Performances kicked off Saturday in Houghton and extend through June 27, with three distinct classical music acts traveling to Houghton, Iron Mountain, Ontonagon and Marquette, according to festival organizers.

“We are super excited about our three acts for the festival,” PMMF Artistic Director Joel Neves said. “The world-class Bergonzi Trio, A Little Light Music and UPstarts!, which is a unique program that highlights talented young Yooper musicians.”

The first group, A Little Light Music, pairs Pine Mountain veteran Julie Tabash Kelsheimer — a soprano who sang at the festival in 2012, 2013 and 2017 — with tenor Drake Dantzler, a newcomer to Pine Mountain.

Accompanied by Jon Ensminger, their program will include well-known favorites from the lighter side of opera and musical theatre, such as classics from Gilbert and Sullivan, Rodgers and Hammerstein, and Andrew Lloyd Webber, according to PMMF organizers.

Julie Tabash Kelsheimer of A Little Light Music, which will perform at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday at Iron Mountain High School. (Contributed photo)

A Little Light Music will perform at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday at Iron Mountain High School, 300 W. B St. in Iron Mountain. They opened the festival Saturday in Houghton and were in Marquette on Sunday.

The Bergonzi Trio takes the stage at Iron Mountain High School at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday. A mainstay Pine Mountain act, the trio — Scott Flavin on violin, Ross Harbaugh on cello and Lindsay Garritson on piano — are marking 31 years with the festival. They will perform popular classics from composers such as Beethoven, Arensky and Clara Schumann.

The Bergonzis also will play twice in Marquette: a children’s concert at 2 p.m. Eastern time Thursday at the Peter White Public Library and at 7:30 p.m. Eastern time Friday at Messiah Lutheran Church.

They will finish with two Houghton shows: another children’s concert at 11 a.m. Eastern time Saturday at Portage Lake United Church and at 7:30 p.m. Eastern that same day at Saints Peter and Paul Lutheran Church.

UPstarts! are a competitively selective group of young Yooper musicians that include Liv Arney, flute, Houghton; Joel Greene, oboe, Hancock; Aubrie Jacobson, piano, Marquette; Shane Niland, trumpet, Houghton; and Jessica Schrader, soprano, Marquette.

Drake Dantzler of A Little Light Music, which will perform at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday at Iron Mountain High School. (Contributed photo)

UPstarts! will begin with a 7:30 p.m. Eastern time show June 24 at the Ontonagon Theatre in Ontonagon. Next is a 7:30 p.m. June 25 concert at First Presbyterian Church in Iron Mountain.

Marquette is the next stop for UPstarts!, at 7:30 p.m. Eastern time June 26, at Marquette’s First Presbyterian Church. The 2026 season will conclude with a show at 7:30 p.m. Eastern time June 27 at Portage Lake United Church in Houghton.

The Pine Mountain Music Festival has a “Pay As You’re Able” model for all ticketed events to make for an equitable and inclusive arts culture. “We are committed to ensuring that everyone who wants to see our concerts is able to, which is why we encourage our audience members to purchase tickets at a level comfortable for them,” organizers state on the festival website, https://pinemountainmusicfestival.com/.

“Ticket revenue alone doesn’t begin to cover what it costs to pay our artists, produce the festival, and prepare and staff each production, but we believe that access to the arts is a foundational human right. We encourage patrons to select a tier in line with their means. All are welcome to select the more expensive tiers, and ALL are welcome and encouraged to attend Pine Mountain Music Festival productions!”

The website also offers a livestream option. For tickets and more information, go online to https://pinemountainmusicfestival.com/tickets/.

According to the festival program, Neves announced 2027 will bring back fully staged opera to Pine Mountain.

“We are thrilled to produce the festival’s 37th opera since 1991 and our first since 2018,” he said.

“The Pine Mountain Music Festival is the longest-running music festival in the U.P., and one of the few classical music festivals still alive and thriving in the United States today,” Neves said. “We are very proud of its enduring legacy in the face of a tough climate for festivals.”

———

Chelsea Bossert of the Daily Mining Gazette in Houghton contributed to this report.