MasterWorks Festival Provides Summer Entertainment

by Ryan Bower, Assistant Director of Public Relations – June 17, 2016

The annual MasterWorks Festival will provide world-class music from June 19 - July 17.

Music will fill the air this summer at the annual MasterWorks Festival, hosted by Cedarville University. The festival, which begins June 19 and concludes July 17, is an intensive, four-week program for advanced students of the classical performing arts.

Each year, 250 students from around the world participate in this unique festival that combines artistic excellence and biblical teaching. 



Throughout Masterworks, the public can hear performances from students and internationally-recognized guest artists. The concerts are free of charge and will be held at Cedarville University. This year’s festival features Bonita Boyd (flute), Angela Cheng (piano), Kim Kennedy (violin), Jessica Matthaes (violin), Reed Messich (oboe), and Wei Yu (cello) as guest artists.

The opening concert is a faculty recital at on Sunday, June 19 in the Dixon Ministry Center’s Recital Hall. Faculty recitals will be held each Sunday at 7:30 p.m. throughout the festival. 

“There is nothing quite like a live musical performance,” said Patrick Kavanaugh, D.M.A., artistic director of Masterworks. “We’re looking forward to giving listeners a wonderful experience where they will be able to hear music the way Bach or Beethoven would have listened to it.”

The public is also invited to attend philharmonic performances each Thursday, as well as festival concerts every Friday. All philharmonic and festival concerts will be held at 7:30 p.m in the Stevens Student Center’s DeVries Theatre. 

“The performances that audiences will experience at MasterWorks rival any professional orchestra,” said Kavanaugh. “This is a great opportunity for the whole family to hear some of the top musicians and music students from around the world.”

MasterWorks is entering its 20th year overall and its first at Cedarville. The festival was previously held in Houghton, New York (1997-2001) and Winona Lake, Indiana (2002-15). MasterWorks has also held festivals in England and China, with plans to expand to other countries.

A complete list of this year's performances can be found at www.masterworksfestival.org/events/

Located in southwest Ohio, Cedarville University is an accredited, Christ-centered, Baptist institution with an enrollment of 3,711 undergraduate, graduate and online students in more than 100 areas of study. Founded in 1887, Cedarville is recognized nationally for its authentic Christian community, rigorous academic programs, strong graduation and retention rates, accredited professional and health science offerings and leading student satisfaction ratings. For more information about the University, visit www.cedarville.edu