The US-based Gateways Music Festival has won the 2024 Innovation Award at Classical:NEXT.
Raising awareness of forward-thinking projects taking place around the world, the shortlist for the Classical:NEXT Innovation Award is nominated by the dedicated Nominating Committee, consisting mainly of renowned international journalists, with the winners selected by an online vote of all registered Classical:NEXT delegates.
Founded in 1993, the Gateways Music Festival Orchestra brings together professional classical musicians of African descent from across the North America, providing a sense of community for participants while helping to mentor and inspire younger generations of black musicians. Though long based at the Eastman School of Music in upstate New York, it has a rapidly growing national presence, with performances this season at Carnegie Hall, the Kennedy Center in Washington and Chicago’s Symphony Center. Its touring programmes are fresh and engaging, whether performing Stravinsky’s The Soldier’s Tale alongside Wynton Marsalis’ A Fiddler’s Tale or juxtaposing a world premiere by Jon Batiste with works by Florence Price and Johannes Brahms.
Violinist Tai Murray has been a featured violinist, appearing as part of the all-star Gateways Chamber Players during the 2023/24 Season. Showcasing renowned soloists and players from the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra, Phoenix Symphony, Cleveland Orchestra, National Symphony and Imani Winds in Igor Stravinsky’s The Soldier’s Tale Suite and Wynton Marsalis’s A Fiddler’s Tale featuring Tai Murray, violin, and special guest Phylicia Rashad, narrator.