Crescendo
Festival Napa Valley Director of Artistic Planning Charles Letourneau and I long envisioned this tale as an opera. When we realized our 20th anniversary coincided with both the 50th anniversary of the legendary Paris Tasting and America’s 250th, we knew we had the perfect moment, and the perfect story.
For twenty years, Festival Napa Valley has been a place where music, artistry, and community come alive. The Festival is defined by beauty – the kind found in the soaring notes of a symphony, in starlit vineyards, and in the connections that form between artists and audiences. Over two decades, the Festival has created thousands of memories: moments of wonder, laughter, inspiration, and grace that capture the very soul of Napa.
Everyone knows the music from The Wizard of Oz, up to a point. “Over the Rainbow,” the heart-tugging musical dream of a faraway land of beauty and contentment, became a classic of the American songbook almost as soon as the film was released in 1939 and has never faded from the cultural landscape.
Festival Napa Valley has long championed emerging artists, welcoming them at pivotal moments in their careers. Through performance opportunities, mentorship, and enduring support, the Festival has helped transform young talent into internationally recognized stars.
Twenty years ago, we believed Napa Valley could become one of the world’s great stages. Today, we celebrate that vision with extraordinary artists, unforgettable performances, and a community united by the transformative power of the arts. Welcome to our 20th Anniversary Summer Season — and to the next chapter of this remarkable story.
Meet the valued individuals who are giving their time and talent to help build Festival Napa Valley's future.
Renée Fleming is one of today’s most influential voices connecting the arts and human well-being. This summer, she returns to Festival Napa Valley to perform Voice of Nature: The Anthropocene and deliver the keynote address at the Festival's Music & Wellness Summit.
Wynton Marsalis, trumpeter, composer, educator, and artistic director of Jazz at Lincoln Center, has spent four decades at the forefront of American music. Wynton speaks about mentorship, democracy, and the enduring power of jazz.
On stage, Time for Three is an electrifying meeting of the minds. The trio leap across genres together, seamlessly performing everything from contemporary classical and jazz to mashups of hip hop, blues, and Beatles covers.
Most collaborations highlight the affinities between artists. But the partnership of sister violinists Hina and Fiona Khuong-Huu is more than that — it’s a lifelong alchemy of opposites.
Australian violinist Ray Chen and French pianist Jean-Yves Thibaudet is each world renowned in his own right, but together their virtuosity, chemistry as friends, adventurous artistry, and onstage joie de vivre promise an unforgettable debut.
At this year’s Festival Napa Valley Dance Gala, under the artistic direction of Melanie Hamrick, Live Arts Global will expand ballet’s repertoire with a playlist that ranges from Tchaikovsky to The Rolling Stones, and choreography that’s both thrilling to watch and a joy for the artists to dance.
At first glance, Napa Valley’s sun-drenched vineyards and the subterranean intimacy of the Village Vanguard — the legendary Greenwich Village jazz club — seem worlds apart. But those two musical universes meet when the LMR Jazz Orchestra returns to Festival Napa Valley on July 7 for a performance at CIA at Copia.
Ours is a passion to bring the arts to all — to connect, inspire and educate. Join us in 2025 as we celebrate renowned and promising talents, and all that is our beloved Napa Valley.
This summer we celebrate light. The light that emanates from art, food, wine, and natural beauty. The light that ignites our imagination, enriches our lives, strengthens our community. The light that unites us.
Ours is a passion to bring the arts to all — to connect, inspire and educate. Join us in 2023 as we celebrate renowned and promising talents, and all that is our beloved Napa Valley.
This summer Festival Napa Valley celebrates the best of America. We’ve curated a season that embraces the values we hold dear — through music, food, wine, and place.