While winding around the wooded streets of Brevard you may come across the beautiful Brevard Music Center. Started in 1936 by Davidson College faculty member, James Pfohl, the Music Center was located in Charlotte, NC. After leading the program for several years the location was moved to Brevard, where the town began to host a festival of concerts.
Once the ownership switched to Henry Janiec the center began an opera program named after Janiec.
Currently, Brevard Music Center has 6 ensembles: Brevard Music Center Orchestra, Sinfonia, Concert Orchestra, Festival Orchestra, Symphonic Winds, and New Music Ensemble.
On the property, the center has four separate venues, each located on creatively designed roads named after musicians and instruments. The largest is an outdoor auditorium that seats 1,800 audience members. This location hosts over eighty public concerts which are free for locals. This rustic auditorium sits directly next to a well-kept pond. Recently, a new area dubbed Parker Hall, which seats 400 opened its doors in 2022 for theater and opera productions.
One of the most popular and important parts of this campus is the Summer Institute they host. Upwards of four hundred teenage students come to learn how to use various instruments including piano, composition, voice, jazz, and opera. There are a total of two divisions for students to apply to, one for college students and the other for high school students. During their time in the institute, students share log cabins on the beautifully wooded campus comprising 180 acres. The institute is led by none other than acclaimed conductor Keith Lockhart who led the Boston Pops and the BBC Concert Orchestra in London.
--Will Thalhimer