Hear violinist Will Hagen during Classical Concert II Aug. 11 at the Tower Theatre in Bend.

Sunriver Music Festival’s 46th season begins Saturday, when Maestro Brett Mitchell will lead the professional musicians of the Festival Orchestra in the first of the festival’s four classical concerts, beginning a nearly two-week stretch during which the sonorous sounds of Mozart, Brahms, Mahler and more will fill the Central Oregon air.

The first three concerts — Classical Concert I, the Pops Concert and Classical Concert II — will be held at the Tower Theatre in Bend, followed by the rest of the series. This year marks Mitchell’s second full season conducting the professional musicians of the Festival Orchestra.

“As always, one of our greatest strengths at the Sunriver Music Festival is the incredibly wide variety of music we offer,” Mitchell said. “In addition to our four classical concerts (which offer a broad array of music in their own right), we’re also proud to present a pops concert featuring great music from Hollywood and Broadway, as well as our annual Discover the Symphony program geared toward our younger fans, this year featuring a presentation of Maurice Ravel’s magical ‘Mother Goose Suite’ with original illustrations by visual artist Kellie Schneider. I’m also particularly excited to share with our audience our first-ever performance of a work by Gustav Mahler — his epic 4th Symphony — which is most certainly an event not to be missed.”

Audiences are in for a treat with all the concert programs, which are selected by Mitchell, said Meagan Iverson, executive director of SRMF.

“He’s very intentional about the pieces he chooses, and aware of the audiences here. We really value the thought that he puts into that,” Iverson said.

Other than the afternoon Discover the Symphony program at 3 p.m. on Aug. 15, the season’s concerts begin at 7:30 p.m. Prior to each of the classical concerts, Mitchell will give a casual, pre-concert talk at 6:30 p.m. He’ll be joined in conversation by folks such as concertmaster Yi Zhao.

“It’s right when the house opens,” Iverson said. “Every ticketholder is welcome to come early and really hear right from the Maestro in a casual setting as he talks about what audiences are about to hear.”

Sunriver Music Festival, of course, always features its share of guest musicians and singers. For the talk before Concert I on Saturday, Mitchell will be joined by Christian Clark, director of Central Oregon Mastersingers. The auditioned Bend choir will be raising its collective voice alongside the orchestra on a program featuring Mozart and Strauss.

“Central Oregon Mastersingers will join the Sunriver Music Festival Orchestra to perform two pieces by Mozart, beginning with his sublime Ave Verum Corpus,” explained Clark.

“Concertgoers will certainly recognize this breathtakingly beautiful piece, which Mozart composed for a small church choir during the last year of his life. We’ll follow with the exuberant Regina Coeli, K. 276, featuring for local soloists. We’re very excited to work with Maestro Brett Mitchell and the world-class Festival Orchestra.”

For Monday’s Pops Concert at the Tower, popular Northwest singer Sarah Mattox will be on hand to belt it out as the orchestra tackles tunes from popular movies and musicals, including “Wicked,” “Star Wars” and “The Lord of the Rings.”

Violinist William Hagen, a hit when he performed at SRMF last year, will join the Festival Orchestra for Classical Concert II on Aug. 11 in Bend, the last of the series’ run at the Tower. Soprano Kathryn Mueller will be on hand to sing at Concert III as the festival returns to Sunriver.

For the rest of this season’s lineup, see “If you go.”

For tickets and more information, visit sunrivermusic.org.

What: 2023 Sunriver Music Festival

Details:

Classical Concert I, featuring Central Oregon Mastersingers — 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Tower Theatre, Bend

Pops Concert, featuring Sarah Mattox, mezzo-soprano — 7:30 p.m. Monday, Tower Theatre, Bend

Classical Concert II, featuring violinist William Hagen — 7:30 p.m. Aug. 11, Tower Theatre, Bend

Classical Concert III, featuring Kathryn Mueller, soprano — 7:30 p.m. Aug. 14, Sunriver Resort Great Hall

Discover the Symphony, featuring a children’s program and violinist John Fawcett — 3 p.m. Aug. 15, Sunriver Resort Great Hall (General admission tickets are $15; free admission for those 18 and under)

Solo Piano Concert with Andrew von Oeyen — 7:30 p.m. Aug. 15, Sunriver Resort Great Hall

Classical Concert IV, featuring Andrew von Oeyen, piano — 7:30 p.m. Aug. 17, Sunriver Resort Great Hall

Cost: Ticket prices start at $45; $25 tickets available for those 25 and under

Where: The Tower Theatre is located at 835 NW Wall St., Bend; Sunriver Resort Great Hall is located at 57081 Great Hall Loop, Sunriver

Contact: sunrivermusic.org or 541-593-1084