Gil Morgenstern

Festival Vision

"'To study one artistic discipline in isolation from others is to study an inadequacy,' wrote the noted Harvard Professor, Daniel Albright. Even the most casual observer of the arts would agree and I would further state, 'To experience one artistic discipline in isolation from others is to experience an inadequacy.' Ezra Pound believed that, in antiquity, 'music and poetry had been in alliance... that the divorce of the two arts had been to the advantage of neither, and that melodic invention had declined simultaneously and progressively with their divergence. The rhythms of poetry grew stupider.' He thought that it was the duty of the poet to learn music, and the duty of the musician to study poetry. Nine Circles Chamber Theatre's Reflections series not only places music side-by-side with other disciplines, it seeks to integrate them into a new experience for performer and audience alike. Through innovative and creative programming, Reflections forges new relationships between the arts, places works in their historical and artistic context, and marries the intimacy of chamber music with the tools of theatre."

- Gil Morgenstern

Artistic Partner, Chamber Music Programming

Acclaimed for his artistry and technical brilliance as soloist with orchestra, in recital or as a chamber musician, violinist Gil Morgenstern has performed around the globe to overwhelming critical praise. Appearing in public since he was five years old, Mr. Morgenstern has gone on to tour five continents, playing in such musical centers as New York, London, Paris, Rome, Amsterdam, Berlin and Hong Kong, and has performed throughout the United States, appearing with many leading orchestras including the Louisville, Baltimore, St. Louis, Indianapolis, Denver, Milwaukee, New Jersey and North Carolina Symphonies. He has shared the stage with such eminent musicians as Philippe Entremont, Lynn Harrell, André-Michel Schub, Jeffrey Kahane, Sharon Isbin, Heinz Holliger, and has collaborated with United States Poet Laureate Robert Pinsky and Pulitzer Prize winning poet Yusef Komunyakaa. He has been the subject of numerous television and radio shows and his performances can be regularly heard on National Public Radio broadcasts.

In addition to his performance activities, Mr. Morgenstern is the co-founder and co-artistic director of Nine Circles Chamber Theatre, a creative organization dedicated to exploring the collaborative nature of inter-disciplinary programming and expanding the performance traditions of music, theatre and dance. He is also the violinist and artistic director of the Broyhill Chamber Ensemble, a diverse chamber group specializing in Classical, Romantic and contemporary works of mixed instrumentation, and the artistic director of "Reflections," an international performance series in New York, Florida, Pennsylvania, North Carolina and Italy.

In 2006, Mr. Morgenstern stepped down after 15 years as the artistic director of An Appalachian Summer Festival. During his tenure, the festival grew into one of the leading regional performing and visual arts festivals in the United States and became recognized as an important venue for commissioning and presenting original works. Mr. Morgenstern records for the MMC, Koch International Classics and Delos labels.