Director's Letter

Dear Friends,

I hope you can join us as we celebrate our 56th season of the Kent Blossom Music Festival presented by the Kulas Foundation.

From Sunday, June 23 through Sunday, July 28, young artists from major conservatories and schools of music all over the world will visit Kent State University to receive lessons, masterclasses, and chamber music coachings from members of The Cleveland Orchestra, Kent State University faculty, and special guest artists. The festival concludes with a side-by-side performance with The Cleveland Orchestra at Blossom Music Center on Saturday, July 27.

I encourage you to attend the free Young Artist Series featuring our 43 participants performing chamber music in different venues across northeast Ohio. More information is available inside this brochure about dates, times, and locations.

This year’s visiting artists include: Imani Winds, 2024 Grammy Award Winner for Best Classical Compendium; the Poiesis Quartet, 2023 Grand Prize winner of the Fischoff National Chamber Music Competition and winner of the 2024 Concert Artists Guild Competition. In addition, the faculty series features performances by Arnaud Sussmann, violin and, Orion Weiss, piano, both artists from the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center. The final faculty concert features William Hagen, violin joined by musicians from The Cleveland Orchestra, Afendi Yusuf, clarinet; Stephen Tavani, violin; William Bender, viola; Tanya Ell, cello; Charles Paul, double bass; Barrick Stees, bassoon; and Richard King, horn.

All faculty concerts take place at Kent State University campus in the Glauser School of Music’s Ludwig Recital Hall, with free parking. Make sure to subscribe early to take advantage of the savings!

I look forward to seeing you soon!

Best regards,
Ricardo Sepúlveda
Director, Kent Blossom Music Festival