Gretna Music
Music at Gretna Inc.
1 Alpha Drive
Elizabethtown, PA 17022
717-361-1508
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Why We Do What We Do
Gretna Music is a not-for-profit Pennsylvania corporation dedicated to the
presentation of a broad range of excellent classical music and jazz with
an emphasis on communication between musicians and audience. We
serve the mission through concerts, master classes, and pre-concert talks.
We encourage musicians to talk with the audience, from the stage and before
and after performances.
Our
Roots
Music at Gretna began in 1975 (year "0") when physician/flutist Carl Ellenberger
organized concerts in the Mt. Gretna Hall of Philosophy as an opportunity to
play chamber music with his friends. The following year he was
invited by the Pennsylvania Chautauqua to again present a series of
concerts, this time at the Mt. Gretna Playhouse. The concerts
continued In 1977, which saw the first Gretna appearances of Audubon
Quartet and the New Black Eagle Jazz Band. Each group has returned
to MAG every year since. From those humble roots Music at Gretna has grown into not one but
two highly-anticipated annual music festivals:
Music at Gretna
each August in Mt. Gretna, PA, and
Gretna Music at Elizabethtown
College in Elizabethtown, PA.
Music
at Gretna
Long a much-beloved summertime classical chamber music and jazz festival,
Music at Gretna combines a breathtaking setting in the woods of the Appalachian
foothills with exquisite performances that will expand in 2008 to include
theater, comedy and variety. Concerts are presented in "casual elegance"
in the open-air (but covered!) Mt. Gretna Playhouse in the beautiful resort
town of Mt. Gretna, home of the Pennsylvania Chautauqua. Audiences
from throughout the mid-Atlantic come to Music at Gretna each summer.
Mt.
Gretna Playhouse
The covered outdoor Mt. Gretna Playhouse, rebuilt in 1995, offers remarkable
acoustics, comparable to the best indoor concert halls anywhere, and is
sized perfectly for chamber music and jazz. Musicians come from all over
the country and Europe for a great opportunity to enjoy the small community
and rehearse and play with other great artists and friends (and occasionally
with birds in the woods).
Gretna
Music at Elizabethtown College
Gretna Music's residency at Elizabethtown College in Elizabethtown,
PA, began in 1995. Thus was born Gretna Music at Elizabethtown
College, a concerts series presenting a cross-section of classical
chamber and small-ensemble performers through the academic year.
Concerts are presented in the beautifully and acoustically exquisite Leffler
Chapel and Performance Center.
The Town of Mt. Gretna
Entering the small historic community of Mt. Gretna is like stepping back
into the 19th century. First-time visitors are amazed by the
quaint Victorian and Queen Anne-style houses that crowd together on the
narrow winding tree-lined avenues, each adorned by rows of colored lanterns
and rocking chairs.
Early Acclaim
Did you know that in 1980, after only four seasons, Time Magazine
featured the chamber music series as "one of six of the best" in the US?
It's true! We are still one of the best!