For the first time, Festival Amadeus offers two outdoor concerts at Rebecca Farm.
Enjoy “Mountains by Day and Music by Night” as the Glacier Symphony presents the 14th annual Festival Amadeus Aug. 3-8. The region’s only weeklong classical music festival offers six chamber and orchestra concerts. After last year’s pandemic postponement, the select Festival Amadeus Orchestra, under the baton of founding artistic director John Zoltek, takes to the stage live once again at various indoor and outdoor venues around the Flathead Valley, including Christ Lutheran Church in Whitefish, Rebecca Farm in Kalispell and St. John Paul II Catholic Church in Bigfork.
The theme of this year’s festival is Morning, Noon and Night, after the nicknames for the three Joseph Haydn symphonies that open festivities Aug. 3. The week will be filled with chamber and orchestra concerts featuring the music of other masters of the romantic and classical periods, including Mozart, Schubert, Brahms and Beethoven.
“We are thrilled to be able to perform for live audiences once again and bring the singular experiences of classical chamber and orchestral music back to the Flathead in this signature summer event,” says Maestro Zoltek. “Come out and taste the visual and musical beauty that only Northwest Montana can offer.”
This year the festival is “going local” with soloists, as principal clarinetist Dinah Weimer and principal horn Paul Rossi step up to perform two of Mozart’s most beloved solo concertos.
Returning this summer for the chamber concerts is a festival favorite, the Fry Street Quartet, hailed by The New York Times as “a triumph of ensemble playing.” These intimate chamber performances take place Aug. 5 at St. John Paul II Catholic Church and Aug. 6 at Christ Lutheran Church in Whitefish.
The weekend finale concerts take place for the first time in festival history at a popular symphony setting – under the big sky at Rebecca Farm. On Saturday, Aug. 7, audiences will experience a concert of all-Baroque music including Handel’s Music for the Royal Fireworks, followed by a stunning Mozart and Beethoven Finale on Sunday, Aug. 8.
Specific details about the concerts are available online.
Camp Festival Amadeus, operated by North Valley Music School, will also be in session for aspiring young musicians in grades 7 – 12. Each day, campers participate in orchestra sessions, small ensembles, sectionals and elective classes taught by musicians from the festival orchestra. Campers will attend workshops and Musical Journey talks with guest musicians and, as a special treat, with Maestro Zoltek. These presentations are open to the public.
Each evening, campers will receive complimentary tickets to the festival concerts, courtesy of the Glacier Symphony. Registration for the music camp can be found on the school’s website.
Further information and tickets are available for Festival Amadeus by calling the box office at 406-407-7000 or on the Glacier Symphony website.