St. Augustine Music Festival

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  The 13th Annual St. Augustine Music Festival will take place over the last two weekends (Thursday to Saturday) in June 2019: June 20 to 22 and 27 to 29, at the Cathedral Basilica. There will be six concerts in all, beginning at 7:30 p.m. each night. The concerts are free and will feature selections from a wide variety of composers, from Mozart to Mahler and Schubert to Shostakovich.

  The St. Augustine Music Festival is the largest free classical music festival in the U.S. With two full weekends of concerts featuring musicians from the Jacksonville Symphony Orchestra joined by internationally renowned artists presenting a variety of classical compositions, the festival offers a unique opportunity for visitors and locals to appreciate classical music in the impressive setting of St. Augustine’s historic Cathedral Basilica.

  The program this year will feature Mozart's Violin Concerto No. 5 with St. Augustine favorite Nigel Armstrong, the haunting "Adagio for Strings" by Samuel Barber, Dmitri Shostakovich’s powerful Chamber Symphony in C Minor, Op. 110a, and Arnold Schoenberg’s Transfigured Night. The full schedule is below.

  The St. Augustine Music Festival was founded in 2007 by Jacksonville Symphony Orchestra members Jorge A. Peña (viola) and Jin Kim-Peña (cello), with the invaluable participation and support of many other musicians and the local community. For more details regarding the St. Augustine Music Festival, please visit here.

  About the orchestra: The Jacksonville Symphony Orchestra is one of Florida’s most long-standing orchestras. Its success has been defined by the Palm Beach Post as “the standard to which all other Florida orchestras should strive.” Widely recognized for its artistic quality, the Jacksonville Symphony Orchestra ranks among the nation’s top 40 orchestras in terms of budget size and population served.

  When: All concerts begin at 7:30 p.m. The series will be held on the two last weekends (Thursday through Saturday) in June: June 20 – 22 and June 27 – 29, 2019.

  Where: All concerts take place at the Cathedral Basilica, which is located at 38 Cathedral Place in St. Augustine, FL 32084.

  Here's the complete schedule for the 2019 St. Augustine Music festival:

  Thursday, June 20

  "Simple Beauty," featuring violinist Nigel Armstrong

  • Mozart, Violin Concerto No. 5 in A Major K. 219
  • Roxanna Panufnik, Tibetan Winter
  • Franz Schubert, Symphony No. 5, with St. Augustine Music Festival Chamber Orchestra

  Friday, June 21

  "Percussion Fest," featuring percussionists Joseph Becker and Kevin Ritenauer

  • John Cage, Dream
  • Steve Reich, Clapping Music
  • J.S. Beach, Inventions No. 3, 4, and 1
  • Daviel Levitan, Inventions No. 6, 2, and 1
  • Tōru Takemitsu, Cross Hatch
  • Anders Koppel, Toccata
  • Andy Akiho, Karakurenai
  • Gene Koshinski, Dance of the Drums, Movement 2

  Saturday, June 22

  "Hope, Joy, and Love," featuring Nigel Armstrong, Gabriela Peña-Kim, Jorge Peña, DJ Cheek, Betsy Federman, and Jin Kim

  • Mozart, Viola Quintet in C Major No. 3 K. 515
  • Arnold Schoenberg, Verklärte Nacht

  Thursday, June 27

  "A Musical Party with Friends," featuring Scott Watkins, Xiaodj Liu, Patrick Graham, Stephanie Magnus, Debra Sherrill, Alan Snow, Jorge Peña, and Brian Magnus

  • Mozart, Piano Quintet in E Flat Major K. 452
  • Mahler, Piano Quartet in A Minor
  • Beethoven, Septet in E Flat Major Op. 20

  Friday, June 28

  "Piano Extravaganza," featuring Scott Watkins on piano

  • Schubert, Four Impromptus Op. 90
  • Howard Hanson, Symphonic Rhapsody No. 12
  • Franz Liszt, St. Francis of Paolo Walking on the Waves and Transcendental Etude No. 9

  Saturday, June 29

  "Around the World"

  • Sir Charles Hubert Parry, An English Suite
  • Samuel Barber, Adagio for Strings
  • Shostakovich, Chamber Symphony for Strings in C Minor
  • Carl Nielsen, Suite for Strings