MasterWorks Festival
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The MasterWorks Festival is a month-long intensive summer training program for classical performing artists. It is held in Winona Lake, Indiana, USA, the home of the evangelist Billy Sunday, the birthplace of Youth for Christ and the location of many early Billy Graham crusades. It was co-founded in 1997 by the artistic director of the Christian Performing Artists' Fellowship (CPAF), Dr. Patrick Kavanaugh and his wife Barbara, and by the trombonist James Kraft and his wife Mary Jeane.
The festival is operated on the campus of Grace College. It focuses on intense artistic training and deep spiritual growth. MasterWorks offers master classes for classical musicians, dancers and actors instructed by world-renowned performing artists. It has featured such performers as Midori Goto, Christopher Parkening, Rebecca Wright, Jeanette Clift George, John Dalley, Lawrence Dutton, Anne Martindale Williams, David Hardy, Doug Yeo, Christine Smith, Steve Hendrickson, David Kim, Alan Chao, John Nelson, Phil Smith, Paula Robison, Stephen Clapp and the Ying String Quartet.
The MasterWorks Festival runs several programs, the largest of which is the Orchestral program for students ages 14 to 26. There are also Intensive Study Programs for Strings, Piano, Winds and Voice. In addition, there is a Theatre program, as well as both Ballet and Modern Dance programs. In 20141 MasterWorks will launch a Conducting program and a 3-day Choral program. Previously, the MasterWorks Festival had an Opera program and a Classical Guitar program. MasterWorks also hosts a summer intensive technical internship program. The program assists in productions throughout the festival.
The festival hosts a variety of artistic and spiritual activities from concerto competitions and community performances, to Bible studies and evening worship services. Over 40 performances are held throughout the month-long festival including two weekly orchestral performances, a full length ballet program with orchestra, a full length theatre production, chamber music recitals, student recitals, faculty recitals and guest concerto artists.
In 2004, MasterWorks expanded outside the US and MasterWorks Europe took place in London, England. Since then, other non-USA MasterWorks Festivals have taken place in Winchester, England, and in Zhengzhou and Changsha, China. Plans for more MasterWorks Festivals around the globe are currently in development.
References
- MasterWorks Festival website
- Christian Performing Artists Fellowship
- Kavanaugh, Patrick, The Story of the Christian Performing Artists' Fellowship, Winona Lake, Indiana, Christian Performing Artists' Fellowship.
- The Christian Performing Artists' Fellowship. (2006) MasterWorks Fesitival Brochure. Winona Lake, Indiana. Christian Performing Artists' Fellowship.
- Cook, Jane, G., and Heckman, Paul, (2001), Winona Lake Summers, North Manchester, Indiana. ICanPublish.