Music in the Mountains (MiTM) is an annual summer classical music festival located in

Durango Durango (), officially named Estado Libre y Soberano de Durango ( en, Free and Sovereign State of Durango; Tepehuán: ''Korian''; Nahuatl: ''Tepēhuahcān''), is one of the 31 states which make up the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico, situated in ...

, with additional performances in other regional towns. Performances are held from early July through early August and feature performances by both professional and student artists. The festival was founded by conductor Mischa Semanitzky in 1987 through the support of

Fort Lewis College Fort Lewis College is a public liberal arts college in Durango, Colorado. Because of its unique origins as a military fort turned Indian boarding school turned state public school, FLC follows a 1911 mandate to give qualified Native Americans a ...

, the ''

Durango Herald ''The Durango Herald'' is a newspaper in Durango, Colorado. The first edition of the ''Herald'' came out June 30, 1881. Two years later, the ''Herald'' merged with the ''Record'', which had started publishing in 1880, seven months before the ''H ...

'', Durango Mountain Resort, Morley Ballantine, and the Bank of Colorado. In 2008 Gregory Hustis, principal horn player for the

Dallas Symphony The Dallas Symphony Orchestra (DSO) is an American orchestra based in Dallas, Texas. Its principal performing venue is the Morton H. Meyerson Symphony Center in the Arts District of downtown Dallas. History The orchestra traces its origins to a ...

, succeeded Semanitzky as Artistic Director. In the same season, Guillermo Figueroa, conductor of the

New Mexico Symphony Orchestra The New Mexico Symphony Orchestra (NMSO) was a symphony orchestra in Albuquerque, New Mexico. It operated from 1932 until 2011, when it declared bankruptcy. History The orchestra, originally called the Albuquerque Civic Symphony, was organized by ...

, became the festival's resident conductor and music director. Founded in 1997, Conservatory Music in the Mountains offers intensive workshops for student musicians during the summer festival, in conjunction with the New Conservatory of Dallas in Dallas, Texas, and under the direction of Arkady Fomin, a violinist for the

. Members of the Dallas Symphony were important in beginning the festival, and Music in the Mountains maintains strong ties to the Dallas music community. Music in the Mountains is active in the Durango community during the off-season, operating, among other things, Music in the Mountains Goes to School, a program which exposes children in the Durango schools to music through a variety of means. Starting in 2019 and after 32 years of performances, the orchestra concerts were moved from

Purgatory Resort Purgatory Resort is a ski resort located in the San Juan Mountains of Southwest Colorado, 25 miles (42 km) north of the town of Durango. Established in 1965, Purgatory offers 105 trails, including 5 terrain parks, over 1,500 skiable acres, ...

's Festival Tent to Fort Lewis College Community Concert Hall.

References

External links

Official Website of Music in the Mountains
Classical music festivals in the United States Music festivals in Colorado Tourist attractions in La Plata County, Colorado Tourist attractions in Archuleta County, Colorado Durango, Colorado {{Music-festival-stub