Think you don’t like Classical Music? The Lake George Music Fest may change your mind

In a popular TV sitcom, patriarch Jay Pritchett accompanies his wife and stepson to a performance of The Four Seasons, only to abandon them at the door when he learns it is Vivaldi, not Frankie Valli. “Oh, crap,” he says, “you mean nothing but instruments? I’m outta here!”

“People have that connotation that classical music can be a little stuffy,” Lake George Music Festival founder Alex Lombard notes in a 2015 interview. “Our concerts are not like that.” The Music Festival returns to Lake George for its 6th season next week, and, as in past years, the scheduled performances may well shatter that stuffy reputation for audiences coming from a pop culture perspective. The Festivals kicks off Tuesday, Aug. 16, with opening ceremonies and fanfare (actual brass fanfare) in Blais Park and continues each day through Aug. 25 when the full Symphony Orchestra presents the Grand Finale performance in the Lake George High School auditorium.

Between the Opening Ceremonies and Grand Finale fireworks, the Lake George Music Festival events will reveal the heights of excitement and drama orchestral music can reach; the possibility for fun and whimsy, the ability to narrate a tale or pull people onto a dance floor found in compositions of “nothing but instruments.” For example, the new Sounds of Our Time series presents classical and pop side-by-side, and then together, to explore the relationship between the two genres. This event, scheduled for Wednesday, Aug. 24 at 8 p.m. in Shepard Park, combines classical and electronic dance music. Definitely not a yawner.

This year’s Children’s Concert features the Story of Babar, based on Jean de Brunhoff’s classic children’s book Histoire De Babar. Through music and narration, the story of the little elephant’s rise to royalty will unfold on the outdoor stage in Shepard Park. The Children’s Concert includes an Instrument Petting Zoo where children are offered a hands-on opportunity to explore musical instruments. The Children’s Concert will be held in Shepard Park Saturday, Aug. 20, 5 – 6 p.m.

Other events include Lake George Music Festival “Uncorked,” a pairing of Adirondack Winery wines with concert music at the historic Lake George Club; a moonlight cruise on the Minne-Ha-Ha with “jamming classical music” and Piano Mania!, a performance by Music Festival pianists at the Tannery Pond Community Center in North Creek.

For more information, a complete schedule of events and directions to the different venues, visit the Lake George Music Festival website.