 | The Sitka Summer Music Festival (SSMF) is a three-week long classical chamber music festival in the community of Sitka, Alaska. The 2008 Festival begins the first Friday in June and lasts three weeks with a full calendar of events, including concerts on Tuesday and Friday evenings, and one Saturday evening performance. |
| All of the evening concerts occur at the breathtaking venue of Harrigan Centennial Hall, in downtown Sitka. On stage the musicians (see photo) are framed by a panoramic window, through which audience members have a magnificent view of Sitka Sound and the mountains beyond. Fishing boats glide by as eagles perch on the nearby breakwater or soar magnificently in the sky. The beautiful music and fabulous scenery give audience members a unique experience and wonderful memories. The Sitka Summer Music Festival was founded in 1972 when violinist Paul Rosenthal decided, during an early visit to Sitka, that the town would be the perfect place to hold an informal reunion with fellow protegés from the Jascha Heifetz and Gregor Piatigorsky master classes. At that time, a handful of people from around Alaska contributed just enough money to buy the musicians one-way tickets to Sitka, and just enough people attended the concerts to raise the money for their return flights. The musicians performed without fee that year in Sitka and have volunteered their talents every year since. "Three things keep me coming back to Sitka — the place, the people, and the family of musicians that I love making music with. Together they equal spiritual renewal." Jeffrey Solow, cellist Event: The Sitka Summer Music Festival Date: June 6 (Friday) - 27 (Friday), 2008 Location: Harrigan Centennial Hall Sitka, Alaska USA | |
| SOURCE: The Sitka Summer Music Festival |
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