The Colorado College Summer Music Festival will present its 41st season June 7-27, 2025.
The CC Summer Music Festival, led by music director Susan Grace, presents free and ticketed concerts throughout the month of June, featuring elite performing artists and rising-star musicians in chamber and orchestral settings. This three-week music festival is uniquely blended to offer pre-professional musicians (Festival Fellows) an opportunity to learn from preeminent teaching faculty from across the U.S. (Festival Artists) and to offer performances of outstanding modern and classical works to the Colorado Springs and surrounding community.
Festival Artists present five ticketed concerts and two free recitals throughout the season, while Festival Fellows perform free concerts on campus (Music at Midday) and off campus (outreach performances) and come together to form the Festival Orchestra, conducted by Scott Yoo, which performs two ticketed concerts. Yoo, a violinist, is the chief conductor and artistic director of the Mexico City Philharmonic, the music director of Festival Mozaic, and the host of travel docu-series Now Hear This from Great Performances on PBS.
This year will offer a special ticked event to begin the third week of the Festival, as Thomas Lindblade, CC Professor Emeritus in Theatre, directs Stravinsky's The Soldier's Tale on Sunday, June 22. The composer's 1918 theatrical work, based on a Russian folk story, will be brought to life by stage performers Nike Doukas, devil; Leo Marks, soldier; Jane Kaczmarek, narrator; and Prentiss Benjamin, princess; as well as Festival Faculty and guest musicians: Sergei Vassiliev, clarinet; Michael Kroth, bassoon; Jean Laurenz, trumpet; John Rojak, trombone; Aaron Turner, percussion; Steven Copes, violin; Susan Cahill, bass; and Yoo, conducting.
The Festival Orchestra also performs two free ticketed Children's Orchestra Concerts, an annual family favorite event that this year will begin with Mozart's Toy Symphony before the main event, Dr. Seuss's Green Eggs and Ham. This operatic adaptation composed by Robert Kapilow features Really Inventive Stuff creative team Sara Valentine and Michael Boudewyns, with guest artist Jennifer DeDominici, soprano.
The Summer Music Festival also partners with a local artist or arts organization to feature an art piece on all publicity materials each season. This year, the Festival partners with the Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center at Colorado College to celebrate Mary Chenoweth, who was on the faculty at CC from 1953 to 1983, and her 1977 work Untitled. All are invited to a free Music and Art Talk during the final week of the Festival to hear more about the artist, her life, and her work.
Tickets go on sale to the general public beginning May 1. Festival Donors receive discounted and early-access tickets beginning April 1. Festival Artists Concerts, Festival Orchestra Concerts, and The Soldier's Tale are all paid ticketed events; both Children's Orchestra Concerts are free but tickets are required; and all other public events are free, no tickets required.
CC Summer Music Festival Donors also receive special event invitations and other benefits prior to and throughout June. The Festival is made possible by the generous support of many foundations, corporations and lovers of chamber music.
Learn more about the 2025 summer season and see the full schedule of events.