NEWPORT CLASSICAL MUSIC FESTIVAL

Early July · Newport, Rhode Island · Eighteen Days · Since 1969

2027: 1 to 18 July, the fifty-eighth festival

A chamber orchestra plays in the Great Hall of The Breakers, the audience seated beneath its chandeliers. Newport Classical Music Festival, The Breakers, Newport, Rhode Island, in the season calendar of The Mansa Court — I · The Great Hall

The Newport Classical Music Festival is held in the Gilded Age houses of Newport, Rhode Island, among them The Breakers, The Elms, Rosecliff and Blithewold.

The fifty-eighth festival runs from the first to the eighteenth of July 2027.

Musicians in white perform in the Great Hall of The Breakers at night, seen from the gallery (2023). Newport Classical Music Festival, The Breakers, Newport, Rhode Island, in the season calendar of The Mansa Court — II · From the Gallery

The Name

It was founded in 1969 as the Newport Music Festival, and took the name Newport Classical in 2021.

Festival artists take a bow with their instruments beneath the arches of The Breakers. Newport Classical Music Festival, The Breakers, Newport, Rhode Island, in the season calendar of The Mansa Court — III · The Bow

The Houses

The concerts are given in the rooms of the houses themselves, the Great Hall of The Breakers among them.

A violinist, flautist and pianist in a studio portrait. A studio portrait, shown for Newport Classical Music Festival in the season calendar of The Mansa Court — IV · A Trio

What to Know

The summer festival of 2020 was cancelled.

For evening concerts the organisers ask for “smart casual or Newport chic”. The Court dresses one level above, in a lounge suit.

The Newport Flower Show is a separate occasion.

The Isidore String Quartet with their instruments. A portrait, shown for Newport Classical Music Festival in the season calendar of The Mansa Court — V · The Isidore String Quartet

The Court

The festival is not the Court’s own. Seats are sought on a member’s behalf, and the Court arranges the whole of it: getting there, where to stay, and the table afterward.

How one becomes a member is set out under Admission.