2026 ANNUAL REPORT
Music Belongs Here
Thirty years of music in the Methow — and what it makes possible.
1,008
Winter Concert and Summer Festival attendees
21
professional musicians
14
States represented in the audience
8
local students paid as festival interns
FROM THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
The music comes first. Artistic excellence is the engine. But look at what grows around it: a room shared by year-round residents, seasonal workers, families, retirees, second-home owners, and visitors; a young person hearing this music for the first time; a local student working alongside a professional artist; neighbors gathering in the quiet of winter.
That is what we mean when we say Music Belongs Here.
— Abbey Bennett, Executive Director · Read the full letter →
WHAT THE YEAR SHOWED
The music
Four Centerstage concerts, 821 attendees, and a first: a full string orchestra in the Valley.
Belonging
347 attendees traveled more than 50 miles; Seattle was the third-largest origin city.
Access
Free youth admission, free open rehearsals, and 187 listeners at the Merc in February.
Vitality
An estimated 907 local lodging nights generated by Festival audiences.
STEWARDSHIP
Three years of positive operating results.
The Festival operates on a budget of roughly $200,000 and closed 2023, 2024, and 2025 with a positive operating result. In 2025 it recorded $209,396 in revenue against $198,668 in expenses. Sixty cents of every dollar spent went directly to concerts, musicians, and production.
The Festival also maintains long-term reserves, including an agency-advised fund at the Community Foundation of North Central Washington and a separate restricted endowment.
A Growing Community of Supporters
THE NEXT THIRTY YEARS
Building the season for Festivals ahead
Alongside the 2027 season, we are strengthening the organization underneath it — building administrative capacity, expanding fundraising and sponsorship, deepening board participation in development, and broadening the donor base — so the music, and everything that grows around it, is carried by a wider and more durable community of support.
Complete financial statements are available on request. Methow Valley Chamber Music Festival is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization · EIN 91-1910063.