The Sitka Summer Music Festival Extraordinaire

For three consecutive weeks, the Sitka summer festival brings all the music in the world into one place for summer enthusiasts. Founded in 1972 by the world renowned violinist, Paul Rosenthal, it is one of the greatest summer attractions of Alaska. The festival is taken to the remote areas of Alaska, where natives and the world alike get a taste of chamber music at holiday-like conventions. The Sitka music festival actually features a double attraction one in February (dubbed the Alaska Airlines Winter Classics), and another in summer (at around June). It’s the summer event that really rocks the world.

It is usually claimed that the festival emerged after Paul Rosenthal visited the town of Sitka and wanted to celebrate his reunion with master-class protégé colleagues from Gregor Piatigorsky and Jascha Heifetz. For the first year, the artists performed for free, with just enough raised to pay for expenses. Although the fame of the Sitka summer music festival has however reached an all time high now, the artists still perform for free upto today. Each edition of the Sitka festival is a season of spiritual renewal, blended with fun and friendship.

It’s a humble appreciation of talent and charity, giving each summer a taste of what is indeed precious, enjoyable and unique. Those who travel long distances to catch the fun, never get disappointed, with many looking forward to the next festival barely a day after the performances are through. There are three things that make Sitka Summer Festival a must see; the Alaskan native people and their love of music, the artists in their flamboyant selflessness, and the music itself, pure and refreshing to the spirit. This is where the spiritual soulfood is packaged in three great weeks of music.

Since the virgin performance of 1972 where only three artists performed, Sitka has grown into a global phenomenon. One edition featured over 35 of the finest musicians in the industry, coming from assorted nations of the world. In here is talent and the willingness to get personal with the music that determines who plays during the festival. The most amazing thing is that these talented musicians converge from distant locations with a simple reason of meeting up with friends and celebrating music. This is the single biggest reason why the performances are just out of this world. This led Alaska Airlines to give a fund, in kind, to the festivals in 1980. Since then, the Sitka festival runs on a self-sustaining fund, without financial complications.

The best way we can describe Sitka summer festival fun is electrifying, ecstatic or magical. The fun is matched by nothing else like it in the whole calendar of world summer festivals. To make things even better, the Sitka summer festival performances are removed from the synthetic auditoriums of the present day performances. They are not distorted by electronic mastery of light and sound that has an eerie sound of unnaturalness. Rather, the performances are held in the native land of the Alaska, where communities are remote and yet responsive to music and guests. On these fields, there are majestic sceneries, an amazing atmosphere, refreshing naturalness and enriching air. Sounds come natural, orchestrated by the love and appreciation for what is really good in music, the way our forefathers did it. The chamber music concerts reach the inner soul with an astounding freshness.

So just before attending the day’s show, you can stretch out in the natural parks of the towns, walk in the villages and talk to the natives freely, go for beach treks, biking and swimming exercises in the various tourist resorts around or simply enjoy a cuisine in any of the five star hotels nearby. Fishing boats are available for hire, and you can spend some time in the aquatic adventures you have always dreamt of. The land of Alaska has numerous snow-covered mountain peaks to climb, picturesque islands to visit and exotic wildlife to mingle with. The performance stages are usually in a panoramic setting, with an amazing background of mountains behind the artists.

If you have the time, you can accompany the artists as they go around the state to perform for remote communities, place to place. These particular performances are sponsored by the National Endowment for the Arts. If however you can’t make it round the state, you can catch the grand finales at the Alaska Pacific University’s Grant Hall auditorium. At the finals, the passion of real music hits a crescendo, beautiful and powerful like no other chamber music known to man. You have to be there to really appreciate what a heroic moment it is in the summer music festival.

The festival maximizes the need for summer festival fun by starting on the first Friday of each June, and lasting for three weeks. The music and wonderful scenery gives a unique experience such that the three weeks calendar of performances, concerts and holidaymaking, remain in your memories forever.