A Closer Look Inside the Staunton Music Festival

For ten straight days every August, the Staunton Music Festival draws more than 90 professional musicians from around the world to perform an ambitious lineup of vocal, chamber, and symphonic music. The 2025 festival (August 15-24) has several concert options each day, ranging from medieval chants to newly commissioned works. It’s a musical feast for classical aficionados, unlike any you’ll hear anywhere else in the country. And even if you can’t tell your Brahms from your elbows, you’ll quickly understand that 400-year-old music can still captivate a room in 2025.

We got a chance to chat with Jason Stell, the festival’s Executive Director, to get the inside scoop on what he describes as “immersion in the widest possible range of what is called classical music.”

What Makes it Special?

Stell credits distinctive, eclectic programming created by Carsten Schmidt, the artistic director, as what makes Staunton Music Festival stand out. It has grown from a modest, local chamber series started in 1998 into something that attracts performers from around the world. Staunton itself has also added to the festival’s success. “It is almost impossible to imagine doing what we do in most cities. We rely on the simplicity and convenience of this great, compact little city to pack so much into our operations – things that would take an hour anywhere because of traffic, parking, access issues can be done in five minutes here. It’s a great place to do concerts.”

Because musicians come from all over the world, the onsite rehearsal schedule is demanding, but Stell says, “the players derive a great amount of joy and satisfaction from the rare pieces they get to play and the audience responses.” All that intensity and energy is an electric force: Stell admits to getting goosebumps after “our players get together and in the span of just a few rehearsals, they put together a stunning performance of something like a famous Beethoven symphony.” 

What’s It Like?

The festival’s focus is twofold: music played on historical instruments with historical technique, and contemporary pieces including world premiers. Sometimes a single concert will include both! The balance of honoring classical tradition while also keeping the programming fresh, surprising, and accessible for modern audiences is, according to Stell, “not always easy, but it is the essence of what we do. Carsten [Schmidt] believes very strongly in combining old and new, familiar and unfamiliar pieces on the same program.” He elaborates, “it’s like going to see your favorite K-pop band, but also getting completely caught up in the music played by some otherwise unknown, indie punk group who open the night. We do it by hiring only the very best performers from across Europe and the Americas, most of whom are equally skilled in performing both old and new music.”

Schmidt engages the performers “based on personal connections and advice from trusted fellow performers. The vibe is intense but really positive…Backstage is great, honestly, because the players know each other from performing year after year here, but they are just catching up sometimes after a year apart.”

Highlights and Schedule

The 2025 Staunton Music Festival runs from August 15-24, with daily afternoon and evening performances. Programming includes well-known works by Bach, Mozart, and Beethoven, alongside lesser-known treasures and experimental premieres.

Stell told us that 2025’s highlights include the staged version of Handel’s Messiah that opens the festival. “It’s one of the most popular pieces of all time, but we are doing it as an opera.”

He also recommends the festival’s two popup concerts, featuring “very short, fabulous music,” which will remain a secret until they’re announced just 24 hours in advance. And we have it on the best authority that we don’t want to miss the Saturday, August 23 concert, Rule, Britannia! “It ends with a crazy modern musical drama about the madness of King George. Spoiler: the climactic moment might make rock fans think of Jimi Hendrix…”

Concertgoers can also expect music played on period instruments like harpsicords, conversations and performances by Virginia composers, cross-genre collaborations, and even live music to accompany silent film screenings.

Free midday concerts and ticketed evening concerts are held at Trinity, Blackfriars Playhouse, and other downtown venues. You can purchase single-event tickets (typically $10–$38) or buy a festival pass for access to the full ten days. Visit www.stauntonmusicfestival.org for a full schedule and ticket information.

Venues

Space matters! Festival organizers deliberately match music to spaces when choosing which of Staunton’s acoustically and architecturally interesting buildings to host each concert. Those pairings are so important that one of Stell’s favorite festival memories was magical for both the music and the atmosphere. It was a 2010 performance of George Crumb’s The Voice of the Whale. “We were still very small then, and a full house was maybe 120 people. We did this performance in Central United Methodist Church. We turned off all the lights and bathed the space in blue light. Three performers (flute, cello, piano) in masks, performed a really cool, atmospheric piece. At the end the pretty traditional classical audience was on their feet, and everyone was buzzing with conversation as they left. That’s a great feeling.”

Visiting Staunton

Beyond the festival, Staunton offers more than enough to fill your off-hours. You can spend a morning exploring Camera Heritage Museum, which houses more than 6,000 historic cameras and lenses, or the Frontier Culture Museum, an outdoor living-history park with working farms and costumed interpreters. It’s especially good for kids or anyone who likes watching a blacksmith hammer out a hinge.  

When it’s time to dine, let your nose guide you to one of Staunton’s restaurants, which range from formal sit-downs to quick bites, or grab a drink at a brewery. And if you’re looking to rub elbows with the musicians and festival crew, Stell reveals that he often sits outside on Beverley Street to unwind after rehearsals and concerts. He also enjoys The Green Room and taking the stage crew to lunch at Byers Street Bistro.

Staunton has street parking and two downtown garages: Johnson Street Garage and New Street Garage. Both are within a few blocks of all festival venues. If you’re staying overnight, consider a stay at Hotel 24 South. This luxurious boutique hotel is offering a special two-night package for music festival attendees, which includes your room, breakfasts, and flexible check-out times. Check out additional Staunton lodging options here.

Final Note

You don’t have to be a classical music expert to enjoy the Staunton Music Festival. Just being in town during the festival is part of the experience. People spill out of churches into the sunlight, squinting and exhaling like they’ve just come out of a wonderful dream. Strangers talk to each other about what they heard.

Jason Stell hopes you’ll experience the unexpected and walk away from the festival with “a sense of the excitement and strong buy-in from artists and audience.” You just have to be curious and listen.