Join us August in Bend and Sunriver for the Festival's 48th Season! Led by Artistic Director and Conductor Brett Mitchell, the season features the Festival Orchestra of professional musicians from around the country and world-class soloists.

Schedule of Events:

Saturday, August 2, 2025

7:30 PM: Opening Night Classical Concert: A FRENCH SOIREE

Location: Tower Theatre, 835 NW Wall St., Bend

Brett Mitchell, conductor
Stewart Goodyear, piano

The 2025 Festival opens with the Fanfare from Dukas' La Péri for the brass alone. Ravel's Piano Concerto in G Major, performed by Stewart Goodyear, celebrates the 150th anniversary of the composer's birth. The second half opens with Faure's stunningly beautiful Suite from Pelléas et Mélisande and closes with selections from Bizet's Carmen to mark the 150th anniversary of both Bizet's passing and Carmen's premiere.

Proclaimed "a phenomenon" by the Los Angeles Times and "one of the best pianists of his generation" by The Philadelphia Inquirer, Stewart Goodyear is an accomplished concert pianist, improviser and composer. He has performed with, and has been commissioned by, many of the major orchestras and chamber music organizations around the world.

6:30 pm - 7:00 pm: Pre-Concert Talk

Tickets start at $45; age 25 and under $25

Sunday, August 3, 2025

7:30 PM: Pops Concert: A Tribute to Broadway and Film Music

Location: Tower Theatre, 835 NW Wall St., Bend

Festival Orchestra
Brett Mitchell, conductor

The first half of this year's Pops Concert celebrates three iconic Broadway anniversaries (the 80th anniversary of Carousel and the 50th anniversaries of A Chorus Line and Chicago) and the great composer of light concert music, Leroy Anderson, who passed away 50 years ago. Many of Anderson's works were premiered by the Boston Pops and a selection of his greatest hits will feature various sections of the orchestra. The second half of the program celebrates great film score anniversaries from 1965 through 1995, including The Sound of Music, Jaws, Out of Africa, Back to the Future and more.

Tickets start at $53; age 25 and under $25

Thursday, August 7, 2025

7:30 PM: Classical Concert II: THE CLASSICAL TRADITION

Location: Tower Theatre, 835 NW Wall St., Bend

Brett Mitchell, conductor
Mark Kosower, cello

This concert program features different takes on what "classical" music is. The William Bolcom piece is a fun classical overture that audiences love, followed by cellist Mark Kosower in Tchaikovsky's Rococo Variations, which were inspired by Tchaikovsky's role model, Mozart. The second half opens with four famous minutes by Mozart: the Overture from The Marriage of Figaro, and the evening closes with Stravinsky's brilliantly neoclassical Danses Concertantes.

A modern player with a "signature sound" and distinctive style of playing, cellist Mark Kosower embodies the concept of the complete musician performing as concerto soloist with symphony orchestras, in solo recitals, and as a much admired and sought-after chamber musician. He is Principal Cello of The Cleveland Orchestra and a scholar and teacher of cello.

6:30-7 PM – Pre-Concert Talk

Tickets start at $45; age 25 and under $25

Friday, August 8, 2025

3 PM: Family Concert

Location: Benham Hall at SHARC, Sunriver

Festival Orchestra
Brett Mitchell, conductor
Fiona Curley, soprano (2025 Young Artists Scholarship Recipient)

This matinee presents orchestral music in a fun, informal setting. Bring the family and enjoy a one-hour concert featuring a virtuosic Young Artists Scholarship recipient with the Festival Orchestra. Various sections of the orchestra are introduced for young ears to enjoy, featuring Les Toreadors from Carmen, Leroy Anderson's Bugler's Holiday and more.

An instrument petting zoo is offered prior to the concert.

G/A tickets are $15; age 17 and under FREE

Monday, August 11, 2025

7:30 PM: Classical Concert III: THE LEIPZIG CONNECTION

Location: Sunriver Resort Great Hall, 57081 Great Hall Loop, Sunriver

Brett Mitchell, conductor
Yi Zhao, violin

This program highlights the three most central composers in the musical life of Leipzig, Germany. The concert opens with Schumann's lively Manfred Overture followed by Mendelssohn's popular Violin Concerto performed by Concertmaster Yi Zhao. The second half is all Bach, including an arrangement of the Toccata and Fugue (famous from Fantasia) and Orchestral Suite No. 3 (with Air on the G String).

Born in Henan, China, Yi Zhao is entering her third summer as Sunriver Music Festival's concertmaster. She was offered a first violin position in the Minnesota Orchestra in June 2023, and in fall 2024 was appointed principal second violin. Prior to that, Zhao was the assistant concertmaster of the Colorado Symphony for nine seasons. For the past six summers, Zhao has played at the Grand Teton Music Festival, taking on various leadership roles as well as chamber music concerts.

6:30-7 PM – Pre-Concert Talk

Tickets start at $45; age 25 and under $25

Tuesday, August 12, 2025

7:30 PM: Solo Piano Concert with Vitaly Starikov

Location: Sunriver Resort Great Hall, 57081 Great Hall Loop, Sunriver

The picturesque Great Hall sets the scene for a solo piano concert by Vitaly Starikov, 2025 Van Cliburn International Piano Competition Silver Medalist. 

Vitaly Starikov (from Israel/Russia) is a distinguished pianist whose artistry has graced some of the world's most renowned stages, including the Sydney Opera House, Brussels BOZAR and the Great Hall of the Moscow Conservatory. His discography includes a CD of Mozart's Piano Concerto No. 23 with Frank Braley and the Orchestre Royal de Chambre de Wallonie. Starikov is is a laureate of the Queen Elisabeth, Sydney International and 26th Epinal Piano Competitions.

Tickets start at $36; age 25 and under $25

Wednesday, August 13, 2025

7:30 PM: Season Finale Classical Concert: VIENNA WAITS FOR YOU

Location: Sunriver Resort Great Hall, 57081 Great Hall Loop, Sunriver

Brett Mitchell, conductor
Vitaly Starikov, piano

The Festival season finale program centers around Beethoven's Fifth Symphony, the most iconic and beloved symphony of all time, paired with a work by his teacher, Haydn. Haydn's "Miracle" Symphony clearly foreshadows Beethoven 5's main 4-note idea (‘da-da-da-dumm'). The evening includes Mozart's Piano Concerto No. 17 in G Major performed by Vitaly Starikov, 2025 Van Cliburn International Piano Competition Silver Medalist. 

Leonard Bernstein once remarked that if pressed to name an "all-time favorite piece of music," it would be the G Major Concerto's 2nd movement (Andante), in which Mozart stands "at the peak of his lyrical powers, combining serenity, melancholy, and tragic intensity in one great lyric improvisation."

Vitaly Starikov (from Israel/Russia) is a distinguished pianist whose artistry has graced some of the world's most renowned stages, including the Sydney Opera House, Brussels BOZAR and the Great Hall of the Moscow Conservatory. His discography includes a CD of Mozart's Piano Concerto No. 23 with Frank Braley and the Orchestre Royal de Chambre de Wallonie. Starikov is is a laureate of the Queen Elisabeth, Sydney International and 26th Epinal Piano Competitions.

6:30-7 PM – Pre-Concert Talk

Tickets start at $45; age 25 and under $25

Date:
August 2 - 13, 2025

Location:
Tower Theatre, 835 NW Wall St, Bend, OR 97703
Benham Hall at SHARC, 57250 Overlook Rd, Sunriver, OR 97707
The Sunriver Resort Great Hall, 57081 Great Hall Loop, Sunriver OR 97707

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