Eastern Music Festival (EMF) will debut its 2008 Festival and school season with an opening convocation for students, their parents, and faculty at 7 p.m. Saturday, June 28, in Dana Auditorium on the campus of Guilford College, Greensboro.

Local dignitaries and members of the Eastern Music Festival Board will also attend. Yvonne Johnson, Greensboro's mayor, will welcome the students and faculty to Greensboro and acknowledge the role EMF plays in the cultural life of our city.

Kent Chabotar, president of Guilford College, will also welcome the students and faculty to the college campus and share the significance of Guilford College's relationship with EMF from its beginnings 47 years ago. Although EMF Music Director Gerard Schwarz is conducting in Germany and will not be able to attend the opening convocation, he will address the audience via a taped video presentation.

Special music will be provided by EMF's Brass Quintet and former students who are current faculty members -- James Giles, piano department head, and Jeffrey Multer, Eastern Festival Orchestra concertmaster. Giles will perform two virtuoso piano etudes after Gershwin songs, "Embraceable You" and "Fascinating Rhythm." Multer will play the "Andante" from the "Sonata No. 2 in A minor" by J.S. Bach and "Allegretto poco mosso" from the "Violin Sonata in A major" by Cesar Franck.

"The opening convocation presents a wonderful opportunity for us to officially welcome our students, their parents, and new and returning faculty to Eastern Music Festival for our 47th season," says Stephanie Cordick, EMF's executive director. "The musical program performed by our outstanding faculty members will illustrate the level of artistic excellence to which EMF aspires; the special appearances by our mayor and the president of Guilford College will be memorable and meaningful for all."

A reception on the lawn of Dana Auditorium will follow the opening convocation.

The 2008 season is sponsored in part by the United Arts Council of Greater Greensboro, the North Carolina Arts Council, WFDD Triad Arts Station, Greensboro's News and Record, Continental Airways, and Piedmont Music Center (Steinway Pianos).

For more information about EMF or its programs, visit www.easternmusicfestival.org, or call toll-free: (877) 833-6753.