Founded in 1964 as a program of Bowdoin College, it has operated as an independent nonprofit organization since 1997.
[1] During its six-week season, the Festival presents 20 concerts in four professional series and more than 200 Young Artists Series Performances, Community Concerts, masterclasses, studio classes, and lectures.
[citation needed] In May 1964, Bowdoin College Music Department chair Robert K. Beckwith invited Lewis Kaplan to propose a summer concert series to take place at the College that summer.
After a successful first summer of concerts, the Aeolian Chamber Players returned in 1965 with 19 students and a cadre of contemporary composers, including Elliott Carter, Meyer Kupferman, George Rochberg, and Morton Subotnick.
In 1966, George Crumb made the first of many appearances for the world premiere of his Eleven Echoes of Autumn, 1965.