Colorado Music Festival announces 50th anniversary summer season

14 concerts at Chautauqua Auditorium feature world-class guest artists July 9-Aug. 9

The Colorado Music Festival will present 14 orchestral and chamber music concerts July 9 through Aug. 9 at Chautauqua Auditorium in Boulder, celebrating the festival’s 50th anniversary season.

The festival features the Colorado Music Festival Orchestra under the direction of music director Peter Oundjian, along with nine guest artists, two chamber groups and four guest conductors.

“In our 2026 season, the stars align as we celebrate four incredible milestones: the Festival’s 50th, the Center for Musical Arts’ 30th, Colorado’s 150th and our country’s 250th anniversaries,” said Oundjian. “We’re pulling out all the stops to honor these occasions and to step into our future with pride, optimism and exceptional music.”

Season highlights

The festival opens July 9 and 10 with 14-year-old violinist Himari performing Sibelius’s Concerto for Violin, alongside Tchaikovsky’s Fifth Symphony and a world premiere by Colorado composer Carter Pann.

Pianist Yuja Wang makes her festival debut July 16 and 17 with Barber’s Pulitzer Prize-winning Piano Concerto. Oundjian also conducts Bernstein’s Symphonic Dances from West Side Story.

Former Colorado Symphony music director Jeffrey Kahane leads all six of Bach’s Brandenburg Concertos on July 19.

Six-time Grammy-winning conductor and Detroit Symphony Orchestra music director laureate Leonard Slatkin conducts a program celebrating American music July 23 and 24, including Aaron Copland’s Rodeo and George Gershwin’s An American in Paris.

An all-Mozart concert on July 26 features pianist Tony Siqi Yun performing Mozart’s Piano Concerto No. 20 and the composer’s Haffner Symphony.

Oundjian conducts Holst’s The Planets July 30 and 31. Cliburn Gold Medal-winning pianist Nobu Tsujii performs Rachmaninoff’s Second Piano Concerto and the program begins with a world premiere by composer Leigha Amick.

Philadelphia Orchestra principal clarinetist Ricardo Morales performs Copland’s Clarinet Concerto and Rossini’s Introduction, Theme and Variations on Aug. 2. The program concludes with Ravel’s Ma mère l’oye (“Mother Goose”) suite.

Pianist Michelle Cann returns Aug. 6 and 7 to perform a new piano concerto by composer Valerie Coleman, along with Berlioz’s Symphonie fantastique.

Oundjian closes the season Aug. 9 with Mahler’s Third Symphony.

Free Family Day

The festival will host a Free Family Day on Sunday, July 12, including a Suzuki Play-In for string players of all ages at 9:30 a.m., a free family concert featuring Prokofiev’s Peter and the Wolf offered in both English and Spanish at 10:30 a.m., and a Family Lawn Fair in partnership with the Chautauqua Association at 11:15 a.m. featuring food trucks and musical performances.

Educational programs

The festival offers free audience insight experiences including open rehearsals, Talks Under the Tent and post-concert talk-backs. Paid hands-on workshops with limited enrollment include Conduct Yourself, a conducting workshop led by Slatkin, and The Violin Experience. More information is available at coloradomusicfestival.org/education.

Tickets

Tickets will be available for purchase March 3 at coloradomusicfestival.org or by calling the Chautauqua box office at 303-440-7666. Subscriptions are available now. The festival offers $15 tickets for youth ages 18 and under and students with current school identification.

About the festival

Founded in 1976, the Colorado Music Festival presents a summer season of classical music concerts at the historic Chautauqua Auditorium, a National Historic Landmark built in 1898. The festival features professional musicians from around the world and attracts more than 20,000 concertgoers each season.

Colorado Music Festival 2026 – Events by Date

Wednesday & Thursday, July 9-10 Season Opener: Violinist Himari performs Sibelius Concerto for Violin, Tchaikovsky’s Fifth Symphony, world premiere by Carter Pann

Sunday, July 12 Free Family Day:

9:30 a.m.: Suzuki Play-In
10:30 a.m.: Family Concert featuring Prokofiev’s Peter and the Wolf (English and Spanish)
11:15 a.m.: Family Lawn Fair

Wednesday & Thursday, July 16-17 Pianist Yuja Wang performs Barber’s Piano Concerto, Bernstein’s Symphonic Dances from West Side Story

Saturday, July 19 Jeffrey Kahane conducts Bach’s Brandenburg Concertos (all six)

Wednesday & Thursday, July 23-24 Leonard Slatkin conducts Copland’s Rodeo and Gershwin’s An American in Paris

Saturday, July 26 All-Mozart concert: Pianist Tony Siqi Yun performs Piano Concerto No. 20, Haffner Symphony

Wednesday & Thursday, July 30-31 Holst’s The Planets, pianist Nobu Tsujii performs Rachmaninoff’s Second Piano Concerto, world premiere by Leigha Amick

Saturday, August 2 Clarinetist Ricardo Morales performs Copland’s Clarinet Concerto, Rossini’s Introduction, Theme and Variations, Ravel’s Ma mère l’oye

Wednesday & Thursday, August 6-7 Pianist Michelle Cann performs new piano concerto by Valerie Coleman, Berlioz’s Symphonie fantastique

Saturday, August 9 Season Closer: Mahler’s Third Symphony

Educational Programs (various dates)