About
Leslie Tomkins, Artistic Director
Michael Barrett, Music Director
The MOAB MUSIC FESTIVAL was founded in 1992 by New York based musicians Michael Barrett, pianist/conductor, and violist Leslie Tomkins. On a rare vacation, they fell in love with the red rocks of Moab, and were inspired to combine the magical landscape with the joys of music-making. “Starting a music festival seemed like the perfect way to make sure we would return again and again,” says Tomkins.
The award-winning Moab Music Festival Festival celebrated its 25th year of music in concert with the landscape™ in 2017, and is noted for its distinctive programming, superb performances, and intimate concert experiences of chamber music, traditional, jazz, and music of living composers. Its star-studded rosters are a venerable who’s who including the likes of Paquito D’Rivera, Bela Fleck, Marcus Roberts, David Amram, Lukas Foss, Ned Rorem and beyond.
MMF presents approximately 20 concerts during the 2 week festival. Concerts are held in a variety of indoor and outdoor venues around Moab, with the Festival’s signature events, the Grotto Concerts, taking place in a pristine wilderness grotto 30 miles down the Colorado River, reached by jet boat. A 3 day / 2 night Musical Raft Trip through Westwater Canyon immediately precedes the Festival, and a 4 day / 3 night Musical Raft Trip through Cataract Canyon immediately follows the Festival.
The Moab Music Festival, from its inception, has been committed to music education and cultural enrichment in the Moab area. The Board and leadership of the festival is passionate about arts education locally and nationwide and works to reach all children in the Grand County Schools annually, providing assemblies with visiting musicians for students during the Festival. Educational experiences for interested music lovers of all ages are also provided at other times of the year through an artist-in-residence program.
Press
Quotes About Moab Music Festival
“The music is gorgeous, the places are gorgeous…you are in a beautiful place hearing the most amazing musicians playing extraordinary music. I’ve never seen or experienced anything like it. This is well worth the hop, skip and jump to Moab, Utah.”
“It’s a perfect way, if not an easy way, of combining music with the land’s ancient beauty.”
“Some say it has the purest acoustics of any concert venue in the world, and it’s right here in Utah. The Colorado River’s “Grotto,” as it’s called, is the centerpiece of the Moab Music Festival. It’s a place where awe comes easy.”
“music for the eyes…and the soul”
“Moab tempts those who enjoy a scenic commute to concerts, including a boat ride to the Colorado River Grotto, where the music-making unfolds against a spectacular backdrop of red-hued rocks.”
“Few Festivals blend the intimacy of the concert hall with the expansive freedom of the outdoors as well as this Utah festival… Moab is a refreshing alternative.”
“this adrenaline-fueled town makes room for a small crowd of classical-music lovers and out-of-town musicians who come here for a series of concerts that explore more subtle extremes of intimacy with nature—and silence. an experience that draws performers and audiences closer together.”
“Moab’s two-weekend celebration offers a sophisticated exhibition of musical talent. Although I don’t know Tchaikovsky from Brahms, the beauty of this festival is that I don’t have to. It’s about what you feel when the music starts, not about what you know. The combination of music – whether its chamber music or jazz ensemble – set against the canyonland background is, in a word, stirring….as a first-timer, I can’t help feeling as if I’ve discovered the keys to some magic kingdom. At dusk sets in, poignant melodies become the soundtrack to a world-class sunset.”
“Sensational Summer Arts Festivals: No other festival offers a chamber music concert in cavernous red rock grotto or a 4-day, 3-night musical raft trip (with daily concerts) along the Colorado River.”
“If climbing, hiking, river-rafting, mountain-biking and the scenery in Arches National Park aren’t enough to draw you to Moab, here’s another reason to visit: three weekends of music…the Moab Music Festival.”
“Every September the Moab Music Festival transforms this town into a mecca of chamber music. With so many summer music festivals now sprinkled across the country, it’s easy for any one presenter to get lost in the crowd. But what attracts audiences to Moab each September is also what makes this series stand out from many of its competitors. For people who have never been to southeastern Utah, “once-in-a-lifetime” is a good way to describe it. And for everyone who loves chamber music, the description is even more apropos. There really isn’t a better place where music and nature can come together so congenially…it’s as if this was always meant to be.”
“In the nine concerts that form the soul of the Moab Music Festival, elitism exists only in the quality of the performances. The concerts… are presented as lively causal affairs that take a refreshing approach to art music”
“Moab tempts those who enjoy a scenic commute to concerts, including a boat ride to the Colorado River Grotto, where the music-making unfolds against a spectacular backdrop of red-hued rocks.”
“Few Festivals blend the intimacy of the concert hall with the expansive freedom of the outdoors as well as this Utah festival… Moab is a refreshing alternative.”
“Moab Music Festival, which takes place in the town of Moab, Utah, wins the title for coolest outdoor fest around.”
“You may have been to some fine musical venues in your lifetime, but until you’ve had sandstone walls serve as your acoustics, you haven’t lived.”
“With its stunning red rocks, the area around Moab is an adventurer’s paradise, attracting hikers, bikers and river rafters to southeastern Utah. But when the summer heat tapers off around Labor Day, the region becomes an extraordinary concert hall for world-class musicians.”
“The Colorado River Benefit Concert, set in a natural grotto, is a once-in-a-lifetime experience. This inspiring event is worth driving great distances to attend.”
“With sandstone walls for acoustics, willows for privacy and river sand for a stage, this outdoor concert of the Moab Music Festival is the hottest ticket of the season”
Articles About Moab Music Festival
Movie and TV icon George Takei will come to Moab on Labor Day weekend, to narrate the world premiere of a chamber-music work inspired by his experience in Japanese American internment camps during World War II. The work, “Lost Freedom: A Memory” by composer Kenji Bunch, will debut Saturday, Sept. 4, at the Red Cliffs Lodge in Moab, as part of the Moab Music Festival, the festival announced Wednesday.
THE MOAB MUSIC FESTIVAL IS PLANNING ON MUSIC, AND SO SHOULD YOU! The Moab Music Festival’s 28th season runs the gamut from new and beloved chamber music to Latin, with Paquito D’Rivera’s Quintet, and jazz, The Manhattan Transfer and The Hot Sardines. MMF Artistic Director and violist, Leslie Tomkins, and pianist and MMF Music Director Michael Barrett have also devised a singular tie-in to the worldwide celebrations of Ludwig van Beethoven’s 250th birthday.
According to the Denver Post, “There are outdoor concerts and then there are concerts in the outdoors. The Moab Music Festival is an event that has perfectly combined music with the surrounding landscape and invites guests to come along for one-of-a-kind performances.”
PBS NewsHour commented “the walls of stone serve as one of the most breathtaking amphitheaters in the world,” about some of the Moab Music Festival’s “venues.”
Living in Aspen, I’ve enjoyed access to a remarkable slate of cultural experiences, but the Moab Music Festival is something else. From the outset, Moab’s striking natural landscape has been a fest hallmark. the purity of sound within the natural amphitheater is nothing short of astonishing. When the audience claps, the gentle noise is like raindrops pitter-pattering onto the desert floor.
The Moab Music Festival is in good company on the New York Times’ list of “Where to Hear Music in 2018.” The only other U.S. city or event to be named on the worldwide list is the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival.
Moab Music Festival Artistic Director Leslie Tomkins talks to Making Music Magazine about all the care taken in selecting the unique outdoor locations, the spectacular acoustics among the red rocks, and overall experience for listeners at of MMF’s concerts.
Moab Music Festival marks 25 years of music among the rocks Another season of “music in concert with the landscape” is opening next week. August 26, 2017 Photo courtesy of: Lynn Johnson By Catheri …
Photos
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Media
Performance Today comes to the Moab Music Festival
Performance Today host Fred Child spent a few days at the 2018 Moab Music Festival. Here are a few words about why "it's well worth the hop, skip, and jump to Moab, Utah" to come to the Festival.
Moab Music Festival Featured on PBS Newshour
https://www.pbs.org/video/moab-music-festival-draws-fans-to-utah-s-ethereal-desert-1540146431/The Moab Music Festival featured on PBS NewsHour
Moab Music Festival Happy New Year Video 2017
A Happy New Year photo montage video from the Moab Music Festival celebrating 25 years of making "music in concert with the landscape.™" Includes moments from the beginning through the present.
Moab Music Festival Concert Experience
See what it's like to go to a Moab Music Festival Concert.
Visit the Moab Music Festival
Promotional video for the Moab Music Festival, 2013.
Moab Music Festival – Musical Raft Trip
Lovers of nature, music and outdoor adventure will find the Festival's 4-day 3-night custom Musical Raft Trip to be the experience of a lifetime.