Heifetz International Music Institute Celebrates 30 Years of its World-Class Music Festival and 15 Years in Staunton

Ben Roe is President and CEO of the Heifetz International Music Institute, one of the world’s leading training programs for young classical musicians. He is the author of the following guest blog, sharing his perspective on the Institute in its thirtieth year and its connection to Staunton.

This summer, the Heifetz International Music Institute celebrates its 30th Anniversary Season.  Half of those thirty years have been here in Staunton; a milestone not only for the Institute, but also for a community that has embraced young musicians from around the world and helped make the Queen City one of America’s most vibrant summer destinations for classical music.

Thirty years ago, in 1996, the Institute began with just twenty students and a vision. Frustrated by what he was witnessing in the nation’s leading conservatories, founder Daniel Heifetz was looking for a way to train complete artists; young performers who were both technically accomplished and charismatic, engaging and communicative with their audiences.  Thus was born the Institute’s unique Performance & Communication Training, where students are challenged to “move beyond the notes,” to discover how music can tell stories, forge human connections, and create unforgettable concert experiences.

Today, the the Heifetz Institute creates a community of 200 students, staff, and renowned faculty, who all congregate on the campus of Mary Baldwin University for six weeks of intensive study, rehearsals, and more than 60 public performances presented throughout Staunton and the Shenandoah Valley.  And what happens here each summer truly resonates around the world, as our live-streamed concerts and video productions have garnered more than 18 million views (and nearly 70,000 subscribers) around the globe.

Each summer at Heifetz International Music Institute’s program unfolds according to two distinct experiences of time.

There is Kronos: the measured cadence of schedules, rehearsals, lessons, concerts, transportation, production timelines, and countless logistical details. Kronos is the discipline of the calendar—the structure that governs the visible architecture of our days. It is exacting, relentless, and necessary.

And then there is Kairos: the charged and transformative moment that cannot be scheduled into existence, yet somehow emerges because the conditions have been so carefully prepared. Kairos is the breakthrough in a lesson studio. The unexpected revelation in performance. The moment a young artist discovers a new dimension of communication, freedom, or courage. It is the rare and unmistakable magic that has defined the Heifetz experience for thirty years.

My aim as the leader of this institution has been to serve the first faithfully so that the second may flourish.

Throughout the summer, our staff and leadership team work diligently to sustain the rigor of Kronos: to keep the machinery of the Institute operating with precision, responsiveness, and care. Every rehearsal coordinated, every stage reset, every schedule clarified, every logistical challenge resolved is ultimately directed toward creating the conditions in which transformative teaching and music-making can occur.

And then it’s the faculty, led by our extraordinary Artistic Director Nicholas Kitchen, that makes the Kairos happen…as does this community. Since we arrived in 2011, Heifetz International Music Institute has become woven into the fabric of Staunton. Students live, study, perform, volunteer, and build lasting relationships here. Local audiences fill concert halls and visit our downtown music shop and box office.  Families host scholarship dinners, businesses welcome visitors from around the world, and community partners help create an environment where young artists can thrive. For many students – and their families! –  Staunton becomes a second home, and one they remember long after the summer ends.

Every student who arrives in Staunton joins a remarkable legacy. More than 2,200 Heifetz alumni have gone on to win major international competitions, perform with leading orchestras, teach at the world’s finest conservatories, and shape the future of classical music. Their journey is part of a tradition that continues to grow each summer right here in the Shenandoah Valley.

As we celebrate thirty years, I’m especially grateful to the Staunton community for helping make that journey possible. The warmth, hospitality, and enthusiasm of local audiences, volunteers, donors, businesses, and community partners have helped define the Heifetz experience as much as our faculty and curriculum.

Whether you’re a longtime concertgoer or discovering Heifetz for the first time, I invite you to join us this summer. Attend a performance, meet the next generation of extraordinary musicians, and experience why, for fifteen summers and counting, Staunton has been an inspiring home for the Heifetz International Music Institute.