Photo of Marcelo Lehninger, new conductor of the Bellingham Festival of Music conducting the orchestra.

2025 Festival Season

Opening Night | Sunday, June 29th, 7:30pm

WWU Performing Arts Center

Simon Trpčeski, piano

Portrait of pianist Simon Trpceski.
Simon Trpčeski Bio

Program*

The Russian Masters

Dmitri Shostakovich – Festive Overture

Sergei Rachmaninoff – Rhapsody on a theme of Paganini
Simon Trpčeski, piano

Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky – Symphony No. 5

Saturday, July 5th, 7:30pm

WWU Performing Arts Center

Portrait of cellist Sterling Elliott.

Sterling Elliott, cello

Sterling Elliott Bio

Program*

London Calling

Errollyn Wallen – Chorale for Strings

Edward Elgar – Cello Concerto
Sterling Elliott, cello

Ralph Vaughan Williams – Symphony No.2 “London”

Tuesday, July 8th, 7:30pm

WWU Performing Arts Center

Photo of the members of the Calidore String Quartet in a busy airport - selective focus.

Calidore String Quartet

Calidore String Quartet Bio

Program*

Samuel Barber – String Quartet in B minor, Op. 11

Wynton Marsalis – At the Octoroon Balls (selections)

John Williams – With Malice Toward None (from the film “Lincoln”)

Erich Wolfgang Korngold – String Quartet No. 3 in D Major, Op. 34

Friday, July 11th, 7:30pm

WWU Performing Arts Center

Portrait of violinist Simone Porter.

Simone Porter, violin

Simone Porter Bio

Program*

Sights and Sounds of Scotland

Felix Mendelssohn – Fingal’s Cave Overture

Max Bruch – Scottish Fantasy
Simone Porter, violin

Felix Mendelssohn – Symphony No. 3 “Scottish”

Sunday, July 13th, 4:00pm

Hotel Leo, 1224 Corwall Ave., Bellingham

Chamber Music at the Leo

An afternoon concert featuring members of the BFM Orchestra and the Conducting Institute Fellows.

Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky – Serenade for Strings Op. 48

Antonin Dvorak – Serenade for Winds in D minor Op. 44

Wednesday, July 16th, 7:30pm

WWU Performing Arts Center

Portrait of flutist Christina Smith.

Christina Smith, flute

Christina Smith Bio
Portrait of harpist Sophie Baird Daniel.

Sophie Baird-Daniel, harp

Sophie Baird-Daniel Bio

Program*

The Viennese Connection

Michael Palmer, conductor

Carl Maria von Weber – Overture to Oberon

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart – Concerto for Flute and Harp
Christina Smith, flute; Sophie Baird-Daniel, harp

Ludwig van Beethoven – Symphony No. 4

Season Finale Concert | Sunday, July 20th, 7:30pm

WWU Performing Arts Center

Photo of the Bellingham Festival of Music Chorus and Orchestra.

Program*

An American in Paris

George Gershwin – An American in Paris

Claude Debussy – Nocturnes

Germaine Tailleferre – Petite Suite

Gabriel Fauré – Pavane

George Gershwin – Porgy and Bess – Symphonic Picture

*All programs subject to change.