The sounds of strings fill the air to start the season, with superstar violinist Chee-Yun and the Strings Festival Orchestra.

The summer begins with strings—first in a lush multilayered meditation by Mendelssohn, then a dramatic, even diabolical early classical symphony from Spain by way of Italian composer Luigi Boccherini. To crown our season-opening evening, the full orchestra takes the stage together with Strings audience favorite, violinist Chee-Yun, in Beethoven’s always electrifying Concerto for Violin and Orchestra in D Major.

Michael Sachs, conductor
Chee-Yun, violin

     MENDELSSOHN String Symphony No. 2 in D Major

     BOCCHERINI Symphony No. 6 in D minor, Op. 12, No. 4
     BEETHOVEN Concerto for Violin in D Major, Op. 61

*Juniors (ages 6-18) discounted tickets for children 6 and up attending select evening concerts.

On sale to the public May 11.

*Donors of $500 or more to the 2023 Strings Annual Fund are granted early ticket access.

Beethoven and Richard Strauss take the stage in works for combinations of strings, woodwinds and brass.

Winds and strings come together in an evening of music rivaling the richness of the full orchestra. Beethoven’s youthful genius is on display in his septet for clarinet, bassoon, horn, violin, viola, cello, and bass—a work so popular it almost gave him fits. This is perfectly paired with Richard Strauss’ tone poem Till Eulenspiegel, stripped to its core, somehow losing nothing, in an artful adaptation for only five instruments.

STRAUSS Till Eulenspiegels Lustige (arr. Hasenoehrl) Streiche, Op. 28
BEETHOVEN Septet in E-flat Major, Op. 20

Frank Almond, violin
Erina Laraby Goldwasser, viola
Karissa Shivone, cello
Owen Levine, bass
Afendi Yusuf, clarinet
Whitney Crockett, bassoon
Nathaniel Silberschlag, horn

*Juniors (ages 6-18) discounted tickets for children 6 and up attending select evening concerts.

On sale to the public May 11.

*Donors of $500 or more to the 2023 Strings Annual Fund are granted early ticket access.

Brass and percussion bring the cinematic world of John Williams to the Strings Pavilion stage.

From Star Wars to Jurassic Park, John Williams’ enduring and unrivaled domination of film scoring lies in the direct, clear, and universal way he has of expressing emotion. Drawing on Classical and Romantic models, Williams’s music serves cinematic drama while adding no small amount of his own imagination to any story. Many of his most familiar and hummable themes, so deeply ingrained in our lives, come to life in this concert featuring resounding brass and percussion.

Brett Mitchell, conductor
Timothy Higgins, arranger

*Juniors (ages 6-18) discounted tickets for children 6 and up attending select evening concerts.

On sale to the public May 11.

*Donors of $500 or more to the 2023 Strings Annual Fund are granted early ticket access.

“Huge range of dynamics, massive sound, and spontaneity…all the warmth, balanced sound, rhythmic solidity, and elegance one could wish for.” – The American Record Guide

The quartet achieved incredible success in their formative years, with an unbroken streak of top prizes. In addition to their career-defining achievement at the 2019 Banff International String Quartet Competition, where they were among the youngest First Prize winners in history, they also received the Grand Prize at the 2019 ENKOR International Music Competition and second prize at the 2019 Yellow Springs Chamber Music Competition.

PIAZZOLLA Introducción del Angel
BARTÓK String Quartet No. 3, Sz. 85
LAU String Quartet No. 5 “The Train to Improbable Places”

BEETHOVEN String Quartet No. 13 in B-flat Major, Op. 130 and Große Fuge, Op. 133

*Juniors (ages 6-18) discounted tickets for children 6 and up attending select evening concerts.

On sale to the public May 11.

*Donors of $500 or more to the 2023 Strings Annual Fund are granted early ticket access.

Boyd Meets Girl pairs Australian classical guitarist Rupert Boyd with American cellist Laura Metcalf. The duo has toured the world sharing their eclectic mix of music from Debussy and Bach to Radiohead and Beyoncé.

The duo’s debut album, released in 2017 on the Grammy award-winning label Sono Luminus, reached #3 on the Billboard Traditional Classical chart and received the following praise in Gramophone: “They play like one, with a harmony of purpose as sure as their intonation.”

*Music for the Community: Pay what you can!  Strings welcomes music lovers ages six and older to enjoy a beautiful performance without the worries of cost, seating, or classical music knowledge. Attendees are invited to pay what they can and choose seats anywhere in the Pavilion.

On sale to the public May 11.

*Donors of $500 or more to the 2023 Strings Annual Fund are granted early ticket access.

Anna Geniushene’s fresh, layered, and powerful interpretations defined her participation at the 2022 Van Cliburn International Piano Competition— and won her the coveted silver medal and the adoration of fans around the globe.

Born in Moscow on New Year’s Day in 1991, Anna made her recital debut just seven years later in the small hall of the Berlin Philharmonic. She has since developed a diverse and versatile career as an artist: performances in major world venues such as the Town Hall in Leeds, National Concert Hall in Dublin, Museum of Arts in Tel Aviv, Teatro Carlo Felice in Genova, Great Hall of Moscow Conservatory, and Sala Greppi in Bergamo.

*Juniors (ages 6-18) discounted tickets for children 6 and up attending select evening concerts.

On sale to the public May 11.

*Donors of $500 or more to the 2023 Strings Annual Fund are granted early ticket access.

Ireland’s premier contemporary and classical guitarists cross the ocean.

The celebrated composer Philip Glass has hailed Dublin Guitar Quartet as, “A wonderful ensemble that has carved a place for itself in the world of classical music.” As the first guitar quartet entirely focused on new music, they have created a unique catalogue of works through new commissions and arrangements of music from outside the guitar repertoire. With the help of six-string and custom-built eight-string guitars, DGQ explores a vast array of sounds and textures in works by Glass, Steve Reich, Arvo Pärt, Rachel Grimes, Nico Muhly, and more. Their innovative approach has captivated audiences worldwide and has redefined the classical guitar quartet.

*Juniors (ages 6-18) discounted tickets for children 6 and up attending select evening concerts.

On sale to the public May 11.

*Donors of $500 or more to the 2023 Strings Annual Fund are granted early ticket access.

“PROJECT Trio is packed with musicianship, joy, and surprise!”  – Downbeat Magazine

Combining the virtuosity of world-class artists with the energy of rock stars, PROJECT Trio is breaking down traditional ideas of chamber music. Blending their classical training with an eclectic taste in musical styles, they make a big impact on audiences of all ages. The genre-defying Trio is acclaimed by the press as “packed with musicianship, joy, and surprise” and “exciting a new generation of listeners about the joys of classical and jazz music.”

* PROJECT Trio has mentored music students in the Yampa Valley in 2017, 2018, 2019, 2021, and 2022 as part of the free Strings School Days program.

 Juniors (ages 6-18) discounted tickets for children 6 and up attending select evening concerts.

On sale to the public May 11.

*Donors of $500 or more to the 2023 Strings Annual Fund are granted early ticket access.

Three of Strings’ favorite stars come together in an evening of unforgettable, heartfelt music for strings with piano.

At turns powerful, tender, glittering, and suave, the piano trio of Anton Arensky anchors an evening of music for piano and strings. Reena Esmail’s affectionate and meditative tribute to her Indian-American household’s musical multilingualism, Jhula Jhule, is paired with two heartbreaking Rachmaninoff songs in adaptations for cello and piano.

ESMAIL Jhula Jhule
RACHMANINOFF Two Songs from Romances, Op. 4

ARENSKY Piano Trio No. 1 in D minor, Op. 32

Vijay Gupta, violin
Joel Noyes, cello
Benjamin Hochman, piano

*Included in 3-show package (The Soldier’s Journey: A Musical Narrative, Dreams and Impressions: Music for Strings and Piano, Romantic Lyricism). Use code TRIO for 25% off.

Juniors (ages 6-18) discounted tickets for children 6 and up attending select evening concerts.

On sale to the public May 11.

*Donors of $500 or more to the 2023 Strings Annual Fund are granted early ticket access.

A deal with the devil leads to a raucous, diabolical fable-drama in Stravinsky’s A Soldier’s Tale.

The soldier at the center of Stravinsky’s L’Histoire du Soldat is a Faustian anti-hero for the ages, trading his soul for worldly riches and fame. Conceived together with Swiss poet C.F. Ramuz as a portable theater piece during World War I, when large-scale productions were not possible, Stravinsky brought all of his cheeky wit and rhythmic precision to bear in this modernist masterpiece.

Mark Gould, conductor
Brian McWhorter, narrator

     STRAVINSKY L’Histoire du Soldat

Vijay Gupta, violin
Maximilian Dimoff, bass
Benjamin Lulich, clarinet
John Clouser, bassoon
Michael Sachs, cornet
Domingo Pagliuca, trombone
James Ritchie, percussion

*Included in 3-show package (The Soldier’s Journey: A Musical Narrative, Dreams and Impressions: Music for Strings and Piano, Romantic Lyricism). Use code TRIO for 25% off.

Juniors (ages 6-18) discounted tickets for children 6 and up attending select evening concerts.

On sale to the public May 11.

*Donors of $500 or more to the 2023 Strings Annual Fund are granted early ticket access.

Elegance and sophistication, naturally! But ebullience, whimsy, and exotic mystique too—all in an evening of French chamber music.

Full of highly personal stylistic colors, textures, and rhythms, and so perfectly suited to the medium of this type of ensemble, Ravel’s String Quartet stands alone. Joining it on the program is a rare glimpse into the development of Claude Debussy: his piano Trio, which he composed at age 18 and lay undiscovered until 1982. To round out the program, Saint-Saëns’ Septet Militaire—masterfully, imaginatively, and with good humor—blends the brilliant sound of the trumpet with the piano and five strings.

RAVEL String Quartet in F Major
DEBUSSY Piano Trio in G Major
SAINT-SAËNS Septet in E-flat Major, Op. 65

Vijay Gupta, Laura Albers, violin
Mark Jackobs, viola
Joel Noyes, cello
Maximilian Dimoff, bass
Benjamin Hochman, piano
Michael Sachs, trumpet

*Included in 3-show package (The Soldier’s Journey: A Musical Narrative, Dreams and Impressions: Music for Strings and Piano, Romantic Lyricism). Use code TRIO for 25% off.

Juniors (ages 6-18) discounted tickets for children 6 and up attending select evening concerts.

On sale to the public May 11.

*Donors of $500 or more to the 2023 Strings Annual Fund are granted early ticket access.

They say three’s a crowd, but not when music is your love language—just ask husband and wife composing team Robert and Clara Schumann!

Robert and Clara Schumann’s passionate marriage is at the center of the Romantic movement in music. Robert’s Five Pieces in Folk Style, for cello and piano, are as free and imaginative as his incomparable art songs. Likewise, Clara’s Three Romances are full of tenderness and rich melodic invention. The Schumanns would have delighted in the Iberian sounds with which Joaquín Turina infuses his Piano Trio No. 2, as they would have likewise enjoyed the company of the 25th piano trio of Joseph Haydn, whose music is always a balm for the soul.

Student Night: To broaden horizons, local students receive free tickets to this concert.

*Juniors (ages 6-18) discounted tickets for children 6 and up attending select evening concerts.

HAYDN Piano Trio in G Major, Hob. XV:25 “Gypsy”
C. SCHUMANN Three Romances for Violin and Piano, Op. 22
R. SCHUMANN 5 Stücke im Volkston, Op. 102
TURINA Piano Trio No. 2 in B minor, Op. 76

Sheryl Staples, violin
Joel Noyes, cello
Dominic Cheli, piano

Juniors (ages 6-18) discounted tickets for children 6 and up attending select evening concerts.

On sale to the public May 11.

*Donors of $500 or more to the 2023 Strings Annual Fund are granted early ticket access.

All ages are invited to the Strings Pavilion to watch the Strings Festival Orchestra prepare for Closing Night the following day.

Peer behind the curtain as the Strings Festival Orchestra prepares for two exciting performances. This event is open to the public, giving families and friends an exclusive opportunity to gain insight into the inner workings of a symphony orchestra. Children of all ages are welcome to attend.

Event is free to attend!

*Donors of $500 or more to the 2023 Strings Annual Fund are granted early ticket access.

Bassoon takes center stage in a festive send-off to the classical season celebrating the genius of Mozart.

Four examples of the genius of Wolfgang Mozart fill our last orchestra program of the summer, all written before the composer’s twentieth birthday. His first opera overture, produced at age eleven, charms as effectively as the serenata notturno, written almost a decade later. Fans of the bassoon will delight in Mozart’s sole surviving concerto for the flexible and expressive instrument, performed by one of its most accomplished practitioners: William Short, principal bassoonist for the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra. One of the most compelling of Wolfgang’s teenage-period symphonies, No. 29 in A Major, makes a brilliant finale to the summer.

Michael Sachs, conductor
William Short, bassoon

     MOZART Serenade No. 6 in D Major, K. 239

     MOZART Concerto for Bassoon in B-flat Major, K. 191
     MOZART Apollo et Hyacinthus, K. 38
     MOZART Symphony No. 29 in A Major, K. 201

*Juniors (ages 6-18) discounted tickets for children 6 and up attending select evening concerts.

On sale to the public May 11.

*Donors of $500 or more to the 2023 Strings Annual Fund are granted early ticket access.