Round Top Music Festival
With a population numbering less than 100 people, Round Top, Texas, seems an unlikely summer destination. But each year, its population temporarily swells as it stages its world-renowned summer music festival.
For six weeks in June and July, the Round Top Festival Institute presents the Round Top Music Festival, which features chamber and orchestral concerts each weekend. The Institute also presents monthly concerts and year-round educational forums, but it is the Music Festival that serves as the crown jewel for this busy little community and the Festival Institute in particular.
Concerts are staged in the Festival Concert Hall, a gorgeous 1,100-seat facility that has hosted some 900 concerts and features stunning, European-inspired workmanship. It serves as the perfect backdrop for this concert series, which features young artists who want to transition from playing at universities and conservatories to pursuing full-time careers as professional musicians.
The performers, selected through a rigorous application process, form the Texas Festival Orchestra and are led by different conductors each weekend. This year’s program, which features artists born before Dec. 31, 1995, begins June 6 and runs through July 13.
The concerts provide a number of different sounds and styles for music lovers. Some of the musical events are free, while others range in ticket price from $10 to $20. Among the special events planned as part of this year’s festival are an homage to W.A. Mozart on June 29; a Patriotic Concert on June 30, which includes American favorites like “The Star Spangled Banner,” “Stars and Stripes Forever,” a tribute to Irving Berlin and the Percussion Session Showcase on July 13.
If you haven’t visited Round Top, this is the time to do it – and be sure to stay at one of the area’s quaint B&Bs to soak in more of the community’s historical charm. For a complete calendar of events and more information on the festival, visit festivalhill.org.
