News From The Breckenridge Music Festival

Bunchman Concert this Saturday!

2010-02-17T09:29:00.000-08:00

This Saturday the BMF has a great winter concert for anyone who will be in Summit County!

4 for 2 on 1
four hands, two voices, one stunning evening of music

Featuring Jessica Medoff Bunchman, Soprano; Patrick
Mason, Baritone; Michael Bunchman and William Hobbs, Piano

Musicians Jessica and Michael Bunchman return to Summit County, bringing with them classical music collaborators from near and far. Joining the Bunchmans from their adopted home in New York City will be pianist William Hobbs of Washington National Opera, San Francisco Opera and the Aspen Music Festival. And from closer to home in Colorado, distinguished American baritone, Patrick Mason. Grammy nominee Mason is Professor of Voice at The University of Colorado.

Highlights of this light classical concert include selections for "piano four-hands”: duets for two performers at one grand piano, and collaborations by Jessica and Matthew on new works by world class contemporary composer Lowell Liebermann as well as selections from the most beloved classical composers, and favorites from the American Songbook.

The Concert will take place this Saturday, February 20th at 7:30pm at the new CMC Auditorium on Denison Placer Road.

Tickets are $25 ($5 for students) and can be purchased by calling our office at (970)453-9142 or you may purchase tickets at the door. We look forward to seeing all of you there!

Joe Pug Tonight!

2010-02-05T09:33:00.001-08:00

Hey Everyone!

The Joe Pug Concert is finally here! Tonight at the new CMC Auditorium in Breckenridge at 7:30pm. Opening up for Joe will be Vail Valley's own Boxcar Daisies! This is definitely a show you do not want to miss out on. Doors will open at 7pm, the Boxcar Daisies will go on at 7:30pm and Joe Pug will go on at around 8:05pm. Tickets are still available, and you will be able to purchase them at the door for $15. We look forward to seeing many of you there! If you have any questions please call us at (970)453-9142

Two Upcoming Concerts

2010-01-29T14:37:00.000-08:00

Hello BMF Supporters!

We hope this post finds you all well. This upcoming week there are two concerts that we would love to see all of you at. (Just to remind you, all of The BMF Winter Series Concerts are held at the new CMC Auditorium in Breckenridge)

On Tuesday February 2nd at 7:30pm please join us for:

“Among Friends”
featuring Keith Lemmons, clarinet, Sally Guenther, cello, and Debra Ayers, piano.

This concert of chamber music features Beethoven’s delightful trio and an engaging and rhythmically compelling work by composer, Chan Ka Nin. “Among Friends” has garnered rave reviews from numerous critics and has
received major chamber music awards.

Following this magical, musical evening head up the hill to Pine Street, Breckenridge, to the lovely new residence of Karen and Jack Hynds. Here lucky concert goers can meet and mingle with musicians and friends and enjoy fantastic appetizers, desserts, wines and champagne.

Cost: $50 per person for Concert and Party, $20 per person for Concert only
For availability and tickets please contact:
Sherrie Calderini – 970-453-8446 shercalderini@gmail.com or
Diana Dettmering – 970-453-0506 donndett@msn.com

Then on February 5th Please Join us for our Winter Blue River Concert

JOE PUG

Folk singer-songwriter Joe Pug will be making his way to Breckenridge Friday, February 5th, for a 7:30 PM show on BMF's Blue River Winter Series at CMC Summit Campus.

Pug has gathered critical acclaim quickly in his fast-rising career. He has spent the past two years touring non-stop, supporting two EPs. His new full-length album “Messenger” is due to be released on Feb 16th.

Pug’s style is reminiscent of the great singer-songwriters of the last generation, but his music is all his own, as his success over the past two years demonstrates. The songwriting ability and musicianship of this 25-year-old artist puts Pug in a class all by himself.

Opening for Pug in Breckenridge will be Vail Valley’s own Boxcar Daisies.

Judging by how rapidly his success has grown, the opportunity to see Joe Pug in a small and intimate venue like the CMC performance hall will soon be a rare event. This is truly a show you will not want to miss.

Take a listen to his music at www.myspace.com/thejoepug or visit his website at www.joepugmusic.com

Tickets are $12 in Advance and $15 Day of
You can purchase Tickets by Calling (970)453-9142 or by emailing admin@breckenridgemusicfestival.com

We hope to see you all at each one of these events!

Winter Series Officially Under Way!

2010-01-22T09:23:00.000-08:00

Hello BMF Supporters!

Our Winter Concert Series officially is under way after last night's concert. The concert last night featured Summit High School's chamber ensembles and jazz band. The turnout was fantastic and all proceeds went to the Summit High School Music programs.

In the office right now we are excited about all of our other Winter Series concerts but we are also looking forward to our 30th Summer Season this year! We have posted the Orchestra concerts on our website already (www.breckenridgemusicfestival.com) and Rick is busy trying to book the Blue River Series acts for July and August.

We have a new e-newsletter that will be going out every couple of weeks so if you aren't on our mailing list and would like to be please send your email address to admin@breckenridgemusicfestival.com so we can keep you up to date on all of the news and happenings here at the Breckenridge Music Festival. Tickets for all of our Winter Series Concerts are on sale and can be purchased by calling (970)453-9142. We hope to see you at some of these events!

Happy New Year!

2010-01-05T13:00:00.001-08:00

Happy New Year to All of you!

We have returned from our break and have hit the ground running! We are starting to get ready for our Winter Concert Series to start on Thursday January 21st at the New CMC Auditorium in Breckenridge. (See info below)

Summit High School Ensembles Showcase Benefit Performance

Featuring The newly formed SHS Chamber Ensembles,
and the nationally recognized SHS Jazz Band

The newly formed SHS Chamber Ensembles will be taking the stage for the first half of the BMF Winter Series Concert on January 21st at the CMC Breckenridge Concert Hall. These chamber groups range from woodwind quintets to violin and piano. You won't want to miss it! The second half of the concert will feature the nationally recognized SHS Jazz Band. This band performs at contests all over Colorado, earning the highest possible rating. It will be a night to remember!

Cost: $25 ($5 Students)
Proceeds benefit the High School music program!
For tickets and availability please contact:
The Breckenridge Music Festival Office at (970)453-9142 or email
admin@breckenridgemusicfestival.com

We are also closing in on our programming for the Summer Orchestra and Chamber concerts! Looking at the Repertoire and themes of the concerts, they are definitely events that you will not want to miss! From now until around March we will be rounding out the Summer festival dates with Blue River Series Artists. We will announce these as they get booked into dates.

We hope that everyone is have a great beginning to a new year and we will fill you in with more info on our blog next week!

Winter Blue River Concert

2009-12-16T15:37:00.000-08:00

Hey all you BMF Supporters,

I wanted to write a quick blog before we take our holiday break here at the festival!

We have a lot going on around the office right now with our Winter concerts rapidly approaching, and starting to look at Summer Blue River Series artists and programming for the BMF Orchestra. One great piece of news is that we can now announce that we are having a Blue River Winter Concert this year on Friday, February 5th!!! We have officially booked incredible singer/songwriter JOE PUG to play in the new Breckenridge CMC auditorium.

Joe Pug is a fantastic 25 year old singer/songwriter from Chicago and has achieved critical acclaim this year from just about anyone who has seen him play live. He drew rave reviews with his performances at the Newport Folk Festival and Lollapalooza, and his two EP's have made music fans everywhere take notice. To quote a review of Joe:

"In Pug's hard Plucking, exaggerated choruses, and lyrical vignettes you can draw a pretty straight line from Woody Guthrie to Bob Dylan to Johnny Cash to Bruce Springsteen to Steve Earl to Josh Ritter. Like all of them, Pug is a populist at heart, a singer who can't help but talk about all of us when he sings about himself and can't help but sing about himself when he's talking about all of us" - 3hive

This is a fantastic show that you will not want to miss! check out more about Joe Pug at www.joepugmusic.com and www.myspace.com/thejoepug

Tickets will be only $12 in advance and $15 day of show.
Call (970)453-9142 for tickets and availability.

All of us here at the BMF office wish you very Happy Holidays and don't forget to follow us on twitter at www.twitter.com/breckmusicfest and get all the latest updates on our winter series at www.breckenridgemusicfestival.com

See you next year!!!

Also

Back From Thanksgiving

2009-12-01T11:26:00.000-08:00

Hello All!

I hope this email finds you well after the Thanksgiving holiday! The Breckenridge Music Festival office has been busy getting ready for our Winter Series coming up and starting on January 21st. This will be our 8th Winter Series of music and we are incredibliy exicted about our lineup of great shows.

Our series starts off on January 21st with Summit High School's Chamber Ensembles including their nationally recognized Jazz Band. All proceeds of this concert will benefit the Summit High School Music program, so we hope to see you all there supporting our local High School.

We have many other fantastic concerts lined up for this winter and all the information including dates, locations, and prices can be found http://www.breckenridgemusicfestival.com/

Stay tuned because next week we will announce our Blue River Series winter act!

This week at the BMF

2009-11-17T14:36:00.000-08:00

BMF Supporters!

This week on Saturday, November 21st at 7:30pm, Colorado Mountain College will be hosting a fantastic performance by Hazel Miller, renowned blues/jazz singer at the brand new CMC auditorium in Breckenridge. Tickets are $20 and can be purchased by calling (970)453-9142. This is a show you will not want to miss out on!

In other news with the BMF, it looks like we have a Winter Blue River Series act lined up for sometime in February, so keep posted to our blog or twitter page to see the latest details on that performance.

Since next week is Thanksgiving, there will be no weekly blog, so look for one the following week regarding updates on our Winter Series and upcoming events. Also, all of our events are listed on our website, so please go check them out at http://www.breckenridgemusicfestival.com/ for BMF and Applause! events. Have a Happy Thanksgiving!

Beginning of Winter

2009-11-11T11:13:00.000-08:00

Hello BMF supporters!

Well, mud season is finally coming to an end, there is snow on the mountain, and the lifts start running tomorrow. We cannot believe that its already mid November and cannot wait to get our Winter concert series underway. All of the Winter Applause! events and BMF Winter Series dates are up on our website for everyone to see. We hope to see many of you at these events!

Since many times during the festival we are on the run and cannot sit and update our blog or our website by the day or even hour, the Breckenridge Music Festival has now joined twitter. You can follow us at http://twitter.com/BreckMusicFest during the concert season for updated quick news briefs or throughout the year for updates and small announcements about the festival. Keep posted for updates regarding our Winter Blue River Series concert... (or two!)

Summer Festival is Over....Looking Towards Winter Season

2009-09-16T08:30:00.000-07:00

Hello BMF Supporters!!

It's been a while since the last blog but the last couple of weeks of the festival were hectic and fantastic! The BMF Summer festival ended with a bang! Asleep at the Wheel Sold out the Riverwalk Center to a standing room only crowd! The following night on the 21st was an amazing show with Soloists Kathryn Hatmaker on Violin and Michael Linville on Piano. The music was great and the crowd loved it.

The finale showcase of the BMF orchetra on August 22nd was a huge hit (as always) and featured Soloists Ken Krauss and John Klinghammer on Clarinets, Nathan Olson on Violin, and Megan Stout on Harp. It was beautiful show and it was sad to have to say goodbye to the BMF musicians....until next summer!

The Summer festival ended with a performance by George Winston. He put on a great two and a half hour show showcasing his different styles of music and jumping song to song from many of his albums. George is a very generous performer, and all of his merchandise sales he donated to support our "Music In The Schools" program that runs year round.

We are now looking forward to our winter series which is rapidly approaching! As of right now, it looks like we will be having around Six Classical Chamber concerts this winter and maybe even a Blue River Series concert or two!! Please check back on our website www.breckenridgemusicfestival.com in the next few weeks for more information on these concerts.

We hope the fall is treating you well and please keep checking back on this blog for more news from the BMF.

THANK YOU ALL FOR A FANTASTIC SEASON!!

Last Week for the Summer Festival

2009-08-19T14:32:00.000-07:00

It's happened yet again, one more summer of fantastic music performed by the BMF Orchestra and friends has slipped away into the dewy mist. This week, sadly enough will be the final week of music for the summer festival. Do not fret, because as we shed our summer skins the winter series is right around the corner bringing with it the satin snow and more sublime sounds!

Last night's concert by the BMF chamber with special guest pianist, Robin Sutherland proved to be a wonderful success. The virtuoso pianist performed selections from Bach's "Prelude and Fugues", as well as selections from the repertoire of Brahms. The evening's performance was so well received that following the concert there was an uproarious request for an extended encore. Bravo! Prior to this concert was the "Russian Fireworks", devoted to the music of Russian composers and ushered in a standing ovation. The night's music was powerful and moving to say the least.

Rather than ruminating on the past, let us focus on the present and future. Tonight's concert will be a special showcase from the BMF's brass section, entitled "Brass Bash". Come out and relish in the music of Bach, Mozart and Wagner, all played by the BMF brass section, led by principle trumpet Tim McFadden. Join us on Thursday, August 20th at 7:30 as the BMF will host "Asleep at The Wheel", a Grammy Award winning Western Swing Band. According to Rolling Stone Magazine: "one of the most popular and acclaimed bands of its genre." Friday will be an evening of violin and piano with special guest conductor, Richard Salvante. Saturday will be a sentimental evening as it will be the BMF Orchestra's finale showcase, surely one not to miss. Last but not least is the last of the Blue River Series Concert's featuring solo pianist George Winston whose style ranges from instrumental pop, R&B, Rock and American Folk Music. With music spanning the whole gamut, there is sure to be something for everyone to enjoy. Please come out and join us this last week to celebrate the wonderful music and glorious atmosphere.

Although this year's summer season seemed to happen in a furious, fast pace, it was truly an enjoyable season. Each concert, including the champagne series captured moments of perfection and inspiration. The musicians were true professionals and the audiences were receptive and enthusiastic. The combination of the two led to nights of pure bliss. A great thanks goes out to both the players and the listeners...thank you.

The staff of the BMF as well deserve an enormous applause as they worked so tirelessly behind the scenes organizing, promoting and doing whatever odd-job that was required to make these concerts successful. Truly a great staff whose passion for the arts proved to be deep and sincere. Thank you BMF staff and stage crew.

As an intern with the BMF, my experience working for Rick and Marcia has been a wonderful experience. Their dedication to the arts has been inspirational. The advocating of music has always been a passion in my heart and to have the great opportunity to work with the BMF in this beautiful country has been nothing short of a blessing. Mountains, blue sky and exquisite music that bring people together under one roof can't be a bad thing.
Jeremiah Johnson

Breck150 Tribute Concert & Closing Performances

2009-08-14T10:40:00.000-07:00

"Grand Italian Opera Evening" last Thursday was fabulous and the four soloists were delightful. It was a concert to be remembered fondly. BMF Winds were scheduled to perform at the Summit County Courthouse Saturday, but unfortunately the cool morning air prevented our woodwinds from playing outside for the time capsule opening. Although the morning performance was cancelled, Saturday evening's "Choral Fest" went on as planned and was a great success. Fourteen-year-old pianist Joseph Eisele performed a Saint-Saens Concerto and then three regional chorals joined the BMF Orchestra to close out the night with Brahms' German Requiem.

With performances of very popular songs by Bacharach, Mancini, and others from the 60's and 70's, Wednesday night's Cabaret concert provided a fun evening for many. Our four vocalists sang for a sold-out hall and helped audience members bring back memories from days past. We were glad to have these talented singers here for the week to perform in a few of our concerts. Bass-baritone Dan Boye will join the orchestra again this Saturday at 7:30 p.m. as Lieutenant Kije in Prokofiev's well-known piece. The concert will feature four works by Russian composers Tchaikovsky, Khatchaturian, Rimsky-Korsakov, and Prokofiev. Don't miss "Russian Fireworks" at the Riverwalk Center!

The Town of Breckenridge Mayor John Warner will join the BMF Orchestra tonight as narrator for the presentation of Mauldin's "The American West" at a special Breck150 Celebration Concert. The "Musical Tribute to Breckenridge and the Old West" program will consist of works by composers such as Copland, Grieg, and Hayman, and include the famous Hoedown from Copland's Rodeo as well as Hayman's "Western Medley". Make sure to come dressed in Old West attire!

The BMF 2009 Summer Series will soon be coming to a close, so get out to enjoy the music before it is too late. Next week will be packed with concerts, providing many opportunities to spend an evening relaxing at the Riverwalk Center. The week will open with our last Chamber Music Concert, featuring pianist Robin Sutherland and BMF Orchestra Musicians performing pieces by Brahms and J.S. Bach, and continue with "Brass Bash" Wednesday night. Take a look at the online schedule for details about these performances and others.

Please contact the Riverwalk Center Box Office at (970) 547-3100 to purchase tickets for any of these concerts or to request more information. Remember, orchestra rehearsals are free and open to the public, so feel free to contact the BMF Administrative Office at (970) 453-9142 for a rehearsal schedule.

Lastly, If you are interested in reading press coverage on the Breckenridge Music Festival , click on the following links:

"Leo Kottke Comes to Breckenridge" http://www.summitdaily.com/article/20090731/AE/907309995&parentprofile=search

"Breckenridge orchestra ready to play some crowd-pleasers" http://www.summitdaily.com/article/20090807/AE/908069996&parentprofile=search

"Breckenridge Music Festival concerts this week" http://www.summitdaily.com/article/20090810/NOTES/908099983&parentprofile=search

Elderhostel & Breck150 Festivities

2009-08-05T10:49:00.000-07:00

Elderhostel, a lifelong learning program for individuals in their later years, began Monday, August 3rd, with a total of 17 participants who have been spending the week engaged in interactive seminars with musicians as well as administrative and production staff. The BMF's Elderhostel program is called "Behind the Scenes at a World-Class Music Festival". Elderhostel participants travel to Breckenridge from all over the country, so help us welcome them as they attend concerts and explore the city this week.

In other news, Sunday's Blue River Series concert with Leo Kottke was sold out! Audience members were very pleased with Kottke's performance and the event was a great success. Mark your calendars now for the next Blue River Series concert on Thursday, August 20 with Western Swing band 'Asleep at the Wheel'.

The pieces performed at Tuesday night's Baroque Bash were beautiful and the chamber ensembles varied. Nearly 300 individuals convened at the Riverwalk Center for this Classical Series Chamber Concert, so many music-lovers were able to enjoy the delightful Baroque works by composers Bach, Handel, and Vivaldi.

The BMF's contribution to this week's Breck150 festivities includes "A Grand Italian Opera Evening" at the Breckenridge Riverwalk Center Thursday, August 6 at 7:30 p.m. A gala celebration of favorite arias by Verdi and Puccini, from operas including Madam Butterfly and Turandot, the concert will spotlight sopranos Jessica Medoff-Bunchman and Jacquelyn Culpepper, tenor David Moffitt and bass-baritone Daniel Boye, with the Breckenridge Music Festival Orchestra under Maestro Zimmermann.

On Saturday morning, August 8, at 10:15 a.m. BMF woodwinds will perform "Opera for Winds" on the Summit County Courthouse lawn as the town opens a time capsule set into the Courthouse corner stone in 1909. This performance is free and open to the public! That evening, August 8 at 7:30 p.m. in the Riverwalk Center, Breckenridge Music Festival's "Choral Fest" brings together The Summit Choral Society, The Larimer Chorale and The Cherry Creek Chorale with vocal soloists and the Festival Orchestra for Brahms' "German Requiem" as well as the "Happy Birthday Variations" and Wells Music-Yamaha Young Artist Competition winner Joseph Eisele performing Saint Saens' Second Piano Concerto.

Please contact the Riverwalk Center Box Office at (970) 547-3100 to purchase tickets for these upcoming concerts. At each of the concerts, you will have the opportunity to further support the organization by purchasing BMF merchandise. With short- and long-sleeved tee shirts, children's tees, sweatshirts, framed and unframed posters, notecards, and CDs, there are many items to choose from, so be sure to visit the merchandise counter at the next performance!

Gold Rush Gala & Leo Kottke This Weekend

2009-07-30T10:22:00.000-07:00

Last night's annual BMF/NRO joint concert was fabulous and very well attended! The combined orchestra made up of more than 120 talented musicians produced a powerful sound that resonated throughout the Riverwalk Center and sent chills down the spines of many audience members. Breckenridge is indeed fortunate to have two world-class music organizations who can join forces for such a stunning event.

The Swinging at the Summit performance will take place tonight at 7:30 p.m., so brave the rain and come down to the Riverwalk Center for an evening of classic big band music from the 1930s and 40s, featuring the BMF Orchestra as well as soprano Jessica Medoff-Bunchman and guest conductor Michael Linville. The program will include tunes by Duke Ellington, Benny Goodman, and Woody Hermann, among others. Tickets cost $22-$32 and may be purchased through the Riverwalk Center Box Office at (970) 547-3100.

Applause!, the extraordinary BMF fundraising committee, invites you to the 29th Annual Gala at Beaver Run Resort in Breckenridge on Friday, July 31st. The Gold Rush Gala begins with cocktails and a silent auction at 6:00 p.m. and will continue with dinner, a live auction, and dancing to the Denver band Heartbeat. For more information or to find out if there are still seats available, contact Sally Lewis at (970) 547-1783. This fun event always raises a large portion of the festival's yearly budget, so come have a great time and support the continued presentation of beautiful music!

Legendary acoustic guitar virtuoso and singer-songwriter Leo Kottke will be traveling to Breckenridge this weekend to entertain audience members with his finger-picking blues/jazz/folk style. The concert will begin at 7:30 p.m. this Sunday, August 2nd at the Riverwalk Center. Tickets are $25 in advance and $30 on the day of the show, so act now to take advantage of the lower price and assure your seat for this foot-tapping performance. Contact the Riverwalk Center Box Office at (970) 547-3100 to purchase tickets.

Also, take a look up at the peaks and notice that they received a light dusting of snow during the storm this morning. I believe that this is the first snow of the summer. Wow!

We are grateful for your interest in the Breckenridge Music Festival and hope to see you at one of our upcoming events.

Season Opening Concert

2009-07-23T08:21:00.000-07:00

The Breckenridge Music Festival is now well under way! Sunday evening's concert with Mark O'Connor was a hit; this virtuoso violinist provided wonderful entertainment for audience members. The Blue River Series will continue Sunday, August 2nd with legendary acoustic guitarist and singer-songwriter Leo Kottke.

Also Sunday evening were two lovely Champagne Series performances, featuring BMF musicians and hosted by local home-owners. This Sunday will bring two more Champagne concerts, one of which is already sold out. Call the BMF office at (970) 453-9152 to purchase tickets for these intimate chamber music experiences.

All of the BMF Orchestra musicians have arrived in town and spent a number of hours rehearsing in preparation for tonight's Season Opening Concert. Don't miss this performance, which includes Mendelssohn's Symphony No. 5 and Bach's Suite No. 3 in D Major.

Pianist Panayis Lyras performed beautifully and lyrically at the first Classical Series Chamber Concert Tuesday night. He will perform Rachmaninoff's Concerto for Piano No. 3 in D Minor with the entire orchestra this Saturday, July 25th at 7:30 p.m.

Lastly, the National Repertory Orchestra will be joining the Breckenridge Music Festival orchestra next Wednesday, July 29th for the annual joint concert. The large ensemble will perform Stravinsky's The Rite of Spring, along with pieces by Strauss and Bach/Respighi.

As usual, please contact the Riverwalk Center Box Office at (970) 547-3100 to purchase tickets for any of the festival concerts.

We hope to see you soon!

Crew Arrived and Festival Beginning

2009-07-15T13:34:00.000-07:00

This Sunday, July 19th at 7:30 p.m., the BMF will be presenting Mark O'Connor, the virtuoso fiddler who recently recorded compositions with Yo Yo Ma and Edgar Meyer. Along with a bassist and guitarist, O'Connor will entertain audience members with Gypsy Jazz style music. Buy your tickets now for this exciting Blue River Series concert! They cost $26 in advance or $30 the day of the show, and can be purchased through the Riverwalk Center box office at (970) 547-3100.

There are also a couple of Classical Series concerts just around the corner. Guest artist Panayis Lyras will perform well-known piano works at a Chamber Concert on Tuesday, July 21 at 7:30 p.m. and the first orchestral performance will be during the BMF Season Opening Concert on Thursday, July 23 at 7:30 p.m. Classical Series tickets are priced by seating section $32/$27/$22 and $7 for those 18 & younger. These may also be purchased through the Riverwalk Center box office.

In addition, the first two Champagne Series concerts will be held this Sunday, July 19 at 7:00 p.m. Both events are very close to being sold out, so act now if you have an interest in attending. Tickets are $40 per guest and may be purchased through the BMF office at (970) 453-9142.

We are very excited to report that the summer festival crew and orchestra musicians have begun to arrive in town, so things are coming together with the Breckenridge Music Festival. We hope to see you at one of the upcoming events!

Another new face in the office

2009-07-09T10:00:00.000-07:00

This week we are pleased to welcome Kaitlin Haskins as Office Administrator and Festival Intern. She will be assisting BMF administrative staff and completing various duties to help out during the summer festival season.

Kaitlin will be finishing up an undergraduate degree in Arts Administration and Music at Butler University in Indianapolis, IN this year. She grew up in southwest Michigan and is very pleased to be spending the summer in Breckenridge.

Please stop by the office to introduce yourself or watch for her at an upcoming concert!

Don't forget to mark your calendars with the next Blue River Series event. Mark O'Connor, virtuoso fiddler who has recently recorded compositions with Yo Yo Ma and Edgar Meyer, will perform Gypsy Jazz style music on Sunday, July 19 at 7:30 p.m.

Tickets cost $26 in advance and $30 the day of the show. They can be purchased at the Riverwalk Center box office: (970) 547-3100.

To get a taste of Mark O'Connor's exciting style of playing, visit his website at http://www.markoconnor.com.

Mark O'Connor New on the 2009 Blue River Series

2009-06-24T14:25:00.000-07:00

Breckenridge Music Festival's 2009 Blue River Series will round out its summer offerings with a newly-added concert July 19th featuring a virtuoso violinist from the Bluegrass tradition, Mark O'Connor.

O'Connor has been a top name on the Bluegrass circuit since he first won a national bluegrass fiddling title as a teenager. He has used the years since to branch out into multiple musical genres. His recent recordings include "Appalachia Waltz," trio performances with cellist Yo Yo Ma and bassist Edgar Meyer, music written by O'Connor and Meyer. His compositions on the classical side include four violin concertos and the "Americana Symphony," recently recorded by the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra under Marin Alsop.

O'Connor traces his performance roots from America's rich aural folk tradition, including folk fiddler and innovator Benny Thomasson, as well as classical and flamenco music. He credits among his sources of inspiration French jazz violinist Stephane Grappelli, considered one of the greatest improvisers in the history of the violin. O'Connor's performance for the Blue River Series, "Mark O'Connor's Hot Swing Trio," features music from the Gypsy Jazz style exemplified in Grappelli's repertoire.

You can hear samples of O'Connor's performance on his website markoconnor.com

Pat Green Blue River Series Concert!

2009-06-15T11:17:00.000-07:00

Hello Breckenridge Music Festival Supporters!

On Tuesday, June 23rd we have a very exciting Blue River Series Concert: PAT GREEN! Buy your tickets now for this “soon to be sold out” concert! One of country music’s major singer/songwriters and a true Son of Texas. Pat has blazed his own trail in a way that few artists can claim. With the important early support of Willie Nelson, Jerry Jeff Walker and Robert Earl Keen, he first made his mark regionally. Now his many live performances throughout the country are evoking comparisons to the likes of Jimmy Buffett and Bruce Springsteen.

I have had the opportunity of seeing Pat play a few times over the past 3 years and he puts on a fantastic show that is high energy and gets the entire crowd to their feet. He has had numerous hits on the Country Billboard charts and has opened for artists such as Kenny Chesney and The Dave Matthews Band. This is a concert you do not want to miss! Get your tickets soon as they are selling qucikly.

The Concert starts at 7:30PM. Tickets to this concert are $30 in Advance, and $35 the Day of the show and can be purchased through the Riverwalk Center box office at: (970)547-3100

Also! Before the concert, our fundraising committee Applause! is putting on a Texas Style pre-concert tailgate party with burgers, brats, beers, and all the fixins. The tailgate will be held at the Lone Star Sports parking lot across the alley from the Riverwalk Center at 110 S. Park Ave. in Breckenridge. The Tailgate will start at 5:30pm. The cost for the tailgate is $40 and does NOT include a ticket to the concert. Contact shercalderini@gmail.com for more information! We hope to see you there!

Check out some of Pat Green's Video's and Live concert footage on these links
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=14IkH-Jvan0
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yd2z13gbrqE
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=az7G7vB1fyk&feature=related

This Week at BMF June 10, 2009

2009-06-10T11:51:00.000-07:00

Welcome to the BMF's News Blog!

Come here to find out what's up this week at the BMF. Performance calendars are always kept up-to-date on our website (http://www.breckenridgemusicfestival.com/).

This week we welcome Jeremiah Johnson, assisting BMF office and production staff for the summer festival season.

Jeremiah holds a masters degree in Jazz Pedagogy from the University of North Texas. He has lived in Breckenridge for the past year, and has been assisting the Summit High School jazz band and wind ensemble, as well as teaching jazz improvisation and individual lessons in saxophone, his primary instrument. He is currently teaching Music Appreciation at Colorado Mountain College, Summit Campus.

Jeremiah performs live jazz at Blue River Bistro and Divine Wine in Breckenridge and Milonzi's in Fairplay. You can hear more of his music at http://www.jeremiahjazz.com/