A new series of Sunday Matinees at the Forbes Center, the return of free afternoons of chamber music at the iconic Blackfriars Playhouse, and the Junior Division showcases ‘grow up’ into the Heifetz main stage of Francis Auditorium are among the highlights of the 2025 summer season of the Heifetz International Music Institute and its Festival of Concerts.  The Institute returns for its 29th season with an ambitious lineup of no fewer than 63 concerts and special events. This summer also marks the Institute’s 13th anniversary in the Queen City, where Heifetz students, faculty, and patrons will live, learn, and perform in and around the campus of Mary Baldwin University from June 20 through August 3. 

The renowned Heifetz summer program, which draws elite young string musicians from around the globe, will feature a robust schedule of solo and chamber music performances showcasing the Institute’s extraordinary students, acclaimed faculty, distinguished alumni, and special guests. This summer, the Institute will welcome 160 students, ages 7 to 27, representing 14 countries, all selected through a highly competitive admissions process. In addition to their intensive instrumental studies, these gifted young performers will participate in  the Institute’s hallmark Performance & Communication Training method, a transformative curriculum that includes public speaking, acting, movement, yoga, freedom of expression, and more—designed to develop the whole artist and unlock each musician’s expressive potential.

During the summer, the streets of downtown Staunton will be filled like never before with the sight of these young Heifetz artists, as they make their way to private lessons, classes, coachings, rehearsals and performances at a number of additional partner institutions, including Stuart Hall’s Eastham Center, Central United Methodist Church, First Presbyterian Church, and the American Shakespeare Center, which will join forces with the Heifetz Institute to present five free Friday afternoon chamber concerts in the Blackfriars Playhouse, thanks to the sponsorship of Heifetz & ASC patrons Davidson Perry-Miller and Bill & Lisa Moore. These free concerts represent the first Heifetz concerts at the ASC since 2019.

The primary venue for the 2025 Heifetz Festival of Concerts remains Mary Baldwin’s Francis Auditorium. In addition to the Stars of Tomorrow, Celebrity Series and PianoPalooza concerts, Francis will be the site of twice-weekly Junior Division Showcase concerts, featuring the Institute’s youngest performers. The Institute is also expanding its reach northward, with a Heifetz Sunday Matinee “four-pack” of programs at James Madison University’s Forbes Center for the Performing Arts in Harrisonburg, VA, bringing the Heifetz experience to one of the region’s premier concert halls. The Institute will also return to Charlottesville, VA for its annual Independence Day celebration at James Monroe’s HIghland. Special concerts are also planned for First Presbyterian and Central Methodist churches in Staunton, as well as an “MBU Staff Appreciation Day” matinee performance. 

“There’s a special kind of magic at every Heifetz concert,” notes Heifetz President & CEO Benjamin K. Roe, “and I’m thrilled that we will  be sharing that unique Heifetz experience in more venues in the region than ever before. Whether it’s a solo played with breathtaking intensity or a chamber work full of nuance and interplay, our students and faculty bring a level of artistry and passion that’s truly electric.”

“Daniel Heifetz founded this Institute on the idea that music is meant to be shared—with passion, precision, and purpose,” adds Artistic Director Nicholas Kitchen. “Our legendary faculty not only provides technical guidance of the highest caliber, but our unique Performance & Communication Training empowers students with the tools to connect deeply with audiences and express their full artistic identities.”

In addition to its public performances in concert halls and theaters, the Institute is deeply committed to community outreach. This summer, Heifetz musicians will perform every Sunday morning in worship services in area churches, as well as at schools, churches, businesses, clubs, healthcare and assisted living facilities, soup kitchens, memory cafés, and at local community events. These engagements bring world-class music to audiences who might not otherwise have the means or opportunity to attend a formal concert, while offering young artists invaluable experience in connecting with listeners from all walks of life.