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Banjo virtuoso Bela Fleck will be a featured performer this September for the 20th annual Moab Music Festival, a celebration of chamber music in all of its varied forms among the red rocks in and near Moab, Canyonlands and Arches National Park.
This anniversary season includes the performance of a new version of a seldom-seen Leonard Bernstein opera directed by his daughter Jamie Bernstein, a frequent Festival artist.
The first of three Grotto Concerts, the Festival's signature event, will be on Thursday, August 30.
Festival Opening Night will be Friday, August 31, at 7 p.m., for an evening featuring J.S. Bach's Concerto in F minor, BWV 1056 for keyboard and strings, Arnold Bax's Octet for horn, 2 violins, 2 violas, cello, double bass & piano, and Brahms' Sextet in B flat Major, Op. 18 for 2 violins, 2 violas & 2 cellos. On Sunday, September 2 at 6 p.m., at the Festival tent at Red Cliffs Adventure Lodge, Fleck and the jazz wizards of the Marcus Roberts Trio will provide a melding of musical traditions as you catch a sunset between flaming red rock cliffs over the Colorado River.
For more information about the fest, go to http://www.moabmusicfest.org/ The fest runs from Aug. 30 to Sept. 12.