A magical blend of fine music by outstanding performers in one of the most enchanting sites in Northern California. Evenings include orchestra concerts, Big Band, chamber music ensembles, dance, blues, jazz, world, folk, bluegrass and popular contemporary music. Daytime concerts include lecture/recitals at the Piano Series, a performance by participants in the Emerging Artists Program, and small concerts in intimate venues throughout the historic town of Mendocino.

Schedule:

2:30 p.m: Kim Nalley, with Tammy Lynne Hall (Preston Hall)
Kim Nalley has been a fixture in the San Francisco Bay Area—and here in Mendocino as well—as a soulful jazz and blues singer, very much in the tradition of the best vocalists of the 1940s and ‘50s. Always exciting to hear, she can go from operatic to gritty blues, with projection that can whisper a ballad or fill a room without a mic. Nalley keeps the style alive without copying any of her predecessors, singing vintage songs in her own way and riveting audiences with blistering scat solos that swing with intensity. She will be backed up by Tammy Lynne Hall, one of the most sought-after accompanists in the world.

7:30 p.m: Festival Orchestra 2: Don Pasquale (Tent Concert Hall)
In this concert version of Donizetti's comic opera, conducted by Ryan Murray, the audience will be treated to all of the beautiful music in this bel canto masterpiece, and most of the shenanigans. Don Pasquale is generally regarded as the high point of the 19th century opera buffa tradition and five accomplished singers will lead us through its plot twists and turns. With the help of his scheming doctor, a foolish but rich old bachelor chases after a young woman so he can produce an heir and disinherit his rebellious nephew, who wants to marry the beautiful Norina, who happens to be the young woman Don Pasquale is after. Got that.