This festival brings together some of America’s most talented string musicians and has garnered national acclaim. Celebrated for over 40 years, the festival is the vision of Paul Rosenthal, a violinist from New York who visited Alaska while on tour in 1972. It’s grown to include fall and winter performances in Anchorage and other parts of the state. The stringed performances are truly impressive (they’ve been featured in the New York Times and on PBS), and the festival attracts grand stage performers and visitors from all over the world. Zuill Bailey, a highly acclaimed cellist, is the new director of the festival, which runs from early June to early July and features performances of classical compositions for stringed groups (they’re heavy on the Russian Romantic composers). Most performances are in the early evening at scenic Harrigan Centennial Hall, where the stage backdrop is a coastal landscape of ocean and mountains. Six to eight musicians perform at the evening events; there are also lunchtime performances and other events. There are no performances on Mondays and Tuesdays.
