How it all Began...

The Sitka Summer Music Festival was founded in 1972 when violinist Paul Rosenthal decided, during an early visit to Sitka, that the town would be the perfect place to hold an informal reunion with fellow protegés from the Jascha Heifetz and Gregor Piatigorsky masterclasses. 

At that time, a handful of people from around Alaska contributed just enough money to buy the musicians one-way tickets to Sitka, and just enough people attended the concerts to raise the money for their return flights.  The musicians performed without fee that year in Sitka and have volunteered their talents every year since.

Today, between 18 and 35 talented, professional musicians gather in Sitka each summer from throughout the world for the simple pleasure of making music with friends.  The result is a concert series filled with electrifying performances as magical as the surrounding scenery.

The festival's Autumn Classics and the Winter Classics were begun in 1980 and have been held each year since, now generously endowed by Alaska Airlines, in the intimate setting of Alaska Pacific University's Grant Hall auditorium.  From 10 to 15 extraordinary artists perform during the two series.

In conjunction with the summer and winter series the artists go on tour, performing in communities throughout the state with support from the National Endowment for the Arts.

photo:  Christiaan Bor, Paul Rosenthal and Doris Stevenson in an early Sitka Summer Music Festival.

Alaska Airlines Autumn Classics, September, Anchorage