The Music in the Mountains 44th annual SummerFest features concerts June 25 through 29 and culminates with a special Dessert in the Garden event on July 13. The series of concerts showcases an Orchestra of players from around the country, as well as the Music in the Mountains Chorus of auditioned singers. The weekend of concerts is held in The Center for the Arts, Grass Valley, and a private garden.
The New World Symphony
The series opens on June 25th with an evening of both familiar music and undiscovered gems. There are pieces by Dvorak, Coleridge-Taylor and Haydn.
Antonin Dvorak spent many years in the United States and was enamored with “the American sound” and produced his well-known Symphony No 9, From The New World. Parts of the symphony are used in so many commercials and as backgrounds that the melodies have become quite familiar.
Samuel Coleridge-Taylor (not to be confused with poet Samuel Taylor Coleridge, after whom he was named!) was a British composer and conductor of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Such was his skill as a composer, that he was often compared to Mahler. His Ballade in A minor was an early energetic and vivacious work that was commissioned at the suggestion of Edward Elgar.
The Trumpet Concerto in Eb Major has been cited as “possibly Haydn’s most popular concerto.” It was written to exploit the new trumpet with valves that enabled it to play many more pitches than before. Scott Macomber is the featured soloist. Scott has been playing for many years in the Music in the Mountains orchestra, as well as at San Francisco Opera, Symphony and Ballet Orchestras, many other Northern California orchestras, and on video game and film soundtracks.
Stravinsky’s Firebird Suite
The second concert on June 27th features the Stravinsky piece as headliner but is packed with a number of wonderful pieces. In addition to The Firebird Suite, there is music of Edward Elgar, Jessie Montgomery, and Jennifer Higdon.
Stravinsky created The Firebird Suite from the music of his full-length ballet. The suite features a mix of exotic, chromatic gestures to depict the supernatural elements and simpler, folk-like melodies for the mortal characters. Unlike his Rite of Spring which caused a riot at its premier, The Firebird was an immediate success and has remained an orchestral staple ever since.
Long time Music in the Mountains cellist Adele-Akiko Kearns is featured on Edward Elgar’s Cello Concerto in E minor. Adele has been forging a soloist career of late with appearances with many Northern California orchestras. The concerto is a deeply emotional and reflective work often seen as a poignant response to the aftermath of World War I and is considered a masterwork of the cello repertoire.
Jessie Montgomery is one of the most prominent living composers who blends classical with folk, jazz and social justice themes. Her piece Starburst is a vibrant and effervescent composition that captures the essence of rapid movement and the bursting forth of energy.
Another living composer, Jennifer Higdon, is celebrated for her orchestral and chamber works. blue cathedral (sic) is renowned for its evocative and luminous soundscapes marked by rich orchestral colors and emotive depth.
A Celebration of American Music
The final concert on June 29th celebrates American music. The MIM Chorus joins the Orchestra in highlighting the music of celebrated American composers Morten Lauridsen, multi-Academy Award and Grammy winner John Williams, and Aaron Copland.
Morten Lauridsen is one of the most famous American choral composers. His Lux Aeterna (Eternal Light) is a large masterwork for chorus and orchestra incorporating elements of Gregorian chant and the Requiem mass. It sent ripples throughout the choral world when it premiered in 1997 and is one of the most performed choral works of the late 20th century.
Numerous movies have featured the music of John Williams: Jaws, Raiders of the Lost Ark, Star Wars, Jurassic Park, and ET to name a few. Second on the program will be The Cowboys Overture from the 1972 film, The Cowboys. This film score was one of Williams’ earliest (John Wayne) and already had the signature “Williams’ sound.”
Last on the program is one of the most classic examples of the American sound – Aaron Copland’s Appalachian Spring. Like other American composers, Copland worked folk music into the piece. You can hear Simple Gifts (‘tis a gift to be simple, ‘tis a gift to be free) in the second half.
Dessert in the Garden
SummerFest 2025 wraps up on Sunday, July 13, with a spectacular evening of cocktails, sumptuous desserts and a great concert, all amid the splendor of a beautiful private garden. The group Brass Over Bridges is a much lauded and awarded Bay Area quintet that seeks to engage audiences with music bridging barriers of style and artistic disciplines.
Something for Everyone
The 2025 Music in the Mountains SummerFest has a wide variety of great classical music that is sure to please most everyone. Orchestra, chorus and soloists present a gamut of music under the baton of Artistic Director and Conductor Ryan Murray.
“Every one of these pieces of music are gems in their own right,” says Murray. “Each concert is designed to not only delight you with some familiar melodies, but also to perhaps introduce you to a new favorite piece.”
WHAT: Music in the Mountains SummerFest 2025
WHEN: June 25, 7pm; June 27, 7pm; June 29, 3pm; July 13, 6pm
COST: $23 – $72 (Dessert in the Garden $134)
WHERE: The Center for the Arts, 314 W Main St. Grass Valley CA
TICKETS: Available online at musicinthemountains.org or call (530) 265-6124