Performance is an integral part of the education programs offered at the Sun Valley Music Festival’s Music Institute. Students not only prepare for informal departmental recitals but also participate in juried adjudications and regional and state competitions. The academic year culminates with the Institute’s Honors Recital, where students audition for a chance to perform. Usually open to the public, this year’s recital took place on May 1 to a small in-person audience in Hailey, Idaho—the first live audience the education programs have been able to host in over a year. The concert concluded with the Carol Nie Outstanding Music Student Award, where one exceptional student was presented scholarship funds to help them continue their musical pursuits.

Explore the grandeur, complexity, and lively harmonies of one of classical music’s most iconic and profound works, Bach’s Sixth Cello Suite. Although Bach’s suites are now considered by many as the most significant works in the solo cello repertoire, they languished in quiet obscurity for over 150 years. In 1890, cello virtuoso Pablo Casals discovered tattered published copies of the suites at a second-hand shop in Barcelona. His appreciation for them grew as he studied them, leading to his seminal audio recordings in 1936, which paved the way for their current fame.

As part of the Festival @ Home series of broadcasts this December-June, Music Director Alasdair Neale will present a pair of Upbeat with Alasdair talks, broadcast from his home. These presentations offer unique musical insight, previews of upcoming performances, and live Q & A with the virtual audience. Tonight’s talk explores the ways classical music both celebrates and illustrates the human condition.