Festival Amadeus returns live to the Flathead Valley
The Fry Street Quartet returns to Festival Amadeus for two intimate and chamber performances — in Whitefish at Christ Lutheran Church, and at St. John Paul II Catholic Church in Bigfork.
Festival Amadeus will conclude Aug. 7 and 8 with two weekend finale concerts at Rebecca Farm in Kalispell.
Festival Amadeus returns live to the Flathead Valley
Glacier Symphony presents the 14th annual Festival Amadeus, Aug. 3 through Aug. 8, the region’s only week-long classical music festival, offering six spectacular chamber and orchestra concerts. The Festival Amadeus Orchestra takes to the stage live in various indoor and outdoor venues around the Flathead Valley. Performances in Whitefish will happen at Christ Lutheran Church, with additional concerts also in Kalispell and Bigfork.
The theme of this year’s Festival is “Morning, Noon and Night,” after the nicknames for the three Joseph Haydn symphonies, which open the festivities. The week will be filled with chamber and orchestra concerts featuring the music of other Classical and Romantic Era masters — Mozart, Schubert, Brahms and Beethoven. The Festival Amadeus Orchestra will be under the baton of founding artistic director John Zoltek. This year the Festival is “going local” with soloists, as principal clarinetist Dinah Weimer and principal horn Paul Rossi perform two of Mozart’s most beloved solo concertos.
Returning this summer for the chamber concerts will be a festival favorite, the Fry Street Quartet, who the New York Times hails as "a triumph of ensemble playing.” These intimate chamber performances will take place both in Whitefish at Christ Lutheran Church and at St. John Paul II Catholic Church in Bigfork.
The weekend finale concerts will take place for the first time in festival history at a popular symphony setting — Rebecca Farm. Saturday, audiences will experience a concert of all-Baroque music including Handel’s “Music for the Royal Fireworks,” followed by a Mozart and Beethoven finale Sunday.
Specific details about the concerts can be found online at https://glaciersymphony.org/festival-amadeus-2/.
“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,” Zoltek said. “Come out and taste the visual and musical beauty that only Northwest Montana can offer.”
Further information and tickets are available for Festival Amadeus by calling the box office at 406-407-7000; via email to nancy@gscmusic.org; or on the Glacier Symphony website https://glaciersymphony.org/.
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Camp Festival Amadeus, operated by North Valley Music School, will also be in session for aspiring young musicians in grades seven to 12. Each day, campers will 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 the Festival’s guest musicians, and 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 http://northvalleymusicschool.org/camp-festival-amadeus/.
