Sunriver Music Festival – 2026
As America celebrates 250 years in 2026, the Sunriver Music Festival will honor one of its greatest gifts to the world: music.
From August 10-20, 2026, Sunriver Music Festival presents its 49th season in two spectacular, historic Central Oregon venues—the Sunriver Resort Great Hall and the Tower Theatre in downtown Bend. Performances will feature world-class orchestra musicians and renowned soloists, led by Artistic Director & Conductor Brett Mitchell. This summer’s concert series includes a celebration of American orchestral music as part of the nationwide commemoration of the country’s 250th Anniversary.
Save the Date!
August 10-20, 2026
Various locations in Bend and Sunriver, Oregon
Purchase your tickets: sunrivermusic.org
Event Details
“This summer, America celebrates the 250th anniversary of its independence, and we’re so pleased to mark the occasion with at least one work by an American composer on every program this season,” said Maestro Mitchell. “We’ll feature American classics like Aaron Copland’s Appalachian Spring and Samuel Barber’s Violin Concerto, plus we’ll introduce new favorites by Pulitzer Prize winner Kevin Puts and GRAMMY® winners Edgar Meyer and Joan Tower. We’ll also bring to life so many of the great European classics we all know and love, including works by Beethoven, Haydn, Mendelssohn, Bach, Mozart and Schumann.”
Sunriver Music Festival Tickets
Ticket sales for Friends of the Festival members begin as early as April 1; tickets are available to the public on June 1. Members have first choice of the best seats, plus receive ticket discounts, gifts, invites to exclusive events, and potential tax benefits.
Patrons who purchase a full five-concert series of classical and pops concerts receive a 10% discount. Other flexible package options are available. Festival Orchestra single tickets start at $45; tickets for age 25 & under are $25. Details and tickets are available at sunrivermusic.org or by calling 541-593-9310.
Event Schedule
Events include four classical concerts, a pops concert and a family concert. The Summer Concert Series opens August 10 at the Sunriver Resort Great Hall and closes August 20 at the Tower Theatre.
For the most up-to-date information and details, please visit Sunriver Music Festival’s website.
Opening Classical Concert: Beethoven, Haydn & Made in America
Monday, August 10, 7:30 p.m. | Sunriver Resort Great Hall
Festival Orchestra
Brett Mitchell, conductor
Michelle Cann, piano
JOAN TOWER Made in America
BEETHOVEN Piano Concerto No. 4 in G Major
HAYDN Symphony No. 101 in D Major, “Clock”
The Festival season opens with variations on America the Beautiful by one of today’s foremost composers, Joan Tower, in her GRAMMY-winning work, Made in America. Tower says that Beethoven is one of her biggest compositional influences, so his exquisite Piano Concerto No. 4 will be performed by GRAMMY-winner Michelle Cann. The evening closes with Haydn’s masterful 101st Symphony, also known as the “Clock.”
Purchase your tickets: sunrivermusic.org
Classical Concert II: America Meets Scotland
Wednesday, August 12, 7:30 p.m. | Sunriver Resort Great Hall
Festival Orchestra
Brett Mitchell, conductor
William Hagen, violin
STILL Darker America
BARBER Violin Concerto
MENDELSSOHN Symphony No. 3 in A minor, “Scottish”
This program celebrates the 100th anniversary of William Grant Still’s jazzy tone poem, Darker America, premiered in 1926. Barber’s Violin Concerto follows with William Hagen joining the Festival Orchestra for the third time, after his performances of the Brahms Concerto in 2022 and the Bruch Concerto in 2023. The concert culminates with Mendelssohn’s Symphony No. 3, “Scottish,” inspired by his grand tour of Europe.
Purchase your tickets: sunrivermusic.org
Family Concert: Harry Potter & the Instruments of the Orchestra
Friday, August 14 | Sunriver SHARC’s Benham Hall
Festival Orchestra
Brett Mitchell, conductor
Young Artists Scholarship recipient, TBA
This matinee explores the instruments of the orchestra through magnificent music by John Williams, featuring Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone. In a fun, informal setting, learn more about the strings, brass, woodwinds, percussion, harp and the magical celesta — all accompanied by Harry, Hedwig & friends! Bring the family and enjoy a one-hour concert featuring a virtuosic Young Artists Scholarship recipient with the Festival Orchestra. An instrument petting zoo is held before the concert.
Purchase your tickets: sunrivermusic.org
Pops Concert: John Williams & the American Journey
Saturday, August 15, 7:30 p.m. | Tower Theatre, Bend
Festival Orchestra
Brett Mitchell, conductor
Central Oregon Mastersingers
Enjoy the Festival Orchestra in a lively program featuring various works by American legend John Williams paired with other masterpieces to explore America’s journey from the Revolutionary War to today. Highlights include music from Saving Private Ryan, Born on the Fourth of July, The Cowboys, patriotic favorites and Copland’s Fanfare for the Common Man.
Purchase your tickets: sunrivermusic.org
Classical Concert III: The Genius of Music
Tuesday, August 18, 7:30 p.m. | Tower Theatre, Bend
Festival Orchestra
Brett Mitchell, conductor
Timothy Jones, bass-baritone
KEVIN PUTS Einstein on Mercer Street
J.S. BACH Brandenburg Concerto No. 3 in G Major
MOZART Symphony No. 39 in E-flat Major
The third Classical Concert opens with a deeply moving, multimedia work about Einstein’s inner world and relationships, written by Kevin Puts and featuring the return of bass-baritone Timothy Jones. Einstein was a string player himself, so we’re thrilled to present Bach’s Brandenburg Concerto No. 3 with nine soloists from the Festival Orchestra. Einstein had no greater admiration or love for an artist than he did for Mozart, so the program closes with Mozart’s Symphony No. 39, one of the final three symphonies he ever composed.
Purchase your tickets: sunrivermusic.org
Season Finale Classical Concert: Appalachia & Spring
Thursday, August 20, 7:30 p.m. | Tower Theatre, Bend
Festival Orchestra
Brett Mitchell, conductor
Tessa Lark, violin
COPLAND Suite from Appalachian Spring
EDGAR MEYER Violin Concerto
R. SCHUMANN Symphony No. 1 in B-flat Major, “Spring”
The season finale includes the most iconic American orchestral work of all time, Appalachian Spring, by the Dean of American Music, Aaron Copland. Violinist Tessa Lark wowed Sunriver audiences in 2024 with her performance of Michael Torke’s Sky, and she’ll do the same this year with the bluegrass-inflected Violin Concerto by Edgar Meyer. The season closes with one of the greatest Romantic symphonies ever composed: Schumann’s Symphony No. 1, “Spring.”
Purchase your tickets: sunrivermusic.org
Sunriver Music Festival Lodging
Get a vacation rental within walking distance or a short drive of certain performances for this event! View Sunriver vacation rentals.
