Free concerts featuring Black classical musicians.
Honoring Founder Armenta Hummings Dumisani’s 90th Birthday
In a powerful homecoming more than three decades in the making, the Gateways Music Festival returns to Winston-Salem April 19–23 for its 2026 Spring Festival—bringing five days of free concerts, community programs, and celebrations honoring its visionary founder, Armenta Hummings Dumisani, who turns 90 on June 27, 2026.
Dumisani, described in the festival’s announcement as “a hidden figure in both Black and Women’s history whose leadership built one of the most vital communities for Black classical musicians in America,” founded Gateways in Winston-Salem in 1993. What began as a local gathering for Black classical musicians has since grown into one of the nation’s leading artistic homes for Black classical artistry…