Colorado MahlerFest

It is the one of only two North American arts organizations to have received the Gold Medal of the International Gustav Mahler Society, the other being the New York Philharmonic.

The founder of MahlerFest was conductor Robert Olson, who currently serves on the faculty of the University of Missouri–Kansas City who led the festival until his retirement in 2015.

One of Woods' initiatives as the festival's second artistic director has been an expanded emphasis on contemporary music and the involvement of annual Visiting Composers, including Jesse Jones, David Matthews, Kurt Schwertsik and Donald Fraser.

Past speakers have included Donald Mitchell, Henry-Louis de La Grange, Stephen E. Hefling, Gilbert Kaplan, Peter Davison, Anna Stoll-Knecht and Morten Solvik.

Colorado MahlerFest received the gold medal of the International Gustav Mahler Society in Vienna in September 2005.

In a ivory concert hall, a stage full of classical musicians and conductor are standing at the end of a performance
An image of the 2021 festival orchestra after performing in Mackey auditorium