Colorado MahlerFest

Now in it's 40th year, Colorado MahlerFest is led by Artistic Director Kenneth Woods, the world-class conductor of the English Symphony Orchestra. In addition to multiple concerts at venues throughout Boulder, the five-day festival features lectures, a film, a play, open rehearsals, a hike, dinners, and other social activities.

Under the leadership of an inspiring team of Festival Artists – our principal players from top orchestras across the country – The Colorado MahlerFest Orchestra draws together young professionals, conservatory and university students, and advanced amateurs to create an ensemble that blends aspiration and inspiration. 

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MahlerFest 40
Visionaries
May 19-23, 2027

“Try to imagine the whole universe beginning to ring and resound. There are no longer human voices, but planets and suns revolving.” 
 -Gustav Mahler describing his Eighth Symphony

For our 40th Anniversary festival, Colorado MahlerFest celebrates the life, legacy, and music of Mahler the Visionary.

Of all Mahler’s works, his monumental Eighth Symphony is the work in which Mahler’s transcendent vision is most fully realized. In this epic, redemptive work, the earth roars, the heavens cry out, children laugh, and impossible journeys are realized. 

We celebrate the mystics, the dreamers, the visionaries.
The artists who accomplish the indescribable.

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Mahler's music portrays stories that are easy for anyone to understand and relate to in a deep and profound way. He illuminates our shared human experience and reminds us of how deepely we are all connected to each other. 

Attend open rehearsals, watch a scholarly presentation, join the discussion over dinner, talk to the conductor or a musician before or after a performance - we welcome you to become part of MahlerFest. 

“Kenneth Woods conducts a very fine and exciting account of ‘Resurrection’ and his musicians respond to his galvanising and idiomatic direction with great skill and commitment.”
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“Woods’s reading of the Mahler symphony was both spacious and sharply detailed. Of his 94 players, the vast majority are Mahlerfest regulars. They come from as far away as New York and Texas, Canada and Korea. They relish this composer’s sweet portamentos and prickly dynamics. They also manifest a rare degree of pride and engagement.”
Why Colorado Mahlerfest Matters