history of gateways Music festival
1993
The first Gateways Music Festival took place from April 17-19, 1993 in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. Founded by Juilliard-trained and noted African-American classical pianist, Armenta (Adams) Hummings Dumisani, the first Festival was called “Gateways: Classical Music and the Black Musician.” Michael Morgan conducted the first Gateways Orchestra.
1994
Gateways’ founder Armenta (Adams) Hummings Dumisani joins the University of Rochester’s Eastman School of Music faculty as associate professor and Distinguished Community Mentor.
1995
The first Gateways Music Festival held in Rochester, NY and featured Michael Morgan, conductor; Awadagin Pratt, piano; and William Warfield, baritone.
1996
Gateways piano quintet participates in week-long residency as part of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra’s community engagement initiative. Participants included Kyle Lombard, violin; Derek Reeves, violin/viola; Amadi (Hummings) Azikiwe, viola); Troy Stuart, cello; and Sandra Rivers, piano.
2009
Armenta (Adams) Hummings Dumisani retires as Associate Professor and Distinguished Community Mentor from the Eastman School of Music and as President & Artistic Director of the Gateways Music Festival.
2015
Gateways Music Festival appears on cover and in feature story of Symphony magazine, the premier classical music industry publication of the League of American Orchestras.
2016
Eastman School of Music, University of Rochester and Gateways Music Festival formalize partnership and Lee Koonce appointed as President & Artistic Director, Gateways’ first professional staff member, and Paul J. Burgett elected board chair.
2017
Performance Today, the nation’s most listened-to classical music radio program, began broadcasting performances from the 2017 Gateways Music Festival.
2018
The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation awards a $300,000 multi-year capacity-building grant to Gateways Music Festival—the largest single grant in the Festival’s history.
2022
Gateways Music Festival makes its New York City and Carnegie Hall debuts, the first Festival to take place outside Rochester, NY since its arrival in 1995. The Gateways Orchestra’s sold-out finale concert at Carnegie Hall on Sunday, April 22, 2022 is the first time an all-Black symphony orchestra is presented by Carnegie Hall in that esteemed venue’s 130-year history.
Explore the archive of past program guides for more festival history