During this year’s Sunriver Music Festival, listeners will be treated to amazing performers, diverse compositions and a dynamic, creative driving force behind it all. One of the most thrilling aspects of this year’s festival is that a newly awarded medalist from the prestigious Van Cliburn International Piano Competition will be announced on June 7, and this performer will subsequently come to Sunriver to play two concerts. Artistic Director and Conductor Brett Mitchell shared his excitement over the 48th season of the festival, and Executive Director Meagan Iverson gave more reasons for people of all ages to come, listen and be inspired.
Source Weekly: How did the partnership between the Van Cliburn Piano Competition and the Sunriver Music Festival come about?
Brett Mitchell: The Cliburn connection is something that has been a part of Sunriver Music Festival for longer than I have been. It is always, of course, an enormous event in the classical music world. These pianists come from all over the world, and to have a complete unknown who, seemingly overnight, becomes a household name is amazing. This opportunity that we have in Sunriver to feature one of the medalists, honestly is one of the things that attracted me to this position. The opportunity to work with some of the greatest up-and-coming musicians on the scene is incredible. I’m a musician, period, because I had a great high school band director. I thought that’s what I wanted to do, to teach young musicians. And that has been a very big part of my career. When I was the assistant director of the Cleveland Orchestra, I was also the director of the Cleveland Youth Orchestra. So, the opportunity to find these young musicians that the Cliburn has and shine a light on them… and that we in Sunriver are able to bring them to our community, literally two months after they have been awarded a medal, is just amazing. I think it’s one of the most exciting things we do.
SW: I imagine it’s a bit like choosing a favorite child, but which concert are you personally most excited about this summer?
BM: I love all of these programs. The French program that we open with is going to be a really nice experience. All of the pieces are French, but they couldn’t be more different from each other. The Dukas Fanfare is a brass fanfare, which is not something you associate with France. The Ravel Piano Concerto is hugely inspired by George Gershwin and the world of jazz. The Fauré is probably what most folks would consider French music: delicate, beautiful, exquisite. And then, of course, there’s Carmen [by Bizet] which is designed to celebrate the 150th anniversary of Carmen, which premiered in 1875, and it also marks the 150th anniversary of Bizet’s death. And then also the Classical Tradition program, with the Bolcom Commedia, which is such a funny, witty piece. To have Mark Kosower, who is the principal cellist of the Cleveland Orchestra, come out and do the Rococo Variations of Tchaikovsky… and we know that Tchaikovsky was history’s greatest admirer of Mozart, along with about five million of the rest of us! Then to have [Mozart’s] Marriage of Figaro on there, it’s such a greatest hit of classical music. And then to follow that up with the Stravinsky Dance Concertantes, which is from Stravinsky’s neoclassical period… that program I’m really excited about as well. I know you asked for one, but there’s two.
SW: Can you talk about your personal journey with music?
BM: When I was growing up in Seattle in the ’80s and early ’90s when grunge hit, I got to Nirvana before I got to Beethoven. But when I got to Beethoven in high school a few years later, it did not sound so different to me from Nirvana. It was like, here’s this guy, or group of guys, and they are clearly going through some stuff… and they are trying to say it artistically to see if it might resonate with the rest of us. And that, I don’t care if you are from the 1700s, 1800s, 1900s or today, if you have a universal message, it’s worth hearing. Which is why we do what we do.
SW: You are having a Family Concert again this year; what can kids and families expect to enjoy this summer?
Meagan Iverson: Yes, the Family Concert is a tradition of the summer festival, which is two weeks in August with the orchestra. One of the elements of that concert is featuring one of the Festival’s young artist scholarship recipients with the orchestra, which is a very special opportunity for many of the recipients. It is a rarity for them to get to perform with a full orchestra. Also, Maestro Brett Mitchell programs it intentionally not just for young ages, but maybe for those who, sitting through a full-length symphony is not their cup of tea and they just want a taste, or a sip of it.
SW: And you also offer a unique experience for kids to get up close with the instruments and players, right?
MI: Yes, the instrument petting zoo will be happening before the Family Concert, and this is such a fun time and a great community event, as well. Several local music teachers help to make this happen and are right there with the kids, introducing the instruments. We will have several instruments available that you can just put your hands on. You can try playing a violin and see what sound comes out with that bow across the strings. We will also have violas and cellos, and then we have all sorts of percussion instruments, too.
SW: Can you tell us more about the Van Cliburn Piano Competition?
MI: Yes, it is worth noting that you can tune into Cliburn.org leading up to June 7. The competitions are live streamed and you can see who our soloist will be, and that’s very exciting. Right now, I can see the 30 competitors and I just think… one of these people is going to be here in Central Oregon.
This article appears in Source Weekly May 22, 2025.
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