This summer, people from around the world will gather in Paris, France, to celebrate the heroic potential of humanity at the Olympic Games. In those same weeks, central Minnesota will be its own hub for world-class talent as the Lakes Area Music Festival presents its 16th annual season, “Heroic Journeys.”
The festival, which runs from July 26 to Aug. 18 in Brainerd, features an exceptional roster of more than 250 professional classical musicians from the nation's top ensembles. German conductor Christian Reif returns as music director of the festival alongside artistic directors Scott Lykins and John Taylor Ward.
After a grand Olympics-themed gala, the festival opens in heroic fashion with Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 — the largest concert piece ever performed on the Gichi-ziibi stage. From there, this season will feature the highest highs and the lowest lows, from the top of Mount Olympus in Gustav Holst’s Jupiter to an antihero’s descent to hell in Igor Stravinsky’s The Rake’s Progress.
Even if you can’t attend in person, all concerts will be streamed live on Facebook by the festival and YourClassical MPR. Then they’ll be posted afterward here via the festival’s YouTube channel.
2024 season
This season of the Lakes Area Music Festival will take place in Brainerd’s Gichi-ziibi Center, with a few concerts in special locations such as the Pavilion at Madden’s Resort, the Ripple Center, the Lutheran Church of the Cross, Tornstrom Auditorium, Roundhouse Brewery and the Mississippi Landing Amphitheater at Lyman P. White Park. Here’s what’s scheduled. See the official website for details on the music and performers.
8 p.m. Friday, July 26 — Gala: Summon the Heroes
Christian Reif, conductor
LAMF Symphony Orchestra
Andrea Ross, soprano
VocalEssence Ensemble Singers
JOHN WILLIAMS The Mission Theme
JOHN WILLIAMS Bugler's Dream and Olympic Fanfare
LEONARD BERNSTEIN Olympic Hymn
JOHN WILLIAMS Summon the Heroes
CARL ORFF ‘O Fortuna' from Carmina Burana
VANGELIS Theme from ‘Chariots of Fire'
JOHN WILLIAMS Call of the Champions
3 p.m. Sunday, July 28 — Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony
Christian Reif, conductor
LAMF Symphony Orchestra
Andrea Ross, soprano
VocalEssence Ensemble Singers
JIMMY LÓPEZ BELLIDO Rise
LUDWIG VAN BEETHOVEN Symphony No. 9
7:30 p.m. Wednesday, July 31 — Storms, Shipwrecks and Sorcery
Chloe Fedor, artistic adviser and violin
LAMF Symphony Orchestra
Nola Richardson, soprano
JOHANN HEINRICH SCHMELZER Die Fechtschule (The Fencing School)
GEORGE FRIDERIC HANDEL Armida Abbandonata
JOHANN HEINRICH SCHMELZER Lamento sopra la morte di Ferdinando III
ANTONIO VIVALDI Violin Concerto Op. 8 No. 5 (Tempesta di Mare) (Tempest of the Sea)
GIOVANNI BATTISTA BUONAMENTE Sonata for Three Violins
HENRY PURCELL Three Parts Upon a Ground
MATTHEW LOCKE Curtain Tune from The Tempest
LOUIS-NICOLAS CLÉRAMBAULT Médée
HENRY PURCELL Chaconne from The Fairy Queen
7:30 p.m. Friday, Aug. 2 — A Night at the Opera
Christian Reif, conductor
LAMF Symphony Orchestra
Resident Artists
Featuring works by W.A. Mozart, Richard Strauss, Sergei Prokofiev, Jules Massenet, Hector Berlioz, Giacomo Puccini and more.
3 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 4 — Thrills and Superheroes
Christian Reif, conductor
LAMF Symphony Orchestra
Jeff Andrews, narrator
EDVARD GRIEG “In the Hall of the Mountain King” from Peer Gynt
RUSSELL PECK The Thrill of the Orchestra
JOHN WILLIAMS Superman March
MICHAEL GIACCHINO “Incredits” from The Incredibles
7:30 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 10, and 3 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 11 — The Rake’s Progress
Christian Reif, conductor
LAMF Symphony Orchestra
Resident Artists
IGOR STRAVINSKY The Rake’s Progress
7:30 p.m. Wednesday, Aug. 14 — Jackiw Plays Dvořák
Christian Reif, conductor
LAMF Symphony Orchestra
Stefan Jackiw, violin *
LEANNA PRIMIANI Neither Man nor Money Validate My Worth
ANTONÍN DVOŘÁK Violin Concerto *
WOLFGANG AMADEUS MOZART Symphony No. 38 (Prague)
7:30 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 17, and 3 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 18 — A Hero’s Life
Christian Reif, conductor
LAMF Symphony Orchestra
GUSTAV HOLST ‘Jupiter' from The Planets
LIL LACY Aurora
RICHARD STRAUSS Ein Heldenleben (A Hero's Life)
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