The latest (and largest) Guide offers a curated journey through the world of summer performing arts festivals, from intimate chamber settings to majestic orchestral events.

As always, we provide essential details on locations, schedules, tickets, performers, artistic leadership—all the information you need to create your unforgettable festival experience.

COVER PHOTO: Josh McClendon, cellist and founding member of the Isidore String Quartet, beside Maroon Lake in the glacial valley surrounded by the Maroon Bells peaks in Aspen, CO.
CREDIT: Elaine Collins 2018, Aspen Music Festival and School

Download the Guide ⤊ or scroll down ⤋ to view information for each festival

TIME:SPANS is dedicated primarily to the presentation of twenty-first century music. The festival is produced and presented by The Earle Brown Music Foundation Charitable Trust (EBMF).

Brevard Music Center is one of America's premier summer music festivals and training programs, where nearly 1,000 young musicians from 49 states and 22 countries perform alongside world-class faculty and guest artists in over 80 performances for 40,000 music lovers in North Carolina's Blue Ridge Mountains.

Ranked as a Top 10 Classical Music Festival by The New York Times, the Grand Teton Music Festival unites the country's best musicians for seven weeks of symphonic and chamber music. Acclaimed Music Director Sir Donald Runnicles leads the festival, with the world's most talented soloists and conductors.

Audiences can expect a robust schedule of 50+ concerts of vital, compelling music-making in the unique Heifetz style, from the flagship Stars of Tomorrow to the masterful Celebrity Series and Sunday matinées, presented in venues across Staunton and throughout the Shenandoah Valley.

For five decades, Highmark Mann Center for the Performing Arts has served as Philadelphia's premier outdoor non-profit performing arts summer festival, presenting a wide array of cultural programming and popular events.

La Jolla Music Society's SummerFest, established in 1986, is an internationally recognized chamber music festival set against San Diego's ocean backdrop. Every August, renowned musicians perform a diverse mix of classical and boundary-pushing concerts. The Wall Street Journal calls it "a gem of a chamber-music festival."

We are proud to say that Ljubljana Festival has strengthened its position among the most important and influential festivals in Europe; it is recognised by its long tradition, well-curated programme, excellent performances, and affordability to a wide range of visitors. Ljubljana Festival significantly contributes to the cultural vibrancy of Ljubljana.

Now in its 19th season, the Minnesota Beethoven Festival presents a full concert schedule of internationally acclaimed classical artists each summer in Winona, MN. 2026 concerts include Joshua Bell and the Academy of St. Martin in the Fields, Sir Stephen Hough, and more.

Music@Menlo's signature thematic programming offers the opportunity to be deeply immersed in chamber music over the course of three weeks. In addition to main-stage performances and artist-curated recitals, the festival features free afternoon concerts, master classes, and AudioNotes listening guides.

With more than 75 years of experience running a young artist festival and with over 4,000 alumni, many of whom are now singing on the world's greatest stages, Opera in the Ozarks is the only summer opera festival of its kind in the south-central United States.

Set in an historic city and a prestigious seat of learning, the Oxford Piano Festival combines a world-class concert series with acclaimed pianists and a program of master classes for a dozen talented young participants drawn from across the globe, observed by a large contingent of piano enthusiasts.

The Skaneateles Festival stands out as a premier summer event in New York's Finger Lakes, blending world-class musicians with community spirit. Since 1980, its creativity, diverse programming, national broadcasts, and commitment to education and outreach have expanded access to dynamic, inclusive music for broad audiences.

Summit Music Festival is internationally recognized as the premier summer institute for intensive chamber music and instrumental training. It includes its concerto competition (with cash prizes), a world-renowned faculty, master classes, and concerts with students and faculty. Financial aid is available.

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.

Tippet Rise celebrates the union of music, art, architecture, and nature. Set against Montana's Beartooth Mountains on a 12,500-acre working ranch, Tippet Rise presents indoor and outdoor concertsby internationally acclaimed musicians and exhibits large-scale sculptures by some of the world's foremost artists and architects.

Snape Maltings, Aldeburgh, Suffolk, United Kingdom

Durham, North Carolina

Arena di Verona, Verona, Italy

Aspen, Colorado

Locations in Cairns, Queensland, Australia

Various venues in Stockholm, Sweden

Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art, North Adams, Massachusetts

Bard College, Annandale-On-Hudson, New York

Margravial Opera House, Bayreuth, Germany

Outdoor and indoor venues in Bergen, Norway

Locations in Berkeley, California

Lenox and Amherst, Massachusetts; Denver, Colorado; Tallinn, Estonia

The Mahaiwe Performing Arts Center, Great Barrington, Massachusetts

Locations in France: Besançon, Baume-les-Dames, Luxeuil-les-Bains, Dole

Blossom Music Center, Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio

Boston, Massachusetts, and online

Brunswick, Maine

Locations in Colorado: Vail, Beaver Creek, Eagle, Avon, Edwards, Leadville, Gypsum

Venues in Bregenz, Austria

Locations in Bridgehampton and Sagaponack, New York

Santa Cruz, California

Katonah, New York

Carmel-by-the-Sea, California

Central City, Colorado

Locations in Portland and Beaverton, Oregon

Music Hall, Cincinnati, Ohio

Cincinnati, Ohio

Colorado College, Colorado Springs, Colorado

Chautauqua Auditorium, Boulder, Colorado

Royal Danish Arts Academy, Festival Hall, Copenhagen, Denmark

Cork City & County, Ireland

Indianola, Iowa

Locations in Dresden, Germany

Old City of Dubrovnik, Croatia

Vác, Hungary

Guilford College, Greensboro, North Carolina

Edinburgh, Scotland, United Kingdom

Bucharest, Romania

Aix-en-Provence, France

Thiré (Vendée), France

Amphitheatre Fernand-Lindsay, Joliette, Quebec; churches in the Lanaudière region, Canada

Locations throughout Napa Valley, California

Various locations in Michigan: Kalamazoo, Grand Rapids, Battle Creek, and East Lansing

Cooperstown, New York

State University of New York, Fredonia, New York

Grafenegg Castle, Grafenegg, Austria

Elley-Long Music Center, Colchester, Vermont

Halle (Saale), Germany

Highlands and Cashiers, North Carolina

Hitzacker (Elbe), Germany

Los Angeles, California

Calgary, Alberta, Canada

New York, New York: Merkin Hall at Kaufman Music Center and Klavierhaus

Bad Kissingen, Bavaria, Germany

Kusatsu and Nagano, Japan

Lake George, New York

Churches, Luzerner Theater, and Lucerne Culture and Congress Centre, Lucerne, Switzerland

Locations in San Diego, California

Southern Vermont Arts Center, Manchester, Vermont

Marlboro, Vermont

DiMenna Center for Classical Music, New York, New York, and Ridgewood, New York

Gstaad and Saanenland, Switzerland

Orchestra Hall, Minneapolis, Minnesota

Columbia, Missouri

Hancock, Maine

Locations in Montréal, Québec, Canada

Locations in Germany: Moritzburg, Meißen, Dresden

Santa Barbara, California

Vineyards and locations in Napa Valley, California

Breckenridge, Colorado

Locations in Newport, Rhode Island

Nofolk, Connecticut

Libbey Bowl, Ojai, California

Opera Holland Park Theatre, Holland Park, London, United Kingdom

St. Louis, Missouri

Cancun, Quintana Roo, Mexico

Orcas Island, Washington

Eugene, Oregon

Locations in Oxford, United Kingdom

Sapporo, Japan

Shelter Island, New York

Locations in Perth City, Scotland

Locations in Prague, Czech Republic

Torre del Lago Puccini, Tuscany, Italy

Former monasteries, natural sites, and locations in Ravenna, Italy

Highland Park, Illinois

Shalin Liu Performance Center, Rockport, Massachusetts

Teatro Argentina, Rome, Italy

Teatro Rossini, Pesaro, Italy

Round Top, Texas

Locations in Salzburg, Austria

Venues in Salzburg, Austria

Locations in Santa Fe, New Mexico

Locations in Santa Fe and Albuquerque, New Mexico

Santa Fe, New Mexica

Saratoga Performing Arts Center, Saratoga Springs, New York

Schwarzenberg and Hohenems, Austria

Schroon Lake, New York

Locations in Seattle, Bellevue, Vashon, and Bainbridge Island, Washington

Locations in Harrisonburg, Virginia

Various locations in Sitka, Alaska

Charleston, South Carolina

Locations in Stockholm, Sweden

Locations in Italy: Stresa, Verbania, Arona, Angera, Leggiuno

Strings Pavilion, Steamboat Springs, Colorado

Locations in Austria: Graz, Stainz, Poellau

Lincoln Center, New York, New York

Sun Valley Pavilion, Sun Valley, Idaho

Lenox, Massachusetts

Lincoln Center, New York, New York; Montclair State University, Montclair, New Jersety

Various venues in Trondheim, Norway

Tsinandali Estate, Kakheti, Georgia

Vancouver, Washington

Locations in Verbier, Switzerland

Locations in southeastern coastal Virginia: Norfolk, Virginia Beach, Portsmouth, Newport News, Williamsburg

Oakland Scottish Rite Center and Lake Merit, California

Wintergreen Resort and partner locations, Blue Ridge Mountains, Virginia

Vienna, Virginia

Konzerthaus Berlin, Berlin, Germany