The New York Philharmonic’s first summer residency at the Bravo! Vail Valley Music Festival, in 2003, provided a huge boost to the event’s national profile.
The famed orchestra has returned each summer since, and it has just agreed to a three-year extension of its contract with the festival, keeping the ensemble coming back to Vail through 2014.
“It’s a cornerstone of the festival now,” John Giovando, Bravo’s executive director, said of the philharmonic’s annual Vail stay. “The musicians love it, we love it and our audience loves it.”
In 2011, the orchestra’s Vail residency will run from July 22 through 29. Music director Alan Gilbert will lead concerts on July 22, 23 and 24 and guest conductors will pick up the baton for three additional performances.
The contracts of the festival’s two other symphonic mainstays — the Dallas Symphony and Philadelphia Orchestra — currently run through 2012. This summer’s Dallas residency is set for June 29-July 6 and Philadelphia will be in Vail July 8-July 16.
