For the past four summers, the famed Maestro Lorin Maazel has sponsored the Castleton Music Festival; a month of performances by top-tier musicians from around the world on Maazel's estate in rural Virginia.
The festival also provides opportunities for young musicians with extraordinary abilities to train with prestigious instructors and refine their craft.
Students live and breathe music for the month of the festival. Many pay for the chance to live on the Maazel property, attend workshops and interact with their peers. Some, like musician Corey Crider, credit Maazel and the festival with their success.
Crider says that his relationship with Maazel has helped him to sing all over the world.
Maazel created the festival in order to give young musicians like Crider the resources necessary to succeed.
There is a great misconception, he says, that young people don't care about classical music.
Castleton aims to show that classical music is not a dying art form, but rather one that is evolving along with the new generation that has come to perform it.
Quotes
"It's not about you. It's about the whole program. It's about getting audiences to enjoy this, to love this as much as we do." -Megan Gillespie, musician.
Warm Up Questions
1. What is talent? Is it something you are born with, or something that is built from repetition and practice?
2. Do you play a musical instrument? If so, what do you like about it?
3. Have you attended any orchestra concerts or operas?
Discussion Questions
1. In your opinion, why do Lorin Maazel and his wife mentor young performers?
2. Do you think young people care about classical music, theater or opera? Why or why not? Discuss.
2. Do you think that classical music is a dying art?
3. Should today's youth continue to support classical music? Why or why not?
Additional Resources
Legendary Tap Dancer Mentors Young Artists in "Sophisticated Ladies"
