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(Image courtesy: Bravo! Vail)

Bravo! Vail Music Festival’s Artistic Director to Step Down 

Anne-Marie McDermott will conclude her tenure at the end of 2026, after what will be 15 seasons with the festival

 

Founded in 1987, Colorado's Bravo! Vail Music Festival annually gathers world-renowned musicians in performances across six weeks. The event will celebrate its 37th season from June 20–August 1, 2024. 

Anne-Marie McDermott first began serving as Bravo! Vail’s artistic director in 2011 and will depart the role at the end of the 2026 season. Throughout her tenure, the festival has become an acclaimed destination for classical music.

Under McDermott’s leadership, the festival launched an international chamber orchestra residency, doubled the number of performances, created its Piano Fellows Program, and presented its first opera staging in 2019. 

Also a concert pianist, McDermott regularly works with the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, where she has been a member since 1995. Additionally, she is artistic director of two chamber music festivals at Oklahoma’s McKnight Performing Arts Center and Florida’s Ocean Reef, respectively. 

Her upcoming projects include performing the expanded version of a piano concerto by Chris Rogerson in April 2024; McDermott premiered the first version of the work at Bravo! Vail in honor of her 10th anniversary. 

Bravo! Vail has now formed an internal search committee and will announce more details of its next artistic director in the coming months. 

“When I look back at the last 13 seasons of the Bravo! Vail Music Festival and ahead to the incredibly exciting plans we have for the next three, I can honestly say that so many of the dreams I had for the festival upon my appointment as Artistic Director in 2011, have not only been realized but have had an impact beyond what I could have imagined,” McDermott said in the press release. “Thanks to the amazing spirit of the entire Bravo! Vail community and the outstanding generosity of its supporters, classical music is flourishing in the Rocky Mountains. I am profoundly grateful and very excited for what lies ahead.”

“This is what leadership looks like,” added Bravo! Vail’s executive Caitlin Murray. “Anne-Marie’s contributions to this great organization are incalculable. She has built a legacy through her artistry as a pianist, her vision as an artistic director, and her commitment to music and our community. And now, we have three years to celebrate her the best way we know how—by making sublime music.”

“On behalf of the Board of Trustees, I extend all my gratitude to Anne-Marie,” said board chair Hank Gutman. “It’s not an overstatement to say that Bravo! Vail would not be the organization it is today without her artistic vision. Her passion and devotion to the music, musicians, and our community has inspired us all and personified Bravo! Vail’s mission—to enrich lives through the joy and power [of] music. As an organization, we look forward to welcoming Bravo! Vail’s next Artistic Director who will build upon Anne-Marie’s incredible legacy here.” 

 

The upcoming season will see Bravo! Vail host the Dallas Symphony Orchestra and Fabio Luisi, Philadelphia Orchestra and Yannick Nezét-Séguin, and the New York Philharmonic with Jaap van Zweden. Mexico’s Sinfónica de Minería and Carlos Miguel Prieto will also make a historic debut as the first Latin-American guest orchestra to perform at the festival. Additionally, the festival’s Symphonic Commissioning Project will present three Colorado premieres of works by Anna Clyne, Jeff Tyzik, and Joel Thompson.

upcoming events

april 2024

01aprAll Day05Vienna Classic Violin Competition(All Day) Music and Arts University of the City of Vienna, Johannesgasse 4a 1010 Vienna, AustriaEvent Type :competitions Event TagsClassic Violin Olympus International Competition,violin competitionFOLLOW

23aprAll Day26Lyon International Chamber Music Competition(All Day) Université Lumière Lyon 2, 18 quai Claude Bernard 69365 Lyon, FranceEvent Type :competitions Event Tagschamber music,chamber music competition,Lyon International Chamber Music CompetitionFOLLOW

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