Virginia Episcopalian Magazine Summer 2013 Issue | Page 22

Shenandoah Music Festival Celebrates 50 Years
Before the Orkney Springs Hotel became Shrine Mont’s
conference center, the American Symphony Orchestra
trained new conductors in the hotel. Local residents would
sit outside in front of the large open windows and listen,
but the tunes were frequently stopped and started as the
training progressed.

One brave soul finally went up to a window and asked
if they would play one from beginning to end without
stopping, and that’s how the Shenandoah Music Festival
was born, according to Dennis Lynch, the festival’s executive
director.

After that, the orchestra played chamber music at the
Woodstock Military Academy until the mid-1970s, when
the festival built a platform at Shrine Mont. The Fairfax
Symphony Orchestra and Big Band music were added to the
lineup in the 1980s, followed by folk and acoustic groups.
Jazz, country and bluegrass bands were added during the
last decade.
Annual Bishop’s Jubilee (July 5-7)

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Bring the family for a day or a weekend of music and fun
at the annual Bishop’s Jubilee in July. Live bluegrass and
country music bands will perform on Saturday, July 6,
from 3 to 7 p.m. at Shrine Mont’s outdoor pavilion. This
year’s music lineup features Drymill Road, an Americana
bluegrass band, and The Naked Mountain Boys, a
traditional bluegrass band. Festivities begin Saturday

Thomas L. Kerns
As a “plein air” artist, Thomas
Kerns specializes in outdoor
paintings, done in watercolor.
“This format of ‘slices’ allows
me to quickly edit and find the
essence of the place,” said
Kerns, a member of Immanuel
Church-on-the-Hill, Alexandria.
His “slices” of life include the
Shrine, the Orkney Springs Post
Office and the nearby Meems
Bottom Bridge.

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Virginia Episcopalian / Summer 2013

The Festival now offers eight concerts a year. “We try to
offer a little bit of everything,” Lynch said. In addition to the
symphony, this year’s festival, which runs July 19 to August 1,
w [