News & Media
2026 Season Highlights
August 23, 2026
INSPIRING ARTISTS, INSPIRED PERFORMANCES We were honored to welcome our exceptional faculty and guest artists to Brunswick for six weeks of inspiring performances and collaborations.
Times Record Review: Extending the Spell
July 28, 2026
By the time we rose to applaud the Shanghai Quartet’s playing of Dvorák’s “American String Quartet No. 12,” we were one. Three hundred listeners of ages 5–95 stood in a swell of appreciation that we hoped washed over the quartet, who bowed and stood smiling slightly. The stage must have been a whirl of hand and voice sound.
Star Cellist Zlatomir Fung Returns
July 14, 2026
The youngest musician ever to win first prize at the International Tchaikovsky Competition Cello Division will play the composer’s ‘Variations on a Rococo Theme, Op. 33’ with the orchestra on Friday.
Times Record Review: Bartók is Reborn
July 9, 2026
On July 1, some 250 people filed into Bowdoin College’s Studzinski Hall for an evening of music, one of many on offer from the Bowdoin International Music Festival and its staff and students. Many of us wait all year for this extraordinary six-week span of notes floating, and sometimes rioting, through the air. The air truly is alive with music.
Times Record: Lysander Piano Trio
July 2, 2026
Next up in the Bowdoin International Music Festival is the Lysander Piano Trio at 7:30 p.m. Monday, July 6, at Studzinski Recital Hall at 12 Campus Road in Brunswick. Itamar Zorman on violin, James Kim on cello and Liza Stepanova on piano make up the trio recognized for its imaginative programming and engaging performances.
Press Herald: Festival Keeps the Creative Lights Shining
June 24, 2026
Since its inception in the 1960s, the Bowdoin International Music Festival has grown into an inspiring event, both for classical music students (280 this year) and professional musicians from around the world. For local classical music fans, it represents a fantastic opportunity to visit the Bowdoin College campus for chamber concerts full of traditional an ...
Press Herald: Maine Classical Music
May 6, 2026
As the weather in Maine warms up, so do the artistic performers. Dancers are rehearsing, actors are running lines and musicians practicing their scales. The summer arts season in Maine is always a bounty for the eyes, ears and soul. Here are some highlights from the state’s many theaters, performance spaces, musical venues and festivals to help you plan yo ...
Chamber Music Magazine: Songs of Summer
April 27, 2026
For chamber musicians, educators, and listeners, summertime means festivals and institutes. Fresh repertoire and new collaborators, as well as familiar faces, places, and pieces. A chance to reflect on how and why we make music, to find one’s own voice, and to reinvigorate an art form together. Here are three among the many such programs across this countr ...
Fellowship Program: Apply by January 20
January 13, 2026
The Festival's Fellowship Program application deadline is approaching on January 20, 2026 at 11:59 PST. Our Fellowship Program offers a unique, intensive, and customizable six-week experience for advanced musicians (age 21+) at the beginning stages of their professional careers. Fellows grow through outstanding solo and chamber instruction, collaboration ...
Applications Open for Summer 2026
November 1, 2025
The Bowdoin International Music Festival invites emerging artists from around the world to our immersive summer institute in Brunswick, Maine, June 27 – August 8, 2026. Each summer, 275 students work closely with 80 distinguished faculty and guest artists representing more than 20 leading conservatories for an intensive and in-depth exploration of solo and ...