Round Top Festival Institute

Located in historic Round Top, Texas, the Round Top Festival Institute (the sole project of The James Dick Foundation for the Performing Arts) was founded in 1971 by world-renowned concert pianist James Dick. The project is now an internationally acclaimed European-styled music institute for aspiring young musicians and distinguished faculty.

The Round Top Festival Institute has also developed superb year round education and performance programs. It has created a unique 210-acre campus – Festival Hill – containing major performance facilities, historic houses, extensive gardens, parks and nature preserves. Through its singular collection of rare books, manuscripts, archival material, music and historic recordings, photographs and objects, the Round Top Festival Institute is also known as an important center for research and scholarly study.

History

The 1971 Festival, a ten-day session with ten piano students, included two concerts. During its first five years, the Festival Institute leased facilities, but a master plan of development was soon established for programs and the future of the permanent campus. The first major facility, the Mary Moody Northen Pavilion, was acquired in 1973. It was the largest transportable stage in the world and was used for open-air concerts until 1983. Later, it was housed in the 1,000-seat Festival Concert Hall, on which construction began in 1981, until the permanent stage was completed in the Concert Hall in 1993. An abandoned school building and six acres of land North of Round Top were acquired in 1973 for a future campus to be named Festival Hill. The Festival and its year-round operations moved to this site in the Bicentennial Summer of 1976.

Artistic Director

Concert pianist James Dick, a performer with a distinguished career, was uniquely qualified for the task of creating a 200 acre campus and organization to operate one of the major music festivals in the United States. Dick graduated from the University of Texas with special honors in piano in 1963 and was a student of pianist and pedagogue Dalies Frantz. Subsequently, Dick received two Fulbright Fellowships for study at the Royal Academy of Music in London and private study with Sir Clifford Curzon, a major pianist of this century. Dick was also a top winner in the Tchaikovsky, Busoni and Leventritt international competitions and, since, represented the United States on the juries of the Tchaikovsky Competition in Moscow and the Van Cliburn Piano Competition in Fort Worth. His concert tours take him throughout the United States and abroad each year. He was named a Chevalier des Arts et Lettres by the French Ministry of Culture in 1994. In 2003, James Dick was Texas State Musician appointee. He received the 2009 Texas Medal of Arts for his work in the area of Arts Education, and was also honored as a Distinguished Alumni of The University of Texas.

Music Festival

The Round Top Festival Institute offers six weeks of intensive training for young talented musicians (18 +) seeking a transition from conservatories and universities to a future professional career. Symphony orchestra, chamber orchestra, chamber music and solo repertoire are included in this intensive six-week program. Admission is based on auditions (live and recorded) and recommendations. The relatively small number of participants and the fact that participants and faculty share the same campus creates an enlightening and collegial atmosphere. Concerts are broadcast through a yearly program titled “Live from Festival Hill” over public radio stations from coast to coast.

Enrollment includes: 28 violins, 10 violas, 10 cellos, 6 basses, 4 flutes, 4 oboes, 4 clarinets, 4 bassoons, 5 French horns, 4 trumpets, 3 trombones, 1 tuba, 6 percussionists, 2 harps and 4 pianos.

The August-to-April Series

The Series brings the total for year round events to more than fifty. A wide variety of recitals and concerts extending from ancient to contemporary music highlight The Series, along with annual forums and festivals including: Library & Museum Collections, Theater, Herbal and Poetry Forums and classical guitar and percussion festivals.

Buildings & Collections

• The first historic structure moved to Festival Hill came from La Grange and was named the William Lockhart Clayton House in honor of the man who created the Marshall Plan. Built in 1885, it was renovated in 1976 for faculty, offices, teaching facilities and indoor concerts. It features some of the most commanding woodwork on Festival Hill.

• The Menke House, built in 1902, was moved to Festival Hill from Hempstead and renovated as a faculty residence and conference center in 1979. Its Gothic Revival ceilings, wood workings and staircases make it a showcase of Texas carpentry.

• The historic sanctuary of the former Travis Street United Methodist Church of La Grange, built in 1883 was moved to Festival Hill in 1994, for restoration as a center for chamber music, organ recitals, lectures and seminars. It was renamed the Edythe Bates Old Chapel to honor one of the great Texan patroness of the Fine Arts and houses an 1835 Henry Erben pipe organ.

• The Festival Institute Library & Museum Collections exhibits its art collections in the Festival Concert Hall and the historic house restorations. The David W. Guion Archives and Americana Collection and the Anders and Josephine Oxehufwud Swedish and European Collection, have unique hand-crafted galleries in the Festival Concert Hall.

Other Events

The campus is also used for conferences, meetings, retreats, weddings, tours, receptions, photo shoots and more! Major business groups, museum administrators, music critics, law firms, and numerous university and professional organizations have held conferences and retreats here.

External Links

http://www.festivalhill.org