All Events
Free Talks, Workshops, Previews and more!
Lectures, pre-performance conversations, workshops, preview performances, open rehearsals, artist round tables and more!
2017: May 7 - Jun 24
Learn more
2017 Princeton Festival Gala
Cocktails, dinner, auction, entertainment, and dancing with the Courtney Colletti Band! For more information and prices, contact [email protected]
2017: Apr 22 @ 6 pm
Learn more
Sing Spring!
A pre-season party on Saturday May 20th from 4-6 pm to celebrate our 2017 season
2017: May 20 @ 4 pm
Learn more
Musical Theater: Man of La Mancha
The Man of La Mancha’s dream is Everyman’s dream. His tilting at windmills is Everyman’s great adventure. Somehow, the footlights disappear, time is telescoped and the Man of La Mancha speaks for humankind.
2017: Jun 10, 15, 16, 17, 22, 23, 24 @ 8 pm; Jun 11, 18, 25 @ 4 pm; Jun 24 @ 3 pm
Learn more
Opera: Fidelio
The glorious and moving music of Beethoven’s opera Fidelio propels a stirring tale of love, heroism, and the fight for liberty against tyranny.
2017: Jun 18 @ 3 pm, Jun 25 @ 3 pm
Learn more
Chamber Music: Concordia Chamber Players
Brilliant performers, intriguing programming: Kernis, Beethoven, R. Strauss. Concordia returns to The Princeton Festival for the 13th consecutive year.
2017: Jun 3 @ 7:30 pm
Learn more
Quartet²: Film & Performance
“Quartet” film screening, followed by a live performance by Princeton Festival artists of quartets and more.
2017: Jun 4 @ 4 pm
Learn more
Pops Orchestra with Film
The Princeton Pops Orchestra performs music from The Little Mermaid, Mary Poppins, Frozen, and other favorite Disney films while scenes from the movies appear on a big screen. Fun for the whole family!
2017: Jun 9 @ 8 pm
Learn more
Orchestra: Princeton Festival Baroque Orchestra
Concertmaster Juan Carlos Zamudio leads the Princeton Festival Baroque Orchestra in two concerts on period instruments.
2017: Jun 17 @ 4 pm; Jun 21 @ 7:30 pm
Learn more
Jazz: Peter Martin Trio
Peter Martin is the go-to pianist, arranger, and music director for jazz stars like Dianne Reeves, Chris Botti, and Wynton Marsalis. His superstar trio makes its New Jersey debut in this Princeton Festival performance.
2017: Jun 17 @ 8 pm
Learn more
Dance: BalletX
Philadelphia’s premier contemporary ballet company, with a focus on “new works of athleticism, emotion and grace”
2017: Jun 24 @ 8 pm
Learn more
Choral Concert with Baroque Orchestra
The Festival Chorus and Festival Baroque Orchestra perform works by Handel, Vivaldi, Monteverdi, and Zelenka under the batons of conductors from the Choral Conducting Master Class.
2017: Jun 24 @ 5 pm
Learn more
Piano Competition & Finals
Pianists ages 6-24 compete for trophies and cash prizes. Application Deadline: May 1, 2017. Preliminary Rounds: Saturday June 3, 9:45am-2pm & Sunday June 4, 9am-3pm, free and open to the public. Final Round: Sunday, June 11 at 3pm, tickets required.
2017: Jun 3 @ 9:45 am, Jun 4 @ 9 am, Jun 11 @ 3 pm
Learn more
Conducting Master Class
This 7-day professional conducting master class is open by application to conductors and auditors.
2017: Master Class Jun 18-24; concert Jun 24 @ 5 pm
Learn more
Family Film: Beethoven Lives Upstairs
Charming introduction to Beethoven for children ages 6 and up. Running time 52 min. Free and open to the public.
2017: May 7 @ 2 pm
Learn more
Presentation: Meet Beethoven
One-man living history show on the times of Beethoven for children ages 10 and up. Free and open to the public.
2017: May 13 @ 1 pm
Learn more
Lecture: What’s BAROQUE About Baroque Music?
Early Music musician and specialist John Burkhalter III discusses Baroque music and instruments. Free and open to the public.
2017: May 25 @ 7 pm
Learn more
Artists’ Round Table
Opera artists and production staff discuss the pleasures and perils faced on stage and off as they bring the opera to life. Free and open to the public.
2017: May 31 @ 6:30 pm
Learn more
A-TEAM Art Exhibit
Paintings by A-TEAM artists, affiliated with the Trenton Area Soup Kitchen, and ArtSpace Artists of HomeFront will be displayed for sale at Thomas Sweet Cafe, Route 206N, Skillman, NJ.
2017: Jun 1 - 30
Learn more
Lecture: Leonore, a New Kind of Heroine
Popular lecturer Marianne Grey discusses Fidelio’s Leonore as a trailblazer for women in Beethoven’s time. Free and open to the public.
2017: Jun 1 @ 7:30 pm, Jun 14 @ 7 pm
Learn more
Discussion: Opera and the Movies
Panel discussion by three experts on music and film preceding Quartet^2 film & performance.
2017: Jun 4 @ 3 pm
Learn more
Lecture: Don Quixote and the Transformation of Others
Yale professor Roberto González Echevarría discusses Cervantes’ Don Quijote. Free and open to the public.
2017: Jun 6 @ 7 pm
Learn more
2017 Opera Workshop: Music That Tells a Story
Registrants will attend a two-hour opera workshop and the final dress rehearsal performance of Ludwig van Beethoven’s Fidelio with a backstage tour.
2017: Jun 7 @ 6:30 pm or Jun 10 @ 10 am or Jun 14 @ 6:30 pm; Jun 16 @ 5:30 pm
Learn more
Festival Preview
Singers perform and directors discuss June 2017 productions of Fidelio and Man of La Mancha. Free and open to the public.
2017: Jun 8 @ 7 pm
Learn more
Lecture: Rescued by Beethoven’s Fidelio
Professor Timothy Urban discusses the music and plot of Beethoven’s “Rescue Opera” Fidelio. Free and open to the public.
2017: Jun 14 @ 7 pm, Jun 15 @ 7:30 pm
Learn more
Lecture: On the Heroic in Beethoven’s Fidelio
Princeton Professor emeritus Scott Burnham discusses modes of heroism in Beethoven’s opera Fidelio. Free and open to the public.
2017: Jun 13 @ 7 pm
Learn more
Movie at the Library: Tosca’s Kiss
The music documentary Tosca’s Kiss, upon which the film Quartet was based, will be shown in partnership with the Princeton Public Library. Free and open to the public.
2017: Jun 21 @ 7 pm
Learn more
Pre-Performance Talk: BalletX
BalletX Artistic Director Christine Cox discusses the mission and creative process of Philadelphia’s premier contemporary ballet company.
2017: Jun 24 @ 7 pm
Learn more
Free Talks, Workshops, Previews and more!
Lectures, pre-performance conversations, workshops, preview performances, open rehearsals, artist round tables and more!
June 1 - 18
Learn more
Wine Tasting at the Castle
Wines from CoolVines, light fare, and entertainment by Jessica Medoff, who wowed audiences as Desirée in A Little Night Music.
Oct 15 @ 4-6pm
Learn more
2016 Piano Competition
Pianists ages 6-24 compete for trophies and cash prizes. Application Deadline: May 2, 2016. Preliminary Rounds: Saturday June 4 & Sunday June 5, 9am-3:30pm, free and open to the public. Final Round: Sunday, June 12 at 3pm, tickets required.
Jun 4 @ 9 am, Jun 5 @ 9 am, Jun 12 @ 3 pm
Learn more
A Cappella Vocal Jazz
A cappella jazz is one of the most popular events in the Festival lineup. This year we proudly present two groups performing a varied program of vocal jazz arrangements from the 1950’s to the 1990’s and beyond: The Fonic and Break from Blue Collar.
Jun 4 @ 8 pm
Learn more
Special Event: “Six by Sondheim” movie
“Six by Sondheim” film screening and discussion lead by Princeton professor Stacy Wolf. Presented in partnership with The Princeton Public Library and The Princeton Garden Theatre.
Jun 6 @ 6 pm
Learn more
Oratorio & Film: Voices of Light
The Princeton Festival, in partnership with the Princeton Symphony Orchestra and the Princeton Garden Theatre, presents Richard Einhorn’s triumphant oratorio Voices of Light with Carl Dreyer’s legendary 1928 film The Passion of Joan of Arc.
Jun 9 @ 8:30 pm
Learn more
Chamber Music: Concordia Chamber Players
Nicholas Phan, tenor, David Jolley, horn, Yoon Kwon, violin, Michelle Djokic, violoncello, and Orion Weiss, piano, perform works of Benjamin Britten, Arnold Bax, and Johannes Brahms.
Jun 10 @ 7:30 pm
Learn more
Musical Theater: A Little Night Music
* SOLD OUT * Husbands, wives, and lovers gather for “A Weekend in the Country” where they explore new romances and second chances. A Little Night Music is full of hilarious, witty, moving moments of adoration, regret and desire. “Send in the Clowns” is just one highlight.
Jun 11, 16, 17, 18, 23, 24, 25 @ 8 pm; Jun 12, 19, 26 @ 4 pm
Learn more
Opera: Peter Grimes
Magnificent music, gripping drama, and believable characters: Benjamin Britten’s opera Peter Grimes tells the story of a conflicted dreamer vying against a village that rejects and persecutes him.
Jun 18 @ 8 pm, Jun 23 @ 7:30 pm, Jun 26 @ 3 pm
Learn more
Organ Recital: Kristiaan Seynhave
Belgian virtuoso Kristiaan Seynhave will play a recital of music by French composers César Franck and Charles-Marie Widor on the magnificent Mander pipe organ in Princeton University Chapel.
Jun 19 @ 3 pm
Learn more
Jazz: Cécile McLorin Salvant
Jazz vocalist Cécile McLorin Salvant has dazzled audiences around the world with her expressive style and masterful vocal technique, already garnering two Grammy nominations at age 26.
Jun 19 @ 7 pm
Learn more
Orchestra: Princeton Festival Baroque Orchestra
Concertmaster Juan Carlos Zamudio leads the Princeton Festival Baroque Orchestra on period instruments.
Jun 22 @ 7:30 pm
Learn more
2016 Conducting Master Class
This 8-day professional conducting master class is open to conductors and auditors by application.
Jun 18 @ 9 am to Jun 25 @ 5 pm
Learn more
Choral Concert with Baroque Orchestra
The Festival Chorus and Festival Baroque Orchestra perform Bach Cantatas under the batons of conductors from the Choral Conducting Master Class.
Jun 25 @ 5 pm
Learn more
Dance: Complexions Contemporary Ballet
Complexions’ unprecedented approach to contemporary ballet makes it “sensationally, jaw-droppingly clear that we live in the age of the super dancer, at a time when technical virtuosity is being redefined as an expressive state.”
Jun 25 @ 8 pm
Learn more
Artists Round Table
Opera artists and production staff discuss the pleasures and perils faced on stage and off as they bring the opera to life. Free and open to the public.
Jun 1 @ 6:30 pm
Learn more
Festival Preview
Singers from the opera and musical will perform scenes from Peter Grimes and A Little Night Music. Free and open to the public.
Jun 2 @ 7 pm
Learn more
Lecture: Peter Grimes vs. The Masses
Professor Timothy Urban discusses what makes Peter Grimes a masterpiece of contemporary opera. Free and open to the public.
Jun 4 @ 2 pm, Jun 14 @ 7 pm
Learn more
Lecture: Peter Grimes and Ellen Orford: Musical Relations – Apocalyptic Outcomes
Professor Stephen Allen, an international authority on Britten, reveals Britten’s musical methods used in Peter Grimes.
Jun 7 @ 7 pm
Learn more
A Conversation on “Voices of Light / The Passion of Joan of Arc”
Richard Einhorn will speak about the genesis of the work in a conversation with Professors Lovett and Hobbins on composing for film and the trial of Joan of Arc. Free and open to the public.
Jun 9 @ 5pm
Learn more
Lecture: The Enduring Tale of Peter Grimes
Marianne Grey, a popular lecturer on art and its relation to history, will illustrate how WWII changed the arts of the mid 20th century through literary and artistic examples.
Jun 16 @ 7 pm, Jun 22 @ 7 pm
Learn more
Lecture: Meeting Peter Grimes
Princeton Professor Scott Burnham introduces Britten newcomers to the special qualities of Peter Grimes. Free and open to the public.
