Grand Canyon 31st Music Festival in Full Swing

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What could be better? A weekend exploring the awe-inspiring Grand Canyon National Park topped off with awe-inspiring music.

You’re in luck because over the next few days, some of the country’s most talented musicians are visiting the Grand Canyon South Rim for the 31st annual Grand Canyon Music Festival.

Perhaps you were at the South Rim to see and hear the trio BRIM kick off the super fun festival on Aug.22 and Aug.23 at Shrine of the Ages.

Still ahead, on Friday, Aug. 29 and Saturday, Aug. 30 at 7:30 p.m. at Shrine of the Ages, ETHEL, country’s premier post-classical string quartet, will take center stage and wow the audience for their tenth and final season as Grand Canyon Music Festival ensemble-in-residence. ETHEL, along with guest musician James Bilagody, will perform works by Dan Friel, John King, Philip Glass, Marcelo Zarvos and a new piece by Raven Chacon.

The Catalyst String Quartet comprised of top Laureates and alumni of the internationally acclaimed Sphinx Competition will close the 31st season on Sept. 5 and Sept. 6 at 7:30 p.m. at Shrine of Ages. The popular group will perform works by Antonín Dvořák, Glenn Gould, Bedrich Smetana, Jessie Montgomery, and its own arrangement of Johann Sebastian Bach’s monumental Goldberg Variations.

Admission to the Grand Canyon Music Festival season concerts is $15 for adults and $8 for children (age 6 and older) and students. For more information call (928) 638-9215 or visit www.grandcanyonmusicfest.org.

For those who can’t make it to the Grand Canyon but still want to enjoy the Grand Canyon Music Festival, the Native American Composer Apprentice Project (NACAP) is coming to the Heard Museum in Phoenix on Tuesday, Sept. 2 at 5:30 p.m. Tickets are $10 and are sold at the door.

The Native American Composers Apprentice Project (NACAP) trains Native American students in the art of composition. The project supports musical literacy while boosting critical thinking and decision making skills through music composition. Also, students have an opportunity to explore European “classical” music techniques as well as gain an understanding of their own musical heritages and how to use that knowledge to expand their own compositional voices.