Mendocino Music Festival
Encyclopedia
The Mendocino Music Festival (MMF) is a diverse concert series held in late July. Started in 1987 by Allan Pollack, Susan Waterfall and Walter Green, the festival is a blend of established music groups invited for nightly performances in the village of Mendocino, California
. Concerts feature the Festival Orchestra, the Big Band, Opera, guest singers, chamber music ensembles, dance, blues, jazz, world, folk, and popular contemporary music. Days include lecture/recitals at the Piano Series, a children's matinee and Petting Zoo, performances from young emerging artists, and chamber concerts at venues throughout Mendocino Village and Fort Bragg, California
.
The Festival symphony orchestra is composed of musicians from the San Francisco Symphony
, San Francisco Opera
orchestra, San Francisco Ballet
orchestra, the Symphony of the Redwoods, and other Bay Area orchestras.
Every year after the 4th of July
, the Mendocino Music Festival erects a 16000 ft2 tent containing a concert hall at a site overlooking the Pacific Ocean at the Mendocino Headlands State Park
. This Symphony-sized tent, seating more than 840 plus seating outside for overflow of another thousand, is adjacent to Ford House Museum Visitor Center and across Main Street from the Kelley House Museum. The MMF office in the Old Bank Building on the corner of Main and Kasten Streets. MMF has developed a large volunteer network of over 200 people that help out at the festival and at year-round events. MMF is a member of the Mendocino Coast Chamber of Commerce, Mendocino Arts Showcase, and Arts Council of Mendocino County. MMF is a charter member in the Mendocino Coast Performance Art Production Alliance (PAPA) where MMF shares storage space, set pieces, costumes, tools, and technical expertise with other local performing arts non-profit organizations including Mendocino Theatre Company, Gloriana Musical Theatre, and the Symphony of the Redwoods.
Mendocino, California
Mendocino is a census-designated place in Mendocino County, California, United States. Mendocino is located south of Fort Bragg, at an elevation of 154 feet...
. Concerts feature the Festival Orchestra, the Big Band, Opera, guest singers, chamber music ensembles, dance, blues, jazz, world, folk, and popular contemporary music. Days include lecture/recitals at the Piano Series, a children's matinee and Petting Zoo, performances from young emerging artists, and chamber concerts at venues throughout Mendocino Village and Fort Bragg, California
Fort Bragg, California
Fort Bragg is a city located in coastal Mendocino County, California along State Route 1, the major north-south highway along the Pacific Coast. Fort Bragg is located west of Willits, at an elevation of 85 feet...
.
The Festival symphony orchestra is composed of musicians from the San Francisco Symphony
San Francisco Symphony
The San Francisco Symphony is an orchestra based in San Francisco, California. Since 1980, the orchestra has performed at the Louise M. Davies Symphony Hall. The San Francisco Symphony Youth Orchestra and the San Francisco Symphony Chorus are part of the organization...
, San Francisco Opera
San Francisco Opera
San Francisco Opera is an American opera company, based in San Francisco, California.It was founded in 1923 by Gaetano Merola and is the second largest opera company in North America...
orchestra, San Francisco Ballet
San Francisco Ballet
The San Francisco Ballet is a ballet company, founded in 1933 as the San Francisco Opera Ballet. The company is currently based in the War Memorial Opera House, San Francisco, under the direction of Helgi Tomasson. SFB is the first professional ballet company in the United States...
orchestra, the Symphony of the Redwoods, and other Bay Area orchestras.
Every year after the 4th of July
Independence Day (United States)
Independence Day, commonly known as the Fourth of July, is a federal holiday in the United States commemorating the adoption of the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776, declaring independence from the Kingdom of Great Britain...
, the Mendocino Music Festival erects a 16000 ft2 tent containing a concert hall at a site overlooking the Pacific Ocean at the Mendocino Headlands State Park
Mendocino Headlands State Park
Mendocino Headlands State Park is a California State Park in Mendocino, California. It consists of of undeveloped seaside bluffs and islets surrounding the town of Mendocino, two beaches , and the much larger Big River Unit stretching for eight miles along both banks of the nearby Big River.The...
. This Symphony-sized tent, seating more than 840 plus seating outside for overflow of another thousand, is adjacent to Ford House Museum Visitor Center and across Main Street from the Kelley House Museum. The MMF office in the Old Bank Building on the corner of Main and Kasten Streets. MMF has developed a large volunteer network of over 200 people that help out at the festival and at year-round events. MMF is a member of the Mendocino Coast Chamber of Commerce, Mendocino Arts Showcase, and Arts Council of Mendocino County. MMF is a charter member in the Mendocino Coast Performance Art Production Alliance (PAPA) where MMF shares storage space, set pieces, costumes, tools, and technical expertise with other local performing arts non-profit organizations including Mendocino Theatre Company, Gloriana Musical Theatre, and the Symphony of the Redwoods.