Shenandoah Valley Music Festival

Shenandoah Valley Music Festival is a concert series that takes place mid-July through Labor Day weekend at Shrine Mont in Orkney Springs, Virginia.[1] The Festival started in 1963 as a way of bringing symphonic music to the rural Shenandoah Valley.[2] Symphonic music is still included in the series; other genres including bluegrass, country, folk, pop-rock, roots, and Americana are also presented.[3] Past artists have included Bruce Hornsby, The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, Home Free, The Temptations, Mary Chapin Carpenter, Kenny G, LeAnn Rimes, Ricky Skaggs, Kris Kristofferson, Pure Prairie League, Poco, and The Beach Boys.[3][4]

Shenandoah Valley Music Festival
Shrine Mont, Shenandoah Valley Music Festival's venue
GenreRock, Country, Bluegrass, Americana, Symphonic
Location(s)Orkney Springs, Virginia
Years active1963-Present
Websitemusicfest.org

The Festival is a nonprofit organization.[5]

Concerts take place in the pavilion of the former Orkney Springs Hotel, which is listed on the National Register of Historic Places[6] and is now owned by the Episcopal Diocese of Virginia, which calls it "Shrine Mont."[6]

Despite the Coronavirus epidemic in 2020, the Shenandoah Valley Music Festival is still being held with fewer concert dates all scheduled for September 2020.


History
The Beach Boys performing at SVMF in 2019

In the early 1960s Helen M. Thompson, executive secretary of the American Symphony Orchestra League, and Col. Robert Benchoff, Headmaster of the Massanutten Military Academy, sought to bring symphonic music to Virginia's Shenandoah Valley.[2] Under the artistic direction of conductor Dr. Richard Lert, they hosted the Shenandoah Valley Music Festival's first concert, held in the gymnasium of the Massanutten Military Academy in 1963.[7][8] The Festival has since branched into hosting a multitude of genres including rock, country, bluegrass, folk, Americana, and pop.[9]





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References
  1. "Summer Concert Series". Shenandoah Valley Music Festival. Retrieved 2019-08-27.
  2. "History". Shenandoah Valley Music Festival. Retrieved 2019-08-27.
  3. "About the Festival". Musicfest.org.
  4. "55th SVMF Kicks Off This Weekend". Retrieved 2020-07-09.
  5. "SVMF Organization and Structure".
  6. "Shrine Mont". Shrine Mont. Retrieved 2019-08-27.
  7. "Orkney Springs Festival Enters Its 54th Season" (PDF). Shenandoah Valley Electric Cooperative News. Retrieved 2020-07-09.
  8. "Shenandoah Valley Music Festival". All About Wayside Theatre News. Retrieved 2020-07-09.
  9. "No Treble Here in the Valley". Virginia Living. Retrieved 2020-07-09.

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