Sun Valley Music Festival Reveals 42nd Summer Season

The Sun Valley Music Festival has announced its 42nd season, from July 27 to Aug. 20, at the Sun Valley Pavilion, the country's original destination ski resort. Curated by Music Director Alasdair Neale, the 2026 summer season will feature the all-star Festival Orchestra - the finest musicians from orchestras throughout North America - performing with world-renowned guest artists including pianists Alexander Malofeev and Orion Weiss, violinist Gil Shaham, baritone Benjamin Appl, soprano Christina Pier and the American Festival Chorus directed by Craig Jessup.

"I'm so excited about the lineup of works and artists for the season ahead," commented Music Director Alasdair Neale. "From a brand-new commissioned work by Anna Clyne to a Pops Night celebration of the Great American Songbook, there truly is something for everyone. The orchestra shows its mettle in such symphonic classics as Mahler's First Symphony and Elgar's 'Enigma Variations'. And, last but not least, there's Brahms's 'A German Requiem,' sure to be a moving highlight of the season."

The Music

In its 42nd season, the Music Festival welcomes back acclaimed pianist Orion Weiss for a pair of concerts. Widely regarded as a "brilliant pianist" (The New York Times) with a "powerful technique and exceptional insight" (The Washington Post), Weiss will open the Music Festival's Summer Season with Beethoven's Piano Concerto No. 1.

Grammy-award winning violinist Gil Shaham also returns for two programs - in the first he'll offer Barber's Violin Concerto; in the second he'll collaborate with Festival Orchestra musicians to perform Beethoven's String Quintet in A Major, "Kreutzer." Acclaimed pianist Alexander Malofeev-who "manifests the piano mastery of the new millennium in itself" (Il Giornale)-makes his Sun Valley debut playing Prokofiev's Piano Concerto No. 3.

Conductor Stephanie Childress returns for a fourth season to lead two programs, including Elgar's "Enigma Variations" as well as Beethoven's Symphony No. 1, and Euan Shields joins the Festival as Associate Conductor, conducting Ravel's "Rhapsodie Espagnole" and Thomas Adès's Inferno from "Dante" (Part I).

Major orchestra repertoire includes Brahms's "A German Requiem" featuring soprano Christina Pier, baritone Benjamin Appl, and the American Festival Chorus, as well as Mahler's titanic Symphony No. 1 in the season finale. All concerts are offered free of charge, with ample seating inside the Sun Valley Pavilion and on the lawn, featuring a state-of-the-art big screen and sound system.

Education Programs: Sun Valley Music Festival Music Institute

In addition to presenting first-rate classical music performances, the Sun Valley Music Festival is dedicated to bringing the joy of music into young people's lives. Now in its 28th year, the Festival's Music Institute provides year-round music education programs for students of all abilities, from second graders to college undergraduates. This summer, students in grades 2-12 can attend programs for most orchestral instruments, voice and piano from Aug. 3 to 7. College undergraduates and exceptional high school students studying piano, strings and voice can participate in the Advanced Chamber Program from July 27 to Aug. 8. Students hone their skills and work on select pieces with Festival musicians, conductors and guest artists - including Stephanie Childress, Orion Weiss, Christina Pier and Benjamin Appl - and attend orchestra rehearsals and concerts. Their experience culminates with an opportunity to perform on the Sun Valley Pavilion stage. Thanks to the generosity of Music Festival donors, students pay only nominal registration and materials fees. More information about education programs, including registration (which is now open), can be found at svmusicfestival.org/summer-programs.

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