the Arts, and St. Bartholomew’s Church.

 


Festival of Gold