Sun Valley Music Festival Reveals 40th Summer Season Kicking Off in July

The Sun Valley Music Festival has announced its landmark 40th-anniversary season, from July 29 to August 22, at the Sun Valley Pavilion, in the beautiful, natural surroundings of Sun Valley - the country's original destination ski resort. Curated by Music Director Alasdair Neale, the 2024 summer season will feature the all-star Festival Orchestra - which comprises the finest musicians from orchestras throughout North America - performing with a stellar lineup of world-renowned guest artists that includes violinist Leonidas Kavakos, pianists Stephen Hough and Garrick Ohlsson, soprano Meechot Marrero, and cellist Jeffrey Zeigler.

"I'm looking forward to this milestone 40th-anniversary season," commented Neale, who will conduct 11 of the 14 Summer Season programs. "As befits the occasion, we're celebrating decades of musical excellence with a top-notch lineup of great music and great artists. And it all takes place in the unparalleled setting of the Sun Valley Pavilion against the backdrop of the Sawtooth Mountains."

The music

To celebrate 40 years of free classical music concerts, the Sun Valley Music Festival Summer Season includes two world premieres commissioned by the Festival: a cello concerto by the Pulitzer Prize finalist and multi-GRAMMYⓇ-nominated composer Andy Akiho, performed by former Kronos Quartet cellist Jeffrey Zeigler; and a season-opening fanfare by Timothy Higgins, principal trombone of the San Francisco Symphony. Stephanie Childress returns as the Music Festival's Associate Conductor to lead several performances, including Mozart's Symphony No. 36 ("Linz"), Wagner's Ride of the Valkyries, and Rossini's William Tell overture. Major orchestral repertoire includes Prokofiev's Classical Symphony, Mahler's Symphony No. 6, Beethoven's Triple Concerto, Saint-Saёns's Organ Symphony, Respighi's Pines of Rome, Grieg's Piano Concerto, Brahms's Violin Concerto, Benjamin Britten's Four Sea Interludes, Handel's Music for the Royal Fireworks, and Ravel's Boléro. All concerts are offered free of charge, with ample seating inside the Sun Valley Pavilion and on the lawn, featuring a state-of-the-art big screen and sound system.

This year the Festival welcomes the acclaimed Greek violinist Leonidas Kavakos, a frequent fixture with major orchestras including the Vienna Philharmonic, Berlin Philharmonic, and the London Symphony. Kavakos makes his Sun Valley debut performing Brahms's Violin Concerto, a celebration of the soloist's technique and musicianship. Sir Stephen Hough, a MacArthur fellow and one of the most distinctive artists of his generation, also makes his Sun Valley debut, performing one of the most popular and beloved works of all time, Grieg's Piano Concerto. Hough will also perform chamber music with Festival musicians, including Dvořák's Piano Quintet No. 2 and his own Sonatina Nostalgica.

Pianist Garrick Ohlsson, the only American to have won first prize in the International Chopin Piano Competition, will perform Rachmaninoff's Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini as well as an all-Chopin solo recital. Soprano Meechot Marrero, whom El Nuevo Día called, "a revelation... a young Puerto Rican star with a great career ahead," returns to Sun Valley to sing familiar songs and arias with the Festival Chamber Orchestra. Marrero will also sing Schubert's The Shepherd on the Rock in a chamber concert.

Additional programs feature Astor Piazzola's The Four Seasons of Buenos Aires; Gabriela Ortiz's Antrópolis, a piece inspired by the music of Mexico's nightlife; Jessie Montgomery's effervescent Strum, which, according to the composer, "draws on American folk idioms and the spirit of dance and movement;" and Quinn Mason's A Joyous Trilogy, which he calls "the very embodiment of happiness." For Pops Night, the Festival will screen the blockbuster film Raiders of the Lost Ark with the orchestra playing the acclaimed John Williams score - one of the most memorable and iconic in the history of cinema - under the direction of conductor Vinay Parameswaran.

Education Programs: Sun Valley Music Festival Music Institute

In addition to presenting first-rate classical music performances, the Sun Valley Music Festival is dedicated to bringing the joy of music to young people's lives. Now in its 27th year, the Festival's Music Institute provides year-round music education programs to students of all abilities, from second graders to college undergraduates. This summer, students in grades 2-12 can attend programs for most orchestral instruments, voice, and piano from August 5 to 9. College undergraduates and exceptional high school students studying piano, strings, and voice can participate in the Advanced Chamber Program from July 29 to August 10. Students hone their skills and work on select pieces with Festival musicians, conductors, and guest artists - including Marrero, Akiho, Zeigler, and Hough - and also attend orchestra rehearsals and concerts. Their experience culminates with an opportunity to perform on the Sun Valley Pavilion stage. Thanks to the generosity of Music Festival donors, students pay only nominal registration and materials fees. More information about education programs, including registration, which is now open, can be found at svmusicfestival.org/summer-programs.

How to attend

Summer concerts offer an exciting social experience, where people from all walks of life can enjoy music together, for free. While some seats in the Pavilion may be reserved in advance by donors at certain levels, great seats are always available - for free - to the public both in the Pavilion and on the lawn. For concert dates, details, and updates, please visit www.svmusicfestival.org or subscribe to the Festival's e-news at svmusicfestival.org/subscribe. Details about the fundraising Gala will be announced in February. This concert is the only ticketed event of the year; sales help keep the rest of the concerts admission-free.

Full Lineup

Opening Night
Monday, July 29
Alasdair Neale, conductor
Meechot Marrero, soprano
Timothy Higgins: Fanfare - Commissioned by the Sun Valley Music Festival - World Premiere
Select songs
Prokofiev: Symphony No. 1 in D Major, Op. 25, "Classical Symphony"

Festival Chamber Orchestra
Tuesday, July 30
Alasdair Neale, conductor
Juliana Athayde, violin
Stephanie Childress, conductor
Piazzolla/Desyatnikov: The Four Seasons of Buenos Aires
Mozart: Symphony No. 36 in C Major, K. 425, "Linz"

Chamber Concert
Thursday, August 1
Meechot Marrero, soprano
Susan Warner, clarinet
Peter Henderson, piano
Milana Elise Reiche, violin
Chris Tantillo, viola
Emileigh Vandiver, cello
Stephen Tramontozzi, bass
Schubert: The Shepherd on the Rock
Schubert: Quintet for Violin, Viola, Cello, Bass, and Piano in A Major, D. 667, Op. 114, "Trout"

Festival Chamber Orchestra
Friday, August 2
Alasdair Neale, conductor
Jeffrey Zeigler, cello
Andy Akiho: Concerto for Cello - Co-Commissioned by the Sun Valley Music Festival - World Premiere
Handel: Music for the Royal Fireworks

Festival Orchestra
Sunday, August 4
Alasdair Neale, conductor
Stephanie Childress, conductor
Williams: Olympic Fanfare and Theme
Johann Strauss, Jr.: On the Beautiful Blue Danube
Wagner/Hutschenruyter: The Ride of the Valkyries from Die Walküre
Rossini: Overture to William Tell
Ravel: Boléro

Festival Orchestra - Gala Benefit Concert
Monday, August 5
To be announced

Chamber Concert
Wednesday, August 7
Sir Stephen Hough, piano
Jeremy Constant, violin
Polina Sedukh, violin
Adam Smyla, viola
Amos Yang, cello
Cécile Chaminade: Étude de concert, Op.35, No. 2, "Automne"
Sir Stephen Hough: Sonatina Nostalgica
Dvořák: Quintet No. 2 in A Major for Piano, Two Violins, Viola, and Cello, Op. 81

Festival Orchestra
Thursday, August 8
Alasdair Neale, conductor
Sir Stephen Hough, piano
Alex Orfaly, timpani
Gabriela Ortiz: Antrópolis
Grieg: Concerto in A Minor for Piano, Op. 16

Festival Orchestra
Sunday, August 11
Alasdair Neale, conductor
Mahler: Symphony No.6 in A Minor, "Tragic"

Festival Orchestra
Tuesday, August 13
Alasdair Neale, conductor
Stephanie Childress, conductor
Jeremy Constant, violin
Amos Yang, cello
Peter Henderson, piano
Jessie Montgomery: Strum
Beethoven: Concerto in C Major, Op. 56, "Triple"

Festival Orchestra
Wednesday, August 14
Alasdair Neale, conductor
Leonidas Kavakos, violin
Quinn Mason: A Joyous Trilogy
Brahms: Concerto in D Major for Violin, Op. 77

Festival Orchestra - Pops Night
Saturday, August 17
Vinay Parameswaran, conductor
Williams: Raiders of the Lost Ark Live in Concert

Festival Orchestra
Monday, August 19
Alasdair Neale, conductor
Stephanie Childress, conductor
Jonathan Dimmock, organ
Britten: Four Sea Interludes from Peter Grimes, Op. 33a
Saint-Saëns: Symphony No.3 in C Minor, Op.78, "Organ Symphony"

Chamber Concert
Tuesday, August 20
Garrick Ohlsson, piano
Chopin: Nocturne in F Major, Op. 15, No. 1
Chopin: Nocturne in B Major, Op. 9, No. 3
Chopin: Barcarolle in F-sharp Major, Op. 60
Chopin: Fantaisie in F Minor, Op. 49
Chopin: Impromptu No. 1 in A-flat Major, Op. 29
Chopin: Mazurka in C-sharp Minor, Op. 50, No. 3
Chopin: Scherzo No. 2 in B-flat Minor, Op. 31

Festival Orchestra
Thursday, August 22
Alasdair Neale, conductor
Garrick Ohlsson, piano
Rachmaninoff: Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini, Op. 43
Respighi: The Pines of Rome

About the Sun Valley Music Festival
The Sun Valley Music Festival's mission is to enrich, inspire, and instill in our community a lifelong love of classical music through extraordinary free concerts and education programs. Festival programs provide opportunities for people from all walks of life to listen, learn, and play. Now in its 40th year, it is the largest privately supported, free-admission orchestra in the United States.

Over 100 world-class musicians from North America's most distinguished orchestras, including the San Francisco Symphony, St. Louis Symphony Orchestra, Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, Minnesota Orchestra, Toronto Symphony, and Houston Symphony, comprise the Festival Orchestra. Summer Season concerts are held in July and August at the spectacular R.E. Holding Sun Valley Pavilion, in the mountain resort town of Sun Valley, Idaho. Winter Season concerts are held in February or March at the Argyros Performing Arts Center in nearby Ketchum, Idaho, which is adjacent to Bald Mountain, Sun Valley Resort's primary ski area. Internationally-renowned guest artists such as Gautier Capuçon, Midori, Emanuel Ax, Audra McDonald, Joshua Bell, Joyce Yang, Yefim Bronfman, Kristin Chenoweth, and Jean-Yves Thibaudet have performed with the Festival.

Through its Music Institute, the Festival strives to introduce every Wood River Valley student to the joys of classical music, to inspire the next generation of music lovers. Its year-round and summer programs provide tuition-free instruction for string, piano, and voice students of all skill levels - from elementary through high school - that goes beyond the fundamentals and embraces the entire musician.

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