Lakes Area Music Festival

This event has been postponed. No dates are currently available. Check with the event website for future updates. We welcome LAMF harpist Emily Levin of the Dallas Symphony to curate a program of her favorite chamber music. Joined by guests from the Minnesota Orchestra she will present a French program of works by Maurice Ravel,…

All are welcome at this concert for families of all ages! A string orchestra of professional musicians from around the country will perform outdoors, narrated by festival education director Alexander Peña. Free and open to the public; no tickets required. This concert is sponsored in part by Essentia Health. Traveling for this event? Find Brainerd…

LEONARD BERNSTEIN: Symphonic Dances from West Side Story Song selections to be announced. The timeless story of enraged rivals and forbidden love comes to life at our exclusive West Side Story gala! Broadway’s Andrea Ross and Ryan Vona join the Lakes Area Music Festival Symphony in a celebration of favorites from Leonard Bernstein and Stephen…

Lakes Area families are invited to learn about the different sections of the orchestra in this outdoor concert featuring LAMF’s professional musicians and hosted by youth education director Alexander Peña. After the concert our Instrument Petting Zoo will give attendees the opportunity to try playing the instruments themselves. All are welcome! Free and open to…

The “Pago a la Tierra” (tribute to the earth) is an ancient Andean ritual of thanksgiving for nature’s bounty. We open our 14th annual season with a tribute to earth, water, and spirit featuring a world premiere by Peruvian-American composer Jimmy López Bellido followed by Jean Sibelius’ masterful Second Symphony, inspired by the Apennine mountains…

The “Pago a la Tierra” (tribute to the earth) is an ancient Andean ritual of thanksgiving for nature’s bounty. We open our 14th annual season with a tribute to earth, water, and spirit featuring a world premiere by Peruvian-American composer Jimmy López Bellido followed by Jean Sibelius’ masterful Second Symphony, inspired by the Apennine mountains…

Indian-American composer Reena Esmail works between the worlds of Indian and Western classical music. Her work, Teen Murti (Three Statues), takes inspiration from Hindustani singing traditions and sits aside chamber works by French composers Maurice Ravel and Francis Poulenc. Program: FRANCIS POULENC:Sextet for Winds and Piano REENA ESMAIL:Teen Murti for Cello and String Quartet MAURICE…

A ‘concerto grosso’ pits a group of soloists against a larger ensemble, moving between cooperation and contrast. Artistic advisor and baroque violinist Chloe Fedor leads a baroque ensemble in early examples of these concertos, partnered with modern takes on the genre by Errollyn Wallen and Samuel Carl Adams. Program: GEORGE FREDERIC HANDEL:Concerto Grosso in G…

A ‘concerto grosso’ pits a group of soloists against a larger ensemble, moving between cooperation and contrast. Artistic advisor and baroque violinist Chloe Fedor leads a baroque ensemble in early examples of these concertos, partnered with modern takes on the genre by Errollyn Wallen and Samuel Carl Adams. Program: GEORGE FREDERIC HANDEL:Concerto Grosso in G…

Join us for a block party in the heart of downtown Brainerd! A string orchestra will play pop music and familiar classical favorites. Bring a chair and grab a beer at Sage on Laurel, and enjoy music outdoors. Free and open to the public; no tickets required. Presented in partnership with Brainerd Restoration. Traveling for…

For many of us, the land of our ancestors holds a special power. For the Afro-British composer, Samuel Coleridge-Taylor, that fascination drew him to the music and culture of Black America, where his forebears had been enslaved. We present his luscious Clarinet Quintet alongside two of his fundamental influences: the European tradition of composers like…

Hilarity and misadventure ensue when two productions—one a grand opera and the other a comedic farce—are forced to perform their shows simultaneously. For our annual opera production we present an enchanting masterpiece by Richard Strauss which satirizes showbusiness as it explores the widest range of musical and theatrical possibility, from monumental Greek Tragedy to irreverent…

Music, meditation, and fitness come together in this hour-long outdoor yoga class guided by Jennifer Smith of Nisswa Yoga. Sun salutations under the morning sun, with music provided by a quintet of LAMF musicians from around the country. All levels are welcome! Donation based and open to the public; pre-registration recommended. Traveling for this event?…

Hilarity and misadventure ensue when two productions—one a grand opera and the other a comedic farce—are forced to perform their shows simultaneously. For our annual opera production we present an enchanting masterpiece by Richard Strauss which satirizes showbusiness as it explores the widest range of musical and theatrical possibility, from monumental Greek Tragedy to irreverent…

The LAMF Composer Fellowship offers early-career composers the chance to present their work to our orchestra and audience. Following a new work by our inaugural composer fellow, Isaac Santos, we hear another example of a composer’s early work in Dmitri Shostakovich’s First Piano Concerto. These pieces are followed by Franz Joseph Haydn’s 104th and final…

A perfect pairing: Beethoven and Beer! Our Musicians’ Night Out is a chance for our musicians to let loose playing music with colleagues and friends, new and old. Grab a pint and chat with musicians from around the world between sets of informal chamber music sight-reading performances outdoors at Roundhouse Brewery in Nisswa. Free and…

Our inaugural composer-in-residence, Elizabeth Ogonek, opens this finale celebration with a grand fanfare, co-commissioned with the Boston Symphony for the Tanglewood Festival. Then, Gustav Mahler’s titanic Fifth Symphony brings the season to a triumphant close. “A symphony must be like the world, it must embrace the world,” Mahler once said, and this closing concert embraces…

Our inaugural composer-in-residence, Elizabeth Ogonek, opens this finale celebration with a grand fanfare, co-commissioned with the Boston Symphony for the Tanglewood Festival. Then, Gustav Mahler’s titanic Fifth Symphony brings the season to a triumphant close. “A symphony must be like the world, it must embrace the world,” Mahler once said, and this closing concert embraces…

The Callisto Quartet will brave the winter in Minnesota in LAMF's first ever winter residency! Join them for the culimination of their visit in this intimate program of string quartet repertoire. In addition to these performances their residency will include school visits and community outreach in the Brainerd Lakes Area. This concert is the second…

LAMF artistic advisor Chloe Fedor returns to our winter series– this time alone with her violin. She brings a solo program featuring masterpieces from the baroque era alongside contemporary pieces drawing on the historical context of her instrument. An intimate program not to be missed! This program is the third cycle of the Lakes Area…

Artistic Advisor Loki Karuna (formerly Garrett McQueen) brings his unique and thoughtful perspective with another chamber music curation. Music and performers to be announced in early 2024. This concert marks the final cycle of the Lakes Area Music Festival's Winter Series of chamber music in Minneapolis (Woman's Club of Minneapolis) and Brainerd (Gichi-ziibi Center for…

Life is a Cabaret! Spend the evening being serenaded by our international vocal talents as they perform musical theater classics and American songbook favorites. Cash bar will be available for your enjoyment. These events typically sell out in advance. Traveling for this event? Find Brainerd Lakes Area Lodging

Life is a Cabaret! Spend the evening being serenaded by our international vocal talents as they perform musical theater classics and American songbook favorites. A cash bar will be available for your enjoyment. These events typically sell out in advance. Traveling for this event? Find Brainerd Lakes Area Lodging

A perfect pairing: Beethoven and Beer! Our Musicians Night Out is a chance for our musicians to let loose playing music with colleagues and friends, new and old. Grab a pint and chat with musicians from around the world between sets of informal chamber music sight-reading performances outdoors at Jack Pine Brewery in Baxter. Free…

On July 26 the world's best athletes will gather in Paris for the opening ceremonies of the Olympics. That same night the Lakes Area Music Festival celebrates the opening ceremonies of our 16th annual season, featuring 250 of the world's best classical musicians. This is the moment that will empower the next step of LAMF’s…

The season begins with the Lakes Area Music Festival’s most epic and joyful journey yet, in a single performance of Beethoven’s monumental Ninth Symphony. Christian Reif conducts the Orchestra in collaboration with a chorus of singers from the Legacy Chorale of Greater Minnesota, Brainerd High School, and the acclaimed Minneapolis-based choral ensemble, VocalEssence singing the…

Storms, Shipwrecks, and Sorcery is a fantastical journey through some of the most dramatic music of the 17th and 18th centuries. This program evokes both literal storms and clouds of rage. Guest soprano Nola Richardson stunningly portrays two sorceresses scorned, both the anguished Armida from Handel’s Armida Abbandonata and the vengeful Médée, namesake of Clérambault’s…

Whether you are a lifelong opera fan or just stepping into this world for the very first time, this is your chance to experience opera’s greatest moments all in one concert, featuring our cast of Resident Artists and the LAMF Symphony Orchestra. The Lakes Area Music Festival’s Resident Artist Program provides singers early in their…

We’re bringing music and nature together this summer at the Northland Arboretum. Kids of all ages are invited to walk along the forest trails, where they will encounter LAMF musicians from every section of the orchestra. Then, head over to the Visitor Center to discover your own unique musical skills at a very special instrument…

With the powers of winds, strings, brass, and percussion combined, the ultimate superhero of the stage is formed! In this family-friendly concert narrated by Jeff Andrews and featuring music and story by Russell Peck, kids of all ages will embark on a spectacular journey through the dynamic forces, instruments, and individuals that make up a…

Join the Lakes Area Music Festival for a block party at the Mississippi Landing Amphitheater along the river in Brainerd! Listen to pop and classical music hits performed by our string orchestra while enjoying food trucks, a beer tent, and social time with friends. Free and open to the public; no tickets required. NEW LOCATION…

This winter, at the 66th annual awards ceremony, Julia Bullock was awarded a GRAMMY® in the category of ‘Best Classical Solo Vocal Album’ for her 2022 Nonesuch Records album, Walking in the Dark, “an album that shines,introducing us to an artist curating a career on her own distinctive terms,” (NPR). Here at LAMF, Julia needs…

Music, meditation, and fitness come together in this hour-long outdoor yoga class guided by Jennifer Smith of Nisswa Yoga. Sun salutations under the morning sun, with music provided by a quintet of LAMF musicians from around the country. All levels are welcome! Held at the Mississippi Landing Amphitheater at Lyman P. White Park, along the…

Opera director Omer Ben Seadia and music director Christian Reif lead an all-star cast in an exquisite production of Igor Stravinsky’s delightfully clever opera, The Rake’s Progress. The story concerns the decline and fall of Tom Rakewell, who deserts his rural country town and girlfriend Anne Trulove for the delights of London. Being seduced by…

Opera director Omer Ben Seadia and music director Christian Reif lead an all-star cast in an exquisite production of Igor Stravinsky’s delightfully clever opera, The Rake’s Progress. The story concerns the decline and fall of Tom Rakewell, who deserts his rural country town and girlfriend Anne Trulove for the delights of London. Being seduced by…

In a deeply moving new work, American composer Leanna Primiani centers the heroic stories of the survivors of human trafficking, painting a sonic landscape that emerges from tragic darkness into hope and light, and awakening our understanding of this tragic issue. Stefan Jackiw, a virtuosic musician with “talent that’s off the scale” (The Washington Post)…

A perfect pairing: Beethoven and Beer! Our Musicians Night Out is a chance for our musicians to let loose playing music with colleagues and friends, new and old. Grab a pint and chat with musicians from around the world between sets of informal chamber music sight-reading performances outdoors at Jack Pine Brewery in Baxter. Free…

The unrivaled brilliance of Gustav Holst’s Jupiter from The Planets sets the stage for the 2024 Lakes Area Music Festival’s closing ceremony. As the U.S. premiere of Lil Lacy’s Aurora honors new beginnings and the opportunities of a new day, Richard Strauss’ Ein Heldenleben (A Hero’s Life) tells the ultimate story of adventure and accomplishment.…

The unrivaled brilliance of Gustav Holst’s Jupiter from The Planets sets the stage for the 2024 Lakes Area Music Festival’s closing ceremony. As the U.S. premiere of Lil Lacy’s Aurora honors new beginnings and the opportunities of a new day, Richard Strauss’ Ein Heldenleben (A Hero’s Life) tells the ultimate story of adventure and accomplishment.…

The unrivaled brilliance of Gustav Holst’s Jupiter from The Planets sets the stage for the 2024 Lakes Area Music Festival’s closing ceremony. As the U.S. premiere of Lil Lacy’s Aurora honors new beginnings and the opportunities of a new day, Richard Strauss’ Ein Heldenleben (A Hero’s Life) tells the ultimate story of adventure and accomplishment.…