The festival's programming features orchestral and chamber music concerts which take place in the Performing Arts Center of Western Washington University.
There is also a Bellingham Festival Chorus, directed by Choirmistress Wendy Bloom, which performs regularly with the orchestra.
Marcelo Lehninger, Music Director of the Grand Rapids Symphony since 2016, is an active guest conductor in both the United States and internationally.
During his first season with the Bellingham Festival of Music, Lehninger inaugurated the Conducting Institute, a program for emerging conductors that includes coaching and podium time for the Fellows.
For his 2025 BFM season, June 29-July 20, Maestro Lehninger has chosen the theme of musical world travel with repertory "stops" in Russia, London, Scotland, Vienna, and Paris.