BFM Presents Global Musical Tour Conducted by Marcelo Lehninger, June 29—July 20, 2025

32nd Season Marks Lehninger’s 2nd Year as Artistic Director of the Festival

Guest Artists Simon Trpceski, Pianist; Sterling Elliott, Cellist; and Simone Porter, Violinist Make Their Festival Debuts 

Calidore String Quartet Plays Barber, Marsalis, a premiere of John Williams’ “With Malice Towards None,” and Korngold Quartet No. 3 in Annual Recital

Michael Palmer Leads Program featuring BFM Principals Christina Smith, Sophie Baird-Daniel. 

Bellingham, WA—For its 32nd season, the Bellingham Festival of Music will transport listeners to musically picturesque destinations around the globe, June 29—July 20, 2025. Tour guide, Marcelo Lehninger, leading his second full season as Artistic Director, has assembled a sonic itinerary from the rugged Hebrides to London’s urban soundscape, from Catfish Row to New York, from Paris to Sicily, and from Russia to Vienna.  Complete programs and performers were announced October 4 at the BFM’s Annual General Meeting.

The Festival Orchestra will present five concerts and the Calidore String Quartet, ensemble in residence, will give its annual recital July 8 in the Western Washington University Performing Arts Center.  Conductor Laureate Michael Palmer will lead one program, July 16 that features Principal Flute Christina Smith and Principal Harp Sophie Baird-Daniel in the Mozart Concerto for Flute and Harp.

Program Highlights

Violinist Simone Porter will dazzle with Max Bruch’s folk melody-infused Scottish Fantasy. Macedonian pianist Simon Trpceski will attack the bravura demands of Rachmaninoff’s Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini. Sterling Elliott, an Avery Fisher Career Grant winner will perform the contemplative Elgar Cello Concerto.  Members of the Bellingham Festival Chorus will be featured in works by Debussy and Fauré.

 Chamber Music by the Bay Collaborates with the Conducting Institute  

Maestro Lehninger will again lead a month-long Conductors Institute in which talented aspiring conductors will work closely with him and members of the orchestra. The young musicians will each conduct a work on the popular Chamber Music by the Bay program, Sunday July 13, as well as leading a short work on one of the orchestra concerts.

 Ticket Sales

Tickets for all events will go on sale through the Festival website www.bellinghamfestival.org beginning in early 2025.

      BFM Free Events

BFM concerts in the community and masterclasses will offer curious listeners a chance to sample musical offerings for free.

 Complete dates and programs for Festival 2025

Please note, changes to the events can happen so be sure to check the website for information on all Festival events and news.
           

Program 1, June 29, 2025

The Russian Masters

Dmitri Shostakovich: Festive Overture, Op. 96

Sergei Rachmaninoff: Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini, Op. 43

            Simon Trpceski, piano

Pyotr Illych Tchaikovsky: Symphony No. 5 in E-minor, Op. 64

 

Program 2, July 5, 2025

London Calling

Errollyn Wallen: Chorale for Strings

Edward Elgar: Cello Concerto, Op. 85,

            Sterling Elliott, cello

Ralph Vaughan Williams: A London Symphony (Symphony No. 2)

 

The Calidore String Quartet, July 8, 2025

Samuel Barber: String Quartet in B Minor, Op. 11

Wynton Marsalis: At The Octoroon Balls (Selection)

John Williams: With Malice Toward None (from the 2012 film Lincoln) 

Erich Korngold: String Quartet No. 2 in D Major Op. 34

 

Program 3, July 11, 2025

Sights and Sounds of Scotland

Felix Mendelssohn: Fingal’s Cave Overture, Op. 26

Max Bruch: Scottish Fantasy, Op. 46

            Simone Porter, violin

Felix Mendelssohn: Symphony No. 3 “Scottish” in A-minor, Op. 56 

 

Chamber Music by the Bay, July 13, 2025

Smaller works performed by principals of the orchestra and members of the Conducting Institute.  Wine and Appetizer Reception

Program TBA

 

Program 4, July 16, 2025

The Viennese Connection

Conductor Laureate Michael Palmer, conducting

Carl Maria von Weber: Overture to Oberon, J. 306

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: Concerto for Flute and Harp in C-Major, K. 299

            Christina Smith, flute; Sophie Baird-Daniel, harp

Ludwig van Beethoven: Symphony No. 4 in B-flat Major Op. 60

 

Program 5, July 20, 2025

An American in Paris

George Gershwin: An American in Paris

Claude Debussy: Nocturnes L. 98 (with women’s chorus)

            Nuages

            Fêtes

            Sirènes

Germaine Tailleferre: Petite Suite (1957)

            Prélude

            Sicilienne

            Les filles de la Rochelle

Gabriel Fauré: Pavane, Op. 50 (with chorus)

George Gershwin: Porgy and Bess—Symphonic Picture

            Orchestral medley arranged by Robert Russell Bennett

 

ABOUT THE BELLINGHAM FESTIVAL OF MUSIC

Nestled between snow-capped mountains and island-studded bay, the spectacular natural beauty of Bellingham, Washington provides the ideal backdrop for the celebration of classical music. Since 1993, the Bellingham Festival of Music has enlivened the Pacific Northwest’s summer season with outstanding live orchestral performances and chamber music recitals. 

The acclaimed festival orchestra is composed of some of the finest musicians in the United States and Canada, many of them principals in such illustrious orchestras as the Boston, Chicago, Cincinnati and Atlanta Symphonies. They are joined by eminent soloists who have included Garrick Ohlsson, Stefan Jackiw, Joshua Roman, Jeremy Denk, Jamie Barton, Marc-Andre Hamelin, Pablo Sáinz Villegas, Blake Pouliot, Michele Cann, and Conrad Tao. In addition, the festival boasts a resident chamber ensemble, currently the Calidore String Quartet, which presents recitals as well as participating in community educational and engagement activities.

In 2024, Artistic Director Marcelo Lehninger, led his first full season to sold-out audiences and introduced a new Conductors’ Institute to help groom gifted young conductors for important careers. He succeeds BFM co-founder and Conductor Laureate Michael Palmer.

Of equal importance to its summer season are the Festival’s year-round outreach initiatives which extend the beauty of classical music to youngsters in the region. Among these programs are masterclasses, and both the Play it Forward Chamber Music Residency and Beethoven in the Schools project which bring music to K-12 classrooms throughout Whatcom County. In 2014-15, BFM also helped kick start the return of the Fifth Grade Strings program in the public schools. It continues its support with the purchase and maintenance of string instruments that allows all students to participate.

The Festival’s artistic excellence has been recognized widely throughout the country, and its concerts and recordings have been broadcast nationally, by NPR and by American Public Media on its Performance Today show. Among these recordings are the three-CD set of the complete Beethoven Piano Concertos featuring pianist Garrick Ohlsson recorded live at the Festival on the Natural Soundfields label.

The recipient of grants from several entities, the Festival has received National Endowment for the Arts grants frequently since 2009—a resounding endorsement of the quality of its performances and the contribution it makes to regional and national cultural life.

Contact: Ellen Pfeifer (not for publication)
617-943-6035
ecritic23@gmail.com