Colorado Music Festival
2026 Season
Stars align this year as we celebrate the Festival’s 50th and the Center for Musical Arts’ 30th anniversaries
Season Finale: August 9
The 2026 Season closes with the Festival Orchestra performing Mahler’s epic Symphony No. 3, conducted by Music Director Peter Oundjian
Thank you for helping to make our 50th Anniversary season a success!
Save the dates for next summer’s Festival, July 8-August 6, 2027!
Center for Musical Arts Fall Classes & Ensembles
Register now for Classes and Ensembles offered for all ages at the Center for Musical Arts in Lafayette
World-Class Music,
Quintessential Boulder
July 9–August 9, 2026
Join us this summer to celebrate Colorado Music Festival’s 50th Anniversary Season, as Colorado turns 150 and America marks 250 years.
This summer’s festival, led by Music Director Peter Oundjian, features world-class artists — pianists Yuja Wang, Michelle Cann, Tony Siqi Yun and Nobuyuki Tsujii; violinists Himari and Njioma Grevious; clarinetist Ricardo Morales; guest conductors Leonard Slatkin, Jeffrey Kahane and Gemma New; the Canadian Brass; and the Danish String Quartet — beloved masterworks with the Festival Orchestra and four world premieres. Concerts are on Thursdays, Fridays, Sundays and Tuesdays, offering an unforgettable summer experience on the iconic historic stage at Chautauqua.
Season Finale: Mahler 3
Season Finale: Mahler 3
Music Director Peter Oundjian continues his tradition of closing the Festival season with a massive Mahler symphony. Grammy Award-winning mezzo soprano Fleur Barron and the Boulder Children’s Chorale join the Festival Orchestra to give this epic symphony its voice.
Stories & News
Stay Up to Date with Festival News
Colorado Music Festival: 50 years of music beneath Boulder’s Flatirons – The Strad
Davina Shum reports back from the Colorado Music Festival in Boulder, a hidden gem of a festival that celebrated music making with a sense of community, conviviality and commemoration of America in its myriad identities 2026 is a year of milestones. The United States...
Valerie Coleman’s World Premiere at the Colorado Music Festival
by Kyle Macmillan The Colorado Music Festival Orchestra was supposed to perform the regional debut of Valerie Coleman’s Piano Concerto No. 1 on August 6 and 7. But when an earlier set of performances of the new work got postponed, it now finds itself stepping up and...
Welcoming New Executive Director, Aren Der Hacopian
Colorado Music Festival & Center for Musical Arts Welcomes New Executive Director, Aren Der Hacopian Der Hacopian joins the organization on September 1, 2026, offering a vision of engagement, collaboration and growth After a nationwide search, the Colorado Music...
Colorado Music Festival continues with uniquely American concert – CBS Colorado
Set In Nature’s Realm, Fueled By Imagination, Music Festival Thrives – Classical Voice North America
by Thomas May The Colorado Music Festival takes place in a strikingly scenic setting at the foot of Boulder’s Flatirons, about 30 miles northwest of Denver. Its five-week season July 9-Aug. 9 is presented within the Colorado Chautauqua, a National Historic Landmark...
Jeffrey Kahane leads the Brandenburgs with originality at the Colorado Music Festival – Seen & Heard International
by Daniele Sahr To most, the Brandenburg Concertos are very much about the harpsichord: twinkling with its signature tinny sound, transporting the listener to another time. But hear pianist and conductor Jeffrey Kahane out: there is value to using the pianoforte...
Yuja Wang and the Colorado Music Festival Orchestra deliver a stunning Barber Piano Concerto – Seen & Heard International
by Daniele Sahr If you plan to see the world’s premiere pianist, expecting her to conduct an orchestral standard might not be on your evening’s dance card. At the Colorado Music Festival in Boulder – where artists and musicians can rely on opportunities to explore...
The Colorado Music Festival Orchestra: “The Happiest Band in the Land.” – CPR Classical
By Kabin Thomas I love the Colorado Music Festival, its orchestra, Chautauqua Auditorium and what happens when those musicians gather in Boulder to make something beautiful together each summer. I call the CMF Orchestra “the happiest band in the land” because I spent...
Colorado Music Festival known for premiering new classical music – CBS Colorado
The Colorado Music Festival is known for playing traditional classical music in an exquisite setting, but the Festival is also committed to bringing new works of classic music to the stage. At one rehearsal, the Colorado Music Festival orchestra will be practicing...