The Bozeman Symphony Orchestra is proud to support our Community each year by:

• Providing Far Afield, our highly accessible community educational outreach program, which provides free live classical performances to the rural hamlets and communities in south-central Montana
• Donating thousands of dollars’ worth of tickets to local nonprofits
• Awarding scholarships to promising high school and university musicians
• Presenting a FREE educational concert for 4th grade students
• Presenting two FREE educational family concerts each Concert Season
• Partnering with the Gallatin Empire Lions Club from 2011-2017 to provide the FREE Festival of the Fourth Concert and Fireworks show for south-central Montanan’s
• Presenting three “Symphony at the Shane” ensemble concerts in Livingston as part of our outreach program
• Offering affordable RUSH tickets to increase access to performances
• Providing employment and engagement opportunities to nearly three hundred people
• Offering Family Passes to families so that young children can experience live classical music
• Offering a Treats for Tickets program so that elementary school classes can attend a dress rehearsal and visit with musicians and guest artists

BOZEMAN SYMPHONY FAR AFIELD

The Far Afield program, established in 1992, takes Bozeman Symphony chamber ensembles to rural communities to present free performances and share their musical perspectives. Far Afield enables the audience to see, hear and feel the music being created live instead of through the media of television or radio.
 
The Bozeman Symphony is proud to bring the Far Afield outreach program to south-central Montana, offering rural schools and communities the opportunity to schedule one of our free Far Afield Ensembles to perform for your school or community.  If you are interested in booking a Far Afield ensemble, please fill out the booking request form and return to our office or email it to Events & Community Engagement Manager Maia Thielen, at maia@bozemansymphony.org.  Due to limited funding for the program, we offer performances on a first-come, first-served basis.
Please call 585-9774 with questions.

Far Afield Brochure
Far Afield Booking Request Form

Far Afield Groups:

Bel Canto
The Bel Canto ensemble is comprised of eight women from the Bozeman Symphonic Choir, accompanied by Alison Todd. With the versatility of voice and numerous personnel combinations, this group offers a wide variety of repertoire, from Baroque to Popular Favorites.  

Bozeman Trail Chamber Players
An exciting ensemble, the Bozeman Trail Chamber Players joined the Far Afield roster in 2015.  This season the BTCP features four experienced performers playing oboe/English horn, saxophones/bassoon, cello, and marimba/vibes/percussion.  Drawing from both a rich chamber music repertoire and brand-new music, the ensemble presents music ranging from the Renaissance and the majesty of the High Baroque, to original new compositions, as well as jazz-influenced works.  The performers are Alan Leech, Sandra Stimson, Chandra Lind and Jeff Vick.  You will be delighted at the variety and virtuosity in each program

Bobcat Brass Trio 
The Bobcat Brass Trio - Sarah Stoneback (trumpet), Mike Nelson (horn), and Jeannie Little (trombone) - are three of the principal brass musicians in the Bozeman Symphony. They are also the trumpet, horn and trombone professors at the Montana State University School of Music. Formed in 2017, this chamber ensemble presents a wide range of repertoire, from new music to the classics, works written specifically for the unique trio instrumentation, as well as works adapted from other settings. These consummate musicians bring to brass trio music a fantastic and innovative perspective in performance. But equally important to the Bobcat Brass Trio are their outreach educational performances, where they emphasize music as a lifestyle. Catch a performance by this group, and you will hear exquisite and exciting works from Poulenc to Plog. With each presentation, the trio will entertain, educate and inspire. Enjoy!
 
Emerald & Heather
Violinist Carrie Krause, and cellist Julia Cory Slovarp bring specialized skills to baroque repertoire, as well as a love of folk and classical tunes. 

PercOrchestra
One of the longest-running Far Afield ensembles, PercOrchestra performs a wide range of literature including: contemporary marimba ensembles, percussion ensembles, ragtime and world music. Our engagements have included educational performances for students in grades K-12, community concerts, special events, recitals and workshops.
Members of the PercOrchestra are Mark Brown, Kristofer Olsen, Stephen Versaevel & Jeff Vick.

Slidewinders
The Bozeman Symphony Slidewinders is a dynamic new group in the Bozeman music community. Its members include the four trombones of the Bozeman Symphony trombone section. Their repertoire includes both original works for trombone quartet and transcriptions with styles ranging from classical to ragtime, jazz and more. Performances are a fun combination of education and entertainment. If you’ve ever wondered what four trombones sound like together, you owe it yourself to come find out! The members of the Slidewinders quartet include Jeannie Little, Eliese Besemer and Virginia Bratton, tenor trombones and Andrew Scruggs, bass trombone.  Available in 2019 only.

Wellness Through Music
Have you ever meditated to the sound of singing bowls? Or done yoga poses while singing or chanting? How about listening to spontaneous improvisation for clarinet, cello, soprano and singing bowls? This innovative quintet combines a variety of mindfulness techniques to explore connections between physical/mental well-being and music. Audiences will have the chance to participate, ask questions, give comments, request different types of improvisation, etc., or just listen. We’ll also throw in a few classics like Beethoven and Faure for good measure, so to speak.