Gateways Music Festival, in partnership with the University of Rochester’s Eastman School of Music, will launch its 2025–2026 season Oct. 13–16 with its Fall Festival before returning later in the year to its birthplace in Winston-Salem, North Carolina.
The festival, which highlights professional classical musicians of African descent, features concerts, community events and educational programs.
Headlining the Rochester program, seven-time Grammy winner Terence Blanchard and his band, The E-Collective, will join the Gateways Festival Orchestra led by Damon Gupton for Film Scores Live!, a concert of Blanchard’s music for films such as Malcolm X and BlacKkKlansman.
Other events include pianist David Berry in recital, Samuel Coleridge-Taylor’s Nonet in F Minor performed by the Gateways Chamber Players, and the Young Musicians Institute: Rochester Day for Strings, a free program pairing young players with festival artists.
“At Gateways, music isn’t just heard — it’s felt. It moves through the room, connecting people across time, tradition, and lived experience,” said Alex Laing, president and artistic director of Gateways Music Festival. “This fall, we’re not just presenting concerts — we’re creating space for joy, recognition, and cultural memory.”
