CHESTERTOWN — This year’s edition of the National Music Festival, which kicks off Sunday, May 31 and runs through June 13, will bring together almost 30 mentors and 100 promising apprentices, presenting more than 30 events ranging from majestic symphonies to intimate chamber music, pre-concert talks and master classes, plus dozens of free open rehearsals.
Mentors are professional musicians who teach and perform all over the country and the world; apprentices are young professional musicians on the cusp of their careers.
Festival musicians come to Chestertown each season from about 30 states and a dozen countries.
This year’s mentors will include several who have been with the NMF since its inception in 2011: Dana Goode [violin], Jared Hauser [oboe], Tom Parchman [clarinet] and Jennifer Parker-Harley [flute].
New mentors include Michael Harley [bassoon], Audrey Andrist [piano] and Patricia Weitzel [bass].
On Friday, June 5, National Music Festival Artistic Director and co-founder Richard Rosenberg will conduct the Festival Symphony Orchestra in a program featuring Antonin Dvorak’s beloved Symphony No. 9, “From the New World,” as well as works by Berlioz and Sibelius and film music by John Williams.
Principal guest conductor Emma McGrath, who travels from Hobart, Tasmania for her third season with the National Music Festival, will take the podium on Saturday, June 6.
Under McGrath’s baton, the Festival Symphony Orchestra will conduct music ranging from Ravel to Mozart.
A new program, The Saxophone Lab at the National Music Festival, brings more than 30 saxophonists to Chestertown this year.
Concert schedules, tickets and festival passes, which provide access to all ticketed events plus special pass-holder events, are available on the NMF’s website, nationalmusic.us.
Highlights of the much-anticipated 14th season include:
• Beethoven’s Sixth Symphony on Friday, June 12 and Eighth Symphony featured in an orchestral conducting masterclass with Maestro Richard Rosenberg on Monday, June 1.
• Monumental symphonic works, including the Ninth Symphonies of Mahler and Dvorak.
• Concerto performances by cello mentor Joseph Gotoff [Schumann’s Cello Concert on Friday, June 12] and clarinet apprentice Andrew Coleman [Nielsen’s Clarinet Concerto on Saturday, June 6].
• Chamber music by Beach, Schubert, Prokofiev and Telemann, among many others.
• A free Family Concert on Saturday, June 6, followed by an Instrument Petting Zoo where children [and adults] can try out a variety of instruments.
• The Saxophone Lab at the National Music Festival will present concerts on May 30, June 5 and June 7.
• Forest Music, a unique performance art event in collaboration with Adkins Arboretum. Tickets are available at adkinsarboretum.org.
“Whatever your musical palate, we have events you will love,” said Rosenberg. “In addition to our huge flagship orchestra concerts, try our free Lunchtime Chamber Bites, our special Family Concert or our Market Music in Fountain Park and enjoy!”
Lunchtime Chamber Bites are short, free concerts featuring performances and discussion with the artists.
The Family Concert and Market Music concerts also are free, as are several other events.
All rehearsals are free and open to the public; families with children are especially welcome at rehearsals. Attending open rehearsals is a wonderful way to introduce young children — and even their grandparents — to concert music.
Venues for concerts and rehearsals range from local churches to Washington College to the Kent Cultural Alliance’s Raimond Cultural Center, and more.
Concert and rehearsal schedules are available on the National Music Festival’s website, nationalmusic.us.
“For our talented, competitively selected apprentices, the National Music Festival advances the lives and careers of these promising musicians by providing access to world-class mentors and performance opportunities,” a news release states.
Apprentices attend the NMF on scholarship, completely free of charge.
The festival is a community effort. Chestertown area residents open their homes as host families for apprentices and mentors. Emmanuel Church in downtown Chestertown provides free lunches for the musicians each weekday. And, many local restaurants offer discounts to musicians.
Visit the festival’s website for the complete 2026 concert schedule and repertoire and to purchase tickets or festival passes.
A number of concerts are free, as are all rehearsals.
The National Music Festival is supported in part by the Maryland State Arts Council, Kent Cultural Alliance, Mid-Shore Community Foundation, Hedgelawn Foundation, and by tax-deductible contributions from music lovers.
For more information about the festival, visit the website at nationalmusic.us, email info@nationalmusic.us or call 443-480-0221.
