Brevard Music Festival 2017

June 23-August 6, 2017
Each summer, the Brevard Music Center presents 80+ performances during a 10-week span. The 2017 BMC Summer Music Festival presents an exceptional array of symphony, opera, chamber, pops, jazz, country, bluegrass, and folk performances - celebrating the 10th anniversary of BMC Artistic Director and alumnus Keith Lockhart, also Principal Conductor of the Boston Pops and BBC Concert Orchestra. The stellar roster of internationally-acclaimed artists includes Lee Ann Womack, Garrick Ohlsson, Sarah Chang, Johannes Moser, Ricky Skaggs, and Ruth Moody. Additional highlights include a season-long Kurt Weill Festival; the epic movie E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial in Concert with live symphony; a diverse offering of operatic productions including Street Scene, Don Pasquale, and The Marriage of Figaro; classical favorites including Beethoven’s Symphony No. 5, Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concerto No. 3, and Verdi’s Requiem; and a series of inspiring BMC Faculty and Student Spotlights.

Located in Brevard, an easy 45-minute drive from downtown Asheville, the Brevard Music Center provides young musicians with the opportunity to develop their talents with renowned guest artists. More than 400 students, ages 14 through post-college, join professional musicians to eat, breathe and sleep music for seven weeks. Enjoy a season of world-class music in their open-air auditorium or in a variety of intimate spaces.

Opening Weekend
On June 22, Opera’s Greatest Hits features exquisite ensemble pieces from the world’s most beloved operas. On June 23, BMC Artistic Director Keith Lockhart leads the Brevard Music Center Orchestra in Beethoven’s Symphony No. 5 and Brahms’ Piano Concerto No. 1, featuring celebrated pianist Garrick Ohlsson. On June 24, BMC's Saturday Spectacular concert features Lee Ann Womack, a Grammy, CMA, and ACM award-winning artist. On June 25, Keith Lockhart returns to lead a matinee performance of Stravinsky’s symphonic masterpiece, Petrushka.

BMC Presents: Ricky Skaggs and Ruth Moody
BMC’s dedication to presenting a full and varied season, including non-classical offerings, returns. Mandolin virtuoso Ricky Skaggs returns with his classic country and bluegrass sound on Tuesday, June 27. Canadian singer-songwriter and one-third of the perennially popular all-female trio The Wailin’ Jennys, Ruth Moody, brings her band and sweet melodies to the Porter Center stage on Tuesday, July 18.

A Festival Within a Festival
This season, BMC salutes the music of celebrated German-born composer Kurt Weill. Known for his groundbreaking collaborations with playwright Bertolt Brecht including The Threepenny Opera and the famous song “Mack The Knife,” Kurt Weill was equally at home in the concert halls and opera houses of Europe, and the Broadway stage, following his immigration to the United States in 1935. Joseph Horowitz, one of the most prominent and widely published writers on topics in American music, will return to curate a season-long series of events: An Exploration of the Life and Music of Kurt Weill. The Festival will include a Kurt Weill Cabaret on Thursday, July 6; The Chamber Music of Kurt Weill on Monday, July 10; Kurt Weill on Broadway on Wednesday, July 12; two performances of the composer’s Tony award winning American masterpiece from Broadway, Street Scene, on July 27 and 29; and free lectures, book readings, and community concerts providing rich context around the influential composer’s music.

Additional Pops, Opera, Chamber, and Symphony Highlights
On Tuesday, July 4, BMC celebrates Independence Day with its annual Patriotic Pops concert, featuring the rousing 1812 Overture with live cannon. Only days later on Saturday, July 8, BMC casts its eyes toward the stars to present the movie E.T: The Extra-Terrestrial — with live symphony performing John Williams’ classic score — marking the first union of movie and live music on the Whittington-Pfohl stage.

This summer, opera lovers enjoy a dazzling array of three fully staged operas and two operatic concerts. In addition to Weill’s Street Scene, BMC’s Opera Company proudly presents Donizetti’s Don Pasquale on June 29 and July 1, and Mozart’s The Marriage of Figaro on July 13 and 15. Opera’s Greatest Hits and The Best of Gilbert & Sullivan complete the season’s extensive opera schedule. All operas are staged in the Scott Concert Hall at the Porter Center (on Brevard College campus) on Thursdays or Saturdays.

Chamber music enthusiasts will be equally delighted by a season filled with world-acclaimed musicians including The Shanghai Quartet, Amernet String Quartet, Brevard native and Metropolitan Opera singer Sidney Outlaw, and International Contemporary Ensemble (ICE), as well as a series of spotlight performances featuring many of BMC’s distinguished faculty.

Additional symphonic highlights include Liszt’s Piano Concerto No. 1 on Sunday, July 1; Vivaldi’s Four Seasons on Wednesday, July 26; and Romeo and Juliet on Sunday, July 30. Keith Lockhart returns for the Leningrad Symphony on Friday, July 14, Dvořák’s Cello Concerto featuring noted cellist Johannes Moser on Friday, July 28; and Scheherazade on Saturday, July 29. The Season Finale concludes with Verdi’s Requiem on Sunday, August 6, led by Principal Guest Conductor JoAnn Falletta.

The captivating season also includes a series of BMC Student Spotlights, a concert with Adam Holzman and the Texas Guitar Quartet, on Friday, June 9, and a special post-season concert by the Asian Youth Orchestra featuring violinist Sarah Chang on Friday, August 11.

Subscription and Ticket Information
Tickets to Brevard Music Center’s Summer Festival range in price from $15 for lawn tickets to $55 for premium seating. Lawn seating is free for children under 17 (with a paying adult) and students 18 and older with a valid ID. Many performances will be presented free of charge. For tickets and concert information, visit www.brevardmusic.org or call (828) 862-2105. Parking is free.

Post Season Concert: August 18, 2017
Lyle Lovett and His Large Band perform at 7:30 PM at Whittington-Pfohl Auditorium. Tickets $25 (lawn seating) to $70 (premium seating).

Brevard Music Center is one of the few organizations of its kind that owns and operates its own physical facilities. The BMC campus encompasses more than 145 buildings spread over 140 beautiful mountainside acres in the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina.

Arrive early to picnic by the lake. Or picnic on the lawn adjacent to the Whittington-Pohl Auditorium during a show. Bring your food or pre-order a picnic through the BMC Box Office at least 24 hours in advance at (828) 862-2105.

From Asheville, NC: Take I-26 E to the Asheville Airport exit, #40. Turn right off the exit onto Highway 280 and drive 16 miles into Brevard. As you approach downtown Brevard, you will see directional signs to the Music Center.