Tickets Now Available for The 2026 Gateways Festival at Eastman School of Music
Written by PJ on October 10, 2026
This fall, Gateways Music Festival returns to Rochester with a celebration of the living legacy and expanding possibilities of Black artistry in classical music. Over four days, we invite you to experience music rooted in history, brought to life by today’s artists, and carried forward by the next generation.
This year’s programs remind us that tradition is not static. It is carried, questioned, reimagined, and passed forward. From celebrating George Taylor’s four decades of artistry and teaching at Eastman, to the sacred sounds of SANCTUARY, Shana Tucker’s ChamberSoul, Ric’key Pageot’s exploration of three centuries of Black composers, and Matthew D. Morrison’s examination of the sound of America, we celebrate artists who honor what has come before while contributing something unmistakably their own.
At Gateways, the music has always been about more than performance. It is about the fellowship that brings artists back to one another, the audiences who find recognition, discovery, and connection in the music, and the young people discovering what is possible for their own artistic lives. It is about sharing a tradition that is both deeply rooted and still evolving.
We hope you will hear something you already love, discover something you did not expect, and join us in celebrating a story of classical music that is still being written.
For tickets, select the show you want to attend at this link
Eastman School of Music
26 Gibbs St. Rochester, NY 14604
10/9/26 – 10/12/26
WDKX Holiday Stream