FREE AND OPEN TO THE PUBLIC!

Berkshire High Peaks Festival, the educational initiative of Close Encounters With Music, will mount its 16th annual season on the bucolic campus of Bard College at Simon’s Rock in the heart of Great Barrington.

Over 50 international students of exceptional promise and demonstrated accomplishment gather for intensive study, are coached as part of performing ensembles and enjoy discussions and workshops by renowned pedagogues and notable figures in the music world as they prepare for professional lives.

The ten-day festival, directed by internationally acclaimed cellist Yehuda Hanani, will continue to make its offerings of “Moonlight Sonatas” concerts, lectures and master classes open to the public. Highlights include performances of Close Encounters With Music’s 2002 commissioned work by superstar composer Osvaldo Golijov “How Slow the Wind,” Peter Warlock’s Suite Capriol, Dvorak’s “American” Quartet, Ginastera’s “Pampeana” and other repertoire demonstrating direct links from folk traditions that have fed into classical masterworks. A trifecta of farewell concerts throughout the afternoon and evening on August 2 concludes the 2025 Festival.

For audiences and listeners, High Peaks offers wall-to-wall performances as participants—strings, pianists and vocalists—showcase their talent at venues around the Berkshires, including the Guthrie Center, Chesterwood and the Kellogg Music Center, alongside their mentors. High Peaks participants also make their debut at Main Stage at Berkshire Busk! during Festival Latino—a joyful, high-energy evening of music in downtown Great Barrington.

For a full schedule of performances open to the public, click here: https://cewm.org/high-peaks-calendar/