One-of-a-kind
in concept and execution, the Hot Springs Music
Festival brings together over 250 international
musicians each June in the historic spa resort of
Hot Springs National Park.
The
Festival, now in its fifteenth season, pairs world-class
mentor musicians from major orchestras, chamber
ensembles and conservatory faculties with especially
talented pre-professional apprentices--all of whom
receive full scholarship plus housing; the two groups
play "side by side" in orchestral, chamber,
solo recital, vocal, choral and chamber opera repertoire.
For two weeks, these musicians form a unique community,
presenting 20 concerts and over 250 open rehearsals
for music lovers from across the globe.
Over
20,000 people attended Festival events last year,
and an additional 6.4 million heard its concerts
on nationwide radio broadcasts. As the second edition
of The 100 Best Small Arts Towns in America noted,
"the Hot Springs Music Festival has carved
out a place on the nation's classical music map."
Serious
in focus but casual in atmosphere, the Festival
events take place in a variety of non-traditional
venues including historic buildings, art galleries,
hotel ballrooms, churches and open-air spaces. Before
and after concerts, audience members and musicians
mingle in Hot Springs' eclectic restaurants and
cafes, hike the National Park's trails, and relax
in the hot mineral water baths that gave the city
its name.
Situated
in the magnificent Ouachita mountains of central
Arkansas, Hot Springs National Park has been designated
a "City of the Arts." In addition to the
Hot Springs Music Festival, its beautifully restored
Historic Downtown District is home to nearly 30
fine art galleries, a monthly gallery walk, a world-class
documentary film festival and over 200 resident
visual and performing artists.
In
addition to its usual concert, open rehearsal and
radio broadcast activities, the Hot Springs Music
Festival appears on nine compact discs distributed
worldwide on the Naxos/Marco Polo label. The Festival
was also the focus of an hour long Public Broadcasting
Service documentary, "The Sound of Dreams,"
which made its debut in February 2001, and continues
to be broadcast nationwide.
Since
its inaugural season in 1996, the Hot Springs Music Festival
has:
•
~
Presented more than 242 concerts of symphony orchestra,
chamber orchestra, choral and chamber music, as well as
opera, recitals, master classes and improvisatory events.
~
Opened over 2650 rehearsals free to the public.
•~ Mentored more than 1370 apprentices (pre-professional
musicians evaluated competitively from an international
pool of applicants) from 26 countries, all on full scholarship,
including instrumentalists, singers, conductors, composers,
recording engineers, production crew and arts administrators.
•~ Recorded 6 compact discs of American music for
global distribution on Naxos Records, two of which were
nominated for Grammy Awards.
•~ Attracted more than 240,000 audience members of
all ages to Hot Springs National Park for live events.
•~ Reached over 28.3 million listeners through National
Public Radio broadcasts of its concerts, with an estimated
3.4 million through upcoming 2008/09 broadcasts.
•~Hosted more than 4400 school-age children at its
open rehearsals.
•~ Become the subject of an Emmy Award-winning documentary
film, “"The Sound of Dreams,"” which
has aired on over 275 public television stations throughout
North America.
•~ Helped place its apprentice alumni in prominent
positions with orchestras and performing ensembles worldwide.
•~ Expanded its programs to include tours and collaborative
outreach.
•~ Set a precedent for non-profit performing arts
organizations: 63% of its annual budget is contributed
as in-kind (non-cash) resources.
•~ Presented programs in collaboration with local,
regional and national non-profit organizations, including
the Adams Foundation, the Brookehaven Chorale, the William
Jefferson Clinton Presidential Library, the Dallas Symphony
Chorus, the Plano Civic Chorus, the Hot Springs/Hanamaki
Sister City Foundation, the Quapaw Community Center, the
Hot Springs Documentary Film Festival, Arts Cooperative
Team, ARC of Arkansas, the Hot Springs Rehabilitation
Hospital, First Step School, the Ouachita Job Corps, the
Shepherd's Center, ArtBlast, Hot Springs National Park
Rotary, Harley-Davidson Owners Group, University of Arkansas
Elderhostel and the Hot Springs National Park Division
of the National Park Service.
Board
of Directors,
2009-2010
Don Gooch, Board Chair
Tanya Spavins, Vice Chair
Anna Antonini, Secretary/Treasurer
Laura Rosenberg, President/Executive Director
Richard Rosenberg, Artistic Director
Sue Averill, Wesley Baldwin, Carol Caldwell-Hollingshead,
Donna Casparian, Rose Marie Canterberry, John Hearnsberger,
Cliff Keheley, Dr. Martin Koehn, Ronny Marshall, Helen
Selig, Claudia Van Deusen
Advisory
Board
Peter
Bay, Charlotte Brown, Barbara Cantrall, Howard Cash, Bette
Clark, Mario Caruso, Shari Clem, Clif Coleman, John Cooksey,
Katherine Cronin, Cecil Cupp, Jr., Mario Davidovsky, Stephen
DeSalvo, Irving Milton Duke, Lynn Endicott, Elizabeth Farris,
Dr. Larry Fite, Carole Fox, William Fulton, Matthew Greenbaum,
Lowell Greer, Richard Hawkins, Malinda Herr-Chambliss, Stephen
Hinsley, Alison Hitt, Dr. W. C. "Chuck" Hitt,
Lynda Kass, Carole Katchen, Ira Lacher, Jack Larsen, Carolyn
Lynch, Rebecca McCormick, Gustav Meier, Marlys Moodie-Dodson,
Mollie Munro, Bonnie Nance, Ann Nicholson, Rosemary Nipper,
Linda Palmer, Lynn Payette, Dr. Robert Peters, Jim Randall,
Philip Rosenberg, Teri Sargent, Patricia Sharp, Margaret
King Stanley, Jerry Tanenbaum, Kabin Thomas, Davis Tillman,
Paul Uher, Paul Vermel, Franz Viertbauer, Edward Villella,
Mary Watermann, Kirby Williams, Deborah Wright, Dr. Richard
Pellegrino, Kenneth Wheatley III
Council
To The Chair
Elizabeth Farris, Past Board Chair
John Hearnsberger, Past Board Chair
Jack Larsen, Past Board Chair
David Lundberg, Past Board Chair
Larry Meyers, Past Board Chair
Davis Tillman, Past Board Chair
Peggy Clark, Cecil Cupp, Jr., Clay Farrar, Dorothy Morris, Don Munro, John Whelan, Rev. David Wilson
Ray Owen, Jr. General Counsel
Dennis Smith, Crass & Smith CPA
Watch the
The Hot Springs Music Festival's Harley-Davidson Orchestra
perform the North American premiere of composer Staffan
Mossenmark's, "Wroom," under the direction of
Richard Rosenberg. A film by Cobra
East Productions, Fountain Lake High School:
