One Summer at Round Top Wasn’t Enough for Long Island’s Imburgia

In the heart of Round Top Music Festival beats young artists who are full of passion and dedication, and as this summer comes to a close, many prepare to say goodbye, but for double bass player Joseph Imburgia, one summer simply wasn’t enough.

Now completing his second season performing with the Texas Festival Orchestra, Imburgia, a 23 year old Long Island, New York native, has come to know just how special Round Top and Festival Hill truly are.

“Well, when I started my master’s degree at Indiana University, I was very unaware of all of the summer festivals,” Imburgia said. “I knew about the big ones, like the Aspen Music Festival & School, places like that, but then one of my good friends told me, ‘You should audition for Festival Hill in Round Top. It’s a really good festival and all the faculty are amazing.’ He said he had a great time, so I took his advice, auditioned, got in, and after last year, I really loved it, and he was right, this place is something very special.

Being here, you know, getting thrown in rural Texas, there are a lot of new things for me to do, a lot of new experiences. I never thought I would want to live down here, but it’s beautiful and it’s a nice place to live.”

And for Imburgia, his connection to music started at a very young age and in an animalistic way. “Oh, well, when I was really young, I was really drawn to low frequencies,” Imburgia said. “When I was in third grade, we had what was called an Instrument Petting Zoo where we could go around and try to make a sound on every instrument, from brass, wind, string, and percussion. For me, the bass was the first one I made a good sound on, and I was convinced it was the right one for me, and I stuck with it ever since.”

Imburgia was also lucky enough to attend a school with an early orchestra program,” I was very fortunate starting in fourth grade, we had an orchestra program throughout my years in school,” Imburgia said, “So I got to play in a string orchestra at a very young age, and there were also a lot of extracurriculars where I was able to get more experience.”

With his master’s degree in music performance finished, Imburgia will now start a one year postgraduate performance along with auditioning in the hopes of landing a gig in a major orchestra because for him, music is a lifeline.

“I would say for me, when I play, I see it as an extension of myself. I love to be able to express my emotions, and when I play, I’m able to express myself in ways that I can’t when I speak. All music has different meanings, and it’s for me to show that, for me, music is a full expression to the highest level.

The young artists may soon be leaving Festivial Hill, but Iverson Eliopoulos, program director at the Round Top Festival Institute, hopes their love and admiration for Round Top and the festival continue to inspire their joy and passion for music.

“I’d like the Young Artists to go back into the world, wherever they are from, with a reinvigorated passion for what they do,” Eliopoulos said. “I’d like their memories of Round Top to fuel their future orchestral careers, allowing them to always find the joy in playing music. I feel that this summer institute is about more than just learning how to play the notes correctly, it’s about how to infuse the music with their own unique personalities and voices.”

Eliopoulos is also already thinking about next summer’s festival. “I’m already working on the 2026 Festival, and we definitely have lots of ideas that we’re cooking up. I’m particularly excited about the 250th anniversary of America and how we’re going to celebrate that historic milestone through music.”

Don’t miss your final chance this summer to see the Texas Festival Orchestra play their closing concert this Saturday, July 12 with James Dick. Tickets can be purchased at FestivalHill.org.