WINONA LAKE – Beginning Friday night, the 2013 MasterWorks Festival will keep music, dance and theater lovers busy and enthralled. “It’s going to be a great summer!” Dr. Patrick Kavanaugh, MasterWorks director, stated in an interview Tuesday afternoon. This weekend features a faculty chamber concert at 7:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday, and a faculty recital at 7:30 p.m. Sunday. All three are at Rodeheaver Auditorium in Winona Lake. This year’s Festival will feature a lot of new soloists, he said. For the last five years, Kavanaugh said he’s tried to get violinist Rachel Barton Pine for the Festival. He finally did, and she will perform as a soloist July 13 at 7:30 p.m. at Rodeheaver. “We will be glad to have her. She is a find,” he said. Soloist Wei Yu will be on the cello July 4 at 7:30 p.m. at Rodeheaver Auditorium for the Festival Orchestra, conducted by Miriam Burns. “It’s a big year for soloists,” Kavanaugh said. He also indicated it is a big year for dance and theater at MasterWorks. The theater students will be in the area for only three weeks, then they go on tour, ending up in New York at Studio 315. Their show is “Twelve Angry Jurors.” “It’s a very dramatic piece. It’s real fun and the students are excellent. The quality of students is very high this year,” Kavanaugh said. Reginald Rose’s “Twelve Angry Jurors” will be presented July 4 at 8 p.m. and July 6 at 3 p.m. at McClain Auditorium. Rich Swingle is directing the theatrical piece. The show follows a long-form improv performance under the direction of Kaelen Carrier. “It’s getting scary how great the kids are getting. They’re from Canada, South America, Asia, all over. One girl from Juilliard sent in her audition. I thought, ‘What can we teach her? She should be on the faculty!’” Kavanaugh exclaimed. One of the most anticipated performances of the Festival is the Fourth of July Pops Concert. Because July 4 falls on a Thursday this year, Kavanaugh said the Pops Concert will be on July 5. Instead of an earlier start time, the concert at the Hillside Amphitheater will start at 8:30 p.m. The Philharmonic Orchestra will be conducted by Kavanaugh, and features soloists Steven Condy and Robin Leigh Massie. After “1812 Overture” ends, the fireworks will begin. The dance students will be presenting “Giselle” this year. Kavanaugh said it’s a huge ballet with lots of dances. “They have to be really good (dancers),” he said. It is the only part of the Festival not in Winona Lake. “Giselle” will be performed at 7:30 p.m. July 6 and 2 p.m. July 7 at the Warsaw Community High School Performing Arts Center. “The Village at Winona is obviously one of our main sponsors. (The Festival) helps them get more customers in their doors. We like doing stuff with them. Several times a week, we send kids down there to play and people just love having live music,” Kavanaugh stated. Another thing people love about MasterWorks, he explained, is the hymn sing on Sundays after the faculty recitals. People just love to sing along, he said. The faculty recitals are at 7:30 p.m. at Rodeheaver Auditorium June 16, 23 and July 7. Each year, Kavanaugh said the concerts are getting bigger and bigger. The kids really are worked, starting rehearsals at 9 a.m. and not finishing until 11 p.m. “We just keep them going. We definitely keep them busy,” he said. The students are tired, but they’re very excited to be there performing and learning. “We cram six months of musical training in four weeks. We really pack it in,” he continued. The Festival has more than 200 students and more than 100 faculty. Just 10 percent of the students are from outside North America. Many of the faculty members come back year after year, Kavanaugh said. Karen and Harry “Chip” Hill are faculty members who have been with MasterWorks since it started in 1997. The married couple will perform as soloists at 7:30 p.m. June 28 at Rodeheaver as part of the Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Darryl One. “I have zero turnover in faculty. They just want to come back every year. Many have been here since the beginning,” Kavanaugh explained. “We have a very good low student to teacher ratio,” he also noted. The Master Classes are free and open to the public to observe. Teachers from all over the state will come to observe them, Kavanaugh said. “It’s a big deal to take a Master Class,” he stated. Students are taking classes in front of their peers. Artists can learn from other artists just by observing a Master Class, he said. Theater students can learn from flutists, violinists can learn from dancers, and so forth, he explained. And while art lovers will be enjoying this year’s performances, Kavanaugh will be working on next year’s. He has already lined up the conductors for 2014, and all the pieces have to be finished by the time this year’s Festival is over, he stated. For more information including concert and show times, visit the official website at www.masterworksfestival.org
