The Ole Bull Music Festival was begun in 1952 by Inez and Aurora Stewart Bull. This event was created to honor the memory of their ancestor, the great Norwegian violin virtuoso Ole Boremann Bull.
The festival has been traditionally been held in October, at the Ole Bull State Park or in Galeton, Pennsylvania. It provides a venue for young musicians in the area to perform and to compete for awards and recognition of their talent. Winners of the local competition have been invited to perform at one of the prominent recital halls in New York City in June of the following year.
For the last several years it has been held at Merkin Concert Hall on West 67th Street. All musicians are awarded a certificate of participation. Students from Pennsylvania are often joined, at the New York performance, by students from the Cecily L. Tyson School for the Performing Arts, in East Orange, NJ.
A Board of Directors for the ‘Spunky Norwegian Foundation’ has been established to continue and enhance the Pennsylvania Festival and the New York concert in the memory of Dr. Inez Bull
Beginning in 2010, the Ole Bull Music Festival to be held in October will include three categories for performing artists: Vocal, Piano and Other Instrumental. Additional categories may be added in the future.
The Board will endeavor to contact all the schools and music teachers in the area to promote the festival. The Board will establish an interstate judging panel for the competition. Further information will be published on this web site.
The Concert scheduled for June 20, 2010 at Merkin has been cancelled and will be rescheduled at a later date, depending on the resolution of estate matters. We realize this is disappointing news for some, however, if the Foundation prevails there will be a combined show at Merkin in June 2011.
Recent Comments