Ryan Dudenbostel hosts virtual pre-concert talks for Bellingham Festival of Music

Ryan Dudenbostel, Western's Director of Orchestral Studies, will host a series of virtual pre-concert talks for the prestigious annual Bellingham Festival of Music's 2022 season.

The Festival’s pre-concert talks have always been a popular event, enhancing concert-goers' enjoyment of a concert by giving them a deeper understanding of the program, taking them inside the inner workings of the music to be performed.

In 2021, Dudenbostel - an engaging classical music advocate - converted his usually-live conversations to the video. The talks offer patrons a chance to watch pre-concert talks the week before attending a live concert.

His inspiring and illuminating pre-concert talks will be posted on the Bellingham Festival of Music website.

Dudenbostel is Director of Orchestral Studies at Western Washington University, where he conducts the Symphony Orchestra, coordinates the graduate program, and directs the contemporary music ensemble NowHearThis!

Previously, he was Music Director of the El Sistema-based Santa Monica Youth Orchestra in Los Angeles. Dudenbostel recently served as Interim Artistic Director of the Marrowstone Music Festival, and regularly returns to Los Angeles for concerts with the Jacaranda new music series.

Schedule of Talks

• FRIDAY, JULY 1, 2022, 7:00 PM - "What is hunting music and why are contemporary works important?"
• SATURDAY, JULY 2, 2022, 7:00 PM - "Beethoven the revolutionary."
• FRIDAY, JULY 8, 2022, 7:00 PM - "Who was Franz Schubert?"
• TUESDAY, JULY 12, 2022, 7:00 PM - "The art of the Lied."
• FRIDAY, JULY 15, 2022, 7:00 PM - "Beethoven the virtuoso."
• SATURDAY, JULY 16, 2022, 7:00 PM - "Is Beethoven's deafness encoded in his music?"
• SUNDAY, JULY 17, 2022, 7:00 PM - "Beethoven and the expansion of form."
• SUNDAY, JULY 24, 2022, 7:00 PM - "Beethoven's Ninth Symphony."