Whatever your classical leanings, there’s an American summer festival to suit them. From green-lawn elegance in the Berkshires to red-hot opera in Santa Fe, from chamber music in the Napa Valley to a panoply of arts in the Holy City, from contemporary music in Santa Cruz to weekend collaborations in Vermont, from St. John’s, Newfoundland across to Vancouver, British Columbia, and the Sierra Madre mountains in Mexico, Listen offers you the best of what’s around this summer...
SITKA SUMMER MUSIC FESTIVAL (Sitka, AK) presents its 39th Anniversary Summer Series, on Baranof Island in the Southeastern portion of the state. Nineteen extraordinary musicians from Europe, Asia and across the United States visit Sitka to perform beautiful music in a magnificent setting during the three-week chamber music festival. The concerts are held in Harrigan Centennial Hall, with breathtaking backdrop views of soaring bald eagles, gliding fishing boats and majestic, snow-capped mountains.
June 4-25
sitkamusicfestival.org
Tickets: 907.747.6774
THE GRAND CANYON CHAMBER MUSIC FESTIVAL (Grand Canyon, AZ) celebrates its 27th season at the Shrine of Ages on the South Rim of Grand Canyon National Park. This year’s outstanding musicians include: Robert Bonfiglio, Joe Deninzon, Stephen Benson, the Newman & Oltman Guitar Duo, Clare Hoffman, Robert Mirabal, Jeff Peterson, Susanna Gilmore, Emanuele Arciuli, Astrid Schween, Raven Chacon, and ETHEL (Cornelius Dufallo, Ralph Farris, Dorothy Lawson, Mary Rowel).
August 27-September 11
grandcanyonmusicfest.org
Tickets: 800.997.8285
MUSIC AT MENLO (Atherton, CA) eighth’s season embarks upon a multidimensional journey. The 2010 festival presents music that speaks to a wide compass of times, places, and universal phenomena — music that proudly affirms a nation’s identity. Illuminating through music the unique vision of composers from Vivaldi, Beethoven, and Dvorák to Schoenberg, Copland, and Crumb, Maps and Legends reveals music as a lens through which we discover the world we inhabit.
July 23-August 14
musicatmenlo.org
Tickets: 650.331.0202
BEAR VALLEY MUSIC FESTIVAL (Bear Valley, CA) Surrounded by the majestic peaks of the Sierra Nevada Mountains, the Bear Valley Music Festival presents a variety of music, offering a full symphony orchestra, international soloists, legendary entertainers, and renowned opera stars in a unique mountain setting. The Festival offers an outdoor musical experience while under the shade of a large 800 seat tent.
July 30-August 15
bearvalleymusic.org
Tickets: 800.458.1618
CARLSBAD MUSIC FESTIVAL (Carlsbad, CA) sixth annual festival brings together some of the country’s most talented young performers and composers, all with a keen sense of musical adventure. Featuring legendary guitarist/composer/improviser, Fred Frith; acclaimed new music ensemble, the California E.A.R. Unit; the Festival’s ever-exciting Founding Ensemble-in-Residence, The Calder Quartet; plus four of the country’s most fascinating young composers, Ted Hearne, Charles Punchatz, Jason Treuting and Daniel Wohl
September 24-26
carlsbadmusicfestival.org
Tickets: 800.838.3006
CARMEL BACH FESTIVAL (Carmel, CA) is a sixteen-day celebration of music and ideas inspired by the historical and ongoing influence of J.S. Bach. Guest artists join the local chorus and youth chorus. This year’s festival (the seventy-third) couples the realism and intellectual depth of Bach with the idealism and virtuosity of Beethoven. Surrounded by the beauty of coastal California, the 2010 Festival celebrates the highs and lows of the human experience.
July 17-31
bachfestival.org
Tickets: 831.624.2046
HOLLYWOOD BOWL SUMMER FESTIVAL (Hollywood, CA) The Los Angeles Master Chorale and Grant Gershon kick off the season with a “Glorious Celebration” featuring settings of the Gloria by both Vivaldi and Poulenc, plus fireworks. Guest pianists Katia & Marielle Labèque play Mozart. LA Phil Music Director Gustavo Dudamel and Principal Guest Conductor of the Los Angeles Philharmonic at the Hollywood Bowl Bramwell Tovey make much-anticipated returns.
July 6-September 9
hollywoodbowl.com
Tickets: 323.850.2000
SUMMERFEST LA JOLLA (La Jolla, CA) is a nationally-recognized chamber music festival featuring over 70 world-class artists and ensembles performing concerts. Since its inception in 1986, SummerFest has welcomed over 650 renowned artists and ensembles, four talented artistic directors and nearly a quarter of a million audience members at venues in San Diego and over the airwaves nationwide.
August 6-27
ljms.org
Tickets: 858.459.3728
RING FESTIVAL LA (Los Angeles, CA) LA Opera has joined forces with Los Angeles’ cultural and educational institutions to stage the first significant citywide cultural festival since the 1984 Olympic Arts Festival, showcasing a wide variety of exhibitions, symposia, museum shows, conferences, and special events. All of these events will be thematically related to the first-ever presentation in Los Angeles of the four-opera drama The Ring of the Nibelung.
April 15-June 30
ringfestivalla.com
Tickets: 213.972.8001
FESTIVAL DEL SOLE (Napa Valley, CA) features concerts, cuisine, art exhibits and wines from Napa vintners. While there’s certainly a culinary emphasis, featured performers this year include Joshua Bell and Jean-Yves Thibaudet.
July 16-25
festivaldelsole.com
Tickets: 888.337.6272
MUSIC IN THE VINEYARDS (Napa Valley, CA) now in its sixteenth season, brings together musicians in unique winery settings for chamber music twilight concerts, accompanied (naturally) by wine and conversation. Music in the Vineyards is a nationally-acclaimed chamber music festival held each August in the Napa Valley. The three-week festival showcases world-class artists-in-residence performing new and classic chamber music repertoire in stunning winery settings. This unique combination of Wine Country ambiance and world class talent allows artists and audiences alike to experience the intimacy of chamber music.
August 4-22
napavalleymusic.org
Tickets: 707.258.5559
