The Frost Music Fest ’21 will bring together a variety of music genres on Saturday for the enjoyment of University of Miami students, faculty, and staff. Tickets to the free festival, which were offered on a first-come, first-served basis, are no longer available. But music lovers across the globe can tune in to a livestream performance starting at 4 p.m.
Internationally renowned superstar soprano Renée Fleming will make her first live festival appearance since the pandemic began. The U. S. National Medal of the Arts recipient and four-time Grammy Award winner will perform with the all-student Frost Symphony Orchestra led by world-renowned maestro Gerard Schwarz.
The festival is taking place outdoors on the Coral Gables Campus and will follow strict COVID-19 protocols—including limited attendance, mandatory use of facial coverings, and physical distancing.
Attendance is restricted to University of Miami students and faculty and staff members with tickets. No family members or guests will be permitted. Only students who are enrolled in on-campus classes and participate in weekly COVID-19 testing and faculty and staff members who have been cleared to return to campus, are permitted to reserve tickets. All event attendees will be required to use the Daily Symptom Checker and display a “Good to Go” status to gain entry.
Frost’s American Musical Ensemble will also perform at the festival. It will be joined by singer and songwriter John Splithoff, a Frost School alumnus.
Those who attend or livestream the festival will have the opportunity to donate to the Travis Quinn Memorial Scholarship Fund, which was established in 2020. It awards scholarships to high-achieving and talented music students who have overcome substantial economic or educational hardship to attend the school. The scholarship was named in memory of Travis Quinn, a gifted young musician and educator, following his untimely tragic passing in May 2020.
“Quinn was a beloved role model and mentor for underprivileged, aspiring, young musicians and personified the mission of this scholarship fund. His road to the Frost School began in 2015 as a member of Frost Band of the Hour and in 2019 he auditioned to attend for the 2020-21 school year,” said Shelly Berg, dean of the Frost School of Music.
The Quinn Memorial Scholarship fund was made possible by generous contributions from the Kent and Martha Savage Charitable Fund and Eileen and Carmine Parente. Donors who helped make the live musical event possible are the B Carlin Foundation, Sasha and Edward Bass, the Christopher R. Kelly Family Foundation, and an anonymous donor.
The Frost Music Fest ’21 lineup includes:
- Frost Band of the Hour
- Cafe con Leche (Frost Latin Songwriters Ensemble)
- Frost Extensions Vocal Ensemble
- with Martin Bejerano, Frost faculty/guest artist
- R&B Ensemble
- BisCaydence A Capella
- Frost Concert Jazz Band
- with GRAMMY Winners Dafnis Prieto, Frost faculty/conductor, and John Daversa, Frost faculty/guest artist
- Frost Percussion Group
- with Svet Stoyanov, Frost faculty/director
- Sunshine State
- RUCK Ensemble
Special guests:
- Renée Fleming, superstar soprano (7:45 p.m.)
- with the Frost Symphony Orchestra
- Gerard Schwarz, Frost faculty/conductor
- Shelly Berg, Frost dean/guest pianist
- Frost Chorale
- John Splithoff, singer-songwriter and Frost alumnus (9:00 p.m.)
- with the American Music Ensemble
Set a reminder for the livestream.
Donate to the Travis Quinn Memorial Scholarship Fund.
