The first thing you notice isn't what you see.

It's what you hear.

A violin warming up outside Founders Hall. A brass fanfare echoing through the trees. A pianist working through a difficult passage at Dana Auditorium. And everywhere you look, musicians are carrying instrument cases across Guilford’s campus, stopping to greet friends old and new.

After a year of silence, that familiar sound and rhythm has returned with new energy as the Eastern Festival of Music welcomes hundreds of young musicians from across the country and internationally for an intensive five weeks of rehearsals, masterclasses and performances.

For Nathan Reid, a Trumpet Performance major at Florida State University, arriving on campus felt less like attending a new festival than coming home.

Nathan’s father was a member of the horn faculty for 13 years with the former Eastern Music Festival. As a child, Nathan wasn't thinking about orchestral excerpts or trumpet technique. He remembers spending his summers playing with the children of faculty members in the campus apartments while world-class musicians rehearsed nearby.

"I would play with the other musicians' kids and have fun," he says. "So I kind of knew the area a bit."

Now he's returned — not as a faculty child, but as one of the student musicians.

"It's full circle, really," he said.

That sense of continuity is part of what makes the festival unique given its absence last summer.

Students ages 14 to 24 are again immersed in music, studying with distinguished faculty artists while performing orchestral and chamber repertoire that challenges even advanced musicians. Days are filled with rehearsals, lessons, coaching sessions and concerts, creating an environment where music becomes both classroom and common language.

The experience also means learning to perform with people you've never met.

"I've been meeting a lot of people lately, and everyone's really nice," Nathan says. "When we're just playing instruments, we can hear the music immediately and kind of bond over that."

As a trumpet player, he says, collaboration begins with listening.

"I'm always trying to tune to the other trumpet. I can just hear that. It helps when they're nice people too."

The new festival carries forward the legacy of the Eastern Music Festival, which called Guilford College home for more than six decades before ceasing operations last year.

Regardless of the name of the festival, that instant connection is one of its hallmarks. Students arrive from universities, conservatories and high schools across the country and around the world, bringing different experiences and backgrounds. Within days, they're performing together as if they've been part of the same ensemble for years.

For Nathan, whose goal is a career performing professionally – whether in a military band or a symphony orchestra – the festival offers something every aspiring musician seeks: the chance to grow.

"The trumpet faculty have been very nice," he says before heading into one of his first private lessons. "The conductors have been great. Really nice people."

Beyond the practice rooms and concert halls, the festival transforms Guilford's campus into one of the nation's premier destinations for classical music each summer. Residence halls buzz with conversation. Walkways fill with students carrying violins, cellos, bassoons and French horns. Music drifts from open windows across the campus.

It's an atmosphere that energizes not only the musicians but the entire campus community.

"We're delighted to once again welcome the Eastern Festival of Music community to Guilford College," says Guilford President Jean Bordewich. "The festival enriches our campus in countless ways. The dedication, talent and passion these students and faculty bring each summer create an atmosphere that inspires everyone who spends time here."

For audiences, the festival offers weeks of orchestral concerts, chamber music performances, faculty recitals and student showcases. For the students, it offers friendships, mentorships and artistic experiences that often last a lifetime.

For Nathan, it's also a chance to see Guilford from a different perspective than he did as a child racing through the campus with friends.

Instead of hearing the music I’m helping create it,” he says. “That’s kind of cool.”

The festival, which kicks off Friday with a free orchestral concert that night, will feature 35 performances through Aug. 1. Individual tickets and subscriptions are available. All concerts will be held at Dana.