Sitka Summer Music Festival

The Sitka Summer Music Festival is a classical chamber music festival held each June in Sitka. It began in 1972 as an informal reunion organised by violinist Paul Rosenthal and is now month-long, with evening concerts at Harrigan Centennial Hall.[1]

Origins

The festival began in 1972 as an informal musical reunion, when Paul Rosenthal gathered students of Jascha Heifetz and Gregor Piatigorsky from the University of Southern California. It became an annual festival under his direction, and about 110 musicians have performed at it since 1972.[1]

Format

The festival is month-long in early summer, with three groups of musicians each giving three concerts before the next group arrives. The source also describes about ten evening concerts a season, so the count is not consistent. Concerts are held at Harrigan Centennial Hall, whose glass backdrop overlooks Crescent Harbor, and there are several free informal brown bag concerts. Winter and summer touring series send small groups to rural Alaska communities in February and June.[1]

Organisation

The festival has offices in Stevenson Hall, built in 1911 on the former Sheldon Jackson College campus, and a full-time office in Anchorage, where Autumn and Winter Classics have been held at Alaska Pacific University since 1980. Zuill Bailey is artistic director. The 2020 festival went virtual after live concerts were cancelled because of COVID-19.[1]

FAQs

When is the Sitka Summer Music Festival? In June.

When did it start? 1972.

Where are the concerts? Harrigan Centennial Hall in Sitka.

Sources

1. Wikipedia: Sitka Summer Music Festival

Editorially reviewed by Specialty Digest Editorial TeamLast reviewed November 14, 2026Researched and drafted with AI assistanceReport an issue