The Pine Mountain Music Festival Present a History of Opera in the U.P., took place at the Rozsa Center for the Performing Arts on June 22.

Tenor Darrius Morton, soprano Maitri White, and mezzo Lara Neves teamed up with the SSA String Quartet in a lecture-recital that features operatic works that have been performed in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula.

The Pine Mountain Music Festival, or PMMF, produces a season of professional classical music. PMMF has presented a total of thirty-six operas. Three of these were commissioned world premieres: The Children of the Keweenaw (2001), The Diaries of Adam and Eve (2007), and Rockland (2011). The festival has also premiered a new string quartet, the Oday Daywayigun (2010). 

PMMF focuses heavily on education through art, and works with several programs to further musical and historical learning, including the Orchestra Fellowship Program (1994-2007; 2015), the Resident Opera Artist Program (1998-2015), the in-school program OPERAtion Imagination (2002-2014), and UPstarts!, a current program that provides performance opportunities for talented young artists in the Upper Peninsula. On their website, the Pine Mountain Music Festival states, “The Pine Mountain Music Festival is committed to nurturing the artistic vitality and creative spirit of Michigan’s Upper Peninsula through classical music by presenting innovative, inspiring, and inclusive performances, educational programs, and community engagement events.” 

The Pine Mountain Music Festival was created by cellist and member of the orchestra of Lyric Opera of Chicago, Laura Jean Deming, in Iron Mountain, Michigan in 1991. The music festival’s first run consisted mainly of chamber music. The lineup first featured opera in 1992. The festival takes place in mid-June in Houghton, Marquette, and Iron counties.