(July 28 – August 12, 2012) Under the leadership of Music Director Marin Alsop – also at the helm at the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra – the Cabrillo Festival Orchestra of 68 music professionals presents new orchestral music to the public each summer. The country’s foremost new music festival, Cabrillo has won the national ASCAP Award for Adventurous Programming of Contemporary Music every single year since Cabrillo began in 1982. ...Read more...

(July 14 – 28, 2012) This two-week summer festival was founded in 1935, and features more than 60 composers in addition to the monolithically prolific Johann Sebastian Bach — with other Baroque figures like Handel, Haydn, Schütz, Vivaldi, Telemann, and Purcell among them. But the various ensembles perform repertoire that goes beyond the Baroque period to include the works of Elgar, Rossini, Schubert, Vaughan Williams, John Coltrane, Charlie Parker and Dizzy Gillespie, among many others. ...Read more...

(August) Established in 1987, SummerFest – La Jolla Music Society’s month-long chamber music festival – features guest performances from the likes of the Tokyo String Quartet, pianist Marc-André Hamelin, violinists Midori and Gil Shaham, and others. Orchestral and chamber music concerts alike center on repertory standards, with each year dedicated to three nights saluting one iconic composer, such as Mozart, Mendelssohn, and Brahms. Additional events include free coaching …Read more…

(July 7 – July 27, 2012)

Mendocino Music Festival Information

Venues: Festival Tent (Ford House Visitor Center & Museum Grounds, 735 Main Street); Preston Hall (inside the Mendocino Presbyterian Church, 44831 Main Street); Mendocino Presbyterian Church Sanctuary (44831 Main Street); Odd Fellows Hall (10480 Kasten Street); Hill House Inn (10701 Palette Drive); Evergreen Methodist Church (Corner of Laurel and Corry Streets, Fort Bragg)
Public Transportation: Most events take place in the Festival Tent, …Read more…

(June 7 – 10, 2012) Held 35 miles southeast of Santa Barbara in Ventura County’s Ojai Valley every June, the Ojai Music Festival is a four-day celebration of adventurous classical music. Challenging, eclectic and engaging, the Ojai Music Festival began in 1947 and since then has brought the best in new music and the finest in exceptional interpretation of the classics to its idyllic California setting. The festival has made a tradition of inviting eminent composers, conductors and instrumentalists to serve as music directors, including John Adams, Lukas Foss, Esa-Pekka Salonen and Emanuel Ax. Symposiums at the festival feature scholars, composers and musicians, often discussing the works they perform during the festival. ...Read more...

(June 8 – July 7, 2012) In 1972, violinist Paul Rosenthal started what would become known as the Sitka Summer Music Festival as a reunion of students of master classes of Jascha Heifetz and Gregor Piatigorsky. Representative composers include Beethoven, Brahms, Schubert, and Lizst. All the participating professional musicians perform at the festival as volunteers. ...Read more...

Aspen Music Festival and School Information
(June 28 – August 19, 2012)

Public Transportation: Good (easily accessible via RFTA buses)
Performances/Programs: A classical music festival held in Aspen, annually featuring 350 events during a nine-week season
Admission: Varies. Regular performances can cost up to $80 a ticket, while others are offered free of charge. Lawn seats are always free
Subscriptions: The Aspen Music Festival offers the following subscription options: the Gold Season Pass ($1,250), which …Read more…

Bravo! Vail Valley Music Festival Information

(June 25 – August 4, 2012)

Venues: Gerald R. Ford Amphitheater, Vail; Vilar Performing Arts Center, Beaver Creek
Public Transportation: Good
Handicapped Accessibility: Good
Performances/Programs: The festival runs from late June to early August and features renowned orchestras, soloists, and chamber musicians. Performance schedule varies
Admission: $23-$84. One or two free performances are also offered
Group Discounts: Discounts available for groups of 15 or more
Subscriptions/Memberships: Several subscription packages are offered. The …Read more…

(June 24 – August 3, 2012) This six-week festival at Chautauqua in Boulder includes several performances by both the Chamber Orchestra and Festival Orchestra, a mini-Violin Festival, and a World Music Series. Guest artists have included string trio Time for Three, soprano Jessica Rivera, fiddler Eileen Ivers, and others. ...Read more...

(August 3 – August 13, 2012) Park City’s Deer Valley Music Festival is the summer home of the Utah Symphony and the Utah Opera. Each summer season, approximately twenty performances are staged, ranging from pops concerts to classics like Holst’s The Planets; in recent years, the Symphony has played orchestral versions of Queen and Eagles songs, as well. ...Read more...

Moab Music Festival Information

(August 30 – September 10, 2012)

Public Transportation: Varies by venue
Handicapped Accessibility: Most venues are accessible
Performances/Programs: The Moab Music Festival is a three-week chamber music festival. September performances take place in several different venues. Performance schedule varies
Admission: $15–$25. Benefit concert $50–$200; $5 student tickets available for many performances. See concerts for free by volunteering
Subscriptions/Memberships: A season ticket package of seven concerts is offered for $125. A weekend …Read more…

(August 17 – September 2, 2012) This chamber music festival started in 1984 in Angel Fire, New Mexico, and now performs concerts throughout the Northern New Mexico Rocky Mountain region during August and early September. In addition to the inclusion of canon stalwarts like Beethoven’s piano trios and Bach’s sonatas, the festival includes contemporary works written specifically for the festival. Past participants have included the ensembles Imani Winds, Time for Three, and OPUS ONE. ...Read more...

(July 15 – August 20, 2012) In place since 1972, this top-flight festival showcases works by the likes of Brahms, Schubert Bartók, and Schoenberg. Concert performances have featured prominent artists including New York Philharmonic conductor Alan Gilbert, composer/conductor Oliver Knussen, violinist Leila Josefowicz, flutist Sir James Galway, mezzo-soprano Susan Graham, bass-baritone Luca Pisaroni, pianist Jeremy Denk, and the Miró Quaret, and the Tokyo and Orion String Quartets, among many others. ...Read more...

(July 29 – August 14, 2012) Begun in 1985 as the Elkhorn Music Festival, the Sun Valley Summer Symphony prides itself on being “the largest privately funded free-admission symphony in America.” The symphony is comprised of personnel from professional orchestras throughout North America… Past renowned guest artists include pianists Jean-Ives Thibaudet, Yefim Bronfman, Jon Nakamatsu, and Emanuel Ax, ...Read more...

(June 29 – July 15, 2012) In addition to its annual concert season, the Austin Chamber Music Center has hosted a summer festival since 1997 that has featured some of the premier performers in chamber music, including the Borromeo String Quartet, the Eroica Piano Trio, the jazz trio The Bad Plus, and Anonymous 4. ...Read more...

(July 8 – August 5, 2012) This six-week festival — which offers weeklong programs in Vancouver and Salzburg in addition its “singing vacation” weeks in Sheffield, Massachusetts — has afforded experienced singers the experience of rehearsing and performing choral masterworks since 1982. Choral conductor apprenticeships and the undergraduate Berkshire Scholar program are also available for young adults. ...Read more...

(July-August) Summer home of the Cleveland Orchestra and located about 25 miles south of Cleveland in the 33,000-acre Cuyahoga Valley National Park, the Blossom Music Festival is a 10-week summer series of orchestral and pops concerts. In addition to the festival, the Blossom Pavilion and hillside lawn (which, combined, accommodate nearly 20,000 music lovers) also hosts a series of popular music, country, and jazz concerts presented by Live Nation from …Read more…

(June 23 – August 4, 2012) Started in 1964, the Bowdoin International Music Festival is comprised of a robust seven-concert series performance schedule and three Summer Study Programs—the Instrumental Program for pianists and string players, the Woodwind Program, and the Composition Program. Faculty members include composers Derek Bermel and Robert Beaser, the Ying and Shanghai Quartets, clarinetist Anthony McGill of the Metropolitan Opera, violinist Frank Huang of the Houston Symphony, and many others. ...Read more...

(August) Initiated in 1979 as the Cape & Islands Chamber Music Festival, the Cape Cod Chamber Music Festival now offers Autumn and Spring series as a supplement to its three-week festival in August.  Artists such as Emanuel Ax, Joshua Bell, Dawn Upshaw, Yo-Yo Ma, the Quartet San Francisco, and the Borromeo and Jupiter Quartets have all performed here.

In addition to performances of works of composers like Bach, Haydn, Mozart, Schubert, …Read more…

(June 23 – August 8, 2012) Walter and Lucie Rosen established their 90-acre Caramoor estate as an arts center in 1945 in tribute to the memory of their son; the festival grew out of a series of small, intimate concerts that the Rosens threw for their friends into its current incarnation as a multifaceted celebration. This seven-week series of events in upstate New York’s Westchester County presents a veritable smorgasbord of musical offerings, ...Read more...

July 15 – August 12, 2012

Chamber Music Conference & Composers’ Forum of the East Information

Venues: The Greenwall Auditorium (Concert Series) and the Carriage Barn (Seminar Series), both located at Bennington College
Public Transportation: Good (accessible by Green Mountain Express bus lines Brown and Green at the Bennington College stop)
Handicapped Accessibility: Good
Performances/Programs: 10-15 events per season
Ticket Prices: All concerts and seminars are free and open to the public.

(June 23 – 28, 2012) This annual classical music festival runs from late June until the end of July, during which time 50,000 music lovers enjoy approximately 100 concerts and events that feature the Eastern Music Festival Orchestra and dozens of renowned musicians in a variety of disciplines. The festival is also an institute for young musicians, and during this time, gifted music students participate in master classes and performances. ...Read more...

(July 14 – August 12, 2012) Started in 1951 by pianist Rudolf Serkin, the chamber music festival Marlboro Music has been the summer home of collaboration between established leading musicians and young professionals. Highlighted composers have included Mozart, Schubert, Schumann, and Shostakovich. ...Read more...

(August) With top-flight performances and close attention paid to music scholarship, Mostly Mozart is the premier New York City summer festival. Amidst performances by artists like conductor Yannick Nézet-Séguin, pianists Mitsuko Uchida and Pierre-Laurent Aimard, choreographer Mark Morris, the International Contemporary Ensemble, the Takács Quartet, and mezzo-soprano Cecilia Bartoli, there is the resident Festival Orchestra—led by Louis Langrée.

Begun in 1966, this versatile August festival at Lincoln Center is broad in …Read more…

(July 13 – 29, 2012) The Newport Music Festival turns the idea of the summer festival on its head by moving it from the sunny lawn to the great indoors. The massive 19th century mansions of Newport, Rhode Island, built as summer “cottages” for the rich and famous of the Gilded Age, serve as venues for the festival’s 60-odd concerts, held morning, noon, and night(and occasionally midnight) for a few weeks each July ...Read more...

(July 28 – August 12, 2012) Under the leadership of Music Director Marin Alsop – also at the helm at the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra – the Cabrillo Festival Orchestra of 68 music professionals presents new orchestral music to the public each summer. The country’s foremost new music festival, Cabrillo has won the national ASCAP Award for Adventurous Programming of Contemporary Music every single year since Cabrillo began in 1982. ...Read more...

(July 14 – 28, 2012) This two-week summer festival was founded in 1935, and features more than 60 composers in addition to the monolithically prolific Johann Sebastian Bach — with other Baroque figures like Handel, Haydn, Schütz, Vivaldi, Telemann, and Purcell among them. But the various ensembles perform repertoire that goes beyond the Baroque period to include the works of Elgar, Rossini, Schubert, Vaughan Williams, John Coltrane, Charlie Parker and Dizzy Gillespie, among many others. ...Read more...

(August) Established in 1987, SummerFest – La Jolla Music Society’s month-long chamber music festival – features guest performances from the likes of the Tokyo String Quartet, pianist Marc-André Hamelin, violinists Midori and Gil Shaham, and others. Orchestral and chamber music concerts alike center on repertory standards, with each year dedicated to three nights saluting one iconic composer, such as Mozart, Mendelssohn, and Brahms. Additional events include free coaching …Read more…

(July 7 – July 27, 2012)

Mendocino Music Festival Information

Venues: Festival Tent (Ford House Visitor Center & Museum Grounds, 735 Main Street); Preston Hall (inside the Mendocino Presbyterian Church, 44831 Main Street); Mendocino Presbyterian Church Sanctuary (44831 Main Street); Odd Fellows Hall (10480 Kasten Street); Hill House Inn (10701 Palette Drive); Evergreen Methodist Church (Corner of Laurel and Corry Streets, Fort Bragg)
Public Transportation: Most events take place in the Festival Tent, …Read more…

(June 7 – 10, 2012) Held 35 miles southeast of Santa Barbara in Ventura County’s Ojai Valley every June, the Ojai Music Festival is a four-day celebration of adventurous classical music. Challenging, eclectic and engaging, the Ojai Music Festival began in 1947 and since then has brought the best in new music and the finest in exceptional interpretation of the classics to its idyllic California setting. The festival has made a tradition of inviting eminent composers, conductors and instrumentalists to serve as music directors, including John Adams, Lukas Foss, Esa-Pekka Salonen and Emanuel Ax. Symposiums at the festival feature scholars, composers and musicians, often discussing the works they perform during the festival. ...Read more...

(June 8 – July 7, 2012) In 1972, violinist Paul Rosenthal started what would become known as the Sitka Summer Music Festival as a reunion of students of master classes of Jascha Heifetz and Gregor Piatigorsky. Representative composers include Beethoven, Brahms, Schubert, and Lizst. All the participating professional musicians perform at the festival as volunteers. ...Read more...

Aspen Music Festival and School Information
(June 28 – August 19, 2012)

Public Transportation: Good (easily accessible via RFTA buses)
Performances/Programs: A classical music festival held in Aspen, annually featuring 350 events during a nine-week season
Admission: Varies. Regular performances can cost up to $80 a ticket, while others are offered free of charge. Lawn seats are always free
Subscriptions: The Aspen Music Festival offers the following subscription options: the Gold Season Pass ($1,250), which …Read more…

Bravo! Vail Valley Music Festival Information

(June 25 – August 4, 2012)

Venues: Gerald R. Ford Amphitheater, Vail; Vilar Performing Arts Center, Beaver Creek
Public Transportation: Good
Handicapped Accessibility: Good
Performances/Programs: The festival runs from late June to early August and features renowned orchestras, soloists, and chamber musicians. Performance schedule varies
Admission: $23-$84. One or two free performances are also offered
Group Discounts: Discounts available for groups of 15 or more
Subscriptions/Memberships: Several subscription packages are offered. The …Read more…

(June 24 – August 3, 2012) This six-week festival at Chautauqua in Boulder includes several performances by both the Chamber Orchestra and Festival Orchestra, a mini-Violin Festival, and a World Music Series. Guest artists have included string trio Time for Three, soprano Jessica Rivera, fiddler Eileen Ivers, and others. ...Read more...

(August 3 – August 13, 2012) Park City’s Deer Valley Music Festival is the summer home of the Utah Symphony and the Utah Opera. Each summer season, approximately twenty performances are staged, ranging from pops concerts to classics like Holst’s The Planets; in recent years, the Symphony has played orchestral versions of Queen and Eagles songs, as well. ...Read more...

Moab Music Festival Information

(August 30 – September 10, 2012)

Public Transportation: Varies by venue
Handicapped Accessibility: Most venues are accessible
Performances/Programs: The Moab Music Festival is a three-week chamber music festival. September performances take place in several different venues. Performance schedule varies
Admission: $15–$25. Benefit concert $50–$200; $5 student tickets available for many performances. See concerts for free by volunteering
Subscriptions/Memberships: A season ticket package of seven concerts is offered for $125. A weekend …Read more…

(August 17 – September 2, 2012) This chamber music festival started in 1984 in Angel Fire, New Mexico, and now performs concerts throughout the Northern New Mexico Rocky Mountain region during August and early September. In addition to the inclusion of canon stalwarts like Beethoven’s piano trios and Bach’s sonatas, the festival includes contemporary works written specifically for the festival. Past participants have included the ensembles Imani Winds, Time for Three, and OPUS ONE. ...Read more...

(July 15 – August 20, 2012) In place since 1972, this top-flight festival showcases works by the likes of Brahms, Schubert Bartók, and Schoenberg. Concert performances have featured prominent artists including New York Philharmonic conductor Alan Gilbert, composer/conductor Oliver Knussen, violinist Leila Josefowicz, flutist Sir James Galway, mezzo-soprano Susan Graham, bass-baritone Luca Pisaroni, pianist Jeremy Denk, and the Miró Quaret, and the Tokyo and Orion String Quartets, among many others. ...Read more...

(July 29 – August 14, 2012) Begun in 1985 as the Elkhorn Music Festival, the Sun Valley Summer Symphony prides itself on being “the largest privately funded free-admission symphony in America.” The symphony is comprised of personnel from professional orchestras throughout North America… Past renowned guest artists include pianists Jean-Ives Thibaudet, Yefim Bronfman, Jon Nakamatsu, and Emanuel Ax, ...Read more...

(June 29 – July 15, 2012) In addition to its annual concert season, the Austin Chamber Music Center has hosted a summer festival since 1997 that has featured some of the premier performers in chamber music, including the Borromeo String Quartet, the Eroica Piano Trio, the jazz trio The Bad Plus, and Anonymous 4. ...Read more...

(July 8 – August 5, 2012) This six-week festival — which offers weeklong programs in Vancouver and Salzburg in addition its “singing vacation” weeks in Sheffield, Massachusetts — has afforded experienced singers the experience of rehearsing and performing choral masterworks since 1982. Choral conductor apprenticeships and the undergraduate Berkshire Scholar program are also available for young adults. ...Read more...

(July-August) Summer home of the Cleveland Orchestra and located about 25 miles south of Cleveland in the 33,000-acre Cuyahoga Valley National Park, the Blossom Music Festival is a 10-week summer series of orchestral and pops concerts. In addition to the festival, the Blossom Pavilion and hillside lawn (which, combined, accommodate nearly 20,000 music lovers) also hosts a series of popular music, country, and jazz concerts presented by Live Nation from …Read more…

(June 23 – August 4, 2012) Started in 1964, the Bowdoin International Music Festival is comprised of a robust seven-concert series performance schedule and three Summer Study Programs—the Instrumental Program for pianists and string players, the Woodwind Program, and the Composition Program. Faculty members include composers Derek Bermel and Robert Beaser, the Ying and Shanghai Quartets, clarinetist Anthony McGill of the Metropolitan Opera, violinist Frank Huang of the Houston Symphony, and many others. ...Read more...

(August) Initiated in 1979 as the Cape & Islands Chamber Music Festival, the Cape Cod Chamber Music Festival now offers Autumn and Spring series as a supplement to its three-week festival in August.  Artists such as Emanuel Ax, Joshua Bell, Dawn Upshaw, Yo-Yo Ma, the Quartet San Francisco, and the Borromeo and Jupiter Quartets have all performed here.

In addition to performances of works of composers like Bach, Haydn, Mozart, Schubert, …Read more…

(June 23 – August 8, 2012) Walter and Lucie Rosen established their 90-acre Caramoor estate as an arts center in 1945 in tribute to the memory of their son; the festival grew out of a series of small, intimate concerts that the Rosens threw for their friends into its current incarnation as a multifaceted celebration. This seven-week series of events in upstate New York’s Westchester County presents a veritable smorgasbord of musical offerings, ...Read more...

July 15 – August 12, 2012

Chamber Music Conference & Composers’ Forum of the East Information

Venues: The Greenwall Auditorium (Concert Series) and the Carriage Barn (Seminar Series), both located at Bennington College
Public Transportation: Good (accessible by Green Mountain Express bus lines Brown and Green at the Bennington College stop)
Handicapped Accessibility: Good
Performances/Programs: 10-15 events per season
Ticket Prices: All concerts and seminars are free and open to the public.

(June 23 – 28, 2012) This annual classical music festival runs from late June until the end of July, during which time 50,000 music lovers enjoy approximately 100 concerts and events that feature the Eastern Music Festival Orchestra and dozens of renowned musicians in a variety of disciplines. The festival is also an institute for young musicians, and during this time, gifted music students participate in master classes and performances. ...Read more...

(July 14 – August 12, 2012) Started in 1951 by pianist Rudolf Serkin, the chamber music festival Marlboro Music has been the summer home of collaboration between established leading musicians and young professionals. Highlighted composers have included Mozart, Schubert, Schumann, and Shostakovich. ...Read more...

(August) With top-flight performances and close attention paid to music scholarship, Mostly Mozart is the premier New York City summer festival. Amidst performances by artists like conductor Yannick Nézet-Séguin, pianists Mitsuko Uchida and Pierre-Laurent Aimard, choreographer Mark Morris, the International Contemporary Ensemble, the Takács Quartet, and mezzo-soprano Cecilia Bartoli, there is the resident Festival Orchestra—led by Louis Langrée.

Begun in 1966, this versatile August festival at Lincoln Center is broad in …Read more…

(July 13 – 29, 2012) The Newport Music Festival turns the idea of the summer festival on its head by moving it from the sunny lawn to the great indoors. The massive 19th century mansions of Newport, Rhode Island, built as summer “cottages” for the rich and famous of the Gilded Age, serve as venues for the festival’s 60-odd concerts, held morning, noon, and night(and occasionally midnight) for a few weeks each July ...Read more...