Classical music festival begins Aug. 4

Festival Amadeus returns to downtown Whitefish Aug. 4.

The annual classical music festival takes place Aug. 4 through 10. Young musicians will attend Camp Festival Amadeus for a chance to hone their skills with top-notch performers and teachers, who will then perform in chamber and orchestra concerts at night.

This year’s guest artists include the Fry Street Quartet, made up of Robert Waters and Rebecca McFaul on violin, Bradley Ottesen on viola and Ann Francis Bayless on cello. Brant Bayless, viola, Catalin Rotaru, double bass, and Andrew Staupe, piano, will join them in chamber ensemble and orchestra performances.

Up-and-coming violinist Simone Porter will join the more seasoned performers to round out the musical lineup. The 16-year-old from Seattle made her solo debut with the Seattle Symphony at age 10 and has appeared on television and radio programs around the world. In April, she performed solo with the New York Philharmonic.

Porter is a senior at The Colburn School’s Young Artists Academy, which offers courses for musical prodigies. At the Los Angeles school, she studies with renowned violin teacher Robert Lipsett.

Festival Amadeus opens with a free concert in Whitefish Depot Park Aug. 4.

Gates open at 6 p.m. for the 7:30 p.m. concert, which will feature the Festival Amadeus Orchestra under the direction of conductor John Zoltek. Admission is free. Audience members are encouraged to bring lawn chairs or blankets and a picnic supper. Vendors will be on site with food, wine and beer for sale.

For the rest of the week, concerts will take place at the Whitefish Performing Arts Center. All performances begin at 7:30 p.m. For ticket information and additional details, visit gscmusic.org or call 407-7000.

Aug. 5

Chamber Night 1: “Sonorous Voyage,” featuring Brant Bayless, viola; Catalin Rotaru, double bass; and April Lane, piano

A collection of sonorous works by J.S. Bach, Telemann, Schumann, Stravinsky, Faure, Chopin and others. 

Aug. 6

Chamber Night 2: “Quartet Quintet Rhapsody,” with Fry Street Quartet in full recital.

Featuring string quartets by Franz Josef Hayden and Mozart’s elegantly musical “Quintet in C Major.”

Aug. 7

Chamber Night 3: “Emerging Virtuosi,” featuring Simone Porter, violin, and Andrew Staupe, piano

Two young emerging virtuosos are featured in an evening of solo chamber music ranging from Scarlatti to Bloch, including Mozart’s “Violin Sonata in B-flat Major” and violin showpieces by Ernst Block and Pablo Sarasate.

Aug. 8

Orchestra Night 1: “Festival of Concertos,” featuring the Festival Amadeus Strings and Fry Street Quartet

The Fry Street Quartet will appear in turn as soloists in Baroque concerti by J.S. Bach, Telemann and Vivaldi accompanied by the Festival Amadeus Strings in Mozart’s tuneful and quirky Serenata Notterna.

Aug. 9

Orchestra Night 2: “Mozart, Botessini and Bizet,” featuring the Festival Amadeus Orchestra and Catalin Rotaru, double bass

Two Paris-inspired symphonies, Mozart’s “No. 31 in D” and Bizet’s “No. 1 in C Major.” Rotaru is featured in the haunting “Concerto for Double Bass in B Minor” by Italian composer Botessini.

Aug. 10

Orchestra Night 3: “Mozart and Beethoven Grand Finale,” featuring the Festival Amadeus Orchestra, Simone Porter violin, and Andrew Staupe piano 

Two dynamic solo concertos from the Viennese Classical repertoire. Porter will play Mozart’s “Violin Concerto No. 3 in G Major,” and pianist Andrew Staupe will interpret Beethoven’s “Piano Concerto No. 1 in C Major,” plus Rossini’s humorous “Italian in Algiers Overture.”