Submitted photoConductor George Hanson will lead the Sunriver Music Festival Orchestra’s 39th season, which begins today at the Sunriver Resort Great Hall.

The theme of this year’s Sunriver Music Festival, “Nature’s Rhapsody,” came to Maestro George Hanson rather naturally.

“Every time I come up to Bend for the summer, I’m always thinking about creating more of a connection with our environment, because it’s so beautiful there,” Hanson said last week during a call from his home of Arizona, where the former Tucson Symphony Orchestra conductor lives. “When you fly from Tucson on July 31 with a high temperature of 104, and you land up there in Central Oregon, it’s really quite a treat.”

The festival is back and bigger than ever, offering nine concerts over 12 days in Sunriver and Bend. It opens Sunday with the first of four classical concerts, taking place in the rustic and beautiful Sunriver Resort Great Hall.

For Hanson, the festival offers a great excuse to ditch the oppressive heat of the Southwest, and its theme “an excuse to do one of my favorite Beethoven symphonies, which is ‘Pastorale,’” he said.

Beethoven’s Sixth Symphony, “Pastorale,” is on the concert program Sunday. Hanson describes it as an evocative work, “essentially written while Beethoven was doing one of the things he loved, which was walk through the woods and be inspired. So you’ll hear birds chirping, thunderstorms rolling in and then a beautiful rainbow comes out at the end of that symphony. It’s a really marvelous piece.”

Antonin Dvorak’s “In Nature’s Realm” is also on the opening night program, along with another Beethoven composition, Piano Concerto No. 1, featuring the talent of renowned pianist William Wolfram.

Pam Beezley, the festival’s executive director, has said in press materials that bringing in talents such as Wolfram, who’s performed with orchestras around the globe, “is why we’ve earned the reputation of being Central Oregon’s professional classical music experience.”

The Family Concert, at 4 p.m. Monday, is an informal and educational one-hour concert in the Great Hall. At 6 that evening, the public is invited to observe, for free, as Wolfram leads four students in a piano master class.

Tuesday, Wolfram returns for the Piano and Violin Recital with Stephen Moeckel, the Festival Orchestra’s concertmaster, to perform works by Franz Lizst (Dante Sonata for Piano) and César Franck (Sonata in A Major for Violin and Piano).

On Wednesday is Classical Concert II, which includes “The Birds” by early 20th-century composer Ottorino Respighi, as well as Concierto de Aranjuez by Joaquín Rodrigo.

The concert will feature the talents of two guest soloists, classical guitarist Adam del Monte and flutist Alexander Lipay.

Things move to Bend for the next three concerts, Classical Concert III, Aug. 12 at the Tower Theatre, and the Pops Concert, Aug. 14 and 15 at Summit High School.

“We actually have more concerts this year,” Beezley told GO! Magazine. “Last year we had seven. … This year we have nine.” Organizers are holding the Pops Concert on two consecutive nights, in anticipation of Pink Martini — including bandleader, pianist and colorful figure Thomas Lauderdale — being a huge draw. Lauderdale will be joined by Sunriver Music Festival Young Artists Scholarship alumnus Hunter Noack for a dual-piano performance, with orchestra, of George Gershwin’s “Rhapsody in Blue.”

“There’s all kinds of stuff in this program,” Beezley said. “Katie Harman’s the 2002 Miss America; she’s a soprano. She’s the narrator, and she’ll sing.”

Cellist Amit Peled proved quite popular at last year’s festival — so popular he’s been asked back to help close out the series with a Cello Recital on Aug. 16 and Classical Concert IV on Aug. 18, both back at the Great Hall in Sunriver.

Overall, the 39th Sunriver Music Festival should prove a thrilling experience for classical music lovers, Beezley said.

“The main thing this year is there are more concerts and a ton of great soloists, so there are more options for great music,” she said. “I might have to kick up the vitamin B-12 if we keep this energy level going. It’s a little bit overwhelming.”

This article has been corrected. The original version inaccurately stated George Hanson’s status with Tucson Symphony Orchestra. The Bulletin regrets the error.