Four days after the Eastern Music Festival's board of directors voted to dissolve the prestigious 64-year-old program, a group of longtime patrons say they are in final talks with Guilford College to relaunch the program on its campus for summer 2026.

The patrons have formed a nonprofit called Eastern School of Music at Greensboro through which to administrate the festival, according to the group's chairperson, Barbara Morgenstern, ex-wife of EMF founder, the late Sheldon "Shelly'' Morgenstern.

And veteran EMF music director Gerard Schwarz has agreed to join in the new iteration of the festival, Morgenstern said.

"We are in talks with Guilford College about the use of the facilities, and we should have an answer early next week about how much they would charge us,'' Morgenstern said, no

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