We’re Still Here! Virtual Closing Night 2020

Zoom Cyberspace

Saturday, July 25, is Closing Night. This night has traditionally featured a large choral work, so we have asked Jenny Matteucci and Daniel Lockert to join us to talk about a singer’s life as well as what is entailed in preparing the chorus for performance. Conductor Mary Chun and Stage Director Elly Lichtenstein will also ...

Free

Beginning Masterclass (8-week course, 6/8-7/27)

Zoom Cyberspace

Mondays, 4:00-5:30 PM, June 8-July 27. This class is designed for the beginning singer who is ready to spread their wings. Music will be assigned based on voice type. New genres and styles will be introduced. Singers will be scheduled to sing for the class and work on songs in a nurturing, encouraging environment. Focus will be on vocal technique and presentation, to bring the shyest of singers out of their shell. Register as full Participant, or choose "View-only" at a reduced fee.

$80
Event Series Lunchtime Lecture Series

Lunchtime Lecture Series

Zoom Cyberspace

Eight Wednesdays at noon, June 10-July 29. An eight-week series of weekly Wednesday noontime talks curated by Jenny Matteucci and Daniel Lockert. Topics range from the art of accompaniment to talks with composers, recitalists and more. Buy individually or as an eight-week series. Virtual; attend from anywhere. Missed the first one or two? For a limited time, buy the remaining (7 or 6) lectures at the series price ($80), still a savings.

$80

Discover Lieder

Zoom Cyberspace

A one-time, free introduction to Lieder. What is German Lieder? Lieder is literally the German word for songs, though the term is usually used in reference to German songs of the Romantic Period (19th Century) written for voice and piano. What makes Lieder unique is that the piano does more than merely accompany; it has ...

Spencer Myer at Home

Zoom Cyberspace

Pianist Spencer Myer has wowed, inspired and touched Festival audiences many times, and is a warm-hearted and engaging conversationalist. Live from his living room in New York, he’ll give you a glimpse into his insights and process, including the nitty-gritty of practice, and he’ll be glad to answer any questions you might have. You’ll see ...

Text in Music: What About the Words?

Zoom Cyberspace

How do composers choose their texts? What draws them to a particular poem, poet, or poetic theme? Most composers of art songs have a strong love of literature and keen knowledge about what sort of texts attract them as a composer. When composers set poems to music, the words take on a level of their ...

Event Series Masterclass 10AM (8-week course, 9/14-11/2)

Masterclass 10AM (8-week course, 9/14-11/2)

Zoom Cyberspace

Mondays, 10: AM-11:30 AM Pacific, September 14-November 2. Come join a small group of seasoned singers who want to hone their skills and become better at their craft. If you have sung in a local chorus, at church, at events, or even privately, this class will help you find better vocal technique and artistry, and will help you refine your voice and performance skills. (Choose AM or PM, not both.)

$80
Event Series Masterclass 4PM (8-week course, 9/14-11/2)

Masterclass 4PM (8-week course, 9/14-11/2)

Zoom Cyberspace

Mondays, 4:00 PM-5:30 PM Pacific, September 14-November 2. Come join a small group of seasoned singers who want to hone their skills and become better at their craft. If you have sung in a local chorus, at church, at events, or even privately, this class will help you find better vocal technique and artistry, and will help you refine your voice and performance skills. (Choose AM or PM, not both.)

$80
Event Series Learn to Love Lieder (8-week course, 9/16-11/4)

Learn to Love Lieder (8-week course, 9/16-11/4)

Zoom Cyberspace

Wednesdays, 10:00 AM-11:30 AM Pacific, September 16-November 4. A new option for Masterclass students; a course in German Lieder. Students will be assigned music by Mozart, Beethoven, Schubert, Schumann, Franz, Brahms, Wolf, Mahler and R. Strauss. The class will also cover German diction. Learn to love this beautiful art form and appreciate the marriage of poetry and masterfully composed music. Best for more advanced singers, or singers who have taken the Masterclass, and/or have had experience with the German language.

$80
Event Series The Basics of Singing (8 times, 9/16-11/4)

The Basics of Singing (8 times, 9/16-11/4)

Zoom Cyberspace

Wednesdays, 4:00-5:00 PM Pacific, September 16-November 4 (eight weeks). Unravel the mysteries of vocal technique with this course on the basics of singing. Cover everything from breathing, to resonance, to vocal health and more. Keep your voice in shape while sheltering in place, and learn some new skills to further your singing and build your voice. Good for beginners and seasoned veterans who want to brush up their skills.

$80
Event Series Advanced Sight-Singing (8 times, 9/16-11/4)

Advanced Sight-Singing (8 times, 9/16-11/4)

Zoom Cyberspace

Wednesdays, 4:00 PM-5:00 PM Pacific, September 16-November 4. For those who attended Beginning Sight-Singing or have some sight-singing experience. Daniel will enhance the class with tricks and hacks to make sight-singing easier. Sharpen your skills as sight readers and musicians. Class is progressive, so attendance is crucial. Don’t miss this chance to become more proficient at this basic skill. Prerequisite: Beginning Sight Singing (or permission of the teacher).

$80
Event Series Beginning Sight-Singing (8 times, 9/16-11/4)

Beginning Sight-Singing (8 times, 9/16-11/4)

Zoom Cyberspace

Wednesdays, 5:15 PM-6:15 PM Pacific, September 16-November 4. Can’t tell the difference between a B♭ and a flat tire? Have you sung in a choir for years and still don’t know what all the “hashtags” (#) mean? Let us unravel the not-so-secret code of good musicianship and sight-reading. We’ll help make your singing experience more enriching and fun by giving you the tools you need to not only help your whole choral experience but enlighten your musicianship skills as well. Each class will progressively cover different aspects of musicianship and sight-singing.

$80

Susan Waterfall: Debussy Préludes Book One, part I

Zoom Cyberspace

Treat your ears and eyes to an in-depth exploration of Debussy’s colorful and captivating Préludes for Piano, Book One, written in 1909-10. Susan Waterfall has assembled memorable historic and current performances. She’ll guide you through the visual and literary images that inspired Debussy to create sound worlds that had never before been imagined. You can ...

Side Note Virtual Visit

Zoom Cyberspace

Hip. Imaginative. Fun. Fresh. Funky. Side Note is a group of seven twentysomethings, from wildly different musical backgrounds, who draw on their diversity to create an all-new sound. It's contemporary a cappella—pushed to the limits of pop, R&B, funk, rock, musical theater and jazz. Side Note will be giving a breakdown of how the group ...

Susan Waterfall: Debussy Préludes Book One, part II

Zoom Cyberspace

This is the second part of Susan Waterfall’s opportunity to treat your ears and eyes to an in-depth exploration of Debussy’s colorful and captivating Préludes for Piano, Book One, written in 1909-10. She has assembled memorable historic and current performances, and will guide you through the visual and literary images that inspired Debussy to create ...

Kim Nalley and Allan Pollack

Zoom Cyberspace

Kim Nalley’s interesting view of American music and her relationship to it will be supplemented by her insights into what made some of the singers from the past so great. There will be musical examples and, hopefully, fun will abound! GET FREE TICKET (required)

Event Series A Taste of IPA: Not Just a Beer

A Taste of IPA: Not Just a Beer

Zoom Cyberspace

Two-day workshop, Sat-Sun December 12-13, 1:00-2:30 PM PST. The International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) is a set of symbols that linguists, singers and actors use to describe the sounds of spoken and sung languages. It will enable truer foreign language diction, as well as help with English diction. Understanding the IPA will help you learn how to pronounce with ease and understanding. Join Jenny and Daniel in a two-day workshop to enhance your singing, your foreign language accent or learn a new skill!

The Heart of the Matter: Bringing the Song to Life

Zoom Cyberspace

Two-day workshop, Sat-Sun January 16-17, 1:00-2:30 PM PST. Do you struggle with what to do with the words, your face, or your hands when you sing? Do you want to understand how to communicate better to an audience, to convey the meaning and depth or humor of your song? This two-day workshop will give you tools and help you work through your songs with deeper understanding. Bring a memorized musical theater song, aria (in any language), pop or art song to this class in acting styles for singers.

$25

Christòpheren Nomura: Boyhood to Broadway

Zoom Cyberspace

Rescheduled to January 22; originally scheduled for October 30. A discussion with baritone Christòpheren Nomura about his journey from the San Francisco Boys Choir to appearing on Broadway, and the various fascinating stops along the way. You might remember Christòpheren from his extraordinary and powerful performances at the 2018 Mendocino Music Festival, of the Brahms ...

Susan Waterfall: Debussy Préludes Book II (two-part series)

Zoom Cyberspace

Fridays, February 26 and March 5, 12:00-1:15 PM PST. Are you longing for world travel? Do you need a bit of Belle Époque Paris? Maybe you’re curious about musical modernism? Susan Waterfall is back, with Book Two of Debussy’s Préludes for Piano, which will provide you with all of the above. Armchair travel is a necessity during the pandemic. Historic and current performances along with fascinating art and photographs will bring to life Debussy’s final twelve preludes, written before the outbreak of World War One. Here’s another opportunity for lifelong learners to find out more about Debussy and deepen their appreciation of these gems of the piano repertoire.

Masterclass 4PM: The Great American Songbook (8-week course, 1/25-3/15)

Zoom Cyberspace

Mondays, 4:00 PM-5:30 PM Pacific, January 25-March 15. Join us as we explore the great legacy of American songs spanning the 1920s through the 1960s. Singers will be assigned music that will enhance their sense of style while working on vocal and performance technique; and perform their selections in front of the class in collaboration with Daniel, creating their own unique performance.

$80
Event Series Sight-Singing 4PM (8 times, 1/27-3/17)

Sight-Singing 4PM (8 times, 1/27-3/17)

Zoom Cyberspace

Wednesdays, 4:00 PM-5:00 PM Pacific, January 27-March 17. Sight-Singing continues from the fall session and is designed to help you sharpen your skills as sight readers and musicians. Daniel will also enhance the class with the tricks and hacks to make sight singing easier. Two equal sessions (same level) are offered to keep the classes intimate.

$80

Hope Briggs: Rising Star Soprano

Zoom Cyberspace

Jenny Matteucci and Daniel Lockert never fail to delight viewers with their lively, informative and fun interview style; drawing out the personality of the guest artist while creating an engaging musical conversation. Hope Briggs, a native of New Jersey, drew a rave review from Opera News for her San Francisco Opera debut as the Duchess of ...

The Life and Music of Kurt Weill

Zoom Cyberspace

Another of Susan Waterfall’s fascinating virtual presentations, this time about Kurt Weill. This gives you an opportunity to learn more before you attend the July 18 Weill concert in Cotton Auditorium. What happens when an impeccably trained young German composer decides he wants a new audience? When a nice Jewish boy starts hanging out with ...

Free

Pine Leaf Boys 2021

Cotton Auditorium 500 N Harold Street, Fort Bragg, CA, United States

A smash hit at past Festivals, four-time Grammy-nominated Pine Leaf Boys began as a group of friends getting kicked off the college campus for busking in Lafayette and have made a name for presenting their own inimitable brand of music. Hailing from southwest Louisiana, they are known for their wild shows, thoughtful arrangements and for ...

$15 – $35

Festival String Orchestra 1

Cotton Auditorium 500 N Harold Street, Fort Bragg, CA, United States

In the first classical concert, Maestro Allan Pollack will lead the string orchestra in Bach’s richly textured Brandenburg Concerto No. 3; Tchaikovsky’s Serenade for Strings in C Major, his clever and elegant homage to Mozart; and Samuel Barber’s poignant Adagio for Strings, “one of the most universally recognizable pieces of American concert music,” which Barber ...

$15 – $35

One Life to Live: the Songs of Kurt Weill

Cotton Auditorium 500 N Harold Street, Fort Bragg, CA, United States

One of America's most eclectic immigrant composers is the incomparable Kurt Weill, with an array of music ranging from classical to Broadway. Join the Mattlock Duo (Jenny Matteucci and Daniel Lockert) and the Festival Chorale as they explore the breadth of Weill’s works, tracing his journey from the Weimar Republic, through his Paris years, and ...

$15 – $35

Diego Figueiredo 2021

Cotton Auditorium 500 N Harold Street, Fort Bragg, CA, United States

Grammy-nominated guitarist Diego Figueiredo is a virtuoso with an infectious, joyful feeling that will leave you amazed. A brilliant musician who keeps the tradition of the true essence of Brazilian music, and at the same time can be extremely modern and innovative, he is an extraordinary star among the world's greatest jazz guitarists. Figueiredo’s superb ...

$15 – $35

Stephen Prutsman 2021

Cotton Auditorium 500 N Harold Street, Fort Bragg, CA, United States

An enthusiast of the "Progressive" or "Art Rock" genre, and a performer in a couple of "Prog Rock" bands in the late 70s, Stephen Prutsman has been drawn to create solo piano (and fiendishly difficult) transcriptions of several Prog classics. For this short recital he's chosen "Sound Chaser" by YES and GENESIS' "Supper’s Ready." These ...

$15 – $35

Alexander String Quartet 2021

Cotton Auditorium 500 N Harold Street, Fort Bragg, CA, United States

Celebrating its 40th anniversary this year, the San Francisco-based Alexander String Quartet is widely admired for its interpretations of Mozart, Beethoven, and Shostakovich. The group will play the innovative Haydn String Quartet in C Major, Ravel’s lyrical and virtuosic String Quartet in F, and Shostakovich’s String Quartet No. 7 in F-sharp minor. The seventh of ...

$15 – $35

Hattie and Joe Craven

Cotton Auditorium 500 N Harold Street, Fort Bragg, CA, United States

The Hattie & Joe Craven Show is a duo project celebrating the value of music making and artful living within, and shared by, families. The presentation features a show curated by a father and his daughter, awakening each other to new possibilities as they each bring their influences to a multi-generational table. The result, is ...

$15 – $35

Festival String Orchestra 2

Cotton Auditorium 500 N Harold Street, Fort Bragg, CA, United States

The lively “Hoe-down” from Aaron Copland’s Rodeo will get this show on the road. Maestro Pollack will then lead the Festival String Orchestra in his own composition, Suite for My Sweets, written as a piece celebrating the Festival’s return to live music. Dvořák’s Serenade for Strings in E Major will round out the evening. One ...

$15 – $35

Perla Batalla

Cotton Auditorium 500 N Harold Street, Fort Bragg, CA, United States

Once a Leonard Cohen back-up singer, singer-songwriter Batalla launched her solo career with Cohen’s encouragement. The Grammy-nominated Batalla has recorded seven albums, written for both film and television, and toured worldwide. In this concert, expect "a mixed program of originals, Leo Cohen, Mexican ballads, maybe some Pete Seeger." Batalla’s gorgeous, rich, contralto voice adds another ...

$15 – $35

Festival Big Band, featuring Kim Nalley

Cotton Auditorium 500 N Harold Street, Fort Bragg, CA, United States

This year’s Big Band Night will feature the great Kim Nalley, singing the most popular tunes and arrangements that she has performed over the past number of years. There will be great music, great soloing, and that good old feeling the band has been bringing to its audiences for decades. Whether playing Count Basie, Aretha ...

$15 – $35

Event Series Masterclass (8 times, 10/4-11/22)

Masterclass (8 times, 10/4-11/22)

Fort Bragg Presbyterian Church Social Hall 367 S Sanderson Way, Fort Bragg, CA, United States

Eight Mondays, 10 AM-11:30 AM Pacific, October 4-November 22. Come join a small group of seasoned singers who want to hone their skills and become better at their craft. If you sing in a local chorus, at church, at events, or even privately, this class will help you find better vocal technique and artistry, and will help you refine your voice and performance skills.

$80

It’s Showtime: American Musical Theater Techniques (8 times, 10/4-11/22)

Fort Bragg Presbyterian Church Social Hall 367 S Sanderson Way, Fort Bragg, CA, United States

Eight Mondays, 4:00-5:30 PM Pacific, October 4-November 22. Love musical theatre? Sing everything from songs of the early Golden Age to present-day musicals. Learn “monologuing,” a technique essential to creating a character and putting a song across.

$80
Event Series French Mélodie (8 times, 10/5-11/23)

French Mélodie (8 times, 10/5-11/23)

Fort Bragg Presbyterian Church Social Hall 367 S Sanderson Way, Fort Bragg, CA, United States

Eight Tuesdays, 10:00-11:30 AM Pacific, October 5-November 23. Love to sing in French, or need to brush up your French? Explore songs for voice and piano from composers such as Berlioz, Fauré, Duparc, Hahn, Debussy and Poulenc, and perfect your singing pronunciation.

$80

Understanding Schubert, with Susan Waterfall

Zoom Cyberspace

Join us for the virtual world premier of Susan Waterfall's Understanding Schubert—an 85-minute video biography, with art and portraits from Schubert’s era as well as 16 recorded musical excerpts, including nine lieder—wherein Waterfall explores the cultural context of Schubert’s life and music, his relationship with Romantic lyric poetry, and his position in the middle-class homes ...

$10

Event Series Adventures in Art Song (8 times, 3/21-5/16)

Adventures in Art Song (8 times, 3/21-5/16)

Fort Bragg Presbyterian Church Social Hall 367 S Sanderson Way, Fort Bragg, CA, United States

Eight Mondays, 4:00 PM-5:00 PM PST (except April 18; May 16 session is at 12:00 PM Pacific). Due to the popularity of the German lieder and French melodie classes, we have decided to expand the class to art songs of many languages. Singing beautiful songs in German, French, Italian, Spanish, and English (British and American), we’ll delve into the poetry and the composers, addressing diction, style and presentation, and collaboration between voice and piano.

$40 – $80

The Life and Art of Claude Debussy, with Susan Waterfall

Zoom Cyberspace

Join us for the exciting premiere of Susan Waterfall’s new film The Life and Art of Claude Debussy. Immerse yourself in the composer’s world, and enhance your experience of the many Debussy offerings in this summer’s Festival: the Festival Orchestra’s Afternoon of a Faun, the Calder’s performance of the String Quartet, Spencer Myer’s Pour le Piano, and the two narrated chamber music concerts Breakfast with Chou-Chou and Sounds and Perfumes of Evening.

$10

Festival Orchestra 1

Cotton Auditorium 500 N Harold Street, Fort Bragg, CA, United States

Maestro Allan Pollack will open the Festival with The Phoenix, his new composition that celebrates the victory of life over death and hope over despair. Yevgeny Kutik will solo in Prokofiev’s ethereal Violin Concerto No. 1. The concert will conclude with Beethoven’s rhythmic and lively Symphony No. 7.

$15 – $35

Hills to Hollers

Cotton Auditorium 500 N Harold Street, Fort Bragg, CA, United States

Super-group Hills to Hollers (Barbara Higbie, Vicki Randle, Laurie Lewis) explores the rich history and intertwined roots of the African-American and white musical traditions of the American south. Vicki Randle, of Mavis Staples, “Tonight Show” and Skip the Needle fame joins Laurie Lewis, two-time bluegrass female vocalist of the year and Barbara Higbie, a Grammy-nominated, ...

$15 – $35
Event Series Breakfast with Chou-Chou

Breakfast with Chou-Chou

Preston Hall 44867 Main Street, Mendocino, CA, United States

Join Debussy at the breakfast table with his wife and beloved daughter, Chou-Chou, as his imagination is stirred by the toys in the nursery, the paintings on the wall, and fantasies of sunlit ancient Greece. Susan Waterfall will play the “Children’s Corner” suite, Eric Kritz will join her on the Rhapsody for Clarinet and Piano, and Daniel Lockert will team up with her on Six Épigraphes Antiques. Two sonatas will round out the petit-déjeuner: the darkly humorous Sonata for Cello and Piano, and the magical Sonata for Flute, Harp and Viola.

$15 – $30
Event Series Business Casual

Business Casual

Preston Hall 44867 Main Street, Mendocino, CA, United States

Bay Area vocal band Business Casual explores a wide range of genres including pop, jazz, soul, folk and swing to produce fresh a cappella versions of vintage chart toppers, today's top 40 hits, and award-winning original songs. In 2020, their album, Voices Only Volume 2, hit the airwaves and in 2021, Business Casual won a ...

Piano Series: Spencer Myer

Preston Hall 44867 Main Street, Mendocino, CA, United States

Audience favorite Spencer Myer returns to play Beethoven Sonata No. 27, Op. 90; Debussy’s Pour le Piano; and Chopin’s “The Four Impromptus.” Two pieces from Enrique Granados’ Goyescas suite—inspired by Goya’s paintings—will complete the program: Los requeibros and El amor y la muerte. CHOOSE SEATS AND BUY

$15 – $35

Piano Series: Spencer Myer

Preston Hall 44867 Main Street, Mendocino, CA, United States

Audience favorite Spencer Myer returns to play Beethoven Sonata No. 27, Op. 90; Debussy’s Pour le Piano; and Chopin’s “The Four Impromptus.” Two pieces from Enrique Granados’ Goyescas suite—inspired by Goya’s paintings—will complete the program: Los requeibros and El amor y la muerte. CHOOSE SEATS AND BUY

$15 – $35
Event Series Bululú

Bululú

Preston Hall 44867 Main Street, Mendocino, CA, United States

The vernacular Venezuelan term, bululú, means “a gathering of people with excitement.” The San Francisco Bay Area band launched by Venezuelan-born percussionist Lali Mejia and Mexican string expert and vocalist Jose Roberto Hernandez manifests kindred cultural streams flowing together harmoniously. The nine-piece combo of veteran performers draws on folkloric styles from Venezuelan, Colombian, Chilean, Cuban ...

The StepCrew

Cotton Auditorium 500 N Harold Street, Fort Bragg, CA, United States

Created by Cara Butler and Jon and Nathan Pilatzke (longtime touring members of The Chieftains), The StepCrew combines Irish, Tap and Ottawa Valley Step dancing, music, and song. The virtuosic cast of 11 dancers and musician, made up of leading performers in today’s Celtic music scene, has appeared on the stages of Celtic festivals all ...

$15 – $35