Seattle’s First Classical Music Festival Draws in Hundreds
- 5 hours ago
- 5 min read
By Claire Kroman
On Seattle’s World Cup matchdays, finding solace in the hustle and bustle of soccer fans is a challenge, especially surrounding the city’s host of outdoor watch party spaces such as the Seattle Center.
However, on July 5, 2026, in the midst of an afternoon match between Brazil and Norway, the delicate sound of classical music provided refuge to people attending Seattle Center Classical on the same campus.
The event, hosted by Classical KING, was Seattle’s first free, outdoor, classical-music-oriented festival, showcasing the genre and helping to increase accessibility to the city’s local arts scene. The event brought together performers, arts partners, and Seattlelites under the shooting geysers of the International Fountain.
Classical KING F-M is managed by Classic Radio and largely serves the Pacific Northwest region, ranking among the top five most popular radio programs within the Seattle-Tacoma area, per Classical King’s website.
Scott Kovacs, one of the leaders of Seattle’s Greater Choral Consortium, explained, “This is touching grass. I mean literally touching grass, but it's also touching grass in a way that puts us in contact with something that enriches and enlightens and entertains all at the same time.
“The more often we can have contact with that, the more often we build up a resiliency to the woes and throws of life. It gives us a way to connect with our own inner creative person and our own inner creative soul.”
Rob Wiseman, who was named CEO of Classical King earlier this year, was also in attendance. On the open nature of the event, Wiseman commented, “This event is from 12 to 6, so we've seen different crowds come in… some people very intentionally were coming to see one group at a specific time, and other folks just sort of were strolling by and decided to take a seat. And I love that; you're serving all kinds of people who are relating to it in different ways and finding however they want to connect with the music.”
“One of the things that Classical King is really proud of is we have over 150 classical music partner organizations that we work with every year,” said Wiseman. “So there's a ton of music-making happening in the Puget Sound region, and there's so many people and so many great artists and organizations that can be showcased…I think there's a lot of potential for future years [of this event].”
Festivalgoers were invited to bring lawn blankets and picnic lunches to enjoy live performances in a more casual setting. Each set was played on the Seattle Chamber Music Society’s “Concert Truck,” a portable stage that expands out to create a space large enough for multiple musicians to perform from, but still packs up at the end of the day.
Performers such as Ray Davis of the Seattle Symphony and members of the Seattle Opera’s cast of “Pirates of Penzance” played on the top of each hour, punctuated by spells of recorded classical hits that played over speakers. Musicians played the likes of “West Side Story,” Stephen Sondheim, John Philip Sousa, Bach, and George Gershwin.
“The collaborative spirit of bringing these groups together shows that we have such a vibrant cultural community in the Seattle area,” Kovacs said. “And having a moment where it all comes together and meets in one place for a day of celebrating what we do is powerful. It's a powerful way to celebrate the art that gives us life.”
Lawn chairs and blankets sprawled outward from the stage, and at peak moments, reached the edge of the fountain. Interspersed throughout the crowd were Classical KING employees answering questions and advertising the sustaining member program through the radio, while QR codes on signs led to the afternoon’s setlist and event FAQs.
Tents surrounding the perimeter of the lawn featured a number of Classical KING’s arts partners, including Music Center of the Northwest, Greater Seattle Choral Consortium, Seattle International Film Festival, Pacific Northwest Ballet, Seattle Opera, Seattle Symphony, Seattle Chamber Music Society, KUOW, TeenTix, Early Music Seattle, and Seattle Center Festál.
“We have such a great cultural community,” Wiseman said. “There's so much incredible music-making, art-making, culture of all kinds, and it's just a joyful thing to be able to share that with your friends, with your neighbors.”
The festival’s tagline, “Classical music is for everyone,” encapsulates one of the event’s primary goals: expanding accessibility.
“One of the things that we all are trying to do as cultural organizations is lower barriers to access for people,” Kovacs said. “Many of the choirs in the Choral Consortium have a pay as you can option or a free option so that people can access the choral concerts without having to worry about how much it's going to cost to bring their entire family to an event.”
Jeremy Jolley of the Seattle Symphony described similar steps his organization had taken toward inclusivity: “We do have free concerts out in the community with the full orchestra throughout the season. So for us, this is part of what we do already. The message from the Seattle Symphony is that you're welcome to come. Just come and enjoy classical music and all sorts of repertoire that we have at Benaroya Hall.”
James Keige, an attendee of the festival, gave his perspective as a classical music listener: “I think it's really good for a city just to have a classical radio station, and just to have people exposed to classical music, because I feel like it's a dying art and it shouldn't be, because it's great music, it's excellent music. I think people just need to be constantly reintroduced to classical music and just… you never know. That's going to be the next generation of classical musicians.”
The afternoon culminated in a final singalong of “Dona Nobis Pacem” and “How Can I Keep From Singing?,” led by Will Rand of the Seattle Peace Chorus and Chris Vincent of the Market Street Singers.
Regarding the motivations behind selecting the first song, Kovacs explained that Dona Nobis Pacem’s central message of “bring us peace” aligned with the festival’s broader message of fostering community.
“The words to [How Can I Keep From Singing] really are about… the idea that art and music are so inherent in our soul that we can't not express it. We can't not continue to express music in a way that brings us all together,” Kovacs said.
Many people stood up for the singalong. When Rand asked the crowd how many of them were members of a choir, a large majority of attendees raised their hands. Accompanied by the piano on stage, when everyone began to sing together, that fact was never more apparent. A range of tones and poignant voices meshed beautifully together, backdropped by the rustle of leaves from the trees providing shade overhead.
“This is what community means,” Rand said when addressing the crowd before the final song. “Gathering like this… [and] becoming a part of the music together.”
