performers

Festival Orchestra Napa

Festival Orchestra Napa

Festival Orchestra Napa is an all-star ensemble that brings together principal players from major international orchestras and faculty from renowned colleges and conservatories, together with participants from the Frost School at Festival Napa Valley Blackburn Music Academy.

Centered around a core of Frost School of Music faculty, the orchestra also includes hand-picked musicians from ensembles, such as the San Francisco Symphony, MET Opera Orchestra, Dallas Symphony, Houston Symphony, and Atlanta Symphony, among others.

Festival Orchestra Napa’s appearance is made possible through a generous gift from Tatiana and Gerret Copeland, proprietors of Bouchaine Vineyards.

Performances

Thursday, April 25 | 10:00 AM
Novack Concert for Kids

Festival Orchestra Napa
Open to school groups only. Please contact Festival Napa Valley’s Education Department to attend. Admission-free.
Ming Luke guest conducts Festival Orchestra Napa featuring virtuoso pianist Ronny Michael Greenberg in a fun and informative concert of favorites by Gershwin, Copland, Montgomery, and more.

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Friday, July 12 | 6:30 PM
Uytengsu Family Opening Night

Festival Napa Valley kicks off its 18th summer season in grand style with a concert featuring a world premiere and three internationally renowned stars. South African soprano Pretty Yende, who sang at the coronation of King Charles III last year, joins tenor Jonathan Tetleman to perform a selection of favorite opera arias and duets under the baton of Maestro Carlo Montanaro. Sol Two by composer Yang Bao, who captivated audiences at the Festival last summer, receives its world premiere.

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Saturday, July 13 | 6:30 PM
Grand Cru Classics

Conductor Filippo Ciabatti leads Festival Orchestra Napa in a lively concert featuring two classical superstars. Ray Chen, hailed as “one of the finest violinists of his generation” (Los Angeles Times), performs Mendelssohn’s masterful Violin Concerto. Festival favorite Jean-Yves Thibaudet performs George Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue — a lively work combining elements of jazz, classical and popular music, and one of America’s most famous orchestral pieces — marking its 100th anniversary.

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Thursday, July 18 | 6:30 PM
Vocal Fantastique: Opera & Chorale

The 2024 Manetti Shrem Opera Program Vocalists perform a showcase of favorite opera scenes together with Festival Orchestra Napa. The program also features Volti Chorale in composer Gordon Getty’s acclaimed Old Man triptych – The Old Man in the Morning, The Old Man in the Night, and The Old Man in the Snow – performed together for the first time. Ming Luke conducts.

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Saturday, July 20 | 6:30 PM
Manetti Shrem Opera: Mozart's
The Abduction from the Seraglio

Experience thrilling onstage alchemy when soprano Brenda Rae and tenor Michele Angelini perform Mozart’s The Abduction from the Seraglio. The celebrated stars are joined by bass David Soar and a chorus of Manetti Shrem Opera Fellows. Carlo Montanaro leads Festival Orchestra Napa in this comedic tale of forbidden love. Jean-Romain Vesperini directs.

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Sunday, July 21 | 6:30 PM
Symphonic Finale with Time for Three

Festival Napa Valley’s season comes to a resounding close with an uplifting concert featuring Festival Orchestra Napa and the genre-bending ensemble, Time for Three. Maestro Filippo Ciabatti leads Time for Three in composer Kevin Puts’ GRAMMY® winning, dazzling concerto, Contact, and Ming Luke conducts Festival Orchestra Napa in Stravinsky’s hugely popular Firebird, based on folktales and folk tunes from Russia.

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