Glacier Symphony scores a success with Festival Amadeus
Published: September 30, 2008
This summer, the Glacier Symphony and Chorale took a leap of faith and created a weeklong musical event called Festival Amadeus, held Aug. 4-9 in Whitefish. It was a risky step for the 25-year-old music organization, especially with the country in the midst of an economic downturn and the tourism industry compromised by elevated gas prices.
The festival was a long-time ambition of John Zoltek, GSC's music director for the past 11 years. He was convinced that the community was ripe for a high-quality classical music festival, one that would feature both regional and national artists as well some of the bright rising stars of the classical music scene.
“I had a very strong intuition that it was the perfect time to implement a festival of chamber and orchestral music focusing on the music of Mozart and other classical composers," he said. "Even two months later I’m still excited and extremely pleased by the success of our first Festival Amadeus.”
Organizers hoped that the festival would draw about 1,800 people over its six-day run, based on average attendance figures of Glacier Symphony and Chorale concerts. But in actuality, 2,306 seats were filled, steadily growing from the festival’s opening performance, featuring the GSC's brass quintet at a free picnic, and culminating in a standing-room-only crowd at Saturday's final concert.
"I was very touched by the impassioned audience response for the festival. Many attended every single concert,” says Zoltek.
Adding another dimension to the festival was a youth chamber strings camp, sponsored by the North Valley Music School of Whitefish. Youngsters had the privilege of sitting in with guest musicians during open rehearsals as well as demonstrations and discussions about their chosen instrument. The collaboration proved beneficial, as it was a rare opportunity to have high-caliber musicians perform and teach at the same event.
Organizing for the festival began nearly a year in advance, and much of its success is attributed to the volunteers and community leaders who believed in it and provided support both financially and by word-of-mouth.
Corporate sponsorships made up 26 percent of funding for the festival; 10 percent of costs were covered by in-kind donations of businesses and individuals and sales of merchandise; and the GSC covered another 20 percent of costs through its operating budget.
A seed grant from the State of Montana's Accommodations Tax Fund, or bed-tax revenue, amounted to about 16 percent of festival funding and provided initial marketing revenue to advertise to potential attendees outside the region and state.
Sale of tickets and passes provided another 28 percent of the event revenue, and those patrons expressed their delight at the caliber of musicianship and the quality of the performances. The most commonly heard comment in the lobby each night was "Wow!" and "are you going to do this festival again next year?"
Indeed, the Glacier Symphony and Chorale plans to repeat Festival Amadeus Aug. 3-8, 2009.
"As I begin planning the next festival, I am both inspired and humbled by the wonderful opportunity created by all those supportive individuals who are fundamental to the success of this cultural endeavor,” says Zoltek. “We are indeed at the beginning of a truly remarkable Montana musical tradition.”
“We were taking a bit of gamble, not knowing just how well the community would receive a weeklong classical music festival,” says Alan Satterlee, executive director of the GSC. “We are thrilled at the success … We had visitors from as far as France and the Netherlands who modified trip plans to attend.”
GSC hopes to build Festival Amadeus “into a premier destination event," he adds.
