Each year, the Festival features an artist local to Central Oregon for the season’s poster. Artists were invited to submit their artwork for consideration and a jury of professional artists from the Artist’s Gallery Sunriver assists in making the final selection. Michele Michael’s 18×24” acrylic on canvas painting, which has been custom framed by Eastlake Framing, will be auctioned at the Raise the Baton fundraising party on July 18 in Bend. Details and tickets at sunrivermusic.org.
Fine art quality reproductions of this work will grace the cover of the program magazine for the 49th season of Sunriver Music Festival. Posters are available for $35. Framed posters are $85. Notecards with Festival art are $25 for a pack of 10 available at the Sunriver Music Festival office. Clothing and other merchandise are also available online at sunrivermusic.org/merch. Call 541-593-1084 or email tickets@sunrivermusic.org with merchandise questions or purchasing information.
About Michele Michael
In the artist’s words:
“I was raised in the countryside of Ohio farmlands and spent my youth creating everything from hand-drawn paper dolls to detailed illustrations in Microsoft Paint. I spent most of my teenage years and 20s dismissing my creativity, instead studying photojournalism and working odd jobs. I moved out west to Olympia, WA in 2009 and immediately fell in love with the natural beauty of the mountains, rivers and coastlines of the American West, as well as the outdoor recreation community. I started working at REI, and did so for over 10 years, which gave me a business mindset, an intimate knowledge with retail, and most importantly, the introduction to my husband and business partner, Jeff.
That job also took me to multiple locations in Washington, Alaska, and Oregon. After living all over the Pacific Northwest, I deepened my love of the outdoors and was drawn to bigger adventures. However, I did not feel compelled to capture the beauty of the natural world in art until Jeff and I spent a year traveling the world. With the rise of social media, and being exposed to artists of all kinds, I felt inspired to finally paint and draw again. I started posting my small sketches on Instagram and was encouraged by friends and strangers. I got my first commission while living in New Zealand; it was a request to draw…the Three Sisters mountains!
When we returned state-side, we settled in my husband’s hometown of Bend, Oregon, and I started my art business shortly thereafter.
I started designing stickers and got my first retail account in 2018. My art and business has slowly grown, and I am proud to have my art in many local shops, as well as seven National Parks (and counting!). Along with my husband, we support our family with our business. I still live in Bend (in Three Rivers area now) with Jeff, our two young children, and our mutt dog. In 2022, I made the leap to pursue art full-time. I feel like the luckiest gal in the world to make art for a living!”
Sunriver Music Festival’s 2026 summer season will be held in Bend and Sunriver from August 10-20. Events are at the iconic Tower Theatre in downtown Bend and the historic Great Hall at Sunriver Resort. Artistic Director & Conductor Brett Mitchell will lead world-class orchestra musicians and acclaimed soloists in a remarkable 49th season. For details and tickets, visit sunrivermusic.org.
Scholarships
Throughout its 31-year history, Sunriver Music Festival’s Young Artists Scholarship program has awarded over $750,000 in scholarships to almost 200 exceptional young classical music students from throughout Central Oregon.
Each year, 15+ musicians aged 11-24 are awarded scholarships to aid with expenses related to college tuition, music camps and conservatories, or private music lessons. Several scholarship recipients are college students seriously pursuing a career in classical music. They have been accepted into highly acclaimed schools such as the Cleveland Institute of Music, San Francisco Conservatory of Music, and the Eastman School of Music in New York.
A community concert will be presented Friday, June 5, 7 pm at Community Bible Church at Sunriver featuring these advanced young musicians. All are invited to attend and be inspired by the future of music. This concert is offered as a free gift to the community.
Several of the 2025’s Young Artists Scholarship recipients share their music and educational journey for schools in the Bend-La Pine school district throughout the year and at select Sunriver Music Festival concerts. Multiple scholarship recipient Fiona Curley, soprano, was featured last summer in the Festival’s 48th season Family Concert.
These vital scholarship funds are raised through the generosity of individual donors and at the annual Raise the Baton Fundraising Party in Bend on July 18. Tickets available at sunrivermusic.org or 541-593-1084. $150 per person includes an abundance of performances from these virtuosic young musicians plus plated dinner and beverages.
** June 5 – Young Artists Scholarship Concert
7 pm at Sunriver Community Bible Church, 1 Theatre Drive, Sunriver. Free admission.
** July 18 – Raise the Baton Fundraising Party for Young Artists Scholarships
5 pm at the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Central Oregon. Tickets at sunrivermusic.org.
- Sunriver Music Festival is a year-round nonprofit presenting world-class orchestral performances and supporting music education throughout Central Oregon. Through a commitment to excellence, collaboration and innovation, the Festival seeks to foster a lifelong love of classical music in its many diverse forms. | sunrivermusic.org
This story is based on submitted information and has not been verified by our news team.
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