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In addition to her engagements as recitalist, orchestra
soloist, and chamber artist, Ms. Vered created and
served as Artistic Director of the Rutgers University's
"Summerfest" series, an ambitious and innovative
summer festival project designed to span the full
spectrum of performing and visual arts. This
multi-media approach is very much a part of Ms.
Vered's artistic philosophy. Ms. Vered conceived and
produced more than twenty unusual programs that
were related thematically to "Summerfest" theatrical
presentations and art exhibits. These programs
received national attention, and were soon being
presented in New York City at the. 92nd Street Y and
Merkin Hall, under the title "Music from Summerfest,"
during winter seasons, and in the summer of 1991
"Music from Summerfest" branched out to a third venue
with a series of eight concerts produced by Ms. Vered
in the Hamptons of Long Island. By 1993, Ms. Vered
was also producing summer concerts at Long Island's
Sag Harbor, and established a permanent summer
music festival in the Hamptons of Long Island. Among
the most popular and innovative of "Summerfest"
programs produced by Ms. Vered were those in the
series entitled "In Praise of Women," which celebrated
the achievements of women in the arts. Some of the star
guests include: Andre Watts, J. Gutierez, Michel
Barrett, Jaime Laredo, Sharon Robinson, Touyo String
Quartet and many others.
As Artistic Director for "SummerFest," Ms. Vered
founded the Ken Boxley Performance Institute at
Rutgers, an intensive three-week program devoted to
preparing qualified young artists for new or expanded
concert careers. A teacher in the great masterclass
tradition, Ilana Vered urges the need for the widest
possible cultural exposure for those who pursue
careers as concert artists. "No matter how naturally
gifted, a musician must bring to his interpretations a
richness, a cultural sophistication that often grows out
of extra-musical experiences. Poetry, painting, fiction,
even a fascinating city can be a springboard for the
imagination," Ms. Vered insists to her students. "These
experiences can generate a mysterious process of
artistic generation which can lend depth--even
profundity--to an interpretation." A painter in her own
right, Ms. Vered harbors a special affinity with the
visual arts and this may explain her acute sense of
musical architecture as well as the wide tonal palette
she employs in her performances.
Ilana Vered believes that a musician's art is influenced
and shaped by extra-musical experiences, she is also
convinced that the artist, as citizen, has a responsibility
to the community at large.
In 1981 Ms. Vered became the first President of
"Artists to End Hunger," a coalition of leading
performers dedicated to the elimination of malnutrition
among inner-city families and the struggle against
famine in third-world countries. Although Ms. Vered has
since resigned as President of "Artists to End Hunger,"
she remains active in its fund-raising and lobbying
activities.
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