Congratulations to Calvin, John, Lydia, Kara, Sinella, Joseph, Jessica, and Janka on a successful concert tour! Today's performance at St. Dominic's Church in Hamilton (Baltimore) was the seventh concert of the IMIF 2014 tour. The performers gave their very best performance yet and the audience rewarded them with a long standing ovation. All enjoyed a meet-the-artists reception (after which performers very reluctantly said their goodbyes to each other). But they will surely meet again - the musical world is small, and all are welcome back to IMIF! Several participants headed to downtown Baltimore to visit the Inner Harbor and Fells Point.

IMIF tour performers were given a warm welcome by the residents of Symphony Manor (Roland Park, Baltimore) - a lunch reception in a private dining room followed by a concert packed by residents and members of the community (this concert was advertised on NPR!). Students shared their musical experiences and aspirations with the audience in an engaging question and answer session.

The evening performance at the Bel Air Armory featured the Mozart and Brahms quartets along with performances of Handel, Ysaye, Leshnoff, and LeBeau by The American Virtuosi (Borowsky Family). For the final selections (Andrew Broadwater's Jubilation and The Final Stride) the tour group was joined in a happy musical reunion by local IMIF participants Katelyn, Ira, Simona, Rey, and Lisa.

Another full day of music, food, and friendships! We started the afternoon with a recital at the Bykota Center in Towson. The audience made sure to express their appreciation to all our performers, commenting on the selections, instruments, and the memories it brought back to them. We concluded the concert with a short question and answer session to give the audience an opportunity to get to know the musicians "behind the music." We headed to the Hampton Mansion and enjoyed a tour of the house and grounds. We stopped by Sweet Frog for a very important pre-concert nutritional supplement (!) which gave us a burst of new energy for our evening concert. At Edenwald, we had a full house! The enthusiastic audience enjoyed a program of Brahms, Copland, Faure, Debussy, and Mozart... While waiting for their turn to play, the Mozart quartet stumbled upon top hats and Mardi Gras masks and officially announced their debut as the "Masquerade Mozarts."

After a restful night with friendly host families, the tour group headed to Annapolis. After a delicious lunch at St. Margaret's, we explored historic Annapolis's shopping and dining options before returning to practice and get ready for the evening performance. After the concert we enjoyed a dessert reception with the audience!

After a bittersweet morning of "thank you's and goodbyes," the eight participants of the 2014 IMIF tour group embarked on their journey. En route to their first performance, the group stopped at a fruit stand to pick up some delicious fresh peaches and plums. They arrived soon at their destination: Thorpewood's beautiful lodge in Thurmont, Maryland - in the magical wooded setting. They enjoyed a delicious lunch and learned about the outreach activities that Thorpewood organizes. The enthusiastic audience showed their deep appreciation of the performance, which included works by Mozart, Saint-Saens, Copland, Debussy, Ysaye, and Brahms. The tour participants enjoyed a hike through the woods (complete with dipping their toes in the cool water of the creek that runs through the property), and then headed home with their host families.

IMIF 2014 students were thrilled to receive giveaways from D'Addario strings: ever-useful rosin, hip music tote bags, cute "cello cowboy" and "violin ninja" case stickers, pencils, and more. Several lucky students were winners of strings in a raffle. Thank you D'Addario!

After a short day of rehearsals, IMIF students and faculty headed off to the much anticipated Dickinson College recital!

Photographs by Natalie C. Photography
The students in front of the Weiss Center for the Arts at Dickinson College!

The students were then treated to an amazing group of performances by the IMIF faculty, and guest pianist Dr. Fred Minger 

It was an amazing night of music that the students truly enjoyed! 

After more rehearsals and practicing, the students had a fun evening! 

Leigha getting a private lesson from Prof. Elizabeth Borowsky!

Angela using the bathroom mirror to practice her stage presence!  

Calvin, Kara, John, and Lydia working on their ensemble with Dr. Sharon Eng

After everyone had practiced and rehearsed, we had a chance to let loose and play some games! 

Today was a short day of rehearsals for the students, but some exciting and education opportunities! Lets see the highlights: 

Austin enjoying the beautiful day by practicing outside! 

The rest of the day, we were treated to an amazing masterclass taught by famous pianist, Brian Ganz!

Professor Ganz addressing the students

After a wonderful masterclass, the students were treated to an exciting faculty recital along with Brian Ganz!